Willie Spence, who finished in second place during the nineteenth season of American Idol, passed away at the age of 23. Willie was traveling through Tennessee on Tuesday, September 11, 2022, when he was involved in a car accident and tragically lost his life as a result. He reportedly had a flat tire at some point on Tuesday, but he allegedly got it fixed and continued driving back home to Atlanta from Tennessee. This information was provided to TMZ by a family source. According to the source, Willie was involved in an accident involving a semi-truck that was parked on the side of the road.
Willie was well-known for stunning the judges as well as the audience during the singing competition that was broadcast on reality television, and shortly before the singer passed away, he uploaded a video of himself singing to Instagram for his followers to watch. Over 400,000 people followed him on the social media platform, and he used it to inform and entertain them by posting videos of his live performances, information, and updates about his life, and upcoming gigs.
I never even watched #AmericanIdol, but I remember coming across Willie Spence's audition on social media last year and being floored by his voice. He was a FORCE. What an awful tragedy 💔 https://t.co/B41BvH51j3
— Sarah Little (@sarahlittle96) October 12, 2022
Spence surprised the judges with his renditions of “A Change is Gonna Come” and “Georgia on My Mind,” which helped him advance to the second place position, which he ultimately finished in, behind Chayce Beckham. Users of Twitter have flocked to the platform to share their condolences, with one user writing that “Heaven has a new angel.” in tribute to the deceased user. Willie received a note from producer Randall Emmet, which he had written and addressed to him. “I was lucky to have him sing for me live at my home and other events, I will miss you my friend. I know you touched so many of us.” The singer’s close friends, relatives, and colleagues in the music business will mourn his passing deeply.
