Interview: Noah Thompson Opens Up About Coming Out of “Dark Freaking Place” to Find His Voice
“I couldn't wrap my brain around anything that had happened the past couple years"
It’s been three years since Kentucky native Noah Thompson won season 20 of American Idol and was catapulted into stardom. At just 19 years old, he was a new dad trying to find balance in his personal and professional life. And that came with a price.
Thompson sat down with Amplify Country via Zoom to discuss his latest single “Here Lately” and how he’s emerged from a dark place to find his voice as an independent artist.
Following his Idol win, Thompson was thrown into being an artist under a major record label and the pressure that came along with it.
“I went through this whole kind of self-battle while I was under a label and whatnot, just with understanding what it was that I wanted to say because honestly, there's a lot of pressure behind that, being under a label, and I was just a kid at the time,” says Thompson, who is now 22 years old. “I didn't really know what it was that I wanted to do, what I wanted to say, who I was.”
Thompson reveals that becoming an independent artist helped him get out of a dark place, mentally.
“I couldn't wrap my brain around anything that had happened the past couple years, honestly, with the American Idol win and all these things, it's just something that was kind of messing with me mentally, and that's just me being honest. And by me becoming independent, there was no pressure. I could say what it is that I wanted. I was me, for once, in my kind of music career, and it was really nice to do that.”
As an independent artist, Thompson has released four singles, including his latest “Here Lately.”
“All these songs just started pouring out of me,” says Thompson. “All these songs are very much storytelling songs, and they're also, it's talking about obviously Upbringing. You're in this dark place and you're trying to rewrite things you don't know how, and then it kind of turns over into our other release, Demons and My Whiskey, and I wrote that song about actually a buddy of mine that passed away. That's what that song was about. But it also, it kind of ties into the whole struggle aspect with addiction and everything. Then American Dream. I did not write that song, but I held onto that song for a solid year, and I felt like I almost wrote it in a sense. I listened to it so much, and I love that song one more. I was like, God, this is a really good song. I just felt like it was perfect for what I was saying and what's going on with the music, and we decided to do that one.”
Dream that inspired “Here Lately”
Thompson’s latest release, “Here Lately,” tells a powerful story of redemption and self-discovery after a season of feeling lost.
The transition from having a record label deal to becoming independent started rough for Thompson.
“It just really put me in a dark freaking place and just parts of me I couldn't get out of it, man, and I was just drinking all the time, everything like that,” admits Thompson. But less than a week after getting out of his contractual obligations, he landed a cut as a songwriter with Luke Combs on the tune “Front Door Famous,” which appears on Combs’ 2024 album Fathers & Sons.
“I was like, God, are you showing me something? You know what I mean?”
Then, Thompson had a dream that inspired “Here Lately.”
“I had this whole melody in my head and all kinds of weird crap. I didn't really know what it was, but I wrote down Here Lately on my phone, and the next day I went and wrote it with a couple of my buddies [Nick Columbia and Lukas Scott]. I was like, Hey, man, look, I literally had a dream about this. I don't really know what it is, but it's something I noticed something here. It's like here lately I've been doing all these things, but I feel like I'm finally, I'm here lately, and that's what I wanted it to be, and that's what it was supposed to set up. It's just the uplifting side of all the bad stuff.”
Thompson described the dream as an idea of finding yourself again.
“I've been doing all these things and I feel like everything's finally coming together, and I don't need to do this crap anymore to make myself feel better,” he shares. “I needed that song in a sense too though. And I think, I truly believe that those songs come to you when they're supposed to. I feel like, feel like music's got to breathe sometimes, and it's just those songs just come to you when they're supposed to.”
He also hopes the song inspires listeners who are going through hard times.
“I want people to just know this. Just at the end of the day, it's going to be okay. That's what the song's for. It's like no matter what you're going through, man, all the hardships, maybe you had the worst childhood ever or whatever, you know what I mean? And you grew up and you feel like life is crap or whatever. I just want people to just know it's okay.”
Concept album in the works
If you listen to Thompson’s four most recent singles, you can hear a story coming to life, with “Here Lately” marking a turning point. Thompson reveals that it’s part of a larger concept album.
“I have a hard time writing happy songs, to be quite honest. I do. I really do. And I don't know why it's such a struggle for me, but I do, I have a hard time, especially with this whole, I'm doing this whole concept album and everything is tied right in with one another, and I want everything to sonically and lyrically… I want everything to make sense where it's all headed.”
While he hasn’t written off the possibility of signing another record deal, Thompson appreciates the creative freedom he’s had recently. “Everything is in your own hands, and I needed that for a minute, especially whether we end up, if I end up in another deal later on down the road or not, I don't know. But I think it was just really important for me this whole time to do that.”
Thompson’s advice for American Idol contestants
The 23rd season of American Idol will premiere on Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 8 PM ET on ABC, with new judge (and former contestant) Carrie Underwood behind the table.
Thompson thinks she’ll add a unique perspective. “I absolutely love that woman,” he gushes. “She's got to be perfectly fit for the job because she knows exactly what everybody's going through. She knows exactly how everybody's feeling. Deep down. She's been through it.” He added, “I don't think they could have picked anybody better for the job. I think that she's going to, she's going to be a very good judge and honest in her own way. You know what I mean? So nice. I think she's going to do a great job.”
Reflecting on his time with the show, Thompson shares his advice for new contestants.
“I would say to enjoy the process a little bit more. Try to just take in everything that's going on around you and enjoy it. Just one step at a time,” says Thompson, who struggled with being present because of his young son Walker being across the country at the time. “That was kind of harder on me. So I would say just to enjoy it, enjoy every step of it, and have fun with it.”