Just Sam recently belted out Beyonce's 'Listen' on a subway.
Samantha "Just Sam" Diaz, the winner of American Idol during the height of the pandemic in 2020, is back to where she started -- singing in subway stations.
Just less than a week ago, the 24-year-old singer posted video of herself riding a New York City subway while belting out Beyonce's 2006 track, "Listen." While wearing a white hoodie, white sweats, orange kicks and a backpack, Sam stood in the subway car trying to keep her balance and snapped her fingers. She was also holding a box for donations.
Prior to that, Sam posted an Instagram video on May 12 showing her in a New York City subway station. She placed a donation box in front of her and a bottle of water. In that video, Sam belted out a Koryn Hawthorne tune, prompting the gospel singer to leave "❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️" in Sam's comments section.
In a since-deleted lengthy caption, Sam explained how she felt about going back to her roots.
"Back in 2021, I was super embarrassed to be going back to the trains," wrote Sam (via Just Jared). "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. 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."
She 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."
Sam made news back in August when she revealed she had been hospitalized for an undisclosed illness. She said at the time that she "seriously" needed help but did not reveal more.
Sam, who made her living singing in subways, had a marvelous run during season 4 of the singing competition show on ABC, whose cameras followed her around her home in the projects in New York where she lived with her grandmother, Elizabeth.
She impressed Idol judges during her Washington, D.C., audition after singing "You Say" by Lauren Daigle. She belted out Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)” and Andra Day's "Rise Up" in the finale, beating out Arthur Gunn for the top crown.
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