The nineteenth season of “American Idol” got here to an finish Sunday evening, with rugged nation crooner singer Chayce Beckham showered in gold confetti after successful the present.
“I feel it will not actually hit me till I’m going lay down in my bed room at residence and drop all the baggage on the ground and simply chill out a bit of bit,” Beckham, 24, informed USA TODAY hours after his victory. “I can not look forward to it to hit me, although, as a result of I’ve needed this my entire life and right here I’m.”
Previous to his “Idol” win, life for the heavy equipment operator has been removed from the glitz and glam typical of reside reveals for the ABC singing competitors. Hailing from the small desert city of Apple Valley, California, Beckham mentioned his victory marks a turning level in a life that hasn’t all the time been on a optimistic path.
“It wasn’t fairly, man,” Beckham mentioned of life pre-“Idol.” “There is no means for me to essentially phrase it in a well mannered means. It wasn’t fairly. And I used to be capable of flip my stuff round. I did not let these issues defeat me.”
Beckham has been open on the present about his previous struggles with alcohol, revealing throughout Hollywood Week that one low level got here when he determined to get behind the wheel drunk. He mentioned he ended up unconscious on the aspect of the freeway after a foul wreck.
Reflecting after Sunday’s finale, Beckham mentioned medicine and alcohol let him disguise from issues he did not wish to face.
“Getting to some extent to the place you lose every little thing – out of your girlfriend, your own home that you simply reside in collectively, your canine, you lose your automotive, you lose your license, you nearly kill your self in a DUI wreck – you are on the finish of your rope there,” he mentioned. “And also you begin realizing both that is what it’ll be for the remainder of my life, or we are able to flip issues round.”
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Beckham acknowledges he did not flip issues round on his personal. He had the help of his mom, who believed in him when he did not imagine in himself. At his mom and stepfather’s urging, Beckham utilized for “Idol” and ended up strolling into the audition room, guitar in hand, to sing for judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
“Though I am cussed and I hate listening to folks, I nonetheless did what they informed me to do one final time, and it modified my life,” he mentioned.
Although many go on “Idol” with the purpose of getting their names identified within the music business, for Beckham, the present has additionally been a strategy to maintain himself accountable to maintain making optimistic selections.
“Being on the present helped me tremendously, simply getting by means of all these steps and discovering myself and studying my limits and studying the place I am speculated to be and when to say ‘no’ or when one is simply too many,” he mentioned. “I simply manned up and began dealing with my demons that I’ve inside me and began saying, ‘Hey, that is what we’ll do about this, and that is how we’ll deal with it,’ versus operating and hiding behind issues.”
As for the long run, Beckham’s plan is straightforward: put out extra singles, launch an album and, ultimately, go on tour. And he is already off to a formidable begin. Along with his “Idol” win, Beckham’s unique music “23,” by which he particulars his alcohol struggles, hit the highest of iTunes’ nation music charts after its Might 14 launch.
“If it wasn’t for music, I would not be sitting right here speaking to you, that is for positive,” he mentioned. “I’d be lifeless or in jail or working blue-collar for the remainder of my life.”
Like different “Idol” winners, Beckham hopes his victory is the primary milestone in what shall be a protracted and profitable music profession. However greater than that, he hopes it serves as a reminder for anybody going by means of a darkish time that it is by no means too late to alter course.
“It actually signifies which you could make a change, even when every little thing is as unhealthy as it may be,” he mentioned. “It sounds so corny, however my life actually went straight up after it went as unhealthy as it could actually occur. And simply with a bit of little bit of exhausting work and a bit of bit of religion and a bit of little bit of belief in God, it went a great distance for me.”
Should you or somebody you realize is fighting substance abuse or dependancy, you may name the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline at 800-662-HELP (4357) any time of day or evening.
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This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: ‘American Idol’ winner Chayce Beckham reflects on near-fatal DUI crash
