Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Kayko enjoying the crowd’s reaction to his performance Sunday night on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

At about 8:40 p.m. eastern time Sunday night, Lionel Richie warned Kayko that he just might win American Idol if he kept delivering fun, high-energy performance on the show.

Less than an hour and a half later, Kayko became something of a surprise elimination as American Idol went from a Top 10 to a Top 8.

Still, the 23-year-old from Fort Lauderdale was all smiles when he recorded a farewell message to friends after the show.

Remember, the whole American Idol experience was something of an unexpected venture for Kayko.

After all, he’d been introduced to us as Sam Kelly-Cohen, a songwriter and producer who had accompanied friend Abby Blake to the auditions so he could accompany her on piano.

He wound up auditioning himself, impressing the judges, making the show, then making it all the way to the Top 10.

“This journey was so much better than I ever thought (it could have been),” Kayko says in that video message. “American Idol did so much more for me than I ever thought (it) could have.

“I’m a guy who likes making beats and auto tuning his voice. So this is way outside my comfort zone.

“But I did it and I encourage all of you to do something outside your comfort zone. If you have a dream, go for it. Do whatever makes you happy.”

What probably made Kayko most happy during his Idol run was introducing fans to his original music.

He arrived on the show having already released a good deal, first as Your Best Friend’s Favorite Band, then come 2022 as Kayko.

And in April, he released a six-song EP called “Poser.” He wound up performing four songs from that project — “What If,” “Time of Your Life,” “Over You” and “How to Live Without You” — on the show.

A music video for the excellent title track, produced in conjunction with Song House in Nashville, landed this spring too.

Once Idol themes steered him away from original music, Kayko focused on those fun, high-energy performances Lionel was referencing.

His performance of Goyte’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” was the most viewed on Facebook and YouTube from last Monday’s show, totaling more than a half million views between those two sites.

And fans at Sunday’s show reacted enthusiastically to his rambunctious performance of “Teenage Dirtbag.”

That song choice represented a last-minute change, Kayko said on the show.

He had planned to perform Britney Spear’s “Oophs, I Did It Again” in the style of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but wasn’t sure he it was working as well as he wanted after rehearsing with Shania Twain, Idol’s mentor for the night.

That must leave Kayko fans wondering about what might have been.

But in the video message, Kayko is clear about his intent.

“I hope that my American Idol journey was all about bringing fun, because this world is so serious,” he said. “And I think if we’re able to bring a little fun to dark times, that makes it better.”

Mission accomplished.