“I’ve never been this sad in my life.” He wrote, “I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that Debra is no longer with me.”

“She was one of my best friends ever.” I’ll always miss you, my love.”

Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, and Bob Dylan were just a few of the big stars that Debra had worked with.

Jennifer sent her condolences on X, which used to be Twitter.

“Heartbroken over the passing of Debra Byrd, the vocal coach on American Idol,” she said.

“She backed us up and gave us hope from the start!

“I’m thankful for everything she taught us.” She is deeply missed, but her music lives on through the work of many artists she inspired during her lifetime.

“Rest in peace, Debra,” she ended.

Jen got a lot of attention when she made it to the finals of American Idol in 2004 and worked with Debra.

Other graduates, like Clay Aiken, talked about how much Debra helped them.

“I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that no one was a better mentor, coach, teacher, or champion to us Idol contestants than Byrd was,” he said.

“No one was with us longer.”

“I’ll never forget how hard she drilled us to look straight into the camera and connect with the people watching at home.” She made a lot of people’s lives better. I’m so glad I got to be her friend.

DEBRA’S WORK
Debra was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She went to Kent State University before becoming a musician.

She got better at what she did in the Karamu and Dobama Theaters while she was in school.

As soon as she graduated, she joined Barry’s band and sang backup.

Their song “Street Singin’” made it to number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976.

Barry set up the song for the singer who is backing him up.