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As a boy growing up in eastern Kentucky, Noah Thompson rode in a car with his grandmother on U.S. 23, known since 1994 as the “Country Music Highway,” and read the signs with the names of country music legends from the region.
The 144-mile stretch of road that runs from Greenup County to Letcher County recognizes such musical icons from the hills and hollers as Loretta Lynn, Tom T. Hall, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, Keith Whitley, Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless. According to the Kentucky Department of Tourism, the area has produced more hit country artists per capita than any other region in the country.
With the signs whizzing by him as a boy, Thompson proclaimed to his grandmother that someday his name would be on a sign on the famed highway.
Thompson, now 20, took a big step in fulfilling that dream on May 22.
Beyond his wildest expectations, 16 million people across the country voted him the winner of ABC’s popular American Idol TV show for 2022.
The 5-foot-9, 155-pound Thompson—with black hair, blue eyes, an aw-shucks demeanor and a raspy voice that projects sincerity—became the first Kentuckian to win the title in the show’s 20-year history. The life of the construction worker from Blaine—a community of about 66 in western Lawrence County in the valley of Blaine Creek, a northeast-flowing tributary of the Big Sandy River—was to be forever changed.
Fame and fortune, such as the $250,000 prize and a deal with Disney’s Hollywood Records, were now in his grasp.
The media started bombarding him with questions: “What are you going to do next?” (Go into music full time.) “Got a girlfriend?” (Yes, and she’s pretty.) “What’s your favorite color?” (Blue, as in the Big Blue Nation’s University of Kentucky Wildcats.)
A whole new life was to be embraced.
But Thompson certainly knew what he wanted to keep, what is at the center of his world—four Kentuckians whom he idolizes.
“I wouldn’t be here and getting all this attention if I didn’t have them,” he said in a recent interview.
Grandmother Karen Thompson
Noah started living with his grandmother in Lawrence County when he was 3 years old. His parents had divorced. His father, Chris Thompson, an entrepreneur, still lives in Kentucky, and his mother, Elizabeth Miller, died in 2018 of a heart attack.
Thompson’s dad played in a rock band, and the boy became enamored with music. His dad encouraged him to pursue his interest in music. His grandmother thought Noah would play the drums. He got a set of bongos but turned to the guitar. “I learned a lot from my grandma,” Thompson said. “She has been my soul.”
The grandmother has referred to Noah as “an old soul.”
What does she mean by that? “It means she knows I enjoy the little things in life—cutting the grass, just sitting around and talking, listening to people, taking it easy,” Noah said. “And I’m really a homebody.”
Karen Thompson made her first trip to California this year to be with her grandson for the Mother’s Day episode of American Idol and the finale. She did not get to spend much time with Noah, though. His schedule was jam-packed, and he tested positive for COVID-19.
“I knew she was there with me,” Noah said. “She always is.”
For the Mother’s Day show, Thompson sang one of his grandma’s favorite songs, “Landslide,” originally released by the rock band Fleetwood Mac in 1975.
Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’
’Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m getting older too
The new American Idol said he will try always to follow the advice his grandmother has given him: Stay who you are regardless of what happens
Girlfriend, Angel Dixon
Thompson met Angel Dixon at Lawrence County High School. They have been an item since 2018. She has been busy chasing her dream in business but became Noah’s most vocal cheerleader during the American Idol competition.
In a May 18 Instagram post, she wrote, “I’m not gonna lie I’m ready for my man to be home. It’s very hard to leave one another, but I know that God is in control and he has a plan!”
After Noah won the title, Angel wrote on social media, “I’M STILL IN SHOCK YALL. This is so dang crazy!!! I just want to thank each and everyone of you for all the love and support you have shown Noah throughout his whole journey!!”
On the show, Thompson spoke of his girlfriend several times and dedicated to her his rendition of “Stay” by Rihanna.
Not really sure how to feel about it
Something in the way you move
Makes me feel like I can’t live without you
It takes me all the way
I want you to stay
When he introduced the song, Thompson said, “This isn’t a song I would usually do, but it reminds me of being back home because it is a song me and my girlfriend, Angel, would sing together.”
Son, Walker Thompson
Noah Thompson and Angel Dixon have a 1-year-old son named Walker Thompson. “Angel is a good mother to Walker,” said Noah.
Of the child, Noah said, “He means everything to me. He is why I am doing all this. He keeps me going.”
Noah said that American Idol and its consequences enable him to be a strong provider for his son. “I want him to be secure in life, happy,” he said. “I want to be a good dad for him.”
Best Friend, Arthur Johnson
There was nothing flashy about Noah Thompson in his audition for American Idol. He simply came out in faded jeans and a flannel shirt, carrying a guitar. He proceeded to wow judges Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan with his performance of “Giving You Up” by Kameron Marlowe.
’Cause I’m giving you up
Just like I did them Marlboro Lights
And I’m giving you up
Same way I did the whiskey on ice
Thompson informed the judges that he was a construction worker in a Kentucky town called Louisa. He acknowledged that he had lacked the confidence in his singing to sign up for the show, and that his construction worker friend, Arthur Johnson, had taped one of his songs and sent it to the show.
The two friends met about two years ago on a construction job, said Thompson. “Arthur plays the guitar, and we hit it off,” Thompson said. “Not only did he get me on the show, but he encouraged me throughout, even when I was thinking about quitting the show.
“My family and good friends like Arthur never gave up on me.”
The Future for Noah Thompson
With the unique title of American Idol on his résumé, Thompson has an excellent start on a path to a successful career in music.
Maybe—just maybe—someday he will stand along U.S. 23 in his native eastern Kentucky and be recognized with a sign for his contribution to the Commonwealth’s country music legacy.
How nice it would be if accompanying him there were his grandmother, the mother of his son, his son, and his buddy who saw talent in him he could not see.