Reality bites for 2020 American Idol winner: Just Sam was forced to sing back on NYC subways after her win didn’t turn into the Kelly Clarkson fairytale
- Former American Idol winner Samantha ‘Just Sam’ Diaz revealed they’re singing on the subway again, three years after earning a $250,000 cash prize and a Hollywood Records record deal
- Despite their win on ABC’s popular singing competition series, the 24-year-old singer from Harlem let her more than 167,000 Instagram followers know that they are currently struggling to make ends meet.
- Last year they unexpectedly left the label without releasing any albums under them
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Former American Idol winner Samantha ‘Just Sam’ Diaz revealed that they’re singing on the subway again, three years after earning a $250,000 cash prize and a Hollywood Records record deal.
Despite their win on ABC’s popular singing competition series, the 24-year-old singer from Harlem informed their more than 167,000 Instagram followers that they are currently struggling to make ends meet.
Despite initially feeling “super embarrassed” to announce they were once again performing for New York City’s public transit commuters, the performer, who uses the pronouns “they,” said it was no longer “optional.” to let people know that they “really needed the money.” .’
Still, it’s been challenging for them to navigate their feelings that they’ve “fallen so low” since becoming famous on reality television.
Last year they unexpectedly left the label without releasing any albums under them.
“I thought it was going to be easy,” Sam said on their Instagram story at the time. “Just go to the studio, record, turn off music, and that’s not how the world works. That’s not how the industry works. It takes time, it takes money that I don’t have. It takes patience.’
Reality fame: Former American Idol winner Samantha ‘Just Sam’ Diaz revealed they’re singing on the subway again, three years after earning a $250,000 cash prize and a Hollywood Records record deal
Trying to make ends meet: Despite her win on ABC’s popular singing competition series, the 24-year-old singer from Harlem informed her more than 167,000 Instagram followers that they are currently struggling to make ends meet; seen in 2020
The musician continued, “I’m not even going to tell you how much money I had to pay after I left the label to claim songs I’d already recorded… And I invested in myself and went broke. That is the truth.’
Sam further assured fans that they had people “helping” them and that they would “release music when” they can and are “ready.”
“It’s just hard because I’m coming out of pocket and have bills to pay. And American Idol isn’t going to pay my bills,” they said before noting, “I have to pay my rent. I have to make sure I eat every day, which is hard.”