West Ham United were welcomed to Georgia in style by country singer-songwriter Caleb Lee Hutchinson, who serenaded the Hammers with a special version of the Club’s anthem I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
Hutchinson, who was runner-up in American Idol in 2018, entertained supporters, the squad and staff ahead of kick-off in West Ham’s final 2025 Premier League Summer Series fixture with AFC Bournemouth at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday.
For Georgia native Hutchinson, who was born and raised 30 miles west in the small town of Dallas, it was a privilege to welcome West Ham to his home State.
This was not the first time Hutchinson had sung for the Hammers, having done so at NBC’s Premier League Mornings Live event in the ‘Music City’ of Nashville, Tennessee, in April 2024.
Since then, he has become a loyal Hammer, visiting London Stadium and performing in both London and Atlanta, and he is proud of the relationship he now has with the Club.
“I've been very lucky, I've got to do a lot of cool things” Hutchinson told whufc.com. “I grew up about an hour and a half from here, a town called Dallas, Georgia. I live in Nashville now, but it was a real privilege getting to come home to do something like this.
“I think Bubbles fits perfect as a country song, because a great song is a great song, and I think once you've caught a West Ham game and you've heard the crowd sing Bubbles, you get it. It's such a great song.”
Georgia is the self-appointed ‘Epicenter of Soccer' in the United States and is home to the MLS’s best-supported club Atlanta United.
It is also a hotbed of American football, with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, the successful Georgia Bulldogs college team and dozens of high school sides, but Hutchinson is a convert to the round-ball game.
“I am a football fan,” he confirmed. “I met some of the gents from West Ham in Nashville and became friends with them, and then I had the privilege of going over to London Stadium and getting the whole tour so I'm a big West Ham fan.
“I'm a full convert. If I hear someone call it soccer, I'll tell them. I'm on y'all's team! I just love everybody. Honestly, I was fortunate enough to kind of meet the team before I got super invested in the sport of it, so I can't pick favourites!
“For me, it's just cool. I've got to see all these people, that I now call friends, and my parents have got to have a great experience seeing West Ham here in Georgia.”
Hutchinson has also had the opportunity to perform in London, at the C2C: Country to Country festival in March this year, and he is hoping to hit the big time nearly a decade after his appearance on American Idol.
“I spent a summer on TV, and I've spent eight years being poor and working real, real hard!” explained the 26-year-old, who names country legends Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams and Merle Haggard as his heroes. “I just got to go out to the UK and play earlier this year, and it was my first time being over there. I was sincerely blown away by the fans there, and the passion for country music they have. So I'm trying to get back over to the UK as soon as possible.
“We played in London during C2C, and kind of got to play all over Europe, but really I loved London and England, so I would love to get to play more over there.”
For more information about Caleb Lee Hutchinson, click HERE.
