After winning American Idol in 2020, Samantha “Just Sam” Diaz has returned to performing in New York City subway stations for donations.
In a recent Instagram post, the 24-year-old singer — who uses they/them pronouns — opened up about their journey since winning the American Idol title, and expressed their initial embarrassment about returning to performing on the subway for money.
They included a video of a subway performance Ariana Grande’s “Almost Is Never Enough.”
In the since-erased caption, Diaz wrote: “Back in 2021, I was super embarrassed to be going back to the trains. I didn’t want people to know that I legit needed the money & I didn’t want people to know that it wasn’t optional.”
The singer returned to subway performances after a string of health problems.
In August 2022, they were hospitalized with an undisclosed illness, as previously reported. They revealed to their followers in an Instagram Story that their weight had dropped to 100 pounds and said, “I seriously need help.”
Raised in Harlem, the aspiring artist was discovered while singing on subway trains.
Their story was documented in the 2018 short film “Sam, Underground,” directed by Ladan Osman and Joe Penney. The film chronicled Diaz’s life, including their adoption by their grandmother and said they had limited contact with their birth mother.
In 2020, Diaz pursued their dreams and tried out for season 18 of American Idol. Part of the season was taped before the coronavirus pandemic began.
But as the pandemic became a global crisis, the top 19 contestants taped their performances remotely.
Diaz stood out, with their raw talent and emotional performances resonating with the judges and viewers alike, and won the competition.
They signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records, but left the label without releasing an album and ended up owing the company money.
Last year, Diaz took to Instagram to say they had fallen on hard times.
“I thought it was gonna be easy,” they said in an Instagram Story. “Just go to the studio, record, put out music, and that’s not how the world works. That’s not how the industry works. It takes time, it takes money that I don’t have. It takes patience.”
The singer hopes to turn things around. “It’s just hard because I’m coming out of pocket and I have bills to pay,” Diaz said.
News of Diaz’s latest return to subway singing comes on the same week that American Idol crowned season 21 winner Iam Tongi.
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