‘American Idol’ Champ Just Sam Hospitalized, Down to 100 Pounds: ‘I Seriously Need Help’
American Idol winner Samantha Diaz, better known by her stage name Just Sam, turned to social media to reveal that she's been hospitalized and weighs just 100 pounds.
As People reports, the 2020 Idol champion has been posting to her Instagram Story over the past few days, documenting her ongoing stay at an undisclosed hospital. Though Just Sam has not revealed the nature of her illness, she did post a picture of a scale along with the caption, "100lbs is crazyyy ... I seriously need help."
She updated fans on Friday (Aug. 26), writing, "I'm grateful for the prayers everyone. I'm doing much better now."
Heavy.com reports that it was the 23-year-old singer's second hospital stay in a few days. She posted to her IG Story on Wednesday (Aug. 24), writing, “Thank you to everyone that checked on me. I am ALIVE and out of the hospital.”
She appeared to have returned to the hospital by that afternoon, when she posted a brief video showing her wearing a mask, with the sounds of patients and hospital equipment in the background.
“I need a better hospital bruh,” she wrote to accompany the clip. “I hate it here tbh.”
Diaz earned money as a subway singer in Harlem prior to her run on American Idol in 2020, during a season in which contestants performed under COVID restrictions. She won the season and entered into a recording contract with Hollywood Records, but later bought herself out of that deal due to her dissatisfaction.
The former Idol champion has made no secret of the financial and health struggles she has faced just to survive since then as she works to release new music independently.
"You ever been so hungry that you felt the inside of your stomach fold up. I literally hate it here," she wrote on Facebook on July 16. Another post on Aug. 7 added, "I’m like 90lbs .. this is so sad."
Musically, Just Sam's most recent release is titled "Pain Is Power." She posted the song online on Aug. 4, and its lyrics encourage strength through adversity: