Not only can Addis teen John Foster sing, but Carrie Underwood thinks he's cute.
Add that to Foster gifting Underwood and her fellow "American Idol" judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan each a Louisiana care package when he auditioned for the show in Nashville, Tennessee, and he had a recipe for success.
Louisiana singer John Foster listens to the judges' critiques on Sunday night's episode of 'American Idol.'
Now Foster, 18, and a second-semester freshman at LSU pursuing premed, is competing in the ABC singing contest series' second phase, Hollywood Week. The first of those episodes aired Monday, when Foster sung his way through to the second round. All of the episodes aired thus far were prerecorded, so when we caught up with the Louisiana contestant, he was back home in Brusly.
The following interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
How did the whole care package deal for the judges come about?
When you're in a competition and you want the approval of the biggest names in music, you want to make sure that all of their senses are pleased. So I wanted to make sure that I sounded good, but I also wanted to make sure that they had something good to taste, too.
I can give them a taste of me musically but also wanted to give them a taste of where I came from. My family owns Benoit's Country Meat Block in Addis. It's been a pillar of my life. Bringing them food from my family store and from my home was just great.
Luke Bryan seemed to really like you bringing him food.
I thought that was pretty fun. He didn't know what it was at first, and he thought that the beef jerky was foot, and I said I would never bring him 'gator foot. He ended up really liking the beef jerky. (Also in the judges' small coolers were boudin and some pork sausage). I'm thinking Carrie's box also had a Cajun corn dish called corn maque choux. And a Benoit Cajun seasoning for them.
Tell us a little bit about how and when you began singing.
I never really was a serious singer until I was about 15 years old. It was then that my family encouraged me to start karaoke, and I never took it seriously. I never thought it would go anywhere, but they just kept encouraging me to keep working on it and building on it.
Eventually, I started singing with my uncle, Galen Martin (of Brusly) just kind of casually. He's been a musician for all of his life. And he also was a big voice saying, "You really need to try and do something with this." I sat in here and there with different bands, singing a little bit, and it was just one big procession of people encouraging me. I owe so much to all of my friends and family who encouraged me.
I did my first gig in July of 2022 and it's just kind of been uphill since there.
Where was that first gig?
That was at Floyd's Morley Marina in Brusly.
How many people would you say were at that first show?
Not very many. My audience has certainly grown very much, very far since then.
Where else have you played lately?
I play at Side Porch Daiquiris in Addis a lot, Jack Miller's (Landing) in Plaquemine and Rio Cantina in Brusly. Frequently at Charlie's Lounge in Addis, also.
Do you strictly sing country?
I am a country artist down to the bone. I love country music, but music is music. I'm a person who truly loves music, and so I enjoy all genres. I do a little bit of a swamp pop every now and then, some Cajun, a little bit of blues. Really, I love everything.
Who are some of the musical artists who inspire you?
Willie Nelson is my very favorite artist of all time. I love Willie. I love his music. I also love his attitude and his spirit. I love that he doesn't care what people think, and he's going to be his true self in every way. That's the biggest inspiration I have, just to be exactly who I am and without care of what anyone else thinks.
Have you gotten to see Willie in concert?
I have three times, and it was some of the best times I've ever had. Seeing him in person was just amazing.
Do you write any of your own songs?
I do. Songwriting is my favorite way to express whatever I'm feeling.
Walk us through how you go about writing a song.
Usually something is going on in my life that pushes me, and I get a little idea for something. So I sit down with a guitar, and I just start to hum. And then the hums turn into words, the words turn into melodies, the melodies get fit with chords, and soon I have a song.
Are you being recognized in public since you've been back home?
Yeah, it's kind of hard to go in Walmart without talking to at least one person, but I love it. I love talking to people. I love making new friends. So I enjoy every second.
Lastly, we have to ask you how you liked Carrie Underwood saying you were cute (a cutie patootie to be exact)?
So that actually is pretty interesting because she said that when I left, so I had no idea until I watched the episode. I heard it and I looked around and I was like, "Oh my gosh, did she say that?" Carrie Underwood, look, I mean, a beautiful superstar called me a cutie patootie. That's an instant confidence boost.
"American Idol" airs at 7 p.m. Sunday and Monday on ABC and streams afterward on Hulu.