"HE DESERVES THIS"— American Idol fans celebrate Jamal Roberts winning season 23

American Idol season 23 aired its season finale this week on Sunday, May 18, 2025, and saw Jamal Roberts emerge victorious during the live-streamed segment. The episode started with the Top 3 performing together as they sang We Are The Champions and ended with Jamal Roberts being announced as the winner of the show.

Fans of American Idol season 23 took to social media to react to the contestant's victory and celebrated him winning the show. One person wrote on X:

"HE DESERVES THIS CONGRATULATIONS JAMAL."

"OMG. Thank you, America! Y'all finally got it right! A huge congratulations to Jamal Roberts! What a voice! What a final performance of Heal! What a life story! It's always so thrilling to see people who really deserve it come out on top!" a fan commented.

"Called Jamal Roberts as the winner weeks ago! Congrats on being an #AmericanIdol and it was a great season! Loved seeing him and his journey and his bond with his daughters and his students during his hometown visit!" a tweet read.

Fans of American Idol season 23 felt that Jamal was a deserving winner:

"Jamal Roberts absolutely deserved to be #AmericanIdol - he hit every note all season and has had absolutely stunning and flawless performances," a person wrote.

"Congrads, you deserve this. Enjoy your reward, my brother. I watched everyone of your performances, and they were impeccable. Jamal Roberts," a fan commented.

"Anybody got Jelly Roll reaction!?! I know he was smiling & jumping up and down like a damn Chester Cat when they announced JAMAL won," a tweet read.

Fans of the ABC reality show further said:

"This is the 23rd season of American Idol and Jamal is the 5th black person to win. This is History!" a person wrote.

"God had a PLANNNN!!! no one has deserved this more JAMAL ROBERTS IS THE BEST AMERICAN IDOL," a fan commented.

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Jamal Roberts wins American Idol season 23

Jamal Roberts was announced as the winner of American Idol season 23 during the grand finale on Sunday, May 18, 2025. The segment saw the top three, Breanna Nix, John Foster, and Jamal Roberts, take to the stage multiple times to help convince America to vote for their talent.

Halfway through the episode, the Top 2 were revealed as Breanna Nix was eliminated from the competition, while America voted for who they believed should win the show.

Resident mentor, Jelly Roll, picked songs for each of the contestants to sing, and for Jamal's first performance, he picked First Time by Teeks. The mentor explained that he had seen Jamal's version of the song on TikTok, and when the singer took to the stage, the judges praised him.

For his second song, he honored his hometown, Meridian, with The Temptations' Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me). Carrie Underwood told the singer that his rendition sounded "fresh," "new," and "fun." Luke Bryan told him that he couldn't believe that he went from teaching children to what he could do in front of them and called him one of the most "amazing people" that he had ever seen.

"You are divinely guided, my friend," Lionel Richie said.

For his final performance, Jamal Roberts sang Heal by Tom Odell once again on American Idol season 23. After the performance, the host revealed that the voting lines were about to close, and after one last commercial, he brought Jamal and John to the stage to announce the results.

The host revealed that with the most votes, Jamal Roberts won American Idol season 23. The crowd went wild while the judges gave him a standing ovation, while Jelly Roll seemed emotional over the contestant's victory.

Fans online also commented on Jamal Roberts' victory as he became the 5th African-American winner of the show.

American Idol seaon 23's grand finale is available to stream on Hulu.