While American Idol aired its finale over on ABC, Gabby Barrett who came in 3rd in the competition back in 2019 tearfully accepted a Billboard Music Award on NBC for Best Female Country Artist.

Her husband, Cade Foehner, whom she met on the show and finished in fourth place escorted her to the stage. Gabby immediately became tearful as she accepted her trophy.

“This means so much to me,” Gabby cried before thanking her team. “I’ve been performing for 10 years really hard. My and my sister are here and we’ve worked so hard to get here. Thank you so much to everybody.” The deeply religious country singer also thanked “the Lord Jesus above,” adding “Thank you Lord for everything.”

Gabby didn’t forget her to thank her husband, Cade, and mentioned that their daughter, Baylah May was at home. She also thanked her record label, Warner Brothers Music and and the music industry in general. “You make dreams come true,” Gabby gushed. “This has changed my life forever,”she confessed. Then, she joked about being a newbie at accepting awards. “I’ve never done this before. I’ve got a note card!” And she quipped about messing up her look, “I wasn’t supposed to mess up my makeup…I gotta play it cool now!”

After Gabby’s speech she learned that not only did she win Best Female Country Artist, but also the award for Top Country Song for “I Hope.” In addition, Gabby also won a fan-voted award for her “I Hope” remix with Charlie Puth.

It’s been quite a year for Gabby overall. Not only did “I Hope” become a smash country hit (hence, the chart based Billboard awards). But her latest single, “The Good Ones,” also rose to the top of the country music charts, which lends Gabby country music staying power.

Watch her accept the award for Best Female Country Artist at the Billboard Music Awards below.