Heavy "American Idol" winners Noah Thompson and Scotty McCreery were among those delayed by winter storms in Nashville
Record-breaking snowfalls and cold snaps across the U.S. have caused all kinds of headaches for millions of Americans this week, including widespread travel delays. Among those impacted was “American Idol” season 20 winner Noah Thompson, who barely made it to the airport on January 15, 2024, after snow in Nashville brought cars and planes to a standstill.
After using social media to ask for help getting through the snow to the airport, the country singer wound up sitting on a packed Southwest Airlines plane for hours. Eventually, he and his bandmates decided to entertain their fellow passengers as they waited to be cleared for takeoff.
Fans Say They Wish They Could Have Been on Delayed Plane With Noah Thompson
Thompson was scheduled to be in Kissimmee, Florida, to perform the closing concert at the RV & Marine Expo on January 16. When he realized it was going to take a Herculean effort to get him and his bandmates to the airport after Nashville received 7.5 inches of snow, per Fox Weather, Thompson put out a call for help in his Instagram Stories.
He wrote, “If anyone in the Nashville area has a 4 wheel drive that they can pick my band and I up in and take us to the airport it’d be much appreciated!! LOL”
Posting another photo in his Stories, he later showed fans he’d made it to the airport with this band, but they were stuck on the plane waiting for clearance to take off.
The following day, Thompson posted an Instagram video of himself and his guitarist at the back of the plane, serenading the rest of the passengers with a cover of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up,” which country superstar Morgan Wallen made famous and Thompson performed during his journey on “Idol.”
“We’re musicians,” Thompson captioned the video. “Of course we sing when we’re stuck on a plane!”
Fans have flooded the post with compliments, with many expressing how much they wish they’d been one of those stuck passengers treated to an intimate performance by Thompson.
One person wrote, “Wow how lucky everyone was to have you on their plane 😍😍. Love listening to you. Safe travels.”
Another fan commented, “ughhh god I would die a happy woman. I did get to see him perform this live when I saw him in Virginia! 💕 sooo goooooddddddd”
“I would’ve have cared about the delay if I was on that plane,” someone else wrote.
Thompson also uploaded the video to TikTok, adding that that he and his fellow travelers sat on the plane “for hours” before takeoff.
Noah Thompson Wasn’t the Only ‘American Idol’ Alum Impacted by Snow in Nashville
Thompson wasn’t the only “American Idol” alum impacted by the snow in Nashville. While he was trying to leave town for Florida, season 10 winner Scotty McCreery was trying to get into town from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina.
On January 14, McCreery shared in an Instagram post that he was winding down his month-long holiday break spent with his wife, Gabi, and their one-year-old son.
“This year’s break was by far my favorite yet,” he wrote. “I’m on a plane rn headed back to “work” and thought I’d share some of the memories we made during the break😁”
But getting to Nashville did not go as smoothly as he would have hoped. In his Instagram Stories the following evening, McCreery posted a photo of snow-covered Nashville.
“After a 15 hour flight from Raleigh…I’ve made it to Nashville,” he wrote.
Other “Idol” alums who live in Nashville but didn’t have to travel shared their snow day adventures on Instagram, too.
Season 19 winner Chayce Beckham posted multiple videos in his Stories of he and his girlfriend having a blast sledding down a local hill and a photo of a snowman he built and named “Mr. Thickums.”
Season 21 finalist Colin Stough posted multiple videos in his Stories and one on TikTok of him as he drove an SUV in a parking lot, slamming on the brakes to do donuts on the slick surface.
Leaning out the car window, he joked, “I learned my driving skills from Chayce Beckham.”
Carrie Underwood, meanwhile, posted in her Stories that she was staying warm inside to do some baking and canning in her kitchen.
“Everything that was left in the garden had to be harvested because of the (snow),” she wrote. “I had a TON of turnips, so I canned 10 pints today…”