The draw for an aspiring singer to pickAmerican IdoloverThe Voiceis the freedom of song selection. Aside from the Judges’ Song Contest night, which is a staple on the show, theIdolhopefuls have the freedom to pick what they want. But for the Season 23 finale,American Idoltoyed with that freedom by handing song-picking power toJelly Roll, its inconsistently used artist-in-residence, who chose one of the two songs each finalist would perform.
Though it was framed as Jelly Roll picking his “favorite” songs, the whole setup reeked of behind-the-scenes shenanigans. With a season already filled with bold opinions about the direction of the show, it almost seemed fitting that the finale ended in this manner.Jelly Roll became the mouthpiece for whatAmerican Idolwanted the voters to see and feel.By the time the finalists got to perform the songs of their choice, their true personalities and vision of their artistry were exposed.
Jelly Roll’s Finale Role Disregarded the Mission of the ‘American Idol’ Finale
Before the last elimination of the season, each of the final three contestants had two chances to sing for America’s votes. First, it was via a mentorship moment with Jelly Roll, wherehe served as the emotional entry point for each hopeful’s journey.He built up their narratives, but in a way that seemed to manipulatively push an agenda that America should celebrateJohn FosterandBreanna Nixwith their votes.
Foster was givenToby Keith’s “Courtesy Of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)”, which felt like a very pointed statement, even in regard to the production presentation. It was country music coded, ripe for the CMAs. ForJamal Roberts, Jelly Roll tasked him to sing “First Time” by TEEKS. It was a throwback to Jamal on TikTok, but it strayed completely from anything he had brought the rest of the season. Though Jelly Roll compared Jamal toFantasiaandRuben Studdard, he prevented him from having a standout R&B moment by assigning a ballad that lacked thematic impact.
Then, for Breanna Nix, the faith-based mission that had seemingly been pushed all season was front and center. Her time in her mentor session with Jelly Roll and her performance of “In Jesus Name (God of Possible)” ignited the crowd to react as if they were in church.It also marked the first time in weeks that Carrie Underwood was smiling while watching a performance.Then the shots of her son, Emerson, sleeping on the couch during the performance felt a bit emotionally manipulative. Especially since those shots of Jamal’s daughter in the same image wasn’t shown until after the final 3 results.
So, once Jelly Roll was out of the picture, the three finalists finally had their chance to express themselves through song. Foster smartly went classic country withJohn Denver. Jamal picked a song byThe Temptationsthat was in his vocal R&B wheelhouse. Nix sang the overusedMiley Cyrusanthem “The Climb,” proving song choice is a lost art. When the first cut of the night came, Nix fell victim to the last elimination of the season. She lost because when she had control of her destiny, she proved she was not ready.The assist from Jelly Roll andIdolwas simply not enough to save her.The audience was not going to have their votes controlled.
Jelly Roll Was Done Dirty
The entire set up with Jelly Roll, who has really only been on hand to watch from the sidelines once a week, didn’t feel genuine to the season.Jelly Roll popped up once a week, giving commentary from the sidelines.When we first watched him during theHead-to-Headsandthe Aulani round, Jelly Roll was becoming a superstar mentor. And then his obligation to his title wilted away to convenience.
If Jelly Roll or another artist returns as the artist-in-residence next season, they need to earn the power to influence the finale by contributing meaningfully throughout the season, otherwise, it just feels like meddling. Jelly Roll was great at the start of his tenure, and then he fell to the wayside.It’s unfortunate that he was put in this position during the finale, especially as his star was continuing to rise.American Idoldid him dirty.
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The ‘American Idol’ Defied Favoritism Allegations
If you watched the season, the winner leaned toward Foster.American Idolhas spent most of Season 23 sharing stories of hopefuls that leaned heavily into the country music genre or were faith-based individuals. While it’s not something unheard of, it was a bit more obvious, especially when the season’s first official live show was centered around Songs of Faith. Though there was no dedicated country music-themed evening, many of the nights featured country covers galore. Just look at Ladies Night. Not only wasMiranda Lamberton hand to mentor the hopefuls, but it also included almost wall-to-wall country songs. While that’s fine, shouldn’tAmerican Idolfocusupon musical diversity?
In the end,Roberts defied the odds set up against him in the finaleto prove that his talent was whatAmerican Idolviewers wanted to reward in the end. While Foster would have been a worthy winner, fingers would have pointed toward the allegations that it was a setup. For Roberts to win was to allow those fearful of a rigged outcome to have their fears pushed aside. At the start of the night, there seemed little hope for Roberts' victory. At the end of the night, favoritism meant nothing.Ryan Seacrestcalled his name as history was made.
