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Kellie Pickler is scheduled to make a rare public appearance on American Idol three years after her husband Kyle Jacobs’ death.
“Next week, we will see your top five perform,” Danielle Fishel said on the Wednesday, April 29, episode of the TV competition’s official companion podcast. “We are going to party like it’s 2006 when some of the favorite top 10 finalists from that historic season will return to duet with this season’s top five.”
Fishel, 44, revealed that Pickler, 39, will return to the Idol stage on Monday, May 4, alongside Taylor Hicks, Paris Bennett, Elliott Yamin and Bucky Covington. Former OG judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson are also expected to appear on the episode.
Hicks, 49, won Idol season 5 in 2006, while Pickler finished in sixth place before finding success in the country music industry. She ultimately took a step back from the spotlight after her husband, Jacobs, died by suicide in February 2023. He was 49.
“One of the most beautiful lessons my husband taught me was in a moment of a crisis, if you don’t know what to do, ‘do nothing, just be still.’ I have chosen to heed his advice,” Pickler said in an August 2023 statement. “Thank you to my family, friends, and supporters, for the countless letters, calls, and messages that you have sent my way.”
She continued, “It has truly touched my soul and it’s helping me get through the darkest time in my life. As many of you have told me, you are all in my prayers.”
Pickler and Jacobs had been together since 2008 and tied the knot in 2011. Pickler returned to the stage for the first time since Jacobs’ death in April 2024 during a Patsy Cline tribute concert in Nashville.
“How we doin’ tonight, y’all? I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m incredibly nervous right now,” she told the crowd at the time. “It’s been the first time I’ve been up on stage in a while.”
Pickler noted that she felt “incredibly honored” to celebrate Cline’s legacy.
“She is a huge reason why I fell in love with music,” Pickler said before performing a rendition of “The Woman I Am,” which Jacobs cowrote. “My husband and I actually wrote this song together, gosh, over a decade ago. The last time I was here in the Ryman Auditorium was with him on a date night, and I know he is here with us tonight.”
American Idol airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
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