Iowa Idol Maddie Poppe Reveals Huge Music Industry Secret
When Maddie Poppe won the 16th season of American Idol, she had no clue that she would be actually working closely with another Iowa star.
The Clarksville native took home the title of American Idol champion in 2018. During the season finale, she revealed that she and Idol runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson were in a relationship.
After being named American Idol, it's a tradition that the winner releases a single that debuts on the show during the season finale.
Oftentimes these songs can make or break the American Idol champ. This could either be the most successful track of their life or the very start of a long career in the music industry.
Here are just a few of the most well-known winner singles released over the course of the show's decades-long run.
The show winner usually doesn't play a significant role in the songwriting process for this track. Poppe's winner's single 'Going, Going, Gone' actually features ANOTHER well-known Iowa musician.
Maddie Poppe revealed that the song was written by Davenport native, Julia Michaels. She writes music for some of the most successful singers in the business; Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Kelly Clarkson, and Dua Lipa, according to Billboard.
"I'm such a fan! She's so talented," Poppe gushed.
Michaels also has made some big waves as a singer herself with songs like 'Issues' and 'If The World Were Ending.'
Not only did she reveal that Michaels is the mastermind behind the song, but she also apparently sang the demo.
"She does this very, very distinct thing that is such a Julia Michaels-ism..."
Poppe described it as a sort of high percussive sigh/noise at the end of a phrase. It is a signature sound for the Davenport native in her music.
She said you could hear it clearly in certain phrases in her Idol song, specifically in sections of the song like;
"I'm staring at the ceiling!"
The Idol winner could not do this sound when she was recording the song. Producers urged her to try and replicate what Michaels did in the demo.
"That is so not me. I don't know how to do it," Poppe explained.
She thought that sound and discussion was put to rest. However, when she got the mix back she heard a bunch of "Julia Michaels-isms." If you listen closely, you can hear it in the phrasing "The clock it won't stop ticking..."
After spending several years in the music industry, Poppe has learned that Julia Michaels is often left in songs when she cuts the demos. One popular pop artist, the Iowan hinted, more times than not has Michaels secretly on her tracks.
You can listen to Maddie Poppe's winner single down below! See if you can hear the other native Iowan on the song.
From the looks of the star's social media, it looks like she has some new music on the way. No word on when fans should expect the new music though.