American Idol season 20 winner Noah Thompson and runner-up HunterGirl made their CMA fest debuts on June 9 in Nashville. Noah, a 20-year-old construction worker from Louisa, Kentucky, and HunterGirl, a 24-year-old music therapist from Winchester, Tennessee, are both country music singers, but they have very different performance backgrounds. Noah had no prior performing experience before his American Idol audition, while HunterGirl has been playing shows for years. They both showed a tremendous amount of growth on the show, as they transformed from talented performers into shining stars.
Noah and HunterGirl are authentic artists who stayed true to themselves throughout the American Idol competition. Along with the rest of the Top 7 finalists, they released singles that climbed the music charts. After the finale aired, Noah’s song “One Day Tonight,” and HunterGirl’s song “Red Bird” took turns in the number one spot on the music charts. Noah’s song is about a man who wants to give his girlfriend the future of her dreams. HunterGirl wrote her song, which is about the belief that when a red bird flies near someone, it is really a loved one making a visit from Heaven.
In Instagram posts, Noah and HunterGirl shared their experiences with performing at CMA Fest for the first time. They both performed their singles during country music superstar and fellow American Idol alum Jimmie Allen’s set with his band. Noah shared a series of pictures and videos with the caption, “I can’t believe I just got to go on stage at @cma with @jimmieallen and his band. I’m feeling so blessed. Honestly, what is this life? Comment below if you got to make it down to see @huntergirlmusic and I this morning.” In the video, Noah sings “One Day Tonight” for the adoring crowd while dressed in a black T-shirt, jeans, boots, and a backwards baseball cap with a “One Day Tonight” logo.
In her Instagram post, HunterGirl shared a series of photographs, including some of herself performing on the stage, playing the guitar, wearing a sparkly black top, cut-off jean shorts, a silver belt, and a white leather jacket with fringe and matching boots. Her caption read, “OH MY GOSH WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! I can’t believe I got to play on the Chevy Riverfront Stage at @cma fest. I am freaking out!! Huge thank you to @jimmieallen for inviting me on stage to sing “Red Bird”. You are the best! I have dreamed of playing CMA Fest for forever.” HunterGirl also shared several videos of her performance of “Red Bird” to her Instagram story. In one story, she said that playing the CMA Fest was a “full circle” moment because she wanted to be there her “entire life.” She added, “Somebody needs to pinch me right now.” Both HunterGirl and Noah also posted several pictures with their fans from their meet-and-greet event.
Noah and HunterGirl’s dreams came true when they made it to Hollywood on American Idol. Now they are fulfilling even more of their greatest aspirations as they play at events such as CMA Fest. They are both true stars, and they will surely skyrocket to the top of the country music world.
