Who is Abi Carter? Inside the American Idol winner's unconventional family life - from being homeschooled to helping support her single mom

California-native Abi Carter was crowned the American Idol winner for season 22 on Sunday. 

The 21-year-old wowed judges with her rendition of Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For? in her audition, and continued on throughout the series to become a crowd - and fan - favorite.

Despite hardships in her early life, Abi persevered with her music, achieving her dream of being heard by millions of people.

'I'm just a girl from Indio, who used to sing on street corners, and now I've had the pleasure and privilege to work with some of the most talented people in the industry and be heard by millions of people,' she gushed in an Instagram post following her win.

'This is my dream and I know it's just the beginning,' the songstress added. 

Take a look below at the singer's life so far and what led up to her auditioning for American Idol - as well as what is to come for the talented songstress.

California-native Abi Carter was crowned the American Idol winner for season 22 on Sunday

The 21-year-old wowed judges with her rendition of Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For? in her audition, and continued on throughout the series to become a crowd - and fan - favorite

Who is Abi Carter?

Abi Carter is a 21-year-old from Indio, California, who has always dreamed of being a performer.

The talented singer continued to wow judges with her performances over the course of the show.

Abi earned her spot in the top three on the reality competition after a semi-finals episode, where she performed Hello by Adele and My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy.

She continued to wow judges with her versions of popular songs, such as Bring Me to Life, Clocks, and All Too Well, after receiving a platinum ticket during her audition.

This meant she got to surpass the first round of Hollywood week and advanced straight to round two.

Abi earned her spot in the top three on the reality show after an semi-finals episode, where she performed Hello by Adele and My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy

Abi grew up singing in public as much as she could and participated in church choirs, local talent shows and street fairs in Palm Springs (pictured with her siblings as a child)

Where did Abi Carter grow up?

Abi grew up in Indio, California. She is the oldest of seven children raised by a single mother and has spoken previously about helping raise her younger siblings.

Her mother had a deep love of music, which she instilled in her children, and Abi started performing from an early age.

Abi started playing the piano when she was just seven years old. As seen on the Epic Top Trending YouTube page, Abi was 'already singing' in the womb, with 'a nurse noting that she seemed to be humming during an ultrasound at one of her mom's doctor visits.'

Abi grew up singing in public as much as she could and participated in church choirs, local talent shows and street fairs in Palm Springs.

Despite having musical ambitions, Abi pursued a higher education, attending California State University in San Bernardino.

She graduated summa cum laude in May 2023 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.

Abi grew up in Indio, California. She is the oldest of seven children raised by a single mother and has spoken about helping raise her younger siblings

What was Abi Carter's family life like?

Abi is the second-oldest of seven children raised primarily by a single mother, after her parents separated.

When she first started on Idol, Abi shared that she comes from a very religious family, before singing a Hillsong song: Oceans (Where Feet May Fall).

Abi has spoken about helping raise her younger siblings explaining she was homeschooled from third grade, which allowed her to help support her large family while her mom pursued a higher education to support her children.

In a March 2024 interview she delved more into her education background explaining she went to 'less than one semester' at La Quinta High School, before going back to being home schooled. 

'My mom had to start going back to school to get a degree to support all of us,' she explained previously.

'I, subsequently, kind of had to leave public high school and go back into homeschooling so that I could get a job to be able to buy a car and take my siblings to and from school and extracurricular activities because my mom was then occupied with her schooling.'

Abi is the second-oldest of seven children raised by a single mother after her parents separated in high school

Abi released her first-ever original song called It's All Love on March 29, 2024 (seen performing on American Idol)

When does Abi Carter have new music coming out?

Abi released her first-ever original song called It's All Love on March 29, 2024.

'I never felt like I could get things right the first time, but at the end of the day, everything you experience in life is all love,' she shared on Instagram before the release. 

Abi excitedly posted an Instagram post after her win, saying it was an 'honor' to be the first female winner after four years.

'HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE!??!?!?!? I couldn't have imagined winning #americanidol when I started this whole journey, Ali gushed.

'We haven't had a girl winner in over four years and to be the first after so many seasons is the greatest honor.'

The last female winner of American Idol was Just Sam (Samantha Diaz) during Season 18 in 2020.

It is not yet known when Abi will release new music.