John Foster‘s cowboy hat is basically a part of him, so don’t expect to see him without it on television. Ahead of the American Idol finale, John revealed why he won’t be taking off his favorite accessory during the final episode of the season.

“My hat stays on always,” he told The Advocate. “I don’t usually wear it very much outside of the stage, but when I’m on stage, I’ve had that hat on for … gonna be three years in July. [For] every single performance and for virtually every single performance, I’ve had that hat on since my very first gig. So there’s no way I can go on that stage without it.”

John is one of the Top 3 artists of Season 23 along with Jamal Roberts and Breanna Nix. The rising stars will get to perform for America’s votes one last time during the May 18 finale, and whoever receives the most votes will be named the winner at the end of the show.

Along with the fame that American Idol has brought, John has also been the subject of online rumors, and he made sure to shut one down in his Advocate interview. As he’s stated before, he has not signed a record deal.

“I am not signed to or affiliated with any record label whatsoever,” John insisted. “I signed the tentative contract with 19 Entertainment, which is American Idol’s record label. But for clarity reasons though, no, I have not signed with any label.”

Another piece of false information? That his original song “Tell That Angel I Love Her” hit No. 1 on the charts. “As much as I wish that was true, I did not hit No. 1. I did like do some waves on the iTunes country charts, but that was the extent of that, unfortunately,” John shared.

John penned the track for his friend and classmate Maggie Dunn, who died in a car accident in 2022. He performed it during Idol‘s Easter episode and was brought to tears afterwards.

American Idol, Season 23 Finale, Sunday, May 18, 8/7c, ABC