Nikki McKibbin, the third-place contestant of the first season of "American Idol" behind winner Kelly Clarkson and runner-up Justin Guarini, has died from complications of a brain aneurysm.
She was 42.
The Grand Prairie, Texas, native wowed judges with performances of songs by Melissa Etheridge, Alanis Morissette, Bonnie Tyler, Janis Joplin and Alannah Myles before she was voted off ahead of the final two in 2002.
"(McKibbin) was a fiery, funny lady who could sing the Hell out of a rock song with the same kind of ease and command she lovingly used to cut you with her twangy Southern wit.," Guarini wrote on Instagram Saturday night.
Her husband, Craig Sadler, said McKibbin suffered the aneurysm Wednesday and had been on life support until Saturday so she could be prepped for organ donation.
McKibbin joined "Idol" after competing on the WB competition show "Popstars." After her third-place finish, she signed with Sony Music's RCA, but battled with the studio over her music style before finally releasing a rock album, "Unleashed," in 2007.
In 2008, she appeared on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" to get help with her addiction to alcohol and cocaine.
When her son, then-15-year old Tristan Langley, auditioned for "Idol" in 2014, McKibbin returned to the stage where she gained fame.
"Even at the end she is still giving," her husband wrote on Facebook Saturday. "She was so loved that I know thousands of you will be grieving with us. There are only a few hours left for me to hold her hand and kiss her forehead."
Before the doctors began the organ removal, Sadler played Stevie Nicks' "Landslide" one last time.
