Willie Spence marked second place during his run on the 2021 season of American Idol. Still, he was known as one of the most notable singers to come out of the show with powerhouse covers from artists that include Rihanna, Beyonce, Adele, Coldplay and more.

Unfortunately, the 23-year-old lost his life in a car accident while driving back to Atlanta from Tennessee on Tuesday (Oct. 12). He reportedly crashed into a tractor-trailer parked on the side of the road, TMZ reported. However, it was local news site Douglas Now that was first to report the news about the crash.

The news was also shared by his fellow Idol alum Katharine McPhee-Foster, who took to her Instagram story on Tuesday (Oct. 11) to share her condolences. “Only 23 years old. Life is so unfair, and nothing is ever promised,” she wrote. “God rest your soul Willie. It was a pleasure to sing with you and to know you.”

McPhee and Spence rocked the Idol house during a duet of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli’s “The Prayer” during season 19.

Additionally, Idol paid tribute to Spence by posting a video featuring the singer’s audition with the message: “We are devastated about the passing of our beloved American Idol family member, Willie Spence. He was a true talent who lit up every room he entered and will be deeply missed. We send our condolences to his loved ones.”

In honor of Spence’s life and legacy, Billboard put together a list of his rocking performances during his time on Idol. Check them out below.

“Diamonds,” Rihanna

“Stay,” Rihanna ft. Mikky Ekko

“Glory,” Common & John Legend

“Stand Up,” Harriet

“I Was Here,” Beyoncé

“Set Fire To The Rain,” Adele

“Stand Up,” Cynthia Ervio

“Wind Beneath My Wings,” Bette Midler

“A Change Is Gonna Come,” Sam Cooke

“Circle of Life,” The Lion King

“Diamonds,” Rihanna

“Rather Be,” Clean Bandit & Jess Glynne

“Yellow,” Coldplay

“What They’ll Say About Us,” FINNEAS

“Never Be Alone,” Willie Spence

“You Are The Reason,” Leona Lewis & Calum Scott

“Georgia on My Mind,” Ray Charles

“You Are So Beautiful,” Joe Cocker

Baby Shark and friends have teamed up with one of the most promising and freshest faces in the K-pop world.

Girl group NewJeans, Baby Shark and Pinkfong shared a new video singing and dancing to a catchy new song “Ninimo.”

The collaboration came from The Pinkfong Company, the Korean educational entertainment company behind the massively popular “Baby Shark Dance” which is the most-watched video on YouTube with more than 11 billion views.

This new video sees NewJeans members Minji, Haerin, Danielle, Hanni, and Hyein rocking their signature baggy jeans and trendy T-shirts alongside the yellow Baby Shark, magenta fox Pinkfong, and other characters.

The first tease of the collab came via a clip that referenced NewJeans’ trending “Attention-Wardrobe” clip that earned 4.3 million views on TikTok while using the group’s Billboard Global 200 hit “Attention.”

The NewJeans collaboration is a part of its ongoing Dance Alive program that brings together Korean stars and Pinkfong’s beloved characters. A previous Dance Alive video with choreographer-dancer AIKI performing Bruno Mars’ “Lazy Song” has more than 425,000 views to date.

“We’re thrilled to announce the collaboration with NewJeans, one of the most notable K-pop rookies, bringing a unique and exclusive opportunity to enjoy the songs and dances for fans around the world,” The Pinkfong Company said in a statement through a press release. “Through the Dance Alive project, we plan to continuously engage with fans of all ages including Millennials and Generation Z by teaming up with the beloved K-pop artists.”

In their first-ever international interview with Billboard, NewJeans shared their ambition to reach fans worldwide. “Because we just debuted recently, we’ve been focusing on promoting and performing in Korea, but I promise you that whenever the opportunity comes, we are going to catch a plane and head over to you all,” Hanni said. “Words can’t explain the amount of joy and gratitude we have for our fans all around the world.”

Months after release, NewJeans still boast two tracks on the Billboard Global 200 with “Hype Boy” at No. 74 and “Attention” at No. 121, both in their ninth week on the chart.

Watch NewJeans’ latest move with Pinkfong below:

Katelyn Brown scored her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Sept. 24), when her duet with her husband Kane Brown, “Thank God,” debuted at No. 22.

“Thank God” is from Kane’s new LP Different Man, which debuted at No. 2 on Top Country Albums and No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 46,000 equivalent album units.

If you need a guide to follow along with Kane and Katelyn Brown’s “Thank God,” find the lyrics below: