Nearly a year has passed since Abi Carter’s flawless rendition of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” had American Idol fans calling for a premature end to the show’s 22nd season.
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“Abi Carter is the winner,” one viewer declared on X/Twitter.
End the contest . Abi Carter is the winner. #americanidol
— JordanCamp (@JordanCamp86) February 26, 2024
Much to Carter’s shock on finale night, they were right. Last May, viewers crowned the Indio, California native as the season 22 champion. The now 22-year-old beat out runner-up Will Moseley to become the first woman to win the show in four years.
Barely taking time to soak in her life-changing victory, Carter got to work almost immediately. Here’s what the “Peppermint Sky” singer has been up to since then. (Spoiler alert: It includes new music and a tour.)
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Abi Carter Makes Her Post-‘American Idol’ Musical Debut
Abi Carter began writing material for what would become her debut album while still filming American Idol. Last November, she released the deeply personal ghosts in the backyard.
While Carter’s incredible vocal prowess is on full display, she also shows a talent for confessional storytelling in the vein of Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams. Songs like the title track see Carter unpacking the painful nostalgia of childhood magic gone too soon. Other tracks like “some people need drugs” explore toxic relationships and the often messy “other side” after escaping them.
“I literally cannot put into words how much this album means to me,” Carter wrote on social media of the album’s release. “I have wanted to be an artist since as early as I can remember and this day is incredibly monumental for the little girl in me who dreamed of making music one day.”
Catch Abi Carter On Tour
A tour is often the next logical step following a new album. This year, fans have multiple opportunities to see Abi Carter perform her original material live during the ghosts in the backyard tour.
The American Idol champion’s next show takes place at The End in Nashville on Monday, March 10, at 7 p.m. She heads to Atlanta the next day, followed by Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, March 12.
Additionally, Carter will make her Stagecoach debut on April 25 right in her hometown of Indio, California.
“Growing up with these festivals going on, I wasn’t oblivious to them,” she told the Coachella Valley Independent in November. “The biggest thing that you could do as an artist, to me, was play at Coachella or Stagecoach, and to be able to do that is just overwhelming and incredible.”
Featured image by Disney/Eric McCandless
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