When Jelly Roll and Jamal Roberts took the stage together during Sunday night’s episode of “American Idol,” neither musician knew that Roberts was an hour away from winning the singing competition.
But Jelly Roll, a country/rap star and this season’s artist-in-residence, playfully bowed down to Roberts anyways after the pair completed their duet.
Their shared performance was one of many that defined a star-studded end to Season 23, which included appearances from Patti LaBelle, Salt-N-Pepa and Jessica Simpson, among others. As part of the festivities, Roberts and Jelly Roll performed Jelly Roll’s songs “Liar” and “Unpretty,” which appear on the artist’s 2024 album “Beautifully Broken.”
As this season’s artist-in-residence, Jelly Roll has coached Roberts — and other contestants — during multiple rounds of Season 23, starting with the competition’s high-stakes “Hollywood week.”
This season’s other two finalists, Breanna Nix and John Foster, also performed with special guests; Nix sang “Daddy’s DNA” with Brandon Lake, while Foster teamed up with judge Luke Bryan to perform “Deeper Than the Holler.”
But it was Roberts who reigned victorious in the end, and secured the win with solo performances of “First Time” (by TEEKS), “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” (by The Temptations) and “Heal” (by Tom Odell).
Host Ryan Seacrest said that this year’s finale brought in over 26 million votes — more than double the amount of last year’s final episode, and the show’s biggest finale vote since it began airing on ABC in 2018.
