American Idol moved into Hollywood week during on the latest episodes, and when the contestants needed to choose duet partners for the competition, Idol hopefuls Kaya Stewart and Fire teamed up. The two chose to sing Adam Lambert's "What Do You Want From Me" for their performance, and their preparations were going as planned until Stewart fell ill. When performance day came around, Stewart didn't feel as if she could continue, and she made a shocking exit onstage.
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Stewart and Fire took to the stage in front of judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, and Stewart explained her situation.
"I got sick at the beginning of Hollywood week and I have been trying to push myself and keep going, and during this performance, I got to work with Fire and it was such a great experience," Stewart said. "She so talented and so incredible, and we bonded so much. But I realized I wasn't able to give one hundred percent, so I decided to not perform."
Perry then asked Stewart to clarify if her statement means she's exiting the competition.
"Yes, so me no longer performing today means I'm no longer going to be in the competition," she added.
Stewart then left the stage in tears, leaving Fire alone onstage having prepared to sing a duet. Fire then broke into tears as she recounted her stressful week.
"It was a lot of stress on me to learn a different arrangement and then come out here," she said.
Perry then turned to the other contestants in the audience, asking if any of them would be willing to join Fire in a last-minute performance of the song. After asking twice, a contestant named Jayna Elise ran to the stage to help. Fire managed to sing through tears while Elise provided harmony and sang a few lines.
The performance clearly moved Perry and Richie, leaving them in tears as well.
"Proud of you," Perry told Fire. "You're growing, little by little. You can't control a lot, but you can control yourself. And you can control your future. Thank you for standing up here and continuing to try. Thank you for swinging. Thank you for not forfeiting. Thank you for fighting. In this moment, we get to control a little bit of your future. You're going forward, Fire."
The other contestants then gave standing ovation to Fire as she thanked the judges and left the stage.
Although she left the competition, Stewart made a splash when she auditioned for the show. She brought her dad, Eurythmics band member Dave Stewart, to play backup guitar for her.
