American Idol contestant Doug Kiker died of an accidental overdose, the Denver Medical Examiner confimed Thursday (April 17).
The official cause of death was the combined toxic effects of fentanyl, methadone and amphetamines, along with recent cocaine use, People reports. (TMZ broke the news.)
Kiker died last month at age 32. The singer’s sister, Angela Evans, shared the news via Facebook on March 13, writing, “It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the passing of my brother Douglas Kiker. He was sooo loved and will be missed by so many! [You’re] singing with the Angel’s now Bubba Please pray for our family as we go [through] this very difficult time.”
Donna Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez, another family member, also posted about Doug’s death on Facebook. “Today I got the call that no one wants to get,” she wrote. “We lost an amazing person today. He had the biggest smile and knew how to make you laugh. Douglas Kiker you will forever be missed. Fly high. Say hey to grandma.”
The Mobile, Alabama, singer competed on season 18 of American Idol in 2020, where he earned the nickname “The Singing Garbage Man” thanks to his day job as a sanitation worker. His audition moved then-judge Katy Perry to tears, with Doug performing Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Broken Road.” Though he was eliminated the following round after singing Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” Doug was later invited back to virtually perform “Bless the Broken Road” again with the country trio.
In 2021, Kiker was arrested and charged with third-degree domestic violence. The next year, an independent film produced in Kiker’s hometown titled Garbage Man premiered on Vimeo. The project found him portraying a fictionalized version of himself, with his character working as a bouncer at a club hosting a singing competition. Kiker is survived by two daughters, pictures of whom he sometimes posted on Instagram. In his bio on the platform, he described himself as “just regular guy trying to make it who found love in music!!!!!!”
