C.J. Harris, a former finalist on ‘American Idol. Harris Dies at 31

C.J. Harris performs in front of the camera at Fox’s “American Idol XIII”, Top 7 Live Performance Show. April 16, 2014 in Hollywood.

Singer C.J. Harris, who made it to the Top 6 “American Idol” In Season 13, died Sunday in an Alabama hospital

The ambulance took the 31-year-old singer to Jasper’s hospital. according to the Birmingham News, which said he’d been given CPR but nevertheless succumbed. TMZ, citing an unnamed family member, said the cause was “an apparent heart attack.” Authorities are conducting further tests after an inconclusive autopsy, the Birmingham News said.

Harris announced Jan. 1 on social media that he’d be releasing new music soon.

He auditioned for the “American Idol” season that premiered in January 2014 while aboard a Tuscaloosa bus tour before singing the Allman Brothers’ “Soulshine” in person for judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. in Salt Lake City, People noted. He continued performing after his season on “Idol” ended, including at the Grand Ole Opry with Darius Rucker.

He told the Hollywood Reporter in 2014 His mother, who used the telephone to sing to him while she was in jail, and his grandfather inspired his love for music.

“Tears would just flow out of my eyes,” he said of his mother’s singing. “When I was a little older, my granddad gave me a guitar. One of his guitars was in the shed, and it had three strings. He said I didn’t need to buy a whole new set of strings. So I would tune it in a way that when I strummed it, it sounded like it’s in a key of whatever. Different sounds appeal to me. Music is something I love. I try to find the right sound and then just listen. I know that’s weird, but that’s what I do.”