When interviewing American Idol season 20 winner Noah Thompson, he frequently uses the word “man,” as if he’s talking to a friend or someone from his hometown. It’s that “aw-shucks” demeanor that judge Luke Bryan predicted would win him the show – and he was right. Before he performed in front of millions of viewers on Idol, Thompson was singing for his buddies he worked with on the construction site in his hometown of Louisa, Kentucky.
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Growing up, Thompson emulated his first musical idol – his father Chris Thompson. In addition to constantly playing music around the house, the elder Thompson was in a band, his son listening to his CDs on repeat. “I was obsessed with the fact that I thought my dad was a rock star,” Thompson recalls fondly to American Songwriter. “So I fell in love with [music].”
His father also gifted him his first guitar as a child that he started writing songs around the age of 15. Though Thompson always had the idea of doing music professionally in the back of his mind, he didn’t think it was a plausible career choice. “It was always my dream, but it just felt so far away,” Thompson admits of growing up in a small town and having big aspirations. “I definitely had no expectations this stuff was gonna happen.”
In addition to a passion for music, Thompson’s father also helped get his son into the construction business. The future singer started working at a local construction site right out of high school and became a father soon after. Believing his music dreams were too far out of reach, Thompson was “content” with his life in Kentucky.
“They pulled it out of me, they made me do it,” Thompson asserts of his co-workers encouraging him to sing at work. “I didn’t necessarily want to sing at all around people. I was extremely shy. But they basically forced me to sing all the time.”
His voice caught the ear of his co-worker-turned-friend Arthur, who would frequently take videos of Thompson singing. Arthur took it upon himself to submit videos of Thompson singing to Idol producers, one of which being a cover of Rihanna’s “Stay.” “I’ve never had anybody do something like that for me,” Thompson says of Arthur’s support. “It’s definitely changed my life dramatically.”
Impressed with what they saw, the producers invited Thompson to formally audition in front of judges Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry. The then 19-year-old stepped into the audition room with a sheepish personality, yet equipped with an acoustic guitar and an ear-pleasing voice set to Kameron Marlowe’s “Giving You Up.”
“I was so uncomfortable,” Thompson admits about how he felt in the audition room. “I didn’t know what to say. I was at a loss for words. I was completely in shock. I was starstruck, I was everything you could possibly imagine.”
Arthur was in the room with Thompson when he got the golden ticket to Hollywood, setting off his journey to victory. It was during the third week of Hollywood when Thompson proved he had the vocal chops to take him out of his hometown with a performance of “Stay” that surprised Kameron Marlowe and wowed Kameron Marlowe the judges. Thompson reveals that it wasn’t his idea to sing “Stay” on the show and that the producers had swapped out the song he picked last minute. The change worked out in his favor, as the performance put him on the Idol map. Despite his doubts, Thompson had the support of his hometown throughout his Idol journey.
“I was this kid that got signed up for the show and I had everybody back home telling me I was gonna win it. The whole time I was like, ‘I’m not gonna win this show,’” Thompson insists. But when he made it to the Top 3, which included a hometown visit, the wheels started turning that maybe the believers back home were right.
“It was a crazy moment, definitely one of the best moments of my life,” Thompson says of when he was announced as the winner. “[It’s] something that I didn’t even necessarily sign myself up for. It’s just something that happened to my life.”
The 21-year-old took his time releasing his debut EP, Middle of God Knows Where, in June 2023. He describes the six-track project as a “mix-up” of breakup and happy songs, all of which flex the soulful voice fans were enamored by on Idol. He cites the title track as the most vulnerable, reflecting how he was feeling during a breakup.
“It was coming from a very vulnerable place,” he says of “Middle of God Knows Where,” which he co-wrote with Allison Veltz and Eric Arjes. “I didn’t know what [Veltz] meant by that title at the time, but when she explained it, it fit exactly my story and how I [felt] at the time. It fit right in with what I was wanting to say. That’s why I feel like it ended up being the title track because it felt like something at the time I was going through.”
The EP closes with his cover of “Stay,” symbolizing his Idol journey that set his career in motion. “It was the song that gave me a chance and made me realize I might really want to do this,” he affirms. “It was hard for me being away [from home] for so long. But that song gave me a reason to keep going.” It’s clear that Thompson’s confidence has grown from when he was a tepid singer auditioning for Idol to now headlining shows around the country. Thompson says that while he still questions his musical abilities at times, he knows that his confidence has “definitely” changed.
“I’m hard on myself, it’s hard not to be in this industry,” he shares. “I’ve definitely grown confidence-wise. American Idol is almost like a boot camp for singers. Once you come off that show, it’s like, ‘Your time is now, this is when all the work really starts.’ You get to learn and grow on your own and figure yourself out as an artist and as a human being.”
Photo Credit: David McClister/Courtesy of BBR Music Group
