Although many “American Idol” contestants open up on the show about the challenges they’ve been through, season 23 winner Jamal Roberts kept his hardest stories close to the vest. But time and again, the show’s judges and mentors, including past winner Fantasia, remarked about how much pain came through in his voice.

Two weeks after winning the show, the soul singer from Meridian, Mississippi, is starting to open up about where that pain stems from. On June 1, 2025, Roberts shared some of the challenges he experienced growing up, during an appearance on “The Love You Moore Show.” In a vulnerable podcast interview with host Willie Moore Jr., Roberts, 27, discussed how feeling abandoned by his mom and being raised by his stepmom and grandmother shaped who he is today.

Jamal Roberts Says He Still Doesn’t Understand Why His Mom Gave Up Custody of Him & His Brother

Moore Jr. told Roberts that he, too, hears the “pain” in his voice, asking where it stems from and how the dad of three girls uses his past experiences to fuel his music.

“Well let me start by saying this first,” Roberts responded. “I’m not not trying to hurt nobody’s feelings but when it’s your story, it’s your story. So, my dad got custody of me and my oldest brother when we was younger. He was four, I was two … and my stepmom raised me.”

Roberts paid tribute to his stepmom, Tabitha, during the 2025 Mother’s Day episode on “American Idol,” sharing how instrumental she’d been in his life and revealing that she died during the COVID pandemic.

Although she was a wonderful support system for him, he told Moore Jr., the pain of not having his own mom around while he was growing up is still raw for Roberts.

Roberts explained, “What was going through my mind is, ‘Why my mom not here?’ You know? How? ‘Cause I got kids and I’m not going to let my kids go nowhere, you know what I’m saying? How did you get comfortable enough to let us just slip through the cracks and (let) my daddy take full custody?”

“And, you know, no visitations,” he continued. “I didn’t see you, you know? Stuff like that, it bothers me a little bit because I know that if I was fighting for my kids, we still going to be fighting. Ain’t no giving up, I’m just saying.”

Jamal Roberts Admits He Felt ‘Abandoned’ by His Mom as a Child

Roberts went on to say that it was particularly hurtful when his mom later had more children, but still kept her distance from him and his brother.