Gabby Barrett did not win American Idol, but she is still hanging out with judge Luke Bryan. She made a special appearance at his Pittsburgh show Saturday night, belting out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” on the stage.
Ahead of the show, Barrett posted a clip on Instagram from backstage at Heinz Field. Bryan jokingly said she was only there to hang out with him and there were no plans to bring her onstage.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Of course, Bryan was just pulling our legs. A few hours later, Barrett shared a video from the concert, showing her singing the Journey classic.
“Heinz Field, THATS MY KINDA NIGHT,” Barrett wrote on Instagram. “A crowd of 50,000. We did a duet, then he let me do a song by myself. Just me and y’all. Thank you so much [Luke Bryan] & thank you so much to everyone for making my dreams come true. FULL DUET and Solo song from tonight will be on YouTube TOMORROW! I have no more words.”
Barrett also posted a very short clip of Bryan introducing her before she came out.
Barrett was born in Munhall, a borough near Pittsburgh. She is the headliner for the Fourth of July fireworks event at Point State Park. The crowd there is expected to be more than twice the size as Bryan’s audience at Heinz Field.
“There’s supposed to be like 100,000 people down there, a crazy amount, so I’m really excited, and I get to do it with my band, so I’m really excited to put on a show there that nobody will forget,” Barrett told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week.
The 18-year-old singer spends most of her time in Nashville since finishing third on American Idol. She is also preparing for the Idol national tour with six other finalists. The tour kicks off on July 11 in Reading, California. The tour reaches Barrett’s hometown on Sept. 13 and ends on Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C.
“It’s more about fun now than competition and everyone gets along so well, which makes it nice. There’s a lot of stuff to rehearse. There will be a lot of groups, a lot of duets, some single stuff,” Barrett told the Post-Gazette of the tour. “Not as difficult as it was on American Idol.”
After Idol ended, Barrett released two singles, “Young Blood” and “Jesus and My Mama.” She also teamed up with fellow Idol contestant Cade Foehner to cover Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now.” The two confirmed they are dating during a Disney-themed episode, when Foehner performed “Kiss The Girl” from The Little Mermaid.
Photo Credit: ABC / Eric McCandless
