Gabby Barrett Leaned on Carrie Underwood After ‘Idol': ‘She Gave Me a Lot of Great Advice’
Gabby Barrett's debut single "I Hope" has continued her success after American Idol, and the newcomer says she has fellow alum Carrie Underwood to thank for great advice.
In a new interview with People, Barrett explains how Underwood helped her on her musical journey, saying, "She gave me a lot of great advice."
Underwood's help came at a crucial time for Barrett, who had just finished in third during American Idol's 16th season. With that newfound fame came many responsibilities, and without the knowledge of how to handle it all, Barrett reached out to Underwood, whom she had met during a mentoring session on the show.
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Underwood, of course, rose to fame after winning Season 4 of the reality singing competition. According to People, the two singers spoke over the phone, and the megastar gave Barrett some crucial advice: Don't waste any time, write on the road, go to Nashville for songwriting sessions and even on days when extra work seems impossible, just do it.
Barrett took Underwood's advice, which then led the singer to create her song "I Hope" during a writing session she had with Jon Nite and Zachary Kale.
"Jon said, ‘Oh my gosh, I think this might be the biggest song in my career,’" Barrett recalls. "And I was like, what? Then I started getting excited."
Nite was right. Since its release, "I Hope" has gone on to give Barrett many early accomplishments — she was a class of 2019 member of Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing artists, is a class of 2020 member of CMT's Next Women of Country and has garnered 27 million views on her "I Hope" music video.
"I Hope" is Barrett's first Top 10 hit.
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