Artists use their pain to craft meaningful films, songs, poetry, novels, and the like. It's cathartic for them and illuminating for us. That is what American Idol winner Noah Thompson just did with his stunning new music video, "Upbringing."
Videos by Wide Open Country
His youth was definitely not cushy. The 22-year-old from Huntington, West Virginia, who won season 20 of Idol in 2022, grew up in a household where, per his web site, "addiction was prevalent [and it] meant when it came to necessities, sometimes the ends didn't always meet. Thompson spent his childhood learning survival and life skills while most others his age were more focused on the books. He did things with his parents that kids probably shouldn't be doing...."
Thompson has had other major reversals. His record label showed him to the door. That has not hindered him. He just reinvented himself as an independent artist and plowed right on. Bravo, Noah!
Getting Dropped By His Record Label Steered Thompson Onto A New Path
He Did Not Waste Any Time Regrouping
Thompson was let go by 19 Entertainment, which was his recording label following the Idol triumph, in May 2024. The very next month, according to Screen Rant. he decided to become an indie artist. It was a bold, courageous move on Thompson's part. It seems to have paid off.
He told Entertainment Focus, "I felt like personally I just needed to become independent, just because I needed that time to hone in on myself and my craft and what it was that I really wanted to say as an artist. I struggled with that for a long time and it put me in a mindset where I was almost depressed...."
Noah Thompson Implored His Fans To Help Him Secure Gigs
Now A Tour Is Upcoming
Things are looking up for Thompson. Per Screen Rant, "His tour, taking place in November and December, includes stops in Smyrna, TN; Greensboro, NC; Coltons Point, MD; Somerset, NJ; Nashville, TN; Quapaw, OK; Mt. Vernon, KY; and Paintsville, KY. The final stop on the tour is scheduled for New Year's Eve."
Thompson excitedly wrote on Instagram, "Fresh new dates coming up, pumped to get out and see y'all..
Which one you coming to??"
