Gabby Barrett Has Long Been Hustling For Her Dreams
“I know a lot of people say that they know what the grind is and they know what hard work is,” she says. “But I really, really understand that.”
Gabby Barrett isn’t exaggerating when she says she knows the grind of being an artist.
Long before placing third on season 16 of American Idol in 2018, Barrett was a working artist. Consumed by music, Barrett was writing songs and performing live shows throughout her childhood, her talent taking her across her native Pennsylvania where venues ranged from Giant Eagle grocery stores to Stage AE in Pittsburgh where she opened for Cole Swindell, in addition to performing at national charities such as Ronald McDonald House.
Her travels helped build her a following, directing her growing fanbase toward her online presence. “Anywhere I would go, I would promote my social media for people to follow along with my journey and where it was going,” she tells Sounds Like Nashville. Barrett accumulated 50,000 online followers before an Idol scout discovered her material and invited her to audition for the first season of the show’s reboot. Though the idea of performing on a nationally televised show and potentially being misrepresented on TV initially deterred her from auditioning, the young singer decided to take the opportunity after some encouragement from her father.
Her years of performing served as training for her experience on the show, which she used as a platform to showcase her vast musical influences, performing a selection of country, pop and R&B songs including Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name” and the Prince staple “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore?” “I was very careful about my choices on Idol. I put so much thought into my act because when I’m challenged on something or when something is very serious and it’ll determine where I go or where my life might go and who will see me, I’m very careful,” she describes of her approach. “So I just remember from the beginning I did not want to show all of my cards.”
Barrett carries this mentality into her career post Idol. A songwriter before stepping in to the national spotlight, Barrett says that being on the show has helped her evolve as a writer and shape her identity as an artist. “Idol made me think in a more clear perspective of writing based on what kind of artist you want to be,” she explains. “There’s a lot of things that I like that are all in different areas and topics. But now it has shown me that I have to hone in on more of a certain type of what do I want to be known as whenever I sing these songs. When I’m performing at my shows, what do I want to be singing about.”
Barrett puts her songwriting evolution on full display in her debut single “I Hope.” Co-written with Jon Nite and Zachary Kale, the song begins by wishing her ex well, hoping he finds the person that fulfills him, but ends the chorus with s surprise twist in the line, “then I hope she cheats, like you did on me.” “I wanted to create a song that females could use as a dedication song for whenever they heard it, they could think of that one person that they didn’t really get to voice what they wanted to,” Barrett relates. “I wanted to connect with girls in that kind of level and just remember that I’m also a female and I do the same things. I’m a human being and I go through bad breakups and sad things and have problems.”
Barrett is currently working on her debut album and has about five songs completed, writing alongside some of Nashville’s top songwriters including Ross Copperman and Josh Kear. With the effort she’s put into career thus far, there’s no doubt Barrett will continue to hustle for her dreams.
“I know a lot of people say that they know what the grind is and they know what hard work is,” she says. “But I really, really understand that.”
In addition to music, Barrett is also planning a wedding to fiancée Cade Foehner, who made it to the Top 5 during season 16 of Idol.
