American Idol season 18 winner Samantha “Just Sam” Diaz says she’s back to singing in New York City subways for money.
The 24-year-old aspiring singer shared her riches-to-rags story in an Instagram post that showed her singing in the subway.
In a since-deleted caption, Diaz explained she’s down on her luck after winning America’s biggest music competition series in 2020.
She said her momentum was impacted by the pandemic and she ended up “going back to the trains” a year later.
“Back in 2021, I was super embarrassed to be going back to the trains,” she wrote. “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.”
She continued: “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.”
Diaz added: “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, I never expected to win, but I did, I was so grateful and I know that people are feeling like I let them down.”
One Instagram follower suggested Diaz switch up and sing R&B instead of pop music. “Her voice is everything!” the person wrote.
