American Idol’ 2020 Winner Just Sam opened up to her fans and revealed she’s Back to Singing in N.Y.C. Subways.
Three years after winning American Idol, Samantha “Just Sam” Diaz spoke about how things got ‘low’ for her after winning the show. On her Instagram page, you can see her posting videos of her singing various songs, and in a now-deleted caption, the musician recently opened up about her journey since winning the show and told fans she was super ‘embarrassed’ to publicly say she was back to performing in subways. “Back in 2021, I was super embarrassed to be going back to the trains. I didn’t want people to know that I legit needed the money & I didn’t want people to know that it wasn’t optional,” wrote Diaz, according to The Sun.
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“I was disappointed in myself for allowing myself to fall so low after winning Idol, but then I had to take it easy on me and remember that I started my journey with Idol at 20 years old. Not even knowing anything about Hollywood or the music industry,” the performer, who won season 18 of Idol in 2020 over runner-up Arthur Gunn, reportedly continued. “Since then, I have learned so much and I’ve been able to take my experiences and share them with other artists in hopes that they don’t experience the same things that I did when it comes to making it in this life.”
“Everyone wants to know what happened and why this or why that & I will answer those questions someday, but in the meantime I’ll say this,” wrote Diaz, according to The Sun. “I never expected to win, but I did, I was so grateful and I know that people are feeling like I let them down.”
The musician reportedly admitted that she “used to feel like I let myself and everyone down too” but holds faith “that there’s more coming for me.”
“I know that everything happens for a reason and I know that this too shall pass no matter what things may look like right now,” wrote Diaz, per the outlet.
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She added that her grandmother, who knows “absolutely nothing about the music industry,” is her main guidance and support system. “All she knows is how to listen and call out a good singer when she hears one,” Diaz reportedly said.
“We didn’t know what to do with the win especially being that we had absolutely no help,” continued Idol winner about her journey on the series, per The Sun. “There are people who have had more success than me and good for them I’m happy for them, but I am not them. I don’t like my situation, but it won’t be this forever.”