Country star Gabby Barrett is having a "mind blowing" year after scoring nine Billboard Music Award nominations.
Ahead of the official Billboard Music Awards ceremony on Sunday, May 23, the "Footprints on the Moon" singer, who finished in third place on season 16 of American Idol, took home two awards: the fan-voted Top Collaboration prize for "I Hope," with Charlie Puth, and Top Country Song for the same track.
However, when E! News spoke exclusively to Gabby on Saturday, May 22, ahead of her big wins, the singer was just honored to be nominated.
"Oh my gosh, it's mind blowing, quite honestly," the artist explained over Zoom when asked what the nominations mean to her. "It's just something, like, you dream about for so long. I've been performing for 10 years, and I've really been working to get to the spot where you can be a part of the award shows, and have No. 1 songs, and have original music and all these things."
As for how she learned she was honored at the award show, the new mom—she welcomed her daughter Baylah May Foehner with her husband Cade Foehner earlier this year—joked that she was probably "changing a dirty diaper" when she heard the news.
"Motherhood is definitely my top priority out of everything," she shared. "She's just my whole entire world now and so I've just been trying to figure out that balance of having time and spending time with her, and being a hands-on mom. And then, also performing and giving fans, and people that have been supporting me, what they want—new music, performances and all those things—so it's been really fun. I am figuring it out right now and I'm just excited for this year to come, to go on tour with Thomas Rhett and a bunch of fun stuff coming, so I'm excited."
While Gabby is thrilled to perform with Thomas Rhett, she also shared that another country singer has shown her much support: fellow American Idol alum Carrie Underwood.
Last month, at the 2021 ACM Awards, Gabby praised the "Before He Cheats" singer for providing her with great motherhood tips.
"Carrie's been super kind just with advice and with anything in general," the 21-year-old gushed. "Ever since meeting her when I was on Idol in 2018, she's just been such an awesome friend, super supportive. It's the best thing when you look up to somebody growing up, and they're in the spotlight and they are nice on and off of the camera, and Carrie Underwood is the perfect example of that."