Megan Joy

S8 · Eliminated 9th

As of March 6, 2026

Megan Joy sings in the band VadaWave with guitarist Quinn Allman; the band released the singles Perfect and Behind Eyelids in early 2026. Bloody Cabaret, a music and film project she co-created, debuted in March 2021. As a solo artist she released the albums Megan Joy in 2012 and Free to Fly in 2014.⁠[1][2][3][4]

Career

After the show

  1. July 5, 2009–September 15, 2009Performed on the American Idols Live! Tour 2009.⁠[4]
  2. July 2011–August 2011Raised money for her first record through a Kickstarter campaign with a $15,000 goal, and had passed the goal by August 22, 2011.⁠[9][10]
  3. 2012Released her nine-track debut album, Megan Joy, through Bandcamp; it reached iTunes on July 17, 2012.⁠[4][7][11]
  4. January 2014Released her second album, Free to Fly, after the singles Boy Next Door and Double Life.⁠[4][12]
  5. 2016Formed the band VadaWave with Quinn Allman, a former lead guitarist of The Used.VadaWave⁠[2][4]
  6. December 9, 2016VadaWave released its six-track debut EP, Out of Body.VadaWave⁠[1][2][13]
  7. April 30, 2019–November 12, 2019VadaWave released acoustic versions of For Love, Out of Body, Envy, Very Best Part and Escape, and the singles Sink, Stay, I'm Dead, Cry and My Moon, on Loud Meow.VadaWave⁠[1]
  8. March 30, 2021Bloody Cabaret, a music and film project she created with composer Kagan Breitenbach and Quinn Allman, debuted with an album and a 14-chapter performance video.⁠[3]
  9. February 6, 2026–March 6, 2026VadaWave released the singles Perfect and Behind Eyelids on Loud Meow.VadaWave⁠[1][8]

Date not documented

  1. Was the featured singer on Itch's single Another Man, which peaked at number 12 on the Australian singles chart.⁠[4]

Discography

TitleTypeYearLabelRIAA certificationU.S. sales
Megan Joy⁠[4][7][14][15]Album2012
Free to Fly⁠[4][7][12]Album2014
Out of Body⁠[1][2][13]VadaWaveEP2016Loud Meow

Awards

Checked October 7, 2026; none found.

Other activity

  • 2010Her song Boy Next Door was used in the ABC series The Deep End, in the episode An Innocent Man.⁠[4]
  • 2012Played the role of Siren in the film Writers Cramp.⁠[4]

Sources

15 sources

  1. Apple Music catalog lookup for artist id 1462087268 (VadaWave) — Apple Music. Release database. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (8)
    • Collection Behind Eyelids - Single (collectionId 1876664462): "releaseDate":"2026-03-06T08:00:00Z"
    • Collection Perfect - Single (collectionId 1867355284): "releaseDate":"2026-02-06T08:00:00Z"
    • Collection Out of Body - EP (collectionId 1462834810): "copyright":"℗ 2019 Loud Meow"
    • Collection Perfect - Single (collectionId 1867355284): "copyright":"℗ 2026 Loud Meow"
    • Collection Out of Body - EP (collectionId 1462834810); also shows: "trackCount":6: "releaseDate":"2016-12-09T08:00:00Z"
    • Collection For Love (Acoustic) - Single (collectionId 1462119570); also shows: "releaseDate":"2019-04-30T07:00:00Z": "collectionName":"For Love (Acoustic) - Single"
    • Collection Out of Body (Acoustic) - Single (collectionId 1462101111): "collectionName":"Out of Body (Acoustic) - Single"
    • Collection Envy (Acoustic) - Single (collectionId 1462113587): "collectionName":"Envy (Acoustic) - Single"
  2. American Idol's Megan Joy is back as one half of VadaWave — Idol Chatter & Voice Views (Mark Franklin), published December 8, 2016. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (4)
    • Photo caption: “Megan Joy and Quinn Allman make up VadaWave.”
    • Photo caption and paragraph 2: “Megan Joy and Quinn Allman make up VadaWave.”
    • Paragraph 2: “Quinn was lead guitarist for The Used at the time”
    • Paragraph 4: “The EP due out Friday — "Out of Body" — is a six-track debut.”
  3. 'Bloody Cabaret' Redefines Music and Performance In Self-titled Debut — The Daily Utah Chronicle, published April 29, 2021. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (3)
    • Paragraph 1: “It was created by University of Utah School of Music alumnus and composer Kagan Breitenbach, American Idol finalist Megan Joy and guitarist Quinn Allman”
    • Paragraph 1: “On March 30, 2021 Bloody Cabaret made its self-titled debut, both as an original musical and film project.”
    • A Unique Performance, paragraph 1: “The video performance is told in 14 chapters that are representative of different songs on the "Bloody Cabaret" album.”
  4. Megan Joy (Wikipedia revision 1340930458) — Wikipedia, updated February 28, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (8)
    • Studio albums table: “Released: January 21, 2014”
    • Lead sentence: “born September 18, 1985”
    • Infobox, Born line (birth_date): {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1985|9|18}}
    • Infobox, label: “Independent”
    • Post-Idol career, last paragraph: “In 2016, she started the band VadaWave with husband Quinn.”
    • Post-Idol career, paragraph 2: “Joy completed the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009, which ran from July 5, 2009, to September 15, 2009.”
    • Post-Idol career, paragraph 5: “She released her debut album, Megan Joy, on April 25, 2012, on Bandcamp. It contained nine tracks”
    • Studio albums table, Free to Fly: “Released: January 21, 2014”
  5. American Idol season 8 — Wikipedia, updated August 31, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Elimination chart row Megan Joy: Pl. 9, Eliminated in the Top 9 column (4/1); ratings table episode 'Top 9 Results', April 1, 2009
  6. List of American Idol finalists — Wikipedia, updated June 10, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Contestants table, row Megan Joy: season 8, place finish 9th
  7. Apple Music catalog lookup for artist id 541968709 (Megan Joy) — Apple Music. Release database. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (5)
    • Collection Megan Joy (collectionId 541968708): "copyright":"℗ 2012 Megan Joy"
    • Collection Free to Fly (collectionId 797029907): "copyright":"℗ 2013 Megan Joy"
    • Collection Megan Joy (collectionId 541968708): "releaseDate":"2012-07-17T07:00:00Z"
    • Collection Megan Joy (collectionId 541968708); also shows: "trackCount":9: "releaseDate":"2012-07-17T07:00:00Z"
    • Collection Free to Fly (collectionId 797029907); also shows: "trackCount":12: "releaseDate":"2013-09-17T07:00:00Z"
  8. MusicBrainz artist VadaWave (web service query) — MusicBrainz. Release database. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (2)
    • Artist VadaWave, disambiguation and member-of-band relations: "disambiguation":"Megan Joy and Quinn Allman"
    • Relation purchase for download: "resource":"https://music.apple.com/us/artist/1462087268"
  9. Megan Joy's 'beautiful' album needs some help — Idol Chatter (Mark Franklin), published July 29, 2011. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Paragraph 1: “a Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000 by the end of August to help finance a seven-song EP”
  10. Megan Joy reaches her goal, and gets married — Idol Chatter (Mark Franklin), published August 22, 2011. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Dateline (August 22, 2011) and paragraph 2: “Well, she reached her $15,000 goal with plenty of time to spare.”
  11. Megan Joy's delightful debut album now on iTunes — Idol Chatter (Mark Franklin), published July 17, 2012. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Paragraphs 1-2: “Back in May, Megan Joy released a 9-track debut album through bandcamp.com.”
  12. Megan Joy releases new songs, album coming next — Idol Chatter (Mark Franklin), published January 14, 2014. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (2)
    • Paragraphs 1-2 and update: “The new singles are "Boy Next Door" and "Double Life."”
    • Update line: “Update: Megan's album actually arrived on iTunes earlier than promised. It's available now.”
  13. MusicBrainz release groups for VadaWave (web service query) — MusicBrainz. Release database. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Release group Out of Body (EP), first-release-date 2016-12-09
  14. A musical surprise courtesy of Season 8's Megan Joy — Idol Chatter (Mark Franklin), published May 7, 2012. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Paragraph 2: “Late last week she delivered — a 9-track effort simply titled "Meg Joy."”
  15. MusicBrainz release groups for Megan Joy (web service query) — MusicBrainz. Release database. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Release group Megan Joy (Album), first-release-date 2012-07-17

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