Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Kaibrienne opens what turned out to be her final solo performance on American Idol Monday night. (ABC Photo)

So far, Kaibrienne’s comments on her rather shocking American Idol ouster have been short and succinct.

“Just the beginning,” she wrote on social media, next to a photo of her final performance.

She might be right.

She’s already accomplished something pretty special.

Something that had little to do with her recent string of stirring performances on the show.

After being introduced to millions of viewers as KB Richins when her audition aired, she released her debut single.

The song: “Girl I Am Now.”

The artist: Kabrienne.

Not a very smart marketing move, I remember thinking at the time. It’s a great song and a heart-wrenching vocal. But how in the hell are people going to find your song?

Then she changed her stage name on the show as well.

And as she marched all the way to the Top 8 with a string of emotional performances, people found the song.

As of Tuesday evening, it was rapidly approaching 500,000 streams. On Spotify alone.

For comparision, two singles released on the same day, on the same label, by two of her Idol colleagues, are sitting at about 50,000 streams on that site.

Kabrienne covered Olivia Rodrigo’s “Traitor” Monday night. It was one of her best performances. It brought the Idol judges to their feet.

Which is why it was surprising to see her standing center stage with McKenna Faith Breinholt at the end of the night. One was going home. One was going to be saved by Katy Perry.

That must have been a heart-wrenching moment for the two young ladies. Anyone who follows the finalists on social media would know Kabrienne and McKenna have become incredibly close over the course of their Idol journey.

They were holding hands when Ryan Seacrest began announcing results Monday night.

And when Katy announced McKenna as the artist being saved, they immediately embraced and remained so for several seconds, with McKenna lifting Kaibrienne off her feet at one point.

There was clearly no bitterness over the outcome.

On Tuesday, Kaibrienne also posted a series of photos of their time together on the show, referring to McKenna as “my angel, soul sister, best friend and other half.”

Anyone else think these two should tour together when Idol Season 22 ends?

Kaibrienne and McKenna Faith Breinholt await the judges’ decision on who gets a save Monday night on American Idol. (ABC Photo)