Samantha Diaz, affectionately known to her fans by her stage name of "Just Sam," has won the hearts of fans across the globe with her incredible talent and infinite dedication to succeed in the world of music. She was the winner of the 18th season of American Idol, in 2020, and truly battled her way to the very end, always giving it her all.
Just Sam had so many fans rooting for her, and after being declared the winner of the show, she was instantly signed to Hollywood Records. Based on her wild success on the show and the immediate record deal, fans thought they'd be gifted with some new music from Just Sam shortly thereafter. Oddly, things went quiet on the music front, and fans want to know what she's been up to since leaving the show...
8 She Increased Her Wealth
Just Sam's Net worth increased quickly after she was declared the winner of American Idol. At just the tender age of 21-years-old, she went from being an average girl, to a young lady that carried a significant title... and a $1 million net worth, according to Starsgab.
That's a pretty impressive financial boost to receive after winning a reality TV show. Just Sam has a series of endorsements signed and sealed as well, which will soon add to this growing valuation of her finances.
7 She Released New Music
Just Sam didn't release the album fans expected of her, however, Heavy reports that she did release one new single called "Africando," which was received with rave reviews.
This single was released to the world on March, 13, 2021, and she credited Cat Clark Music for assisting her in writing the song.
6 She Grew As A Person
It seems like such a long time ago that Just Sam took the stage and was barely able to muster enough energy to make it through her first round of auditions. She has truly come a long way both personally and professionally since that time. In fact, Just Sam credits the show for helping her gain confidence in herself. She has really grown as a person since the show ended and has publicly spoken about this growth in confidence and fearlessness within her own Instagram posts.
“Ever since the show, my confidence has continued to grow and shock me. When people compliment me it’s hard for me to accept because sometimes it’s still very hard to believe," she said.
5 She Recorded A Christmas Song
Just Sam and Top 20 contestant Faith Becnel teamed up to create a unique collaborative Christmas song and released it just in time for the holiday season.
After noticing a lull in receiving new music from Just Sam, it was understandable that they were so eager to tune in to her surprise release with Faith. The talented pair seemed to really enjoy coming together to create this song and even posed for a professional studio shoot to help promote the single prior to its release.
4 She Went Her Own Way
While fans relished in the joy of hearing a new single by Just Sam when she released "Africando," there was a nagging feeling that something just wasn't fitting right.
It didn't take long for fans to realize she had released this single independently. Opting for an Indie release raised a few eyebrows, and it was obvious that she was not listed on the list of artists under the Hollywood Records listing. There has been no official word on what happened between Just Sam and her record label, but it's obvious that they parted ways.
3 She Erased All 'American Idol' References From Social Media
This is certainly something you don't hear everyday, and Just Sam is one of the very few people we know that would do something so drastic. She stunned fans by actually erasing any and all references to American Idol from her phone. It wasn't just the direct images of the show, either. She actually deleted any message or comment from any fan that had ever even written the words "American Idol" anywhere on her page.
Since then, she has been known to wipe her social media account clean every so often.
2 She Came Out As Gay
Just Sam threw out more than a few hints about her sexual orientation during her time on the show, yet she did not officially come out as gay until after she clinched the number one spot and officially won American Idol.
Shortly after her big win, she made her sexual orientation a matter of public knowledge, but the news may have taken a different spin than she initially expected it to. Before she knew it, she was being coined as the first LGBTQ+ winner of American Idol, and that didn't prove to be a success story.
1 She Raised Serious Questions About 'American Idol' Ethics
Is it a coincidence that since she declared herself as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, the folks at American Idol distanced themselves from Just Sam? What about the fact that her lucrative record deal with Hollywood Records suddenly seemed to fall through?
Pairing all of this with the fact that she scrubbed her social media account clean of all social media references, it led many fans to believe that the producers of the show were less open minded about the declaration of her sexual orientation than Jenner would have thought.
There were other LGBTQ+ contestants that came very close to winning American Idol but seemed to be stopped short of taking the title, such as Clay Aiken and Adam Lambert. Many fans presume that Just Sam's coming out had something to do with the fact that the support of her label suddenly seemed to cease, but there hasn't been any official statements as of yet.