American Idol season 20 winner Noah Thompson revealed he nearly left the show and shared what’s next for him following his big victory in a new interview with the Herald-Dispatch.
Thompson, who shares a one-year-old son named Walker with his girlfriend Angel Dixon, said the hardest part of competing on Idol was leaving his family behind. Thompson also said he considered leaving the show as he was nearing a spot in the Top 24.
“Part of me just wanted to leave the show, but I’m very glad I didn’t,” Thompson admitted to the Herald-Dispatch. “I had a lot of family and friends who uplifted me and made sure I didn’t make the wrong decision. I’m grateful for everyone around me, really.”
Thompson first caught Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan’s attention during his audition with his cover of Kameron Marlowe’s “Giving You Up.” Thompson, a 20-year-old construction worker from Louisa, Kentucky, told the judges that his friend Arthur was the driving force behind his audition.
“I had got started in this competition by [my friend] Arthur — everyone knows the story,” Thompson reiterated to the Herald-Dispatch. “Basically, I got thrown into this competition and it wasn’t my choice. Don’t get me wrong — I’m grateful for it now, but throughout it, I hated leaving my family behind,” he said.
In addition to his family and his friend Arthur, Thompson is also grateful for the Idol judges’ support throughout the competition. Thompson praised Richie to the Herald-Dispatch, in particular, sharing how much he connected with the singer and that Richie “really helped [him] in a lot of ways.”
Following his Idol victory, Thompson said he plans to “lay low” for a little while and spend time with his family. He and his family will be going on a Disney Cruise that was given to him by ABC/Idol and he also hopes to play shows and work on his songwriting in the future.
In his post-Idol win interview with Good Morning America, Thompson revealed he was “shocked” to learn he’d been crowned the season 20 champion and “just [wants] to take it all in.”
“I want to see my family and just kind of let this settle in, you know what I mean?,” he explained to GMA. “It’s going to be wild. I’m going to try to just stick to, you know, staying in the house for a little bit.”
Thompson released his debut single, “One Day Tonight” during his time on Idol and performed the song on the May 22 finale.
Despite wanting to take a break and soak in his Idol victory, he will be performing at the Rush & Rowdy 3-Day Off-Road Extravaganza on Jun. 18 in Road Rush, Kentucky.
