Gabby Barrett is returning home!
The "I Hope" country singer who got her start on American Idol in 2018 is returning to the show as a mentor this season, according to Billboard. The episode is set to air on Sunday, April 24.
Barrett joins a stacked roster of American Idol alums who have also appeared as guest mentors this season, including Ruben Studdard, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Lee DeWyze, Lauren Alaina, Haley Reinhart, Chayce Beckham and Jimmie Allen, according to People. Earlier this week, Bebe Rexha was the guest mentor.
The 22-year-old singer first auditioned for the show in 2017. She placed third behind runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson and winner Maddie Poppe.
Given Barrett's recent success as iHeartRadio's Best New Country Artist, she has a lot of wisdom she can pass onto this season's American Idol contestants. Barrett recently performed her new single, "Pick Me Up," at the CMT Music Awards on Monday (April 11). She's also gearing up to open for Jason Aldean on his "Rock N' Roll Cowboy Tour" this summer, plus a few dates on Brooks & Dunn's tour.
In regards to Barrett's rise to fame, she shared the following with People last year: "It's hard to look at everything when you're moving at a million miles an hour. You're not really able to enjoy it — or at least I wasn't able to enjoy it and look at it as much as I could, and let everything sink in that was really happening with my work."