‘American Idol’: Jamal Roberts Wins Season 23 of Hit Reality Competition Show
On Sunday, May 18, was the grand finale of “American Idol,” the Top 3, Jamal Roberts, John Foster, and Breanna Nix, gave their final performances in a star-studded night with music legends and top stars. Then this year’s “American Idol” winner was revealed live after the coast-to-coast voting. Mississippi native, Jamal Roberts, was the night’s big winner becoming the first Black man to win since Ruben Studdard in Season 2.
Jamal Roberts is Crowned American Idol 2025!
Performing at the finale were the finalists and the Top 14 contestants. The judges teamed up for their first ever collaboration, singing Lionel’s hit song ”Stuck on You.”
Special guest performers also included Salt-N-Pepa, Good Charlotte, Kirk Franklin, Goo Goo Dolls, Brandon Lake, Jennifer Holliday, Jelly Roll, Myles Smith, PJ Morton, Patti LaBelle, Cody Johnson, The War and Treaty, and Jessica Simpson.
The results were Breanna Nix in third place, John Foster in second place and Jamal Roberts being announced as the Season 23 winner. Roberts, 26 is a P.E teacher based in Meridian, Mississippi.
Roberts took the stage before the reveal to perform with show’s artist in residence Jelly Roll. The duo sang two of Jelly Roll’s hits “Unpretty” and “Liar.” During the show, Jelly Roll listed his praise for Jamal, saying to him in the pre-performance package, “It’s like we’re watching a kid who wasn’t supposed do it, do it. It’s hard not to cheer for. As a life long fan of this show, this doesn’t happen very often. This is like Fantasia, Ruben [Studdard], Carrie [Underwood] land. That’s the buzz you make me feel when you sing.”
Jamal Roberts & Jelly Roll Duet “Liar” and “Unpretty” on American Idol Finale
Host Ryan Seacrest finally revealed that 27 million votes were received, more than double from last year’s finale. This was the biggest finale vote in the ABC history of the show.
Jamal has a host of activities planned, including a visit to “Live with Kelly and Mark” this week and CMA Fest along with John and Breanna next month.
“American Idol” is available to watch on Hulu.
