WATCH: Remembering American Idol’s “Singing Garbage Man,” Doug Kiker
on Mar 13, 2025
Doug Kiker, a beloved American Idol contestant known as “The Singing Garbage Man,” has died at 32.
Doug Kiker, a garbage man and father from Mobile, Alabama, had never sung in front of anyone before his American Idol audition in 2020.
“I sing on the back of the garbage truck. That’s it,” Kiker told the judges who asked what kind of experience he had.
His inexperience and nervousness were obvious as he began to sing Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Broken Road” a cappella. But it was also obvious that Kiker had a raw talent that was just waiting to be unearthed. The judges recognized it and gave him another chance.
“I want to hear a little bit more. Show us your range,” Katy Perry said, to which Kiker responded, “I don’t know what that is. I’m sorry.”
“Show us what you can do with your voice,” Perry said. Kiker replied, “I’m still trying to figure that out, too.”
Country judge Luke Bryan then took a seat at the piano and began to play the introduction to the song. Kiker joined in, and what transpired brought Katy Perry to tears.
“Doug, do you understand what you just did?” Lionel Richie asked Kiker after he sang. “For a man who does not know what his voice can do…For a man who has no idea what key he’s singing in…For a man who has no idea who the heck he can be…he’s here to do one thing. He’s trying to show his daughter that he’s somebody.”
Kiker began to cry as the judges praised him.
“That was not garbage. It was greatness,”Perry told Kiker after he received a coveted ticket to Hollywood. “You just stay who you are and you’re going to go so far. And you’re going to take your daughter to all the highest heights.”
What happened to “The Singing Garbage Man” after American Idol?
Doug was eliminated during Hollywood Week but returned for the season finale to perform “Bless The Broken Road” once again.
One year later, Kiker made headlines when he was arrested and charged on suspicion of domestic violence. Little had been heard from Kiker in the years since until March 13, 2025, when his family announced his passing.
Doug Kiker Dies At Age 32
Doug’s family members, Angela Evans and Donna Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez, announced his death on Facebook on March 12, saying, “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! Your singing with the Angel’s now Bubba Please pray for our family as we go threw this very difficult time [sic].”
Kiker Carrillos-Ramirez wrote, “Today I got the call that no one wants to get. We lost an amazing person today. He had the biggest smile and knew how to make you laugh. I know I didn’t raise him but I never stopped loving him. My parents did an amazing job with him. Douglas Kiker you will forever be missed. Fly high. Say hey to grandma.”
The cause of Doug Kiker’s death is unknown at this time.
