Mississippi native Jamal Roberts advanced to the top three of American Idol on Monday night, staving off elimination to land in the ABC singing competition’s season 23 finale.
Roberts took to the stage for night two of “Double Disney Night” with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” originally recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell but later used in the iconic locker room scene in the hit film Remember the Titans.
His second song of the night was “Beauty and the Beast” from the Disney flick of the same name. Both performances had judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan on their feet while Carrie Underwood could barely speak the crowd was so loud in applause.
“I can’t say anything over this crowd!” Underwood exclaimed after the latter performance as Bryan pitched in, “Jamal, let’s win this thing, baby. Let’s win this thing.”
After over 19 million votes came in over the course of the two-hour episode, Roberts was one of three singers fans chose to hear from again. Louisiana country singer John Foster and Breanna Nix were the two others. Like Roberts, Nix has shown abilities as a crossover artist taking on multiple genres.
Those sent home were Thunderstorm Artis and Slater Nalley.
Who is Jamal Roberts?
Roberts was born and raised in Meridian and currently works as a physical education teacher at Crestwood Elementary in his hometown. Roberts’ appearance on Idol isn’t the first time the 27-year-old has been on TV screens nationwide. He previously competed and made it to the top three on BET’s Sunday Best, a singing competition focused on the gospel genre. According to him, though, he’s experienced more growth over the past few months on Idol than ever before in his music career.
“I have grown these past months faster than I’ve grown in a year,” he said going into this week’s episodes. “It’s been amazing to watch the growth within myself to see how now I’m able to engage with the audience and, you know, not more putting on a show but doing the song justice really.”
Roberts is also the father of three girls, one of whom was born during the current season of Idol.
When does ‘American Idol’ return?
The finale of American Idol season 23 will take place on Sunday, May 18. A three-hour special, the episode will include not only performances from the remaining three contestants but a long list of those who have already reached stardom, including Jessica Simpson, Jelly Roll, and Salt-N-Pepa. All three judges will also take the stage together. The finale will air live at 8/7c on ABC with next day streaming available on Hulu.
