American Idol finalist Noah Thompson said he hopes his one-year-old son, Walker can one day be “proud” of him for following his dreams.
Thompson recently spoke with Music Mayhem, sharing that he hopes when Walker is older that he’ll be proud of him and that thinking about the example he’s setting for his son is the “coolest thing” about competing on the singing competition.
“For me, I remember the way I looked at my dad as a kid, I thought he was a rockstar, you know what I mean?,” Thompson explained. “So, I think the coolest thing for me, out of this whole thing, is by the time Walker is at that age where he can look at all this and be like, ‘That’s my dad.’ And that’ll be a really proud thing for him. So for me, I think that’s the coolest thing out of this whole process,” he said.
Thompson shares Walker with his girlfriend, Angel. The 20-year-old Idol contestant recently reunited with his girlfriend and son during the Disney week episode of Idol (May 1) at Disneyland.
“I was not expecting that,” Thompson said of the surprise reunion with his girlfriend and son. “It means the world to me for [Walker] to be here. It feels like home almost, there ain’t nothing like it. This is just a little glimpse of what I could do for him. This can completely change everything for him, for me, for my family. I really needed that to be honest,” he said, getting emotional.
In addition to Angel and Walker, Thompson was also reunited with his friend, Arthur, who pushed him to audition for Idol. Thompson sang “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” from the movie, Toy Story for his performance, dedicating the song to Arthur.
Arthur previously appeared on Idol during Thompson’s audition, where he sang Kameron Marlowe’s “Giving You Up.” Judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Katy Perry praised Arthur for seeing Thompson’s talent, with Richie labeling him as “an angel in a red plaid shirt.”
Thompson, who doesn’t have any formal vocal training, got into music because of his own dad.
“How I got into music, more than anything, would just be because of my dad, and the upbringing I had with my dad being a musician, and being in a band,” Thompson told Music Mayhem. “And the love for music I had because of him, growing up with him being in the band, and me constantly being around music all the time, and just hearing music, you know?”
After being crowned the American Idol on Sunday evening (May 22), Thompson spoke with ExtraTV about how it felt to have his son in the audience watching his dad’s dreams come true.
“The whole reason for me being here in the first place is for my kid, for Walker,” Thompson shared. “Yeah, having him there, I feel like I haven’t seen him in so long, even though he was asleep, it was amazing to have him in the audience and [my girlfriend] Angel and [the rest of my family]. That was pretty cool.”
Following his Idol win, Thompson took to social media to thank his supporters and share that he was speechless and shocked when his name was called as the winner of American Idol.
“Had a hard time making this post because I truly couldn’t find the words to say… I was In complete shock in this moment and I still am and I probably always will be!” Thompson wrote. “Thank you all for giving me this opportunity, thank you to everyone who voted, thank you guys so much for everything!! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you all so thank you guys so, so much. I’m looking forward to continuing this journey and seeing where this thing goes. Love all of you all.”
Earlier this morning, Thompson made his radio debut during On Air With Ryan Seacrest and his national television debut on Live With Kelly & Ryan as well as Good Morning America.
