For breakout star Gabby Barrett, 2020 was an “unexpected but blessed” year

ABCFew artists in country music had a better year than Gabby Barrett. 2020 brought the young singer her debut, chart-topping single, “I Hope,” her first studio album, Goldmine, and a slew of subsequent chart and streaming records, accolades and awards show nominations.

“I’d probably say unexpected but blessed, if I can put it in a small way,” Gabby reflects, when asked to sum up 2020.

That goes for her personal life, too. The singer announced this year that she and her husband, Cade Foehner, are expecting their first child in early 2021.

“There’s just so many things that I never, never would have guessed -- with a pandemic, with being pregnant, with all the accomplishments that have come this year. It’s just been a very big year for me, that I’m very humbled by,” Gabby continues.

It might be easy to chalk up Gabby’s career to overnight success, or assumed that her stint on American Idol fast-tracked her into country music stardom. But that’s not necessarily true. For example, she struggled to grab attention from record labels after her American Idol tenure, and wrote “I Hope” -- the song that would go on to be a massive, record-breaking hit debut -- when she was unsigned, with no major-label prospects anywhere on the horizon.

Plus, though she may be only 20 years old, she’s been in the music business for nearly a decade already.

“Since I was 11, and I would work hard every single year, I never got things handed to me easily,” Gabby points out. “So to see all these things happening this year, it’s just like I’m spinning on my head.”

By Carena Liptak and Stephen Hubbard
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