It’s a D-day for the American Idol family as one of their most talented contestants, C.J. Harris, who secured sixth place on season 13 in 2014, passed away at the age of 31. Harris died on Sunday (Jan. 15) after he was rushed to the Walker Baptist Medical Center, Alabama after unsuccessful CPR efforts. Read on to know more about this musician.
C.J. Harris Died From A Heart Attack
Former American Idol contestant, C.J. Harris has passed away at 31! The musician, who secured sixth place on Season 13 of ‘American Idol’ in 2014, suffered an apparent heart attack. He died on Sunday (Jan. 15) despite being rushed to the Walker Baptist Medical Center in Jasper, Alabama. It was reported that CPR efforts were unsuccessful.
The news of his death was confirmed by a spokesperson from the Walker County Coroner’s Office. The Instagram handle of ‘American Idol’ paid tribute to the vibrant singer in a heartfelt post: “CJ Harris had incredible talent, and the news of his passing deeply saddens us, he will be missed.”
C.J.’s fellow contestant from Season 13, Jessica Meuse also took to Instagram and paid tribute to her dear friend. While posting a picture with Harris, she wrote: “My heart is heavy to hear of the passing of fellow @americanidol and friend @cjharrismusic. I’m completely shocked.”
In her post, she continued, “Your talent and smile will be missed, and the world is definitely a darker and eerily quieter place without you in it. I’ll miss your random phone calls asking for life advice and talking about the music world. When you go through something like Idol together, it brings everyone involved together like a big, weird, dysfunctional family.”
In the end, she mentioned that she is grateful to have known C.J. and that he’ll always be a part of her life. “There are a lot of things I realize I will never understand — you leaving us so soon is one of those things. Rest easy, friend. See you on the other side,” she concluded.
If you aren’t aware, C.J. auditioned for American Idol on a Tuscaloosa bus tour and then performed before Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. in Salt Lake City. Tributes poured in from his fans, who are extremely shocked by his untimely death.
More About CJ. Harris…
If you have seen C.J. performing, you’d relate to the fact that his presence was like sunshine. After competing on American Idol, C.J. performed with Darius Rucker at the Grand Ole Opry. He released his first single “In Love” in 2019. C.J. had a huge following on Instagram and TikTok, where he continued to share videos of him singing and playing the guitar.
Last year in October, C.J. revealed that he was working on new music. His last Instagram post came two weeks back, wherein he was seen performing a “How to Save a Life” cover. C.J. previously revealed that his passion for music began as a child when his mother would sing for him on the phone during her calls from prison.
“Tears would just flow out of my eyes. When I was a little older, my granddad gave me a guitar. He had one in the shed and it had three strings on it. He said I didn’t need to buy a whole new set of strings,” he stated in an interview.
“So I would tune it in a way that when I strummed it, it sounded like it was in a key of whatever. I find different sounds. I just love music so I really try to find a sound that I really like and just play it. I know that’s weird, but that’s what I do,” Harris revealed. Our heart goes out to his family in these troubled times.
