Gabby Barrett is living the dream.
After her run on American Idol, the songstress hit the ground running in Nashville and went on to release the biggest country song of 2020 with “I Hope.”
She followed up her cheating anthem with the sentimental “The Good Ones” and celebrated yet another chart-topping hit in 2021 when the song topped the charts for multiple weeks.
Over the weekend, Barrett had the opportunity to perform at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest, taking the stage to sing her brand new single, “Pick Me Up,” and “I Hope.”
Ahead of the show, the soon-to-be mother of two spoke with The Tennessean about her rise to fame.
“It’s definitely been quick for sure, but thankfully, I’ve been able to navigate things and balance them what feels well,” she shared. “It’s definitely been different, too, the past couple of years. I’ve been performing since I was 11, vigorously, too, so I had really been performing for almost 10 years by the time I got into Nashville.”
Barrett admitted that the success is much sweeter after having quite a few doors shut in her face when she was initially trying to make it.
“I was somebody that was very used to the ‘no’s’ – the no, no, no, no, no, no to the management, no to the label, no to everybody,” she recalled. “So to be able to live the life that I have the past couple of years is a very big blessing for sure.”
Barrett, who is pregnant with her second child, travels with her husband, Cade Foehner, in tow. He’s the lead guitar player in her band and she says she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“We definitely try to work together as best as we can. We do music together – he plays the guitar, I sing – Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham musically, we have a good relationship,” she explained in a recent interview with TC & Dina B at Audacy’s Leading Ladies event. “We work together really well. We have strong values in our family. Make sure that people know that, and share that with everybody. That’s kind of our goal.”
In the weeks leading up to the birth of her son, Barrett will serve as a special guest on Jason Aldean’s Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour. Her time on the tour was cut short to allow her time off the road once her baby boy arrives.
Barrett’s new bundle of joy will join big sister Baylah May, who turned one in January.
