Jamal Roberts will perform four times during the American Idol Season 23 finale: Once with Lionel Richie and three times on his own.
Jamal Roberts has arguably been the frontrunner during the last half of the 23rd season of American Idol. The P.E. teacher from Meridian, Mississippi, was a standout following his soulful audition performance of Rick James’ “Mary Jane.” His following grew as the season progressed, and viewers experienced the power of his voice as he covered songs of all genres and tempos.
A few weeks ago, when the fate of the contestants was put in the hands of America’s voters, Roberts’ fame gained more traction. Videos of his performances consistently out-performed those of his competitors, but country crooner John Foster was hot on his heels.
Jamal’s performance of Tom Odell’s “Heal” was one of the most viewed performances of the season with nearly 1 million views at press time.
During Sunday’s finale, Jamal Roberts brought his unique style to solo performances.
A jam-packed season finale is underway with guest performances from stars like Brandon Lake, Jelly Roll, Kirk Franklin, Jessica Simpson, Patty LaBelle, and more. Each of the judges and this season’s Artist in Residence, Jelly Roll, will also take the stage to perform.
Each of the finalists have the opportunity to sing four times over the course of Sunday night’s three-hour finale in hopes of proving to America that they are deserving of this season’s title.
Jamal joined his fellow finalists, Breanna Nix and John Foster, to kick off the show with Queen’s “We Are The Champions.” He will also team up with Jelly Roll for a two-song medley of the latter’s songs: “Unpretty” and “Liar.”
Jamal Roberts’ first solo performance was “First Time” by TEEKS.
Jamal brought Jelly Roll to tears with his rehearsal performance and told the singer, “Some songs just talk to your heart. That songs speaks to me.”
Jelly Roll called it Jamal’s “love letter to America.”
“I got goosebumps when you sang ‘Finally, we are here now. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.’ It’s like we’re all watching a kid that wasn’t supposed to do it, do it,” Jelly said. “As a lifelong fan of this show, this doesn’t happen very often. This is like Fantasia, Reube, Carrie land.”
Jamal’s performance brought the judges and the entire audience to their feet.
“Jamal, you are just so talented. I feel like tonight you just look so comfortable and at ease. The way you’re walking around … looking down the barrel of the camera,” Carrie said.
Luke Bryan had one request of Roberts. “Will you teach me how to be that smooth? It’s smooth. When we leave the set and I go back home, people ask me about you. And I say, man, he’s just so smooth with his delivery. You’re always like hooked up with your look … everything about you is a star. Everything.”
“What I love about you is you just navigate the story,” Lionel said. “And it happens to come out of your mouth in brilliant form. I love everything about you.”
Watch Jamal Roberts’ performance of “First Time” in the video below.