American Idol’s John Foster surprised fans by revealing his real name isn’t Foster and the reason behind dropping his actual last name for his music career.

John Foster has surprised fans with a fact most people don’t know about him (Image: Getty)

John Foster has revealed his real name to fans, leaving many people shocked.

The 18-year-old American Idol runner-up wowed fans with his incredible voice – but now he’s surprising them with something else entirely.

Many fans may not know that “Foster” isn’t actually his last name — it’s his middle name. The rising country star’s full name is John Foster Benoit.

The teen singer chose to drop his French last name professionally, opting to go by John Foster instead. “I’m from Louisiana, have a lot of Cajun heritage, a lot of French heritage,” the music star explained on the Fable House podcast.

“My last name is Benoit. That’s something I’ve always been very proud of. I’ve always loved my last name. I’ve always loved the idea of Benoit being, you know, French, being a testament to my heritage. Also, Benoit is a rough translation to ‘blessed’ in English, so I always really loved that.”

John gained a lot of fans in the singing competition (Image: Getty)

He continued, “But when I was getting into country music, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I can go by John Foster Benoit.’ That’s just not really a country name.”

Back in May, he was also forced to clear up false rumors about his age, hometown and relation to Dwight Yoakam.

In a lengthy post to his fans on Facebook, he wrote, “For the sake of all of my family (followers) getting to know me better, I’d like to clear up some misinformation that has been spreading on Facebook.

“1. I am 18 years old (not 24). 2. I was born and raised in Louisiana. My hometown is Addis, LA. I’m not from Benton, Kentucky (I’ve never even been to Kentucky, but I hope to visit someday).

“3. I’m not related to Dwight Yoakam, nor am I currently signed under any record label (there was some misinformation that Dwight Yoakam signed me under Sugar Hill Records).”

He continued, “If you see something about me that’s not from my page (with the blue checkmark), there’s a chance that it may not be true! I hope this helps y’all to know me better as a person now that y’all know more about my music.

“If you have any questions about me, try commenting them under this post. Either I or someone who knows me well will likely answer you! God Bless!”