PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

LOS ANGELES – Noah Thompson, Louisa construction worker turned breakout “American Idol” star, released his first single Friday, May 13 at 12:01 a.m. eastern time. “One Day Tonight” is an upbeat pop country love song about sharing your dreams with the one you love.

Each of the “American Idol” Top 5 released a single onto streaming services Friday through BMG. Thompson’s song can be found on all major music platforms including YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify. 

After recording the song, Thompson told Billboard, “Being in the studio working in the sound booth was one of the greatest things I’ve ever done in my life.”

Thompson worked with award-winning country songwriter and producer Jimmy Robbins to  create his new track. 

“It seemed surreal that I was in there working with Jimmy Robbins as my producer. He’s such a good guy. He’s a great dude with a first-rate sense of humor and we connected through the song and through music and I had a great time doing that. It was all I thought it would be.” Thompson told Billboard. “I loved it.” 

Robbins, only 32 himself, has written and produced for some of country’s most eminent stars including Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Kenney Chesney, Kelsea Ballerini and many more.

The song begins with the narrator’s simple but sweet description of the all-too-rare moments he gets to spend talking to the woman he loves. Thompson’s delivery and own experience with being separated from his family make the motivation behind the choice of song clear.

“Now and then / After work on Friday night … I just sit / And watch her talk about forever / Gotta admit it might be my favorite thing ever.” 

The light, driving rhythm of the song underscores Thompson’s laid back delivery of lyrics that paint a warm picture of those moments with the ones we love that make everything else fall away. The nights when you look back and realize you’ve been talking for hours. 

In “One Day Tonight” the narrator and his muse are drinking to the future, making plans. The chorus of the song reveals a little snippet of what she wants their future to be like and his hopes of being able to fulfill those dreams.

“She wants a wedding in September / Saved up all winter / Spend our summers in a fixer-up in Denver / She wants a girl and a boy and an old dog named Ol’ Roy / Lord I hope this old boy can give her that life / So go on girl, pour a glass of wine / And dream aloud, talk about one day tonight.”

The most recent episode of “American Idol” featured Thompson performing live from his hotel room in quarantine due to an untimely COVID-19 diagnosis. Despite feeling awful during the performance, viewers selected him to continue on in the Top 5 this Sunday.

Thompson will be competing for a spot in the finals live this Sunday, May 15 at 8 p.m. on ABC. The Garden Theater in Louisa is hosting a watch party. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.