Noah Thompson is an American singer-songwriter who gained national recognition by winning the twentieth season of American Idol in 2022. Before his rise to fame, Thompson worked in construction, showcasing his musical talents through cover songs and original compositions like ‘Not a Phase,' ‘Pedestal' and ‘Heart Painted Black' on his YouTube channel. His journey to American Idol began when a friend signed him up for the audition, leading to his victory and the release of his debut single, ‘One Day Tonight,' which topped iTunes’ All Genres and Country charts.
Following his Idol success, Thompson released his debut EP, ‘Middle of God Knows Where,' in June 2023, featuring a mix of heartfelt songs that reflected his personal experiences. In 2024, he parted ways with his record label to pursue an independent path, allowing him greater creative freedom. This independence culminated in the release of his second EP, ‘Kids Like Me' on May 16, 2025. The six-track project delves into themes of his tumultuous childhood and personal growth, with songs like ‘Upbringing' offering an intimate look into his past. Now a father to his three-year-old son, Walker, Thompson continues to navigate his music career with authenticity and dedication and is just about to make his Opry debut this weekend – we sat down to talk about it all!
Thanks for speaking to me Noah – I know just how busy you must be right now with a new EP out and an Opry debut looming!
No worries, I'm doing good, how are you doing?
All the better for speaking to you today! You went to American Idol for the season finale recently – what was that like and did that Opry debut invite come out of the blue or had you sensed that something was afoot?
(laughing) I kinda knew a little bit but not exactly! My manager had accidentally slipped up a couple of months before – I did say that on the show – She'd sent me this text message that mentioned making my Opry debut after coming on American Idol but that was a couple of months ago and she hadn't realised she'd sent that! (laughing)
I am over the moon about it, man. I wasn't aware of where or how it was gonna happen but I loved going back to the show and see all the people who, for about a year of my life, I got to spend some good times with. They almost become your family, in a weird way, when they are on that show. The ‘Idol Family' that they talk about on the show is a real thing, man. I loved so many of the producers behind the scenes – they are all such good people – and I was extremely grateful to be able to get to do that.
Are you getting 2 or 3 songs at the Opry? Do you know? Which ones are you thinking about playing?
I have no clue right now! Man, I've been going back and forth and thinking about which ones to play. I want to be as real with people as I possibly be and get up there and share my story and that side of myself. I'll probably start with something like ‘Upbringing' to spill the beans on who I am – get it all out there. ‘Kids Like Me' is an obvious song too, the title track of the EP.
Had we not written ‘Kids Like Me' ‘Upbringing' and ‘Demons in My Whiskey' would not have been a thing – it was the introduction to a whole new side of me. I don't know about a third – if we get a third I thought I should play ‘Front Door Famous,' the song of mine that Luke Combs cut for his ‘Fathers and Sons' album – my little boy is going to be at the Opry and it feels right for that occasion and something to cool to do.
I've always wanted to play the Opry – my whole family will be there, my little boy will be there and I'll figure it all out on the day of, I guess! (laughing)
In the three years since you won American Idol what's been the most surprising or challenging part of transitioning from being on the show to being a full-time musician?
Oh man! Honestly, there are so many different aspects at play. Just being an artist. It's such a different lifestyle. I moved to Nashville as soon as I left Idol and it was such a change – I didn't really know how to handle it really. The fame, the social media engagement – it was all intimidating.
Coming to realise that social media is your best friend and that you can use those platforms to share music and who you are with people has been a big learning curve for me. There's been a lot of things that I've struggled with, man, to be completely honest with you but that has been the most challenging – I didn't grow up in an environment where I used social media all the time, it wasn't how I grew up.
You went independent in 2024 which must have given you a sense of freedom and a feeling that you had more control over your life and career.
Yeah. Freedom and also it was just a time in my life that I was losing control of everything and I just couldn't handle it. The people I was working with……… it was too much stress and I felt like ripping my own hair out at times. That's not anything against American Idol at all it was about just trying to be an artist in general and me finding it all just too much, you know?
Being independent is a lot but at that time it wasn't right for me to be working with these people because I wasn't making the right decisions, I didn't know what it was that I wanted and I didn't know how to be this person that people wanted me to be. It was best for me to just get away from that for me at that time – if we ever decide to go forward again with another deal, ok: but for now, it's not something I'm looking to do.
You mentioned your upbringing – that upbringing feeds into so many of the songs on this EP and it is what makes it such a powerful listen. What can you share with me about your childhood and upbringing that fed into the title track and the other songs?
Dude – I grew up in a household where addiction was a thing. I've seen it my whole life. My parents are both great people and I love them both to death but they struggled with it in different ways which means I've been around it my whole life.
The song ‘Upbringing' is a challenge and a reflection of that. I've never considered myself an alcoholic but there have been times, despite me telling myself growing up that I didn't want to be like that, where I have found myself drinking too much, on and off. My parents used to look at me and tell me not to make the same mistakes as them – which is why I think I have great parents – but by being an artist and being in this industry you are around alcohol all the time, it's a lot man – it's a lot of pressure – so I started drinking all the time.
The thing about it was that I enjoyed doing all that – even as bad as it was – and one night after a particularly low moment I had been praying to god and asking him why it had to be this way and why I was doing the things that I was doing, you know? I was lost and it kinda changed things for me from there – I started writing these other songs and began to feel like I could make it as an artist after all.
It takes great strength, Noah, to be able to do that.
I guess so! In the weirdest way I think I was searching for the song for many years and I just didn't know how to put it into words until then. Those songs began to come out at that point and it was what I needed them to do at that time.
‘American Dream' is a hard-hitting song. Did you feel at all nervous putting that out there in Country music because Country is a genre that sometimes places more importance on beer, trucks, shorts and small towns than it does hard-hitting truths!
I mean, you know, I was, in a way. At the end of the day I think, personally, whatever type of Country you want to make……… There's different lanes of Country music, right? There's Pop/Country and all these other different lanes – I'm not in that lane at all. Half the songs I'm doing don't really feel like traditional Country, which is not what I'm going for anyway. I grew up listening to Rock and Southern Rock, man – I got so many different influences on me!
I felt like ‘American Dream' was such a true song to me – I loved it. From the first time I heard it, man……… the guy that wrote it is a dude called Chris Gelbudda and his voice was so good on that song, it blew me away when I heard it. It spoke to me right away and I couldn't believe that I got the opportunity to cut it – I'm so grateful for that.
As far as the old trucks and mud and stuff like that – it's not really the things I want to sing about anyway. If I had to do that, man, I'm not gonna lie – I'd just quit Country music! (laughing)
The EP does close on a more positive note with ‘Here Lately.' Was that a deliberate choice to end the EP with that song?
Yeah man! I wanted the project to have some hopefulness to it. Originally it was going to be a full album but when I put these five songs together they seemed to tell their own cohesive story in their own way. ‘Here Lately' and ‘What You're Made Of' kinda speak in the same voice – they are songs about the rollercoaster of life and what we are all going through.
I had the title of ‘Here Lately' written in my phone and then I had a dream about a chunk of the lyrics! I wrote down the lyrics after I woke up. I was going through a dark, rough time in my life but, at the end of the day, I was still ‘here lately' and that was all that mattered. It's designed to give people some hope as they look for the light at the end of their own tunnels.
So that means you've got more songs tucked away up your sleeve for the next release then?
I do! I do have more songs. I can't lie – I'm writing all the time right now. I want to stay busy and find my own lane in this town. I'm wanting to get out there and just write some good music that I can feel proud of. This project has been all consuming so I'm looking forward to writing some different styles and saying some different things too.
You mentioned you had the cut ‘Front Door Famous' on Luke Combs' last album – is getting cuts with other artists something that interests you? Have you sent any other songs out and about?
Oh god, yes, dude, 100% I would love for that to happen. I haven't really sent out any songs – the whole concept of Luke getting that song? I still don't understand how it happened! I'm so grateful it did.
The way Nashville works, man, you just write and write songs and then you don't quite know where they go! (laughing) We wrote ‘Front Door Famous' four years ago now and then it eded up with Luke last year. Songs just get passed around until one day, somebody like Luke Combs has it and puts it out!
Go check out Noah Thompson's fabulous EP ‘Kids Like Me' and keep an eye out for his Opry debut on May 31st
