Gabby Barrett Hopes to Change Fans’ Lives With Debut Album ‘Goldmine’ (Exclusive)

Gabby Barrett‘s debut album, Goldmine, officially arrives on June 19, and for Barrett, the release is a long time coming. “These are things that you are so excited and it sounds cliché, but you do dream about it in the way from when you’re at a young age, like you dream about having number one songs like you hear on the radio and you dream about having just like an album that you got to put together and be creative on,” she told PopCulture.com. “It’s been really, really cool to put my all into it.”

Barrett worked on Goldmine for two years after appearing on American Idol and co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs on the project, which touches on multiple themes including faith, love and chasing your dreams. “Every song is so different,” she shared. “There’s a song that talks about the Lord, and then there’s a song that talks about love towards your — whatever, boyfriend, spouse. There’s a bunch of different things. I’m just hoping people can mainly relate to the songs. That’s what you hope for with your songs when you write them, that people can relate to them. And then you can hear them singing them at shows, and it helps people, and it changes their lives.”

The upcoming project includes Barrett’s No. 1 single “I Hope” and new single “The Good Ones” and incorporates elements from different genres including country, pop and rock. Barrett’s powerful voice is the through line, anchoring each song and forming a cohesive unit that perfectly represents her as an artist.

“Music right now and genres are all just bleeding together,” the 20-year-old mused. “And so I wanted to have an album that wasn’t just one specific thing, because nobody really likes one specific thing nowadays. Everything’s like a little pop, country, R&B, you got some rap-country now. So, with this album, I thought it’d be cool that it’s kind of, it’s like a multi-genre album. And I get to include all parts of me, and all things that I want to write about, and all things that I believe in. It’s just like a body of work for somebody of what makes you, you in a way of what you’re saying about yourself.”

After finishing third on Season 16 of American Idol in 2018, Barrett released “I Hope” independently in 2019. She soon earned a record deal but pointed out that she wasn’t an overnight success. The Pennsylvania native began singing at age 11 and traveled with her father and her sister to play shows, an experience she said helped her develop the sound she was eventually able to showcase on Goldmine.

“That’s one of the cons with being on a television show that people normally assume it was like an overnight thing or like, ‘Oh, they went on the show and then they just blew up,’” she said. “And that’s not the case at all. There were six years of hard work put into it before, and I went through a lot of trial and error with my dad and my sister. My dad was like my management, my label in one. And we went through a lot of trial and error during those six years, so I figured out my sound, thankfully, at a young age. So coming into the music industry seriously after American Idol, it was easier in the way of knowing what I wanted to sound like and where I wanted my sound to be.”

Barrett reflected that while she does feel some pressure ahead of the release after the massive success of “I Hope,” that pressure comes in a “good way.” ‘It’s not in a bad way,” she explained. “I’m actually really excited. I just feel like, when the spotlight finally, when it comes to you, it’s like, ‘OK, this is your time. You gotta step up to it, you gotta challenge yourself.’ And I’ve always liked to challenge myself from a very young age with songs and all kinds of things. I liked that kind of pressure. And so I’m very proud of this album and I’m very excited for people to hear it.” You can stream Goldmine here.