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Gabby Barrett: Carrie Underwood’s Advice And Luke Combs’ Song

When Gabby Barrett auditioned for American Idol in 2017, she sang Carrie Underwood’s “Good Girl.” As the season progressed and Gabby moved up, Carrie became one of her mentors on…

Gabby Barrett: Carrie Underwood's Advice And Luke Combs Song
Jason Kempin x2, Amy Sussman/Getty Images

When Gabby Barrett auditioned for American Idol in 2017, she sang Carrie Underwood's "Good Girl." As the season progressed and Gabby moved up, Carrie became one of her mentors on the show. Barrett didn't win the 2018 American Idol, but she did manage to create a relationship with Underwood.

In a recent interview, Gabby said of Carrie, "She mentored on my season, and she's somebody I always looked up to. She was in my era of listening on the radio. Her and Miranda Lambert, and a few others."

Underwood gave Barrett her phone number in case she needed to call her, and she did. Gabby said about the first time she called Carrie for advice, "She told me to call if I need anything. I remember one day I was pulled over on the side of the road and called her phone, and asked, 'How did you keep things rolling after Idol.' She gave me good advice about working all the time, and that's what I did."

As Barrett worked to put a new album together for 2023, she got a call from superstar Luke Combs. She explained, "I'm a big fan of his. He pitched me a song not too long ago. As soon as I heard it, I was like; it really strikes a chord with me. I'm definitely gonna put it on my next album coming out later this year." She added, "He was very adamant about the song and me recording it. I think it's an awesome song, and it's coming out this year."

Barrett also talked about her two young kids and enjoying the Christmas holiday with them. She gushed, "I had a great Christmas. My little two-month-old, I didn't have to buy for him yet, but my little girl thoroughly enjoyed all the things she got. She's playing with her makeup and her purse. She's a girly girl. It was a quiet New Year's for us with the little ones. We didn't stay up til midnight. We were in bed by 11."

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.