With American Idol airing its season 23 finale on May 18, we’re all desperate to know who will be crowned the winner. With Breanna Nix, John Foster and Jamal Roberts all up for the coveted prize, it’s easy to say we’re in for quite a treat no matter the result!

Fans have particularly been interested in Jamal’s story over the course of American Idol this season. He first made an impression on Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood when he sang a moving rendition of “Mary Jane” by Rick James. His soulful take on the song immediately got him three yeses from the judges, putting him on a journey to TV success.

But as Jamal makes the Top 3 and competes for the title in the American Idol season 23 finale, fans may be surprised Jamal’s journey on the show didn’t exactly begin a few months ago. It turns out, he has a history with American Idol.

A native of Meridian, Mississippi, the 27-year-old P.E. teacher has always wanted a career in music. As Jamal told Billboard in April 2025, his love of music started while singing both hymns and other musical covers in church as a child.

“I started singing at the age of two,” he explained to the outlet at the time. “My grandparents found out I could sing, and I started singing in church and [covering] the Temptations and Michael Jackson. I had a granddaddy on my dad’s side who was a bishop and a grandad on my mom’s side was a deacon, so I was in church every time the door opened. I was the usher, and I was in the choir, and I used to play the drums.”

Naturally, it makes sense that Jamal would want to audition for American Idol! But as the publication noted, his road to getting on the show took a little longer than folks may have anticipated. It turns out Jamal had auditioned for the show twice before, and there were different reasons behind why he didn’t make it as far as now. He was told he needed more vocal training and was too young the first time, while he was unprepared with more material the second go-around.

But, as he added, these instances didn’t get him down on trying to achieve his dreams. “I didn’t get defeated,” he said. “I never gave up. I took the no. I’ve always been able to take constructive criticism and use it for my gain and try again. This has always been me.”

Even though it took a long time for Jamal to make it to this stage on American Idol, he still had other things up his sleeve. He became a father to three daughters (his youngest was born right before he made the Top 7!) and he also released a single on his own in 2020. But as he clearly is making a name for himself this time around, Jamal is definitely not forgetting his small town roots that got him here.

“Thank you, God!!” he wrote on Instagram on May 12 after making the Top 3. “Thank you, America!! Thank you, MeridianⓂ️! Thank you, American Idol! 😭😭😭🙏🏾🙏🏾.”

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We can’t wait to see what else is in Jamal’s future.