Jamal Roberts backstage at ‘American Idol,’ mere minutes after winning Season 23.
New American Idol champion Jamal Roberts barely had time to brush the confetti off his sequined waistcoat before he met with Lyndsanity and other Idol reporters backstage at Sunday’s Season 23 finale, admitting that he was “overwhelmed” by his victory and it hadn’t “settled in yet.”
He even still seemed to be processing the fact that he’d just made history as the first Black man to win Idol since Ruben Studdard in 2003, nodding in amazement at that statistic and marveling, “That’s good to know. That’s really good to know.”
While it was obviously too soon for Roberts to state what his post-Idol album might sound like, suffice to say, when it comes to this shapeshifting song stylist, expect the unexpected.
After all, Roberts auditioned with a cover of Rick James’s “Mary Jane,” which he admittedly knew “would ruffle some feathers,” but as he explained, “I’d sung it a while back and it went viral, and I knew the background Lionel [Richie] had with ‘Mary Jane’ and Rick James. So, I was like, ‘OK, let’s try this.’ So, I did it my own way, and it worked. What I wanted to do was, I wanted to show diversity. I wanted to see that I can be diverse with it. And it worked out fine.”
Months later, Roberts ended his triumphant Season 23 run by releasing a leftfield cover of British indie singer-songwriter Tom Odell’s “Heal” as his debut single, and looking ahead, he said, “I know I’m a soul singer with gospel roots. … But I feel like I could sing any genre. I didn’t want to be put in a box [on Idol], so I hit every genre. I went with Rick James… to Anthony Hamilton, to ‘Tennessee Whiskey,’ to Jelly Roll, to Disney, to Carrie Underwood. I’ve just been doing everything different, and they haven’t been able to put me in a box. I’ve been all over the place.”
Judge Lionel Richie always called Roberts a “storyteller,” and Roberts — who does write songs, although he hasn’t “in a while” — said it was his connection to any tune’s lyrics that allowed him to “connect and tap in” week after week, throughout Season 23, no matter what the night’s theme was. “I really studied the lyrics,” he said of his strategy. “I read them. I’d write them [down on paper]. And I put myself inside of it. I was like, ‘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.”
Richie and judge Luke Bryan always seemed to be rooting for Jamal. “I felt Luke and Lionel pulling for me. I felt it,” said Roberts. “So, that’s why I stayed focused and I just continued the journey.” Roberts revealed that his favorite judge comment of the season was “when Lionel would say, ‘I don’t know how you flip all these songs and make them R&B.’ He said I just ‘Jamalerize’ it, so that’s a new term. I’m going to be using ‘Jamalerize,’ so thank you, Lionel, for that!”
New judge Carrie Underwood seemed slightly less enthusiastic — pulling for eventual runner-up John Foster, who was her big discovery on the show — but Roberts wasn’t bothered. “I knew it was a competition as well, and I wanted to be critiqued,” he insisted. “Like, tell me what I’m doing wrong, all the things. That’s why I admire Carrie so much. Tell me I didn’t move around as much! I mean, I appreciate that honestly, to my heart.”
This indicates that Roberts has the sort of thick-skinned, pragmatic attitude to make it in Hollywood, long after Hollywood Week, but it doesn’t seem like he’ll actually be moving to Hollywood any time soon. The 27-year-old P.E. teacher and girl-dad, whose third daughter was born during Season 23’s top eight week earlier this month, has made it clear that he doesn’t want to leave Meridian, Miss. And it was obvious from his finale’s heart-warming hometown-visit footage that he has deep roots there.
“I love my city. I love it. There’s no traffic! No waiting in line to eat! I love that in my life,” Roberts declared. “So, I’m just going to keep singing and keep moving souls, keep making people happy, and keep being Jamal.”
