Country star Gabby Barrett says she 'slept in the car' before 'American Idol' changed her life
Before the glitz and glam of stardom, Gabby Barrett knew all too well about the struggles of "being at the bottom."
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the 26-year-old country star — who recently released her latest single, "In On It" — opened up about her rise to fame, got candid about the financial and emotional hardships she faced and explained how faith carried her through difficult periods.
Growing up in Pittsburgh, Barrett was one of seven children and learned the importance of a strong work ethic at an early age.
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"My parents, growing up in Pittsburgh, were always very hard workers," Barrett said. "Both parents were working. My mom stayed home with us when we were little, which I really appreciate being a mother now. But she's been working for a long time. My dad worked several jobs at a time. My dad's very entrepreneurial, so that kind of bled over onto me. And he's a business guy, and I've always just seen him work really hard my whole life and sacrifice a lot for me too in those beginning years of me singing around Pennsylvania and trying to get my name out there."
"There were times… he couldn't pay the light bill or the lights got pulled, and we had to pack up sandwiches in the car because we couldn't afford to stop at the drive-through," she continued. "When I was getting ready to go onto 'American Idol' I remember we all slept in the car. There were like a couple dogs in the car too. It was just crazy. So I understand, you know, what being at the bottom and what kind of being at the top looks like. And I really appreciate my parents for instilling a hard work ethic in me because I do understand it. And there are challenges that come along with it. But I'm really thankful for that."
The "I Hope" singer began singing around age nine and found herself performing at local fairs and festivals before competing on Season 16 of "American Idol" in 2018 at 18 years old.
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"I was so nervous," Barrett admitted. "My dad was such a motivational, encouraging person, you know, he'd always help turn a negative into positive for me, even when I had a tough time going through school… I was a minor on 'American Idol,' I was 17, 18, so I kind of went in with that mindset because it was the first time that I really felt myself go, 'Okay, this is some real pressure here.' Like that was my first crack at something global where millions of people are watching you at a time, which is tough. That was tough for being 17, 18. So that was a challenge, but a good challenge."
While Barrett landed in third place on the singing competition show, she walked away with a full heart.
"I didn't know what was going to come from 'American Idol,' honestly. I had no idea. I had, at first I thought it was like a scam... I got scouted by a producer and got emailed like, ‘Hey, "American Idol" wants you to,’ uh, you like that thing. And I was like, this is not real. There's no way. Sure enough, it was real. I auditioned for it and ended up in third place on that season, which I just couldn't be more grateful for the way that things kinda fell out. It was a wonderful experience. It feels like another world though… I'm proud of where I've come from then, and it's been such a fun ride ever since."
The experience also transformed her personal life: Barrett met her husband, Cade Foehner, while they were both competing on "Idol." The two married one year after appearing on the show together and have since welcomed three children.
"I think marriage grows you deeply as a person, and it also shows where your weaknesses are and where your strengths are as well," said Barrett. "You're always going to have frictions. You're always going to disagree somewhere, and it's a matter of figuring out, you know, like am I going to still choose you through that?"
"I've been married for almost seven years, got married when I was 19," she continued. "Everybody was like, ‘No!’ You know? Because that's so… young and you're still figuring out life. You just start asking all those big questions. 'Who do I want to be? What do I want to be about?' There's a lot to figure out. And I'm still figuring that out heavily at 26. I'm not saying I have it all together because there are challenges. But it has taught me a lot about me as a person, and it's taught me also just how thankful I am to the Lord for marriage and what a gift that really is."
As a working mom of three, Barrett said she's learned one important lesson: there's no such thing as balance.
"I like to throw the word balance kind of out the window," said Barrett. "There's really no balance. I'm a believer, and so I really prioritize my family and making sure that they are good. I also really prioritize music and making sure that I'm really intentional about the way that I do music and what I put out... and something I can connect to the fans. And so there is no balance, but it's really fun."
"I'm on tour right now… and I take my kids on the tour bus with me and, you know, some nights aren't the best nights of sleep, but it's really cool when you zoom out and get to put it in perspective. Like, I get to take my kids to work. I know that there's a lot of hard-working parents out there that don't get to take their kids to work, or their kids have to go to daycare. And so that's something that I don't take for [granted]. I really am thankful for the life that I get to live."
With all the challenges that life can throw at her, Barrett remains steadfast in her faith. So much so, that it became the inspiration behind her latest single, "In On It."
"The inspiration behind that song really was that God has a plan for your life, regardless of your circumstances," she said. "And this song was pitched to me. It was one that I actually didn't write. So I really had to deeply kind of feel, and want to push the message of the song. And so as soon as this song came to me, I was like, 'Oh, I love it.' And I could see myself writing it and pushing it."
"And it's really just like, you know, the author has not given us the script for everything," Barrett continued. "We don't have the blueprint of life right in front of us. And so we just have to trust God even in those uncomfortable circumstances… I've had uncomfortable circumstances, I'm sure, like we all have. And I've gotten past them as time moves on. And then I look back, and I actually can peel some valuable things, even though it didn't feel good at the time, I still made it through. And so, just again, trusting, having faith that God has a plan for your life that's bigger than you can see right now."
For Barrett, her Christianity is everything.
"I'm a Christian and I like to consider myself a more, you know, forward Christian who's not afraid to talk about that part of my life because it's so just organically woven into the way that I live," she said.
"My husband and I have three kids, and so that's something that's really, really important to us. It's something that's woven into all of my music, really. And so I find it heavily important to represent a message like this, especially in a world like we're in right now. I think everybody could use something positive, encouraging, and a message that points back to the Lord."