Many people had a strong sense that Jamal Roberts was gaining serious momentum heading into the “American Idol” season 23 finale, including judge Luke Bryan. But the 27-year-old soul singer says fellow finalist Breanna Nix was the first to predict his victory — months before he was crowned the winner on May 18, 2025.

That may be why Nix, who came in third place on the finale, was seen holding onto Roberts’ arm and wiping away tears as he sang his victory song.

Breanna Nix Recorded a Video of Herself Predicting Jamal Roberts’ Win

DisneyThe top 14 contestants of “American Idol” season 23 crowd around winner Jamal Roberts as he sings his victory song on May 18, 2025.
Shortly after winning “American Idol,” Roberts told TV Insider that Nix first predicted he’d win the title during Hollywood Week. Although that intense week of competition aired in March, the contestants and judges filmed those rounds in late January at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles.

“She told me, ‘You’re anointed,’” Roberts told TV Insider, and continued, “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.”

Nix told the outlet she was so sure about Roberts becoming the eventual winner, even though they’d only just met, that she recorded a video of herself telling him during Hollywood Week that he was going to win. On May 20, she posted that video for everyone to see.

Nix told “Entertainment Tonight” after his win, “Oh my word, I am so excited for Jamal. I called that he would win ‘American Idol’ back in Hollywood … I didn’t even know him, I just felt it in my heart. And I walked up to him and I said, ‘Hey! I know you don’t know me, I’m Breanna … and you’re gonna win ‘American Idol.’”

“I had my phone out, I was recording,” Nix continued, “and he was like, ‘You’re crazy!’”

When Roberts and Nix wound up in the top 3 alongside country crooner John Foster, standing onstage awaiting the first voting results of finale night, Roberts said she continued to stick with her prediction — but he took it with a grain of salt.

With a smile, TV Insider reported, Roberts explained, “Breanna is just blunt. When I was standing up there with her (and Foster), she was like, ‘Well, I know I’m leaving. It’s going be between you and John and you’re going to win.’ I said, ‘Okay, Breanna.’”

Breanna Nix’s Future is Bright, With Her Already Topping the iTunes Country Chart

Nix may have finished in third place, but she shot straight up to the number one spot on the iTunes country chart with her first-ever single, “Higher,” released by “American Idol” record label partner 19 Recordings. Each of the top 7 contestants got to record and release a single through the label on the eve of the finale.

On the morning of May 19, Nix shared a screenshot of her single’s quick climb to the top. It showed that runner-up John Foster’s single, “Tell That Angel I Love Her,” was in the number two spot on the country chart.

Meanwhile, the “American Idol” social media team shared another screenshot in their Instagram Stories late in the day on May 19 that showed the top 3 contestants’ new singles topped iTunes’ overall music chart for the day’s streams, with Roberts’ “Heal” at number one, Nix’s “Higher” at number two, and Foster’s “Tell That Angel I Love Her” at number three.