American Idol Winner Abi Carter Announces New Single
(MC) Abi Carter has quickly emerged as one of the most captivating young voices in music. The 2024 American Idol (Season 22) winner will release her sophomore 2025 single, "melancholia sober," on Friday, October 10.
Produced by Michael Danforth Edwards and co-written alongside Dan Elkayam and Sam Price, the track is a wistful journey wrapped in echoing beats and shifting acoustic strums. Staying true to her signature style of cinematic pop drama blended with indie-folk intimacy, it evokes the heavy, lingering pull of memories from the past.
Abi shares, "'melancholia sober' is the meditation on the pain of nostalgia, the struggle of letting go, and the disillusionment of trying to reconnect with a past that no longer exists. It explores the emotional weight of memory and the loneliness that comes with the inability to move on. As this song switches between past and present, it concludes that healing often means surrendering what can't be reclaimed. It's the anthem for the sorrow of growing older." Pre-save the single here
With her unparalleled vocal range, virtuosic piano skills, and a distinctive guitar style, the Coachella Valley native went from busking on the streets as a teen to winning the nation's vote in what was rumored to be a landslide. Her 2024 debut album, ghosts in the backyard, introduced her as a confident, story-driven songwriter. Abi has already performed on Stagecoach's Mane Stage and headlined Acrisure Arena to thousands of fans, earning comparisons to Phoebe Bridgers, Lizzy McAlpine, and Renee Rapp.
Abi's recent single, "2009 barbie dreamhouse," (released Sept. 19), carried a weight far deeper than its playful title suggests. Having earned playlisting in Ones to Watch, this stripped back, raw acoustic picking, track channels the turbulence of childhood chaos while clinging to the fragile vision of safety and belonging. With her emotive, crystalline vocals at the forefront, Abi transforms a childhood symbol of loss into a story of renewal - a reminder that the dream of home can be rebuilt, even after it's been shattered.
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