'American Idol': Single Mom Fire Breaks Down in Tears as Kaya Stewart Quits Show Moments Before Their Duet
Mia Smith With another shocking early exit from the competition, Monday night's episode of American Idol was filled with tears and heightened emotions from contestants and judges alike.
Two breakout performers from the ABC music competition show -- Kaya Stewart, the daughter of Eurythmics singer Dave Stewart, and Fire, a single mom and stripper fighting to earn her second chance -- were paired up to perform a duet. And though the duo appeared to hit it off right away, things went south when Kaya got sick and wasn't able to learn the arrangement and music in time for their performance.
Kaya and Fire took to the stage together and Kaya announced, "I realized I wasn't able to give 100 percent, so I've decided to not perform," much to the judges' shock.
She confirmed that her decision not to perform meant she was exiting the competition.
"I have to leave, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry," Kaya said, bursting into tears and running off the stage.
Fire was left standing alone on the stage and when judge Katy Perry asked her how she felt about performing alone, she too broke down in tears.
"I'm going to start crying, sorry. It's been really stressful," Fire admitted. "It's been a lot of stress on me to learn a different arrangement and then come out here."
Fire, who was previously given a second chance at auditioning by Perry, had previously opened up about her challenging childhood and her decision to turn to stripping to support herself and her young daughter.
"Listen, Fire. You're not going to be abandoned anymore," Perry assured her, asking the other contestants if anyone would sing with Fire.
Singer Jayna Elise rushed up to the stage to offer her support. The performance was filled with tears as Fire fought to try to maintain her composure despite being clearly upset.
Fire's own reaction to the lyrics of Adam Lambert's hit, "Whataya Want From Me," caused Perry to start crying and have a passionate response to the performance.
"I'm proud of you. You're growing, little by little. You can't control a lot, but you can control yourself and you can control your future," Perry told the young mother. "Thank you for standing up here and continuing to try. Thank you for swinging. Thank you for not forfeiting. Thank you for fighting. And in this moment, we get to control a little bit of your future. You're going forward, Fire."
Kaya isn't the first contestant to quit the show early this season. Sara Beth Liebe, the 25-year-old musician who made headlines last week after she called out Perry for "mom shaming" her, also left early this season.
American Idol airs Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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