NEWS'America's Got Talent' Contestant Jay Jay Phillips Dead At 30
America's Got Talent rockstar Jay Jay Phillips has died from COVID-19.
According to a family member who spoke to TMZ, the 30-year-old had been struggling to fight off coronavirus all throughout Thanksgiving week, but his health took a worrying turn on Wednesday, November 24.
Concerned family who had been regularly checking up on the talented rocker with phone calls and text messages, urged him to go to the hospital, but the ailing musician refused, telling them that he just needed to get some more sleep.
Tragically, that was the last time they heard from him. His girlfriend and mother — who works as a registered nurse — later found him dead in his home on Thanksgiving Day.
The insider spilled that Phillips — who lived with his father, who is also battling COVID-19 and is now on a ventilator — was not vaccinated, but had been planning to get the jab shortly before he contracted the virus.
The rocker's band Mettal Maffia took to Instagram to announce the sad news to friends and fans: “It is with great sadness we inform you all of the loss of our bandmate/brother/and friend @jayjayrocks,” the statement read. “It still doesn’t feel real and we would give anything to change it. Please respect the family, as well as our wishes as we take our time to grieve and process this detrimental loss.”
The band, who also promised to write a song for their fallen bandmate, shared a pic of Phillips captioned, "A true rockstar on and off the stage! RIP Brother. We will be home soon homie!"
The memorable, big-haired keyboardist first caught the public eye in season 4 of America's Got Talent, but following an early elimination, he left the show.
Undeterred, Phillips gave it another shot a few years later and had better luck in season 12 of the hit talent competition. He was eliminated shortly before the quarterfinals.
