Indio’s Abi Carter talks about ‘American Idol’: ‘I get to do what I love every single day’

To say it's been a whirlwind journey for Indio native Abi Carter on "American Idol" is an understatement.

Following her standout audition — during which judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan were left pondering if they were looking at the show's next winner — the 21-year-old Carter has made it through every step of the competition, garnering more fans and gaining momentum to get closer toward the finish line. She is currently in the top 7 following her latest performance of Evanescence's moody and powerful song "Bring Me to Life."

Once again, the judges were blown away. Judges Bryan and Richie both agreed that she took her skills to the next level, and Perry called it "the best performance of the night."

There have been some rocky moments these last few weeks, such as when Bryan and Richie wanted to see her do something different than just sitting behind a piano. But all of that has helped her want to push forward and continue growing, Carter said in a recent interview with The Desert Sun.

On the next episode of "American Idol," set to air 5 p.m. Sunday on ABC, Carter and the remaining contestants will perform popular dance songs and Grammy Award-winner Adele's hits. Ahead of that, the Indio singer caught up with The Desert Sun about her "Idol" journey and what comes next for her.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

More: Indio's Abi Carter was serenading the Palm Springs area long before 'American Idol' debut

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The Desert Sun: It's been a crazy ride for you since we last spoke. How would you describe these last several weeks?

Abi Carter: I get to do what I love every single day. I get to go out there and I get to find songs that I love to sing and go on a stage and perform them for the whole world to see. It's been insane.

DS: Every single week you get to pick a song to perform, or, like in a recent episode, the judges get to pick one for you. What is that process like?

AC: This past week the judges got to pick the songs, and I remember looking through the list and being like, OK, 'His Eye Is on the Sparrow,' 'Dangerous Woman' by Ariana Grande and I got to 'Bring Me to Life' by Evanescence and I was like oh thank God, I love Evanescence and I really want to do that. I went on the stage and, kind of for the first time ever, got on my feet and really performed. And I'm thankful for that because this next theme is songs that make you want to dance, and if I had not done what I just did and given myself the confidence to do that, I think I would have been scared out of my pants going into this next round.

I'm actually really excited for this next round. We're doing Adele songs and then also songs that make you want to dance. When you think of Adele, you think of love songs and ballads and beautiful things that she does, and then there's songs that make you want to dance and it's like those things don't match. You get the opportunity to show two very different sides of yourself, and I'm really excited for that.

DS: We really have been able to see so many different sides of you on the show. You're so talented on the piano, and then you get to show your cool 2000s rocker chick side with Evanescence. What have you discovered about yourself musically?

AC: I shocked myself this past week. I was internally screaming the entire time, like, 'Am I actually doing this right now? Is this really what's going on? Am I the person on stage doing these movements?' It seems like what my 12-year-old self dreamed that I would be. That was the music I listened to. When I was a kiddo, I grew up in a really sheltered home and we weren't really allowed to listen to lot of different things. Every time we got in the car, it was AM radio, like talk show hosts, and if we had a CD, we could listen to that. When I was around 12, I got my very first phone, and once you get your first phone, you have a little more room as to what you can listen to. So me and my friends wanted to be cool, so we listened to a lot of My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy and Evanescence and Paramore because we thought those were the coolest bands in the whole world. That was what we would jam out to and that was the kind of rock star that I wanted to be.

DS: A few weeks ago, you performed a send-off concert in Indio. What was that night like to have the community show up for you?

AC: Oh, my God, that was just amazing. That was just about the greatest day of my life. This whole show has been so amazing, but to go out in my own hometown and have people show up and support me for songs that they don't know, it was just a bunch of things that I wrote, they just came and loved me and wrapped their arms around me and they had a good time. I mean that's my goal. When I'm done here, I want to be able to come back and do that again because I'm so thankful.

DS: On top of the show, you released a song called 'It's All Love.' I'm sure your mind is exploding and it's one of those 'If you told me a year ago that I would be...'

AC: ...Going on American Idol and releasing a song and doing a concert in my hometown — all of that is insane. I went to Universal Studios the other day — it was our first day off in two weeks — and a little family there recognized me. I was like 'Oh, my God, I haven't been outside in a month or so.' That was so cool. It's always surreal.

DS: I love the videos you've been making with some of the other women on the show. I know it's a competition, but it seems like, as your song is called, it's all love on the show.

AC: Yeah it's a "competition," but I met my best friends here. Growing up as a homeschooled kid, I didn't have a lot of opportunities. I graduated high school in 2020, so when I went into college that was all online too, so I didn't really get the opportunity to meet people and meet such a diverse group of people. Julia's (Gagnon) my best friend. I requested to be roommates with her coming into the top 24, and we haven't had to switch roommates because we've made it through together supporting each other. She asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. I'm so happy to be here, and this experience has been so much more wonderful than I ever could have imagined. It's lifted me and everybody up around me in a way that I would not be able to describe.

DS: I know there have been some tough moments on the show as well, whether it's judges critiques or having to say goodbye to friends made along the way. How do you persevere through those moments?

AC: It is really hard, honestly, to see my friends leave, like that is the biggest part because you grow such a bond with these people and want to see them forever. But we're all still friends, we still have group chats and text often.

As far as judges' critiques, I don't personally see them as, like, a challenging thing for me to deal with. For me, it's more like, 'Oh thank you, I will take that and incorporate that.' When Luke (Bryan) and Lionel (Richie) a couple of weeks ago said we want to see you do something other than sitting behind the piano, I was like, 'I was thinking the same thing. I want to do that too. I thought coming into this round I shouldn't be behind the piano.' So I think as long as it's not like, 'You suck' (laughs). They always give really great critiques and great advice to move forward, and I love taking that to heart. I wouldn't have been able to do the Evanescence song the way that I did it if I hadn't been pushed to do it.

DS: That's a great mindset to have. For some people, it may ruin their confidence going into the next performance.

AC: It does. I think you just need to have thick skin going into this. I get hate comments all of the time. I get people who really hate me, and I wonder why. We've never met each other. I wonder how you feel so strongly about that. I get critiques and I get comments that truly are hateful, and what the judges say is absolutely not that way. It's definitely a push toward advice. I think if I'm going to go into this career, I need to be able to separate those things and know what is helpful and know what is straight up hurtful.

DS: You started this journey with these judges telling you 'That may be the winner of 'American Idol.' At this point of the show, there are only a handful of you left. Are you at that point where you're thinking, 'I really could be the next American Idol'?

AC: It's always so crazy. I just think that no matter what happens going forward, I know that what I'm going to do is music from now on. When I came into this competition, I still thought, 'Ah, well if this doesn't go well I'm going to be a therapist. I'm going to get my master's and be a marriage and family therapist.' But at this point, I'm just realizing I don't think I'll ever be happy not doing music, and whether I win this competition or not, that is what I'm going to pursue. All of the support and love that I've had behind me is just giving me more confidence to do that.

I feel like so few people are able to do that. Everyone wants to grow up to be an artist or a sculptor or a doctor or a teacher, and not a lot of people do what they dream of doing. Life kind of gets in the way and they take the way that they think is going to bring in the most money or give them the most stabilization, but life is just so short to do something that you're not in love with, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity that I have to be able to do what I'm in love with.

Ema Sasic covers entertainment and health in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter @ema_sasic.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Indio's Abi Carter on her ‘American Idol’ journey, what’s next for her