American Idol 2025 Top 14: Jamal Roberts Electric “Shout” Performance Propels Him to the Top 12
American Idol Season 23 live shows continued Sunday night with the first episode of live voting as the Top 14 took the stage. For the third consecutive season, the Rock & Roll Hall of fame theme continued as singers took on songs from the inductees. One singer in particular, Jamal Roberts, a physical education teacher from Meridian, Mississippi, tackled “Shout” by the Isley Brothers, an R&B throwback from 1959, and wowed the audience and panel with his performance and vocal skills.
In his mentoring session with iconic singer-songwriter James Taylor, Jamal shared that he is the father to 6 and 4 year old daughters and that they will be attending the show for the first time. James asked, “Is there a moment in there that you want to bring the audience into it?” The two work on the dynamics of the “hey, hey, hey” part, creating space for an audience interaction during it.
Jamal is a tremendous vocalist, and right from the jump of the performance, the passion in his vocals became apparent. The song choice allowed him to put his own stamp on the song, adding a bit of gospel and soul vibes to it. He had a blast on stage, and brought the audience into his performance just as James had advised. It is an electric performance and a big moment for Jamal who may just be a contender to win it all.
You knock it out of the park every week”
The judges stand for Jamal and applaud. Carrie Underwood felt he was a bit “timid” at the start, but then added, “as the song progressed, I understood. You had to have somewhere to go.” Luke Bryan stated, “It’s energetic, it’s fun, it shows personality,” and he continued, “You knock it out of the park every week.” Lionel Richie described Jamal as “so professional.” Ryan Seacrest carried Jamal’s two daughters, Lyrik and Harmoni up to see him as he shared a moment with them. He’s emotional as he holds both of them. He hasn’t seen them in about a month due to the show.
Luke joked “Ryan you looked kind of good doing that! You look like you’re ready for that!” Luke meant fatherhood, of course. Ryan quipped back, “You know anyone?” Jamal does not let go of his daughters. “Be careful on the stairs,” Ryan warned, likely remembering Slater Nalley tripping on his way back from his performance last week.
Although not all of the song choices were as refreshing as Jamal’s stand out performance, a few others hit it out of the park vocally. Gabby Samone did a stellar job with the dynamics on Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You” and Kolbi Jordan gave a very solid and big vocal on “You’re All I Need to Get By.” An honorable mention goes to Ché Chesterman who technically did a very good job on “It’s a Man’s Man’s World” even if I could do without hearing another version of that song on a singing show. He defied the odds and advanced despite being both a wildcard pick and the only non-American contestant as a UK native.
