‘American Idol’ Top 3: Did Jamal Roberts Get Through?

Jamal Roberts, a physical education teacher and dad of three who made it into the top 5 of “American Idol” season 23, vied for viewers’ votes again on May 12, 2025. It was the second of two Disney nights, during which Roberts had to perform two tune from Disney’s vast song catalog. Viewers had less than two hours to vote for their favorites during the show, determining who would make it through to the top 3 of season 23.

SPOILER ALERT: Do not continue reading if you do NOT want to know whether Roberts made it into the top 3.

Voting closed during the final commercial break, and the results were handed over to host Ryan Seacrest to reveal which members of top 5 would advance to the top 3. So did Roberts make it through? YES, he did make it through!

Jamal Roberts Had the Crowd Chanting for More & Lionel Richie Said He Can ‘Jamalarize’ Any Song

Before performing his first tune on the May 12 show, Roberts was seen on at Disneyland with his young daughters, mom and sister. He got to take his little girls to dress up like princesses and said that he loved “seeing the smiles on my kids’ faces.” He also said that if his God-given gift of singing could change his life, he doesn’t want to stop what he’s started with “American Idol.”

The show then moved back in-studio for Roberts’ live performance of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” from “Remember the Titans.” Roberts got the crowd involved, clapping their hands above their heads and got Bryan and Richie leaped to their feet at the end. Smiling as the crowd went wild, Bryan kept yelling, “Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out!” Bryan said he was emotional seeing Roberts at Disneyland with his family, and that after watching his original audition, he is blown away by how far he’s come.

Richie told him, “I don’t know if I can emotionally take another performance” because he’s so impressed by Roberts, saying he “Jamalarized” the song, with an ability to make any tune “soulful.” Underwood said that while he an incredible voice, she did think he did miss an opportunity to move all around the stage with such an upbeat song.

Jamal Roberts Stunned the Judges With His Second Selection on May 12

Roberts’ second song choice started out rocky. He chose to sing “Beauty and the Beast,” but couldn’t tell guest mentor Lin-Manuel Miranda why. In fact, he realized he was having a hard time connecting with the lyrics like “tale as old as time” and Miranda said the disconnection was obvious. Roberts admitted it would probably be “one of the biggest challenges of the season for me.”

Miranda urged him to find meaning in the words for himself, and that if he could do that, he’d knock it out of the park. He must have done that, because the crowd and judges were blown away by what he did with the song.

After Roberts’ performance, the crowd continued to cheer so loudly that Underwood couldn’t speak. Bryan finally yelled, “Let’s win this baby, let’s win this!” And Richie told him that no one but him could turn “Beauty in the Beast” into an R&B song. Roberts will now move onto the finale on May 19.