As each remaining “American Idol” contestant graces the stage on April 27, 2025, hoping to earn enough votes to advance to the top 12, they won’t be singing alone. Many fans have noticed the three wildly gifted backup singers who’ve been supporting the contestants during season 23, even discussing on social media if they could win the show (spoiler alert: they’re all too old).
Judge Carrie Underwood, who won “Idol” in 2005, sang the backup singers’ praises during the April 24 episode of her “Idol to Icon” web series, noting, “The musicians, the (background) singers have always been incredible throughout the history of the show (and) still today. Top-notch. None of this could happen without them.”
So, who’s the trio providing harmony and vocal power to so many contestants’ performances in 2025? Here’s the scoop on the two “Idol” veterans and one newcomer whose voices accentuate every tune.
Backup Singer Felicia Barton is a Former ‘American Idol’ Contestant
Like Underwood, Felicia Barton knows how it feels to be an “Idol” contestant. According to She made it to the top 36 during season 8, when Kris Allen won the title and Adam Lambert was runner-up. Barton went on to become a songwriter, penning tunes for artists including Demi Lovato, Lea Michelle, and Lauren Alaina, but never stopped finding ways to showcase her own voice.
When “Dancing With The Stars” asked her to become one of its “principal singers,” she was all in, telling Voyage LA Magazine, “This was something I had dreamed about. All of the sudden, I was singing for millions of people every Monday night. It may not have been the arenas that I imagined, but it was better… because I was home.”
Then, when ABC relaunched “Idol” in 2018, a year after FOX ended its run there, music director Kris Pooley asked Barton to join the show 10 years after she’d been a contestant. She told Voyage LA it was “the ultimate full-circle moment for me.”
In between appearing on her two ABC shows, Barton is busy being a proud “momager” (with a new podcast of the same name!) to her and husband Loren Barton’s 18-year-old son Malachi Barton, a Disney Channel star who appeared in the series “Stuck in the Middle and “The Villains of Valley View.” Next up, he co-stars in July’s “Zombies 4: Dawn of the Vampires.”
Brandon Winbush Has Also Been With ‘American Idol’ Since 2018
Brandon Winbush is the male voice among the “American Idol” trio of backup singers, and joined the show alongside Barton in 2018. He has repeatedly shared on Instagram how grateful he is to be part of the “Idol” crew, writing in 2023, “I love them with all my heart and they are my family.”
When Winbush isn’t singing his way through “Idol” episodes, he’s often serving as backup singer for “Idol” alum Lauren Daigle. He spent much of 2023 and 2024 on tour across Europe and the U.S. with Daigle.
According to Winbush’s X profile, he has served as the Background Vocal Leader for artists including Justin Bieber, Patti LaBelle, and “American Idol” alums Jordin Sparks and Tori Kelly.
Norelle Simpson is New to ‘American Idol’ in Season 23
While Barton and Winbush are now in their eighth years as “American Idol” backup singers, Norelle Simpson is in the midst of her first. On April 14, as the Hawaii episodes were airing, she posted a photo with the musicians onstage and expressed her thanks on Instagram.
She wrote, “So happy to be with the American Idol Family for season 8!!!!!!! So much gratitude and love to @krispooley & @feliciabarton for having me with you guys!!!!!! It’s a true honor to be under your leadership!!! Thanks for the warm welcome!!! Here’s to an amazing season!!!”
Simpson, mom to a 15-year-old son, is no stranger to big stages. In February, the Cleveland native appeared on the Super Bowl twice, singing backup for Cheryl Lee Ralph and Rihanna, according to Fox8 News. She also frequently works with “Idol” artist-in-residence Jelly Roll, including at Stagecoach this weekend, she shared in her Stories.
The next episodes of “American Idol” air on back-to-back nights — April 27 and 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Who Are the ‘American Idol’ Backup Singers? ‘Incredible’ Trio Has Superstar Connections