American Idol Season 19 Runner Up Willie Spence left us forever at 23. He was an amazing singer and received immense love throughout the world. He was a man with a good heart as well. People around him say that he used to light up every room he entered. Well, this was the aura he had in him! This legendary singer was a growing celebrity from a very ground state.
With no godfathers over his head, he was a pure talent who received several standing ovations and plenty of good responses from the judges. Unfortunately, he died at a very early stage of his life. In this article, you’re going to read about everything about him. How was the legendary singer’s winning journey in American Idol, and how did he meet with such a horrible accident?
How did American Idol Season 19 runner-up Willie Spence die?
Willie Spence, unfortunately, died in a car accident at the age of 23. It was October 11, 2023. Willie Spence had his car’s one flat tire fixed in the morning and then recorded a post for his Instagram handle in his car.
He sang a beautiful song in his magical voice and captioned his post as ”Lord You Are My Hiding Place”. After a few hours, at 4 p.m, something devastating happened, and we lost a beautiful star singer.
According to various official sources, his car left the roadway on a Tennessee highway and crashed into a tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder of the highway. The tractor-trailer was huge, which is obvious, so Willie’s car crashed into the trailer and was destroyed completely.
Willie got heavily injured, and the driver, 68, was safe in his driving seat. Both of them were wearing seat belts, but Willie struggled between life and death, and unfortunately, he couldn’t make it and died.
The accident happened on the shoulder of the east side of Interstate 24, at the 147-mile marker on Tennessee Highway. According to Marion County Medical Examiner Barbara O’Neal, the reason for Willie’s death was – multisystem trauma due to the motor vehicle accident. American Idol wrote on Twitter saying they are devastated to lose their family-like American Idol member.
They also wrote that Willie was a true talent who had the potential to light up any room he entered. Willie Spence once told in American Idol S19 that he sees himself winning a Grammy award in the next five years. He said that in the audition and ended up attaining the second position in American Idol 19.
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How Was His Journey In American Idol Season 19?
No doubt, American Idol selects amazing and talented singers in their show. Each selected candidate gives tough competition to each other. One such tough competition in the music industry was Willie Spence. Without any Godfather, this man started by posting videos on social media and went on to win millions of hearts on American Idol. Let’s start from the beginning! Willie Spence was born in Florida on June 18, 1999. He was then brought up in Douglas, which is in Georgia.
When he was in high school, he used to post his songs online, and people started recognizing him. But the game-changing song for him was ‘Diamond’ by Rihanna. In 2017, he sang Diamond and garnered millions of views. He was now famous. He auditioned for American Idol Season 19 when he was 21, and even his audition was worth a standing ovation.
During his American Idol journey, he made his position in the top 12, and judge Lionel Richie praised him, saying that Spence performed brilliantly. Katty Perry was so impressed that she said every note in Spence’s voice was thoughtful, and it appeared as if God was working through him.
Well, Willie’s powerful voice took him to the top 7, where Bryan praised his high notes, and Lionel Richie said that Spence could sing the phonebook and make it his. Was this the end? Not! Spence’s powerful and magical voice took him to the top 5 and second position.
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