‘American Idol’ Winner Just Sam Hits Hard Times Again – Back to Singing on NYC Subways | WATCH

*Former “American Idol” winner Samantha “Just Sam” Diaz has gone from TV star to subway singer as she has fallen on hard times. 

Diaz returned to singing in New York City subways in 2021 to earn some money. She won “Idol” in 2020, but the milestone had no impact on her music career.

Diaz is documenting her “street performer” journey on social media.  In a since-deleted caption, she called her full-circle moment “embarrassing,” TMZ reports. 

Check out some of her subway performances in the IG clips below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Samantha Diaz (@samanthadiaz)

According to The Sun, Diaz‘s deleted caption said, “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. I was disappointed in myself for allowing myself to fall so low after winning Idol, but then I had to take it easy on me and remember that I started my journey with Idol at 20 years old.”

Last summer, Diaz was hospitalized with an unknown illness, and at the time, she shared updates with her fans and social media followers about her health problems, Urban Hollywood 411 reported. 

“Thank you to everyone that checked on me. I am ALIVE and out of the hospital,” she shared on her Instagram Stories on Aug. 24, 2022, according to Heavy.com. A day later she said her condition was improving, writing  “I need a better hospital bruh. I hate it here tbh.”

In follow-up updates, the Harlem native posted, “I’m grateful for the prayers everyone. I’m doing much better now.” 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Samantha Diaz (@samanthadiaz)

We reported previously that the season 18 “American Idol” winner first revealed in 2022 that she had returned to singing on the subway to make some money.

“I thought it was gonna be easy,” Diaz said on her Instagram Stories. “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.”

READ MORE: ‘American Idol’ Winner Just Sam Reveals She’s Suffering with Unknown Illness

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