‘American Idol’ Finalists Release First Singles Overnight

Heavy/ABC "American Idol" season 22 top 5 Emmy Russell, Will Moseley, Triston Harper, Jack Blocker, and Abi Carter

With the season 22 “American Idol” finale days away, the top 5 finalists Abi Carter, Will Moseley, Jack Blocker, Triston Harper, and Emmy Russell each released a new professionally produced single at midnight Eastern time on May 17, 2024.

As finalists on the show, they got to work with producers and songwriters in L.A. to record and release their songs via 19 Recordings, the record label that grants each “American Idol” winner a record deal as part of their winnings.

Hoping to leverage the public’s interest in “American Idol” ahead of the finale, several other contestants independently released new music overnight, as well, including Mackenzie Sol, Julia G

Top 3 Finalists Get Extra Promotional Push From ‘American Idol’ on Their Songs

ABC“American Idol” season 22 finalists Jack Blocker, Will Moseley, Abi Carter

The top 3 finalists — Blocker, Moseley and Carter — get the benefit of having “American Idol” give them an extra promotional push on their releases, promoting their singles on the show’s social media accounts. Typically, the newly-crowned winner gets to perform their single as the cast and crowd celebrate their big win at the end of the finale.

Carter’s single is called “It’s Not Over,” and while it’s likely the singer-songwriter wrote it herself, no songwriting or production credits were listed on any of the singles at the time of their release. In a May 12 video promoting the upcoming release, Carter said the song is “about growing and fighting for yourself as a stronger person.”

Moseley’s just-released song is called “Good Book Bad.” Hours before the release, he shared on Instagram that the song was written by Jordan Walker, Lalo Guzman and Thomas Archer. He also thanked producer Trent Willmon for “being such a pleasure to work with!”

“Through this whole journey I came across a once in a lifetime song,” Moseley wrote, “and was lucky enough to get to have a hand in sharing it to the world.”

Meanwhile, Blocker’s new single is titled “All Of Yours (To Give All Of Mine).” The country/folk singer wrote the tune and posted some of the lyrics hours before the May 17 release and said in his Instagram Stories he was “really pumped for you to be able to hear it.”

Blocker’s new song is one of many he’s released, including a three-song set of tunes he put out independently on April 1, before the live shows on season 22 of “Idol” began airing.

Finalists Emmy Russell and Triston Harper Also Got to Professionally Record New Music

Heavy/ABC“American Idol” season 22 finalists Emmy Russell and Triston Harper

As part of the top 5, Russell and Triston also got to record and release new singles.

Russell’s new song is called “Redemption.” A seasoned singer-songwriter whose grandma was country icon Loretta Lynn, the Nashville-based artist has independently released multiple songs prior to her journey on “Idol.”

According to a press release issued the morning of the “meditative” song’s debut, Russell wrote the song with Lauren McLamb and Rob Sewell, described as “a deep dive into how she’s come to find self-love and acceptance amid turmoil.”

Harper, meanwhile, has released his first self-written song, “H.O.P.E.,” which he previously performed on “Idol” and, as the lyrics explain, said that the acronym of the song’s title stands for “Hold On, Pain Ends.”

On the show, the 15-year-old explained that he was inspired by the challenges he’s faced in his own life, including living on the streets with his mom when he was 12.