Pianist on ‘American Idol’ came to support his friend — then the judges heard his incredible voice
Sam Kelly-Cohen, better known by his stage name Kayko, never imagined that his spontaneous 'American Idol' audition would propel him to the top of the talent competition. Kayko never intended to compete since he was the piano accompanist for his friend, Abby Blake, during her audition turn. However, the judges were instantly attracted to the young musician's personality. "Are you a lead singer or guitarist?" Katy Perry inquired. Kayko shyly introduced himself as the lead vocalist of his band with the same name. "He's been recruited right away," Lionel Richie expressed, impressed. "I guess I don't like to leave any American Idol stone unturned," Perry cut in. The South Florida native then serenaded the judges with his original composition 'Time of Your Life.'
The powerful performance ended up earning the quickest 'yes' for the golden ticket from all three judges in the competition's history. "What do you think? Is it a yes or no?" Perry asked Luke Bryan, who answered positively. "Is it a yes or no?" she turned to Richie, who reacted in the affirmative. "If you want to, yeah, I guess you could go to Hollywood as well," Perry teased while handing out the ticket to fame. "I'm like literally shaking. This is like, you know..." Kayko reacted to his sudden moment in the spotlight. "Go out there, try to win," Bryan encouraged. "I mean, Sam, come on. You're the kind of contestant that we look for, the ones that think that they can't make it and have the great voices, and then..." Perry trailed off while congratulating.
Kayko impressed the judges and the audience with his original tracks throughout the competition, however, his journey was cut short right when he reached the top 10. A major last-minute switch-up cost him the top 8 position, as per The Palm Beach Post. Kayko initially prepared vocals for 'Oops! … I Did It Again' by Britney Spears in the style of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ However, Kayko changed his choice after receiving critical feedback from Shania Twain during the practice session, who thought the young band lead's version was theatrical instead of rock. He last-minute decided to perform the track 'Teenage Dirtbag' by Wheatus.
“I had a dream about this song,” he said about his initial rock track. “I know that my own rendition of the song that I am doing this week is weird as heck." “It’s definitely a risk changing your song at the final hour,” he added. Kayko got eliminated for his risky choice, but that did not end his musical career. “I know all of the melodies to every song,” he told the publication. “I had a good catalogue of options to choose from, especially for year of birth.” The Florida native gained a massive fan following with his original compositions in the competition, like 'What If?,' 'How to Live Without You,' and 'Over You', Screenrant reported.
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In July 2024, Kayko announced the release of his new iTunes-topping original, 'Love You Goodbye', on Instagram. "Okay, but this song is 36 on iTunes pop charts right now… how crazy if we got to #1," he captioned the post. The same year, he revealed that his audition song had hit over a million streams. He then went on a 14-date tour, which started on August 30, 2024, in Chicago at Reggie's Rock Club, and ended on September 29, 2024, in Orlando at Conduit.