By the time Gabby Barrett made it to the finals on Season 16 of American Idol, she had endured plenty of highs and lows on the reality TV talent show. Barrett, who came in third place, not only found a new fan base for her music, but fell in love and married fellow contestant, Cade Foehner, tying the knot with him in October. The couple knew they had a connection pretty early in the show – or at least Barrett did, which is why she made the first move.
“We met around Top 24, Top 40,” Barrett recalled to PopCulture.com. “I was like, ‘Hmm, I like him, I like him a lot.’”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Although Barrett might have initiated the contact, Foehner didn’t seem to object.
“I had to get to know him first,” Barrett explained. “So the thing was, I saw him originally. He has a really cool look, my husband … he has lots of hair, just super cool rocker dude, and I wanted to make a video with him of us singing together. And so I initiated it. I didn’t think he liked me at first, but then he texted me and I was like, ‘Oh I see what’s going on here,’ so it was a mutual thing, but I went after him first.”
The couple has only been married a little more than a month, but Barrett is already planning out their musical future.
“He is my biggest blessing over everything,” Barrett gushed. “So, it’s nice to go home when you’re busy and just know that you’re going home back to somebody that you love a lot … We have written some songs together, and so you never know. We might be the next Tim and Faith someday. We’ll see.”
Barrett is also continuing her music career after her time on Idol, feeling like she can do almost anything after appearing week after week in front of not only millions of fans, but Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who served as judges on the show.
“I was nervous,” conceded the singer. “I was very blessed and fortunate. I’ve been performing and singing for six years before I did American Idol and I was fortunate enough not to get nerves during that time, and then as soon as I went on to American Idol, boom, ’cause you just see three glow sticks at a table. Katy Perry had a diamond on her tooth and I’m like, ‘I should not be here. I don’t know why I’m here.’ So, yes absolutely nerves, but they were wonderful and they treated the contestants wonderful, so it was good.”
As Barrett reflects on the experience, she admits it was both exhilarating and exhausting.
“Two words, emotional roller coaster,” Barrett admitted. “It was very emotional in all kinds of different ways that I wasn’t expecting going in. I learned some wonderful things from the judges and from the competition in general that I’ll take for the rest of my career. It was wonderful and a stamp on my career that I will always remember.”
Barrett just released her new single “I Hope,” which is making its way up the charts and seems poised to be her first big hit at radio.
“We made it to Top 50 in radio right now, so we’re climbing,” Barrett boasted. “It has over 100 million streams and it’s just a song that I wanted to put out, especially my first song after being a part of American Idol as an artist. I put it out for anybody that’s been through a bad relationship, but didn’t truly feel like they said what they wanted to. I feel like everybody goes through some type of bad relationship, so I’m really happy that people can relate to it.”
Photo Credit: Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic
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