Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Runner-up Will Moseley helps celebrate Abi Carter’s victory on American Idol last May. (ABC Photos)

American Idol officially kicks off Season 23 Sunday night on ABC.

But are you wondering what the artists who made Season 22 worth watching has been up to since last May’s finale?

If so, the answers follow.

Abi Carter of American Idol Season 22

Abi Carter: She released an excellent debut album, “Ghosts in the Backyard,” in November. She has three songs — “Peppermint Sky,” “This Isn’t Over” and “It’s All Love” — with more than 400,000 streams on Spotify. She released music videos for “Peppermint Sky” and the grossly underappreciated (based on streaming numbers) “Some People Need Drugs.” Please check out that song. And she’s currently in the middle of her first-ever tour. Five dates remain, most on the East Coast, through mid-March.

Will Moseley of American Idol Season 22

Will Mosley: Will’s released two singles since Idol — “I Don’t Wanna Fight No More” and “Everything But Me.” They’ve both been well received. “Everything But Me,” released in December, has more than 750,000 streams on Spotify and a music video is coming soon. Meanwhile, “Gone for Good,” the original he sang for his Idol audition, has surpassed 2.7 million streams on Spotify and “Good Book Bad,” his finale single, has topped 1 million. He’s also got a bunch of shows coming up, including opening gigs for Clint Black and the Marshall Tucker Band.

Jack Blocker of American Idol Season 22

Jack Blocker: He hasn’t released music since Idol, but he’s been a busy performer. Now sporting a mustache, he’s out on tour again with a series of shows opening for Justin Wells and Brake Milligan through early May. “All of Yours,” his Idol finale single, is approaching 400,000 streams on Spotify.

Triston Harper of American Idol Season 22

Triston Harper: The 15-year-old everyone expected to make last year’s finale, performed at a 19Takeover show as part of CMA Fest after the season ended and has played a smattering of shows since. At one point, he took to social media asking for help furnishing and fixing up his mother’s home. He’s since started posting snippets of new originals on Instagram. His only release to date is his debut “H.O.P.E.” It dropped right before the finale and has been streamed more than 450,000 times on Spotify.

Emmy Russell of American Idol Season 22

Emmy Russell: Lots has changed for Emmy since Idol. She gave birth to a daughter Jan. 31. She married musician Tyler Ward. Now they’ve just released a new song together, “London Bridges,” dedicated to their new daughter. They told People more duets might be on the way. Meanwhile, Emmy will continue to perform. She’s opening for country star Megan Moroney for a pair of shows in Knoxville in April.

McKenna Breinholt of American Idol Season 22

McKenna Faith Breinholt: You’ll recall that McKenna met her birth family near the end of her Idol audition in one of the most touching moments of Season 22. Well, most of her birth family. Last week, another member of her birth family returned from a year and a half in Argentina, and McKenna posted about their meeting. McKenna had surgery on her vocal chords over the summer and hasn’t released music since the show, but recently posted “working on some fun things right now. Stay tuned.”

Julia Gagnon of American Idol Season 22

Julia Gagnon: She hit the ground running after Idol, releasing a single called “Here in Maine,” then embarking on a summer-long tour of her home state. And in October, she hosted a special show in Bangor, Maine, in which she and six of her Season 23 colleagues performed. More recently, Julia’s been posting snippets of new originals from an upcoming album that she says “is going to conclave your brain.” A song called “The Bear” will be coming out this spring.

Kaibrienne of American Idol Season 22

Kaibrienne: Her debut single, “Girl I Am Now,” performed on the show, has now surpassed 2.2 million streams on Spotify. Her followup single, “Teach You How to Love Me,” has more than 600,000. She released her latest single, the catchy “Walk Away,” in November. She also went on a 20+ date “Young and Out of Love” tour with two Season 23 colleagues and Haven Madison from Season 21.

Mia Matthews of American Idol Season 22

Mia Matthews: Since Idol, the charming young lady with the purple guitar has moved into a cabin. And revealed that she got in trouble for attending a Voice event while on Idol. Remember, Mia, her sister and her mom competed on The Voice as the trio Worth the Wait. Most importantly, Mia just released her first post-show single, “Can’t Write Love Songs.” It’s a song she wrote at 16, after her first real heartbreak. Mia’s path to new music hasn’t been easy, as she explains in this video.

Kayko of American Idol Season 22

Kayko: He’d released music prior to the show, dropped an EP after his audition aired and hasn’t slow down since. He was among the artists on that “Young and Out of Love” tour. And he released what he calls “a cute lil’ emo love song” called “Go to Hell” in late January. Oh, he also released a duet with Kabrienne called “Feel the Same.” Kayko, real name Samuel Kelly-Cohen, wrote and produced he song. Meanwhile, “Time of Your Life,” the original that was his Idol audition song, has passed 1.6 million streams on Spotify.

Jayna Elise from American Idol Season 22

Jayna Elise: The two-time Idol contestant has since landed a prize role, playing Tina Turner in a national tour called simply “Tina.” The show kicked off in Ohio in late September and has dates scheduled through late June all across the country. Jayna is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Among her tour highlights, meeting his son and daughter, who attended one of the “Tina” shows. One side effect of the role — Says Jayna on Instagram: “I feel like everything I sing now be Tina-fied.”

Roman Collins of American Idol Season 22

Roman Collins: At last year’s Idol finale, Roman sang “Goodness of God” with CeCe Winans in a duet that’s now been viewed 2.6 million times on YouTube. So when CeCe was planning her nine-date Christmas tour, she invited Roman along as a special guest. Every show wound up being sold out. “This was a dream come true. All glory to God,” Roman wrote when the tour ended two days before Christmas.

Nya from American Idol Season 22

Nya: She got married in August. And while she hasn’t released music yet, she sang some originals — including “Five Cools” — for iHeart Radio in November. Coincidentally, most of those originals were inspired by her husband before the married. Most recently, Nya’s been singing in a show called “Broadway Sings Olivia Rodrigo” at The Cutting Room in New York. The last two shows are Sunday.

Jordan Anthony from American Idol Season 22

Jordan Anthony: From Australia, Jordan teamed up with Season 22 colleague Mackenzie Sol to release a song called “Don’t Ya” as J+M in November. There’s a music video too and the song has nearly 100,000 streams on Spotify. Look for more new music from Jordan this year. In late January, Jordan wrote that he was “waking up and watching my last Aussie sunrise for a while.” A week later, from L.A., he wrote “next chapter loading” and, in another post, “writing, writing, writing.”