American Idol Contestant Jamal Roberts Reveals

 

‘American Idol’ Contestant Jamal Roberts Reveals a Surprising Detail About His Past Before Finale

With American Idol airing its season 23 finale on May 18, we're all desperate to know who will be crowned the winner. With Breanna Nix, John Foster and Jamal Roberts all up for the coveted prize, it's easy to say we're in for quite a treat no matter the result!

Fans have particularly been interested in Jamal's story over the course of American Idol this season. He first made an impression on Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood when he sang a moving rendition of "Mary Jane" by Rick James. His soulful take on the song immediately got him three yeses from the judges, putting him on a journey to TV success.

But as Jamal makes the Top 3 and competes for the title in the American Idol season 23 finale, fans may be surprised Jamal's journey on the show didn't exactly begin a few months ago. It turns out, he has a history with American Idol.

A native of Meridian, Mississippi, the 27-year-old P.E. teacher has always wanted a career in music. As Jamal told Billboard in April 2025, his love of music started while singing both hymns and other musical covers in church as a child.

"I started singing at the age of two," he explained to the outlet at the time. "My grandparents found out I could sing, and I started singing in church and [covering] the Temptations and Michael Jackson. I had a granddaddy on my dad’s side who was a bishop and a grandad on my mom’s side was a deacon, so I was in church every time the door opened. I was the usher, and I was in the choir, and I used to play the drums."

Naturally, it makes sense that Jamal would want to audition for American Idol! But as the publication noted, his road to getting on the show took a little longer than folks may have anticipated. It turns out Jamal had auditioned for the show twice before, and there were different reasons behind why he didn't make it as far as now. He was told he needed more vocal training and was too young the first time, while he was unprepared with more material the second go-around.

But, as he added, these instances didn't get him down on trying to achieve his dreams. "I didn’t get defeated," he said. "I never gave up. I took the no. I’ve always been able to take constructive criticism and use it for my gain and try again. This has always been me."

How the ‘American Idol’ frontrunner actually won the show

Jamal Roberts certainly seemed like a front-runner on “American Idol” this season, and judge Luke Bryan had a “gut feeling” he would take home the crown, but that never guarantees anything — more than two decades in, the show has had its share of upsets.

But on Sunday night, Roberts, a 27-year-old elementary school physical education teacher from Meridian, Mississippi, was named winner of Season 23. Host Ryan Seacrest announced that the show received 26 million votes from viewers, the most since “Idol” moved from Fox to ABC in 2018.

Roberts, who has three young daughters, triumphed over runner-up John Foster, 18, a college freshman from Louisiana, as well as third-place finalist Breanna Nix, 25, a stay-at-home mom from Texas. Foster was a down-the-middle country singer, while Nix also leaned country and contemporary Christian. Going country is generally a surefire bet, given that the format’s fans make up an enormous voting bloc; four out of the last 10 “Idol” winners have been country singers. But one major reason that Roberts won was because he defied genres — and is a reminder that the best way to win “American Idol” is to appeal to everyone.

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