Noah Davis’s life has changed since he went viral on ‘American Idol’ (exclusively)

Noah Davis didn’t know that a simple word would change his life.

During season 16 of American Idol, Davis25, immediately caught the attention of Judge Katy Perry after wiping out a popular pop culture phrase before his audition “Wig.”

Perry replied, “Wig? Did you just say wig?”

When Davis nodded in confirmation, Perry chimped in, “I know, wig. I already know it,” a lot about the confusion of other judges Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan. In a word, a viral moment was born.

“I don’t remember saying that because those days are so tall. It takes forever and you’re so tired,” Davis tells People. “I came out of the audition, and all I knew was that I did it through. I saw the video for the first time before it was broadcast, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, it’s so fun.’ ”

Davis went to Hollywood but was eliminated from the competition after they testified down from 50 to 24 competitors.

“I am very different. I don’t think I was a completely realized Noah Davis. I was 18 and had just come from nowhere in Arkansas. I had never done anything like it and I had not realized my full potential,” share Davis.

“I was shy then, and I’ve come out since then,” he adds. “It’s hard to believe that I wasn’t out of the closet when I said” Wig “to Katy Perry, but I wasn’t.”

After American Idol, Davis packed everything in his car and moved to Los Angeles with “no money” and “not many friends.” There he began to create music and share his journey on Tiktok, where he gathered the following.

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Davis released his album F – k flowers 2021 and his EP, A -side2023. As a “young gay person” who is “plus size” and “femme presents”, representation is extremely important to Davis, so he took things in his own hands and started making music that he did not see in the market.

“I want to feel sexy and hot, and I should have music that makes me feel good about myself. So I did,” says Davis. “Then other people came to me and said, ‘I’ve been waiting for music that is sexy and queer.’ And I thought, “I didn’t realize it was so important.”

His latest album, which will come out this summer, is more of a breakup album. Davis knocked on another side of himself to share his experiences by going through heart damage.

“We are real people. We go through real heart damage, we experience real love and real loss,” says Davis. “This album is about heart damage, loss and moving on. I knew I wanted to say something more real and vulnerable, which was a bit challenging for me, because I don’t want to let people know how I really feel.”

Fans of Davis can expect him to take things to “new levels” on his upcoming album.

“I do what feels right right now. The last two years that have been working on this project, I have been attached to being an artist,” he says. “I do this for real, I want people to expect the next level, because that’s what I do.”

He quotes R&B artists such as Kehlani, Lucky Daye, Victoria Monet, Usher and Amelia Moore as his musical inspiration.

When it comes to Perry, Davis shares that “she will be an icon forever” and would love to recreate the viral moment with her.