“American Idol” alum Doug Kiker — known by the moniker “The Singing Garbage Man” — has died … TMZ has learned.

Kiker died Monday, according to his ex-fiancée, Valerie Cook, who tells TMZ she hates that her kids lost their father. An official cause of death has not been determined.

Kiker’s brother William and his mother Joyce also confirmed Doug’s death to TMZ … and William shared a heartfelt message to Facebook saying Doug will always be his baby bro.

The singer’s death was acknowledged by multiple posts from family members … his sister Angela Evans posted a GoFundMe — saying the family needed help because “this was completely unexpected we are completely unprepared and are gonna need a little help getting him home from denver colorado and being able to give the memorial that not only he but anyone deserves.”

If you don’t remember … Kiker brought Katy Perry to tears on Rascal Flatts’ “Bless the Broken Road” back on Season 18 of the show, landing him in the Hollywood round.

He was eliminated in the following round after singing Marvin Gaye‘s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

Kiker was 32.

5:40 PM PT — Diddy‘s legal team tells TMZ … “Our written and oral communications with CNN’s counsel were clear – they destroyed the original video file they received from their source.”

Cassie Ventura‘s lawyer is calling BS on Diddy‘s claim that the video of him beating her up in a hotel hallway is edited … and, her attorney says he’s sure the footage will be admitted into evidence.

Douglas Wigdor tells TMZ … it’s not surprising Diddy “would make a disingenuous argument to exclude the disturbing video from being shown to the jury in the upcoming trial.”

Cassie’s attorney adds … “I am confident that the video fairly and accurately represents what happened, will be admitted into evidence” … and Diddy “will be held accountable for his depravity.”

TMZ broke the story … Diddy’s defense claims CNN destroyed the only known copy of the 2016 Cassie beating video and aired altered footage before destroying the original version.

Diddy’s camp claims CNN purchased the video, uploaded it into a free editing software, altered the footage and then destroyed the original.

As for the alleged altering … Diddy’s defense claims CNN covered the time stamp, changed the video sequence and sped up the video to make it falsely appear like the actions in the video happened faster than in reality.

Diddy’s team is filing legal docs to exclude the video from his upcoming trial, but Cassie’s camp thinks his motion will be denied.

Teddi Mellencamp is opening up about her slow realization that she was suffering from brain tumors … and she says she’s had some of the saddest and darkest days since her diagnosis.

The reality TV star dished on the “wild” lead-up to her brain surgery on her “Two Ts in a Pod” podcast, explaining she initially dismissed her symptoms as migraines or menopause.

Teddi says she was at a horse show when she had a terrible migraine, took some of her friend’s migraine meds and instantly felt worse … to the point where she forgot where she was.

As we reported … Teddi had 4 tumors removed from her brain earlier this month, but doctors recently discovered more tumors … including two in her lungs.