When Gabby Barrett auditioned for American Idol, she had no idea that one performance would result in her coming in third on the reality TV talent show, launching a career that includes a record-breaking single, “I Hope,” and a 13-track album, Goldmine, out now. The 20-year-old didn’t waste any time making music, taking redeye flights while on the American Idol Live! Tour to write what ultimately became Goldmine, a project she says is as authentically her as she could possibly make.
‘It’s multi-genre,” Gabby told Everything Nash. “You know, you get a taste, a full taste of me, and what I like. When I grew up, I always was influenced by a bunch of different kinds of music. My dad played R&B and classic rock. And when I was with my mom, I listened to more country music on the radio. I was influenced by all of these genres in different ways. And so you’ll hear kind of a rock edginess on it and then you’ll hear kind of a pop sound, with “I Hope,” but you also hear country.
“There’s a Christian song on there,” she added. “And so, it’s just a lot of what makes me as a person. I’m glad that I’ve gotten to be creative on this first album.”
Gabby’s joined on Goldmine by an A-list roster of writers, including Nicolle Galyon, Ross Copperman, Jon Nite, Zach Crowell, Jimmy Robbins and more.
“There’s some amazing people on there that I’m very fortunate to have gotten in a room with, because they’re so talented,” Gabby boasted. “When I started coming into Nashville, they taught me how to write songs much better. Before, years ago, when I would try to write songs, It just didn’t come out right. And so being in Nashville, it’s helped me a lot, how to formulate a song. These tracks that we had to narrow down to 13 on this album, I’ve been writing for the past two years. So some of the songs are from 2018 and some of them are from this year. It’s a cool mix of songs on it, for sure.”
Gabby set a new record with “I Hope,” which made her the first debut solo female since 2017 to have a No. 1 hit with her debut single, since Carly Pearce‘s “Every Little Thing.” The song also notched more than 10 million streams in one week.
“From the moment that we wrote the song in 2018, we knew that it was a special song,” Gabby recalled. “And then I had some trouble with labels, coming out of American Idol. So we ended up releasing the song independently in January of 2019. It just had a positive, immediate reaction from the start. 2019 was like a roller coaster for this song. It was crazy in the best way. So many wonderful things had come from it. I got named Radio Disney’s Next Big Thing.
“I was inducted into CMT‘s Women Class of 2020,” she continued. “There was just a bunch of wonderful stuff that has from come from it even into this year. Being able to perform at the Staples Center with Kate Brown in January –– just some amazing, amazing stuff. The song went No. 1, and last year I got married. There’s just so much wonderful stuff that’s been going on.”
Gabby is thrilled with the success of “I Hope,” even if she is a bit stunned as well.
“I’m somebody that doesn’t know if a song is good until I hear what it sounds like when it’s close to what the single will sound like,” Gabby acknowledged. “I’m not somebody that’s in a writing room that can just tell you, ‘We wrote this and it’s going to be a hit.’ But Jon Nite, he has 14 number ones; he has more of that ear. Right after we wrote it, there was no music, no nothing. But then he was just like, ‘I think is the biggest song of my career. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, well, this is special.’ And so then that’s when I started to get excited about it.’ It’s just been crazy to watch them.”
Gabby had no idea she would be such a force to be reckoned with right at the start of her career, but now that she sees what she is capable of, there is no stopping the rising star.
“It’s just an honor to be in country music right now and to be producing this kind of music,” the Pennsylvania native noted. “I’m just really happy, and I feel very blessed. Everybody says Nashville is like a 10-year process. And I was like, ‘Oh goodness, I hope not,’ because I had been doing this since I was 11, so nine years now. I had some trial and error in the music industry with some people, and it’s just finally nice to see things, um, paying off for me now.”
or Gabby’s