While many budding musicians got their big breaks on the American Idol stage through the years, a handful lost their lives not long afterward.
Nikki McKibbin, who appeared alongside Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini on season 1, died in November 2020 at the age of 42. The Fear Factor alum, who finished in third place on the competition’s debut season in 2002, suffered a brain aneurysm several weeks before her death.
“She would already be gone, but she’s an organ donor and has been kept on life support to make that possible,” McKibbin’s husband, Craig Sadler, wrote via Facebook at the time. “That shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Even at the end she is still giving. She was so loved that I know thousands of you will be grieving with us. There are only a few hours left for me to hold her hand and kiss her forehead.”
McKibbin is not the only American Idol alum who has passed away after their reality TV tenure. Scroll below for more of American Idol’s biggest tragedies through the years:
