The hit show ‘American Idol” has provided America with a number of hidden talents over the years. Most notably, stars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Adam Lambert. These are just a few of the huge talents to surface from the show.
Country artist Gabby Barrett was on the 16th season of “American Idol” in 2018. Although she didn’t win and instead finished in third, she has remained a figure in country music. This is all due to a record-breaking debut and a continued strength in the industry.
The artist came out with ‘I Hope” as her debut single after finishing “American Idol.” It was the first top 10 Hot Country Songs debut by an unaccompanied woman since 2017. Not only that, but it was a top-three hit on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was certified three times Platinum. She then released her debut album titled “Goldmine” in June.
What is ‘I Hope’ All About?
So, what is the hit song “I Hope” that soared the charts all about?
The powerful, catchy anthem about being wronged was stuck in country fan’s heads in 2019.
Barrett did not get attention from record labels following her time on TV. The country singer buckled down and started writing new music. She was hoping to create songs with lyrics and sounds that were authentically her.
According to The Boot, the goal was to create a unique breakup tune.
“It was two [songwriters who are] friends of mine, Zach Kale and Jon Nite, and they came into the room last year — Halloween of last year. They had said to me, ‘Let’s write a breakup song where the guy does the girl bad, but the girl still kinda wishes the guy well in the end, like, ‘Yeah, no bother, nothing’s wrong,'” said Barrett.
Barrett said that the song came as an observation of everything she had seen growing up. The singer grew up in a family of eight kids. She said that she’s seen a fair deal of bad romance-related stuff go down with her siblings.
Caught in a Bad Romance
This is meant to be a song for people in a bad relationship that has been dying to just express how they feel. It’s a mix of wishing the man well as well as expressing just how hurt the woman was from the relationship. It shows an equally toxic relationship that wasn’t meant to work out.
“I hope you never ever felt more free / Tell your friends that you’re so happy / I hope she comes along and wrecks every one of your plans / I hope you spend your last dime to put a rock on her hand.”
The goal after leaving “American Idol” empty-handed was to write and create something that would be good enough to resonate with people.
Given the success of her song and her debut album, she clearly seems to have accomplished that. “I Hope” has over 75 million views on YouTube alone.
