Maddie Poppe staying true to her roots: ‘Iowa really shaped who I am, not only as a person but as a musician, too’

CEDAR RAPIDS - No matter how far Maddie Poppe roams, Iowa will always be home for the 'American Idol” from Clarksville.

'Iowa really shaped who I am, not only as a person but as a musician, too,” the singer-songwriter, 20, said Wednesday during a media conference call.

'I really grew up just listening to bluegrass with my dad, and country music, and I feel like I've got a little bit of that kind of twist in everything that I do. But it was such an awesome place to grow up, and going out and seeing the world after living in Iowa gave me a much bigger appreciation for the people of Iowa actually, because I didn't realize how down-to-earth and passionate and kind that the people of the Midwest are,” she said.

'Coming back for my hometown visit (May 15), the whole crew from ‘American Idol' that was with me just couldn't get over how kind people were to them. I'm so proud to be from that state and that area, and I wouldn't have wished to grow up anywhere else.”

However, she said she's not sure she'll be able to pursue her musical career here.

'Of course, Iowa will always be my home, but I really don't know where my music will take me. I guess I'm just kind of playing it by ear,” she said.

What she doesn't play by ear is her music. She deliberately chose classic songs to showcase her artistry on the vocal competition show, rather than mining the pop charts for hits.

She sang 'Me and Bobby McGee” for her Aug. 29 initial audition in Omaha. She made it past that hurdle, then traveled Sept. 11 to Chicago for two more auditions with the show's producers. When she was asked to sing a second song, she launched into 'Rainbow Connection.”

'After that, they said: ‘Oh, you have to sing that song from now on, that's a good one.'”

So that's what she sang Oct. 4 for judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan in New York.

'You have that storyteller voice,” Richie said on camera that day. 'Storytelling is the best thing in the world. I have a career based on it. We need you in this show.”

'You definitely have your own distinctive quality in your voice,” Perry said. 'I think that's pretty dope.”

'I'm not critiquing you, I'm just saying ‘yes.' You got me,” Bryan told her. After the unanimous vote from the other two, he gave Poppe the golden ticket and added, 'You're going to Hollywood.”

She went on to sing 'Brand-new Key,” 'The Bare Necessities,” 'Homeward Bound” and 'Walk like an Egyptian,” among others.

'I like the older music a lot better,” she said. 'There's so many old songs that don't get enough credit, and I wanted to bring those back to remind people how good that music really is. And that music kind of fits my voice. The stuff nowadays, I can't see me singing on pop radio. I don't feel like I fit that category, so I thought I would take the risk. I didn't know how America would feel about that, but obviously, it was it was a good choice, I think.”

She doesn't plan to stray going forward - from her values or her musical style.

'I want to continue doing what I love, because if I were to change my style because someone said to, it wouldn't be fun anymore. I wouldn't want to do it, I'd have no motivation to do it anymore. ...

So I think I'm going to continue to stay true to myself.”

And speaking of staying true, what about the new romance with runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson, which he announced on air Monday night before they sang their mash-up of 'Over the Rainbow” and 'What A Wonderful World.”

It wasn't the big surprise host Ryan Seacrest made it out to be on air. Poppe said the producers came to the couple earlier in the day and asked that - if they ended up being the final two - could they reveal their relationship on live TV that night?

They agreed, she said, adding that they kept it secret so they could concentrate on the competition and not have their relationship factor into the viewer voting process.

'We didn't really want all that attention,” she said. 'When the finale hit, all that stuff didn't matter anymore.”

She also admitted Tuesday on 'Live with Kelly and Ryan” that she caught a glance of her name on the card in his hand, right before he announced her as the winner Monday night.

'I didn't ever think I had this won,” she said. 'I mean, the whole night was just one surprise after another.”

Poppe and other 'Idol” finalists will launch a cross-country tour July 11 in Redding, Calif., ending Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C. The tour doesn't stop in Iowa, which she said makes her sad. So as of now, her only Iowa stop this summer will be a free solo show at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 25 during the Market After Dark nighttime farmers market in downtown Cedar Rapids.

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