‘American Idol’ contestants Mariah Faith and Warren Peay bring music tour to Conway

Mariah Faith is talking on the phone from Alaska. It’s Thursday, and she just took a small plane to Anchorage to sing at a school.

It’s a long way from Hollywood, where she was this spring, performing as a contestant on the reality TV competition “American Idol.” But now the Conway resident is working on her own music, planning to release a single this fall and going on tour at the end of September with fellow Idol contestant and South Carolina resident Warren Peay.

They will be making a stop in Conway as part of the tour.

It’s Faith’s way of “showing appreciation” for the support from both her followers locally and across the state, she said.

After ‘Idol,’ Faith focuses on her music

Faith recently has been traveling with national youth motivational speaker Cory Greenwood. She has been singing as part of Greenwood’s elementary and high school programs that focus on acts of kindness and suicide prevention.

Greenwood reached out to Faith after seeing her on “American Idol.” Their latest stop is Alaska.

Faith can relate to the message that Greenwood shares, having gone through her own bout of alcoholism and mental health issues after the death of her stepfather Brian Cornwell in 2019 when Faith was a senior in high school.

“One hundred percent,” Faith said about relating to the program’s message. “Alcoholism was the deep-rooted side of things” for me.

Faith shared her story on “American Idol,” which endeared her to many fans of the show. She described Cornwell as her biggest fan and inspiration for getting sober.

The singer, who describes her music genre as soul country, left Idol in April after failing to make it to the show’s top 12. She was a hairstylist in the Myrtle Beach area when she landed a golden ticket from the judges during her March 19 Nashville audition.

But for her, leaving “American Idol” wasn’t that upsetting.

“It was time for me to go home,” Faith said. “I was getting homesick. I was tired. I’m used to South Carolina, where things are slow-moving. (It’s) a whole different world (in Hollywood).”

It also allowed her to work on her music and the next steps in her career.

South Carolina residents team up for music tour

Faith and Peay will be on a mini tour beginning Sept. 23, where they will perform at the Williston Auditorium, which is just outside of Peay’s hometown of Bamberg. They will then be at the Theatre of the Republic in Conway on Sept. 29.

Faith will open for Peay in Williston, and Peay will open for her in Conway, Faith said. In addition to the concert, there will be a meet and greet with Faith.

The Conway show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $35 - plus an additional $20 for the meet and greet.

“Warren and I had a great relationship, not just because we were both from South Carolina,” Faith said of the duo’s time on the TV show.

In addition to the concert tour, Faith has been in the studio in Atlanta recording music for her new album.

Her single, “Better That I’m Sober,” is expected to be released in the next two months.

Traveling and working on her music hasn’t allowed the 22-year-old to return home very often.

But while she is home for the tour, Faith also will perform as part of the Dalton Troy Foundation’s “Feel the Love Festival” and the Italian Irish International Festival in North Myrtle Beach on Sept. 30 and then singing the National Anthem at the Coastal Carolina University game on Oct. 28.

This is on top of trips to Nashville for performances and hosting a woman songwriter’s hall of fame induction in Washington, D.C.

“Now, I’m flying all around in this tour,” Faith said. “It’s been freakin’ awesome.”

Being on ‘Idol’ not a ‘guarantee record deal’

Peay is a former appliance repairman with long hair and a long beard, who would often appear on “American Idol” in his signature jeans, flannel shirt and cowboy hat.

Now the 24-year-old is performing music full-time, working on booking shows to help advance his music career.

“Getting off ‘Idol,’ it’s not a guaranteed record deal,” Peay said Friday. “You still have a lot of leg work to do yourself.”

While waiting for some of the upcoming shows, including the performances in Williston and Conway, Peay has been performing with his band, The Warren Peay Band, and writing new music, he said.

When Peay started planning the Williston show, he decided to call Faith and see if she wanted to join him. They are hoping to do a 10-city run in the spring, Faith said.

Peay said it only made sense to include Faith in the upcoming mini-tour because she was so close and a good performer.

“I can’t wait to do shows,” Peay said. “We’re ready for this.”