‘American Idol’ 2020 Winner Just Sam Says She Went Broke Paying Back Her Record Label – SHADOW & ACT

American Idol winner Samantha Diaz says she’s now “broke” after parting ways with Hollywood Records.

The singer, who won under the name “Just Sam,” said in Instagram stories that she originally hoped that she would be able to jumpstart her singing career by putting out music. But she soon realized that the music industry was harder than she thought to navigate. After winning a contract with Hollywood Records, she left a year later before she ever recorded an album.

“I thought it was gonna be easy, just go to the studio, record, put out music,” she said, according to PopCulture. “And that’s not how the world works. That’s not how the industry works. It takes time, it takes money that I don’t have. It takes patience.”