American Idol 2o20 alum Lauren Spencer-Smith released an original song “Back to Friends” last week, that currently has racked up over 600,000 streams on Spotify. Additionally, the song has amassed over 50K plays on Youtube.
The singer-songwriter from Victoria Island Canada has 1.2 million followers on Tik Tok where she has been promoting the song non-stop all week. And the social media work is paying off.
@laurenspencersmith##stitch with @laurenspencersmith I LOVE U GUYS ?????? Back to Friends – Lauren Spencer-Smith
Lauren made the American Idol Top 20 in 2020, and performed Jessie J’s “Momma Knows Best” from her home in Canada after the pandemic shut down studio production. After a nationwide vote, Idol fans eliminated Lauren. It probably hurt that her fellow Canadian country-people were not eligible to vote! Her audition of Pink’s “What About Us” in front of judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan earned her a ticket to Hollywood.
Notably, Lauren did not participate in the American Idol comeback competition alongside a bunch of her fellow 2020 Top 20 alum. Runner-up Arthur Gunn got the most votes that night, earning him a spot in the 2021 Top 10.
Lauren describes “Back to Friends” as her “first original song.”
A long list of songwriters including Jesus Abelardo Marin Petitta, John Vincent Quiao, Jordan Baxter Mitchell, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Natale Jane Janowski and Timothy Edward Bernard penned the song. Also, the single cover art features her friend Jake Clark who auditioned in front of the American Idol judges, but didn’t get a golden ticket.
Back in 2020, Lauren told Nagaimo News Now that during quarantine she worked with producers in Los Angeles and friends from American Idol to craft a handful of new songs based on her own life and personal experiences.
“I’m writing about love, I’m writing about boys or school or how I was picked on in school or if people didn’t believe in me.”
Listen to the spare, heartfelt track below
American Idol alum Lauren Spencer-Smith’s original song “Back to Friends”
This summer, when travel restrictions eased, Lauren came back to the US to visit a number of Idol pals, including 2020 singers Geena Fontanella, Drake McCain, and Natalie Jane.
Before her stint on American Idol, the teen singer already had a number of accomplishments under her belt. For instance, Lauren was nominated for a Canadian Juno award for her debut album Unplugged which she recorded during a concert at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre in July 2019. And in In March 2019 a video of her singing “Always Remember Us This Way” from A Star is Born, filmed while in the car with her father went massively viral. That clip put her on the map.
After appearing on Idol, Lauren released an album of covers, Mixed Emotions in 2020, boastin 8M Spotify streams for her Her cover of Olivia Rodrigo’s “All I Want.”
Currently, Spotify features “Back to Friends” on the streaming service’s Pop Sauce, Next Gen Singer-Songwriters, and Big On The Internet playlists.
