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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Ayeesha Walsh

Zuri Craig dead: America's Got Talent finalist who worked with Tyler Perry dies age 44

America's Got Talent finalist Zuri Craig has passed away at the age of 44 his family have confirmed.

The skilled singer – who worked with top stars including Tyler Perry – starred on the talent-finding show back in 2015 as part of the Craig Lewis band.

Zuri joined forces with his singing partner Jeffrey Lewis to form the band who won over the judges and audience members with their slick performances, going from strength to strength week by week as the season progressed.

Zuri's family confirmed that he had tragically died with a post on Instagram announcing the sad news to his colleagues, friends and fans.

Zuri was a popular singer thanks to AGT (WireImage)

The post on Zuri's official ZoReMi Entertainment page on Sunday (October 23) read: "It is with profound sadness that we announce the transition of our beloved son, brother and friend, Zuri Craig.

"We thank you in advance for your prayers. Please honor our privacy at this unimaginable time of mourning."

They went on to ask his followers to keep them in their prayers adding: "Please keep our family and friends in your prayers. More info forthcoming..."

The post confirmed that Zuri passed away on Friday, but a cause of death is yet to be released.

Zuri and Jeffrey rose to fame on America's Got Talent (Getty Images)
Zuri and Jeffrey also gained success in the industry via their YouTube performances (Getty Images)

Zuri and Jeffrey kicked off their America's Got Talent journey with an impressive rendition of James Brown's hit This Is a Man's World.

The pair later won a golden buzzer from judge Michael Buble for their efforts at performing Mary J. Blige's I'm Goin' Down.

The duo performed extraordinarily well in the show, finishing up in fifth place in the final after an incredible season.

Zuri had already kick started his career in the limelight before taking part in AGT – and had even got noticed by Tyler thanks to his YouTube uploads.

The impressive videos won him a place rubbing shoulders with the Hollywood glitterati as he and Jeffrey performed covers on the social networking site dating back as far as 2009.

Further details of Zuri's death are yet to be announced (Getty Images)

Tyler went on to hire him to work on some of his Madea plays including amongst other titles Madea's Big Happy Family, Madea Gets a Job and A Madea Christmas.

Zuri and Jeffrey also found themselves appearing on Oprah back in 2010 thanks to their inspired musical talent.

The star has also worked on an array of other high-profile projects including podcasts and live shows spanning his career.

He was due to kick start a live production in Atlanta next month titled Soul Food Live which had already been cast and has adverts in production.

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