American Idol Winner Abi Carter on Growing Up in Indio and Life After Idol

American Idol winner Abby Carter on growing up in Indio in life after Idol. The Coachella Valley native and season 22 winner of American Idol is still processing her fast road to fame. The first time Abby Carter busked for tips at Palm Springs Village Fest, she knew how to play only 30 songs. At 16 years old, she camped out in a t-shirt and jeans on corner of East Andrews Road and North Palm Canyon Drive with her piano and speakers, nervously belting out a rotation of throwbacks for passers-by, from Journey's Don't Stop Believin' to Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline. I remember playing those songs on a loop for four hours straight, the Indio native recalls over Zoom from her new apartment in Los Angeles. In May, Carter returned to that very intersection, this time as a finalist on American Idol, where she met with fans and delivered a tearful speech. It was a full circle moment for the songstress who once worried people would tire of her limited musical Rolodex, which, she points out, has vastly expanded since her street fair days. That kind of risk is what brought me here, Carter says. I'm proud of my 16-year-old self, for the 22-year-old here is not only returning to her hometown as a protostar, but finding her stride as the season 22 winner of American Idol. She assumed the victory would have settled in by now, but she swept up in a whirlwind of press and performances, all while plotting her first steps as a professional artist. Carter, the second oldest of seven children, was raised by a single mother who was also a singer. She discovered her passion for vocals at age six, performing Happy Working Song from Disney's Enchanted in a talent show. Carter was about eight when she began playing piano, which deepened her fascination with music. Along the way, she fell in love with artists like Carrie Underwood and Ariana Grande. Homeschooling lent itself to creative pursuits, but growing up in the Coachella Valley, Carter saw few opportunities to cultivate her artistry. During high school, she worked full time at Indio's TKB Bakery in Delhi, and later became a gymnastics coach at the local recreation center. At 19, while pursuing a degree in psychology at California State University, San Bernardino, Carter's talent blossomed into something more when she quit her job as a coach to focus on music. In addition to the Thursday night street fair, she sang at restaurants. But playing background music for people enjoying their dinner wasn't exactly how she envisioned her life as an entertainer. Her luck began to change in June 2023, when she received a DM from American Idol casting producer Ariel Panzer, who was scouring the internet for aspiring musicians. I was like, this is fake, Carter remembers, laughing. But I went onto the page, and it seemed pretty real. Panzer asked Carter if she had ever considered auditioning for American Idol. I think your insecurity set in, and you don't think you're good enough for something like that, Carter says. She decided to try it with a simple milestone in mind, making it through the audition. I thought that would be enough. She pauses, before adding, and it genuinely was. Accepting Panzer's invitation ended up being one of the greatest decisions of her life. For her audition, Carter stunned the judges with a tender rendition of Billie Eilish's Like many viewers of the Barbie movie, Carter found herself mesmerized, and teary-eyed, when the track played in the film. Billie Eilish found a way to say something that everybody's been feeling, yet didn't know how to put into words, she says. That song became iconic the moment it was released. In selecting the track for her audition, Carter saw an opportunity. It was easy to make it my own, because nobody had quite made it their own yet. Judges Katy Perry, Leonel Richie, and Luke Bryan wiped back tears, along with millions watching across America, and unanimously awarded Carter one of three platinum tickets, advancing her through the first Hollywood showdown and into the second round. While she strived to select songs that were close to her heart during the American Idol process, she also wanted to challenge herself. Carter delivered her own refreshing rock takes on Evanescence's Bring Me to Life, and Fall Out Boy's My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark, Light Em Up, as well as a sultry rendition of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain. Megan Michaels-Wolflick, executive producer of American Idol, believes Carter carved out an identity on the show that people responded to.