Reality tidbits for the 2020 American Idol winner: Just Sam had to go back to singing on the New York City subways after her win didn’t translate into the Kelly Clarkson fairy tale
- Former American Idol winner Samantha “Just Sam” Diaz announced they are back singing on the Subway three years after receiving a $250,000 cash prize and a record deal from Hollywood Records
- Despite winning ABC’s hit singing competition series, the 24-year-old Harlem singer informed her more than 167,000 Instagram followers that they are currently struggling to make ends meet
- They left the label unexpectedly last year without releasing any albums under them
Former American Idol winner Samantha “Just Sam” Diaz announced they are back singing on the Subway three years after receiving a $250,000 cash prize and a record deal from Hollywood Records.
Despite her victory on ABC’s hit singing competition series, the 24-year-old Harlem native, who was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness last summer, informed her more than 167,000 Instagram followers that they are currently struggling to make ends meet.
Although she was initially “very embarrassed” to announce they would be back performing for commuters on New York’s public transit system, the singer, who uses “she” pronouns, said it was no longer “optional” to den Telling people that they “really needed the money.” .’
Still, it’s been a challenge for them to deal with the feeling that they’ve “fallen so low” since finding fame on reality television.
Last year, the singer surprisingly left the label without releasing an album under the label.
“I make music. I just can’t afford to release music because it costs a lot of money to mix and master music. And I invested in myself and ended up broke. That’s the truth,” they said on their Instagram story last year.
Reality fame: Former American Idol winner Samantha “Just Sam” Diaz announced they’re back singing on the subway three years after receiving a $250,000 cash prize and a record deal from Hollywood Records
Trying to make ends meet: Despite winning ABC’s hit singing competition series, the 24-year-old Harlem singer informed her more than 167,000 Instagram followers that they are currently struggling to make ends meet; seen in 2020
The musician continued, “It’s just hard because I’m out of my own pocket and I have bills to pay.” And American Idol isn’t going to pay my bills. Lionel Richie won’t pay my bills. Katy Perry won’t pay my bills. Luke Bryan won’t pay my bills. I have to pay my rent. “I have to make sure I eat every day, which is difficult.”
Sam went on to assure fans that people would “help” them and that they would “put music out when” they could and were “ready.”
Her victory in the remotely filmed American Idol season 18 finale coincided with the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They then gushed that their “dreams” had “come true.”
Sam’s troubles starkly compare to previous winners like Carrie Underwood, who has an estimated net worth of $140 million, or Kelly Clarkson, who has won three Grammy Awards and currently hosts her own self-titled talk show.