Jamal Roberts is the newest American Idol!
During the season 23 finale on Sunday, May 18, Roberts was crowned the winner of the singing competition show. Ryan Seacrest said he won following what was the “biggest finale vote in show history.”
Roberts was up against John Foster and Breanna Nix, who placed second and third, respectively.
The star sang “Her Heart” by Anthony Hamilton to mark his win.
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Roberts, who’s a gym teacher at a local elementary school in Mississippi, first caught the judges’ attention with his audition of “Mary Jane” by Rick James.
“Man, you got some stuff in there and by the end, you were letting it come out. Just relax. You got the voice and you know how to tell a story. Priceless,” said Lionel Richie.
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Luke Bryan added, “What I love about it is it was really like southern soulfulness. Was it perfect? Was it flawless? No. But you’re not trying to sing it perfectly and flawless. You’re just singing it from the heart. And that’s what I felt.”
Carrie Underwood agreed with her fellow judges — but felt that he needed to loosen up. “You got to loosen up. You need some swagger… Just loosen up and let your body match your voice,” she advised. By the end of his audition, Roberts had a “yes” from all three judges.
After the semi-finals on Monday, May 12, the “Drunk on You” singer, 48, said he had a “gut feeling” Roberts would be a lead “all year.”
“When you look at every time Breanna gets through, we’re like, ‘She keeps showing up and making it happen,'” Bryan said. “And then John Foster just seems to be gaining momentum.”
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He continued, “Even if it’s something that Jamal’s kind of had the reins of, it could change with a little bit of not focus[ing] … so they gotta be focused all the way to the end. The music business never is not like that. You’ve gotta focus every day.”
American Idol will return for season 24 on ABC.
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