“American Idol” season 23 runner-up John Foster recently shared a video where he is almost unrecognizable without his cowboy hat. “Here’s a rare glimpse of me without a hat on—I think we’re all close enough now that y’all are allowed to see that!” Foster captioned the Instagram post.

The clip features Foster and his band getting ready to perform a sold-out show at The Texas Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Together they sing the Hank Williams Jr. song “Family Tradition.”

Foster was originally booked to play just one show at the venue on August 1, but it sold out so quickly another show was added for August 2. That show sold out too.

The Texas Club owner Mike Rogers told Unfiltered With Kiran, “It kind of reminds me of 1981 when we brought Hank Jr. in, and everything went crazy.” Which makes Foster’s pre-show jam all the more special.

Divine Inspiration Set Foster on His Path

John Foster’s mom, Amanda Benoit, recently revealed that her son auditioned for “American Idol” twice before making it on to the show.

“He didn’t make it past the open call that first time,” Benoit told Unfiltered With Kiran, recalling Foster’s first Zoom audition during the Covid-19 pandemic. He auditioned the next year as well but was eliminated before getting to sing for the judges.

According to Foster, it was something of a divine intervention that inspired him to try out for the show a third time. “There was this little voice that said ‘Do it one more time,’” Foster told 225. “Although the human side of me was like, ‘Absolutely not. I’m not failing again.’” He added, “I’m super, super glad that God put my path this way.”

Foster’s Country Music Milestones

Although Foster came in second to the soulful Jamal Roberts on “American Idol,” his career has taken off in a wildly impressive way. Foster has played the Grand Ole Opry, considered country music’s biggest stage, twice already and is set to appear again on August 21.

Foster’s Opry debut was on June 7, and he returned for another show on July 9, which happened to be his 19th birthday. For Foster, the honor has been a dream come true and the perfect consolation prize for not winning “Idol.” “The Grand Ole Opry has been my No. 1 goal ever since I started music, and I achieved that goal because of ‘American Idol,’” he shared.

Foster continued, “I did not get the crown. But I feel like I got the crown in country music.”