Yahoo Movies 'American Idol' Finalist Noah Thompson Hasn't Shared Everything About His Past on the Show
Noah Thompson never imagined himself on the cusp of stardom. But now, the American Idol finalist has the support of many to go after the ultimate title on the ABC singing competition show. Whether or not Noah is declared the next American Idol winner, his fanbase will definitely continue to follow his music journey.
When American Idol season 5 (overall 20th season) premiered, judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan were instantly impressed with the 19-year-old singer. Hailing from Louisa, Kentucky, Noah revealed that he was a construction worker who ended up in front of them because of his best friend, Arthur. After noticing his singing talent while working side by side as construction workers, Arthur signed Noah up for the “Idol Across America” virtual audition and recorded his song.
“We [were] actually hanging up sheetrock at work and he told me he was going to sign me up for it,” Noah recalled at his in-person Texas audition. "I say, ‘No, you’re not.’ But he did it anyway.” When Arthur was asked why he took the leap of faith on behalf of his friend, he shared that it was the push Noah needed — and Noah agreed.
“As a kid, all I thought about was just playing music, being famous. But where I’m from, you don’t really get much opportunities,” Noah said on AI. “My family, they believe in me. The guys I work with believe in me. But I’ve just never believed in myself … I would have never signed myself up for nothing like this. I’ve never had that confidence. It’s pretty cool to know that somebody believes in you more than you believe in yourself.”
Despite coming from a small town with a population of about 2,000 people, Arthur still encouraged Noah to dream big. The duo started posting videos several months before he won a ticket to Hollywood. In June 2021, Noah posted the first TikTok of himself singing Rihanna’s “Stay.” He belted out the R&B ballad from a construction site.
It wouldn’t be until the fall that Noah would share more videos of himself singing to Morgan Wallen’s “Cover Me Up” and Cody Johnson’s “Nothin’ on You.” Like Rihanna’s cover, Noah performed familiar tunes from the American Idol stage, including “Painted Blue.”
At Hollywood Week, Noah opened up more about his support system back at home. The aspiring artist and his girlfriend Angel Dixon have an infant son named Walker. “My little boy, he’s my strive for all this,” he said on the show. “Blows my mind that I’m even here. This could give me the opportunity to give my son an entire new life, a better life.”
According to her Instagram, the two have been together for several years with their first Instagram post going back to September 2018. Since making it past the top 24 round, Noah has continued mentioning his partner and even cited her as the reason for choosing to sing “Stay” by Rihanna. “This isn’t a song I would usually do but it reminds me of being back home because it is a song me and my girlfriend Angel would sing together,” Noah said.
On May 13, Noah announced that he had released a new song called “One Day Tonight.” Hours after it was out and he earned a spot in American Idol’s top three, the song quickly landed on iTunes Top 10 country music songs among other hits by Morgan Wallen, Walker Hayes and Kane Brown. In case you can’t get enough of Noah’s original music, the vocalist released a 13-song album back in March 2018 titled No Road I Can Follow.
There’s no doubt that American Idol fans have watched Noah come out of his shell. We can’t wait to see if he takes home the grand title and what his future holds.
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