Sad news. CJ Harris, American Idol season 13 alum is dead at age 31.
The singer, who made it to the top 6 in 2014 died of an apparent heart attack in Jasper, Alabama, according to a family member who spoke with TMZ. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but died there.
CJ auditioned for the judges in 2014 in Salt Lake City with a version of “Soulshine” by Allman Brothers. CJ also performed, usually with guitar in hand, overs of “Too Close,” “American Woman,” and “Free Fallin’.” The judges–Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban–chose him as a wildcard in the semi-finals after He was chosen by the judges as a wild card in the semi-finals.
After his American Idol run, CJ toured with the American Idol Top 10 and performed with Darius Rucker at The Grand Ole Opry. Season 13 was the year that Caleb Johnson took the crown withe Jena Irene the runner-up and Alex Preston in third place.
CJ reached out to us just YESTERDAY
On a personal note: I’m in shock. Just YESTERDAY CJ reached out to us via email to request the removal of two articles on the site about a 2016 drug bust. I hadn’t responded yet. Taking down a news article is a thing we don’t normally do, but I was thinking about it. CJ wrote that the articles were hurting his career.
CJ was arrested by an undercover cop in 2016 after allegedly selling drugs to a confidential informant. The singer was hit with 3 counts of felony distribution of a controlled substance. A month later he was back behind bars after missing a court date.
CJ received three yeses from the judges after singing “Soulshine” for his audition. Jennifer Lopez remarked that his audition was “perfect” but the things wrong could be worked on. CJ had trouble singing in tunes at times, but his delivery was raw and heartfelt.
