Many had a feeling that Jamal Roberts was gaining unstoppable momentum heading into the American Idol season 23 finale—including judge Luke Bryan—but it was fellow finalist Breanna Nix who first declared his eventual win. Long before Roberts was crowned on May 18, 2025, Nix boldly told him during Hollywood Week, “You’re going to win this.” It was a moment neither of them would forget.
“She told me, ‘You’re anointed,’” Roberts shared in a post-show interview with TV Insider. “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.”
So confident was Nix in her prediction that she pulled out her phone and recorded the moment back in January during the intense filming at Los Angeles’ Orpheum Theatre. On May 20, just two days after the finale, she posted the clip—proof that her belief in Roberts never wavered.
“Oh my word, I am so excited for Jamal,” Nix told Entertainment Tonight. “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.’”
When finale night arrived and the top three—Roberts, Nix, and country standout John Foster—stood awaiting the first round of results, Breanna’s belief in Jamal’s destiny hadn’t wavered. “Breanna is just blunt,” Roberts recalled with a smile. “When I was standing up there with her (and Foster), she was like, ‘Well, I know I’m leaving. It’s going to be between you and John and you’re going to win.’ I said, ‘Okay, Breanna.’”
As Roberts sang his victory single “Heal,” it was Breanna who stood beside him, clutching his arm and wiping away tears—a moment of pure camaraderie and mutual respect between two powerhouse performers.
And while Roberts took home the title, Nix’s journey is just beginning. Her debut single “Higher,” released through American Idol’s label partner 19 Recordings, soared straight to number one on the iTunes country chart. She even outpaced runner-up John Foster’s emotional ballad “Tell That Angel I Love Her,” which claimed the number two spot.
By the end of the weekend, all three of the top finalists had landed in the top three on iTunes’ overall music chart—Roberts’ “Heal” at number one, Nix’s “Higher” at number two, and Foster’s “Tell That Angel I Love Her” at number three—proving that while only one contestant can take home the Idol trophy, each of their stars is burning bright.
