'American Idol' winner Jamal Roberts reveals fellow finalist predicted his victory weeks before the finale
Jamal Roberts made history this weekend by becoming the second Black artist to win season 23 of 'American Idol' after almost 22 years. Roberts couldn't wrap his head around his sudden claim to fame and posted a heartfelt note on Instagram describing his incredible win: "Howwww is this even real?!?! I never could’ve imagined this when I first stepped on that stage. From my hometown to this moment right here… I’m your next American Idol," he expressed. Meanwhile, Roberts surprisingly admitted that he did not trust her when fellow finalist Breanna Nix saw the 'winner' inside him during the Hollywood Rounds. “She told me, ‘You’re anointed,'” the Mississippi native recalled during an exclusive with TV Insider. “She said, ‘You’re going to win this.’ I’m looking at her, like, ‘Girl, hush! What are you talking about?’ But she stood on that, every performance.”
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Nix confirmed and added that she had created a video while predicting Roberts' future and would only share it with his consent. “Breanna is just blunt,” the Idol winner continued. “When I was standing up there with her [and John], she was like, ‘Well, I know I’m leaving. It’s going to be between you and John, and you’re going to win.’ I said, ‘Okay, Breanna’.”
Additionally, Roberts recounted that his grandfather was also among those who had foreseen his success. “He always told me that [my] voice was going to reach outside these walls,” the 27-year-old PE instructor shared. “He said I was going to have to leave here, but it’d be for the greater good. He said I was going to draw souls and change lives. This is happening right in front of my face. I don’t claim any of it. It’s all God. I’m just thankful.”
Roberts was surprised to learn that he made history by winning the Idol. “I made history?” he exclaimed backstage. It has to be noted that Ruben Studdard won season 2 in 2003. “That’s good to know. That’s really good to know.” Recalling the surreal moment during an exclusive with Parade, the R&B singer expressed, "Ryan took so long, I didn’t even know he had called my name,” Jamal admitted. “Then it was like, ‘He called me.’ It still hasn’t settled in yet. I was like, ‘I just won American Idol.’” Roberts is still soaking in the attention and remains unsure about how his future album will shape up.
During the interview, he confessed to putting his heart and soul into delivering a track. “I really studied the lyrics,” he said of his talent. “I read them, I write them, and I put myself inside of them. I am, ‘What’s on this paper that I can relate to? What situation have I been through that I can relate to? And I just go from there,” he stated. Roberts confessed that Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie egged him on to win. "I felt Luke and Lionel pulling for me. I felt it,” he said. “So, that’s why I stayed focused, and I just continued the journey.” On a concluding note, the newly crowned 'American Idol' disclosed that he loved his hometown and had no plans to relocate to Hollywood.
