‘American Idol' latest winner is….
This story contains spoilers about the Season 23 winner of 'American Idol.'
'American Idol' has a new champion.
The long-running singing competition series crowned the winner of Season 23 on Sunday, after drawing 26 million fan votes, the most since the reality singing competition moved from Fox to ABC in 2018 after the first 15 seasons.
Jamal Roberts, a 27-year-old physical education teacher in Mississippi was declared the winner.
The crooner, who excelled across all the genres, is the second Black male artist to win the competition after Ruben Studdard took the title during the show's second season in 2003.
Country singer John Foster came in second.
Roberts grabbed his face in surprise when host Ryan Seacrest announced him as the winner before performing the Anthony Hamilton single, 'Her Heart.'
This season was also the first where former 'American Idol' and country star Carrie Underwood served as a judge, along with fellow singer Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of her groundbreaking debut album, Underwood is releasing a new special edition vinyl, 'Some Hearts 20th Anniversary Edition.' The eight-time Grammy winner won the fourth season of 'American Idol.'
Roberts received prizes that include a recording contract. He now joins the ranks of past winners including Studdard, Underwood and the first winner, Kelly Clarkson who has parlayed her win into a successful career as both a singer and a daytime talk show host.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Screen Geek
4 minutes ago
- Screen Geek
Jared Leto Faces Sexual Misconduct Allegations From Several Women
Actor Jared Leto has been a Hollywood celebrity for decades. With so many notable roles under his belt, including several divisive endeavors including the Joker in Suicide Squad and the titular character in Morbius , he has become a household name. Now Jared Leto is facing sexual misconduct allegations from several different women. The allegations were shared by a total of nine women via Air Mail. The outlet not only alleges that these nine women were treated inappropriately by Leto, but that he also made advances towards some of them when they were minors. Ages of the women during these alleged encounters were said to be 16 and 17. 'It's been an open secret for a long time,' one of the women stated while remaining anonymous. The outlet includes such allegations as a woman saying she was asked sexual questions by Leto at 16-years-old, another woman saying he walked out of a room nude in front of her when she was 17-years-old, and that he exposed himself and masturbated before placing an 18-year-old girl's hand 'on him.' In response to the claims, a representative for Leto 'expressly' denied them. They responded to some of the specific allegations made by model Laura La Rue, who would have been 16 in 2008, who also claims to have met Leto at an animal rights benefit before connecting via email and eventually she met him at his studio in April 2009. There she says he was 'flirting' with her. Leto's representative insisted that their 'communications contain nothing sexual or inappropriate' and that La Rue 'later applied to work as Mr. Leto's personal assistant, further underscoring the absence of anything inappropriate in any of their interactions.' Meanwhile, La Rue denies ever applying for that position and alleges that she was the 17-year-old who saw him walk out of a room nude 'like it was normal.' She added: 'I thought maybe this was just what adult men do.' Another woman claimed to have received a phone call from the Tron: Ares actor when she was 16 in 2008, having given him her number after he approached her at Urth Caffé in Los Angeles, and that he eventually called her with the 'weirdest, grossest voice.' She claims to not 'know if he was on drugs.' In response, Leto's representative responded to say that Leto 'has not had a drink or used drugs in over 35 years.' The woman further elaborated how the alleged phone calls from Leto continued for the next three weeks, with her mother claiming to have also overheard one of the calls. Here's what the woman said: 'And the conversations turned sexual,' she claimed. 'He'd ask things like, 'Have you ever had a boyfriend? Have you ever sucked a d—?' ' She added: 'He changed — his voice, the way he talked. It scared me. That was the first time I thought, 'Oh my God, that's not just in movies.' ' Leto's representative continued to deny these allegations, with Nightlife promoter Brent Bolthouse also claiming that he never saw skinny-dipping at Leto's house, a location that one of the allegations referenced as having a party with girls younger than 18 that were being motivated to skinny dip. As such, we'll have to see how this situation continues to develop. For now, Leto's representatives are adamant about their denials. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding Jared Leto and the sexual misconduct allegations as we have them.
Washington Post
11 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Cheers and boos as Trump takes seat at the Kennedy Center
Politics Cheers and boos as Trump takes seat at the Kennedy Center June 12, 2025 | 5:12 AM GMT As President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump took their seats at the Kennedy Center Opera House on June 11 for opening night of 'Les Misérables,' a mix of cheers and boos erupted from the crowd.
CNN
26 minutes ago
- CNN
Shouts of ‘felon' and ‘we love you': Inside Trump's charged visit to the Kennedy Center
President Donald Trump drew charged reactions of both admiration and ire at the Kennedy Center's opening night of 'Les Misérables' – with a greeting of cheers and boos, drama at intermission and drag queens in the audience. When the lights came on after the end of the first act Wednesday, many people cheered and clapped as the president and First Lady Melania Trump stood up. But a woman below, seated in the orchestra section, started yelling: 'Felon, you're a convicted felon.' As cheers died down, and Trump walked out, her voice became clearer: 'Convicted felon, rapist!' A security guard quickly approached, appearing to escort her out. As the crowd waited anxiously for Trump to return to his seat, someone yelled out: 'F**k Trump,' and the crowd responded by cheering and clapping loudly. Some yelled out: 'We love you.' Others booed, and then an even louder cheer erupted when Trump appeared again. He pumped his fist in the air three times – reminiscent of how he rallied his supporters after an assassination attempt against him last year in Pennsylvania, when he made the same motion and shouted to the crowd: 'Fight, fight, fight.' The night was emblematic of Trump's approach in his second administration. Shunned from much of the cultural milieu of deep-blue Washington, DC, in his first term, he largely ignored it. This time, an emboldened Trump has seized control of one of the premiere cultural spots in the city, installing allies on the board who named him chairman and announcing plans to adjust the decor and schedule to his liking. And, much like his approach to the negative reactions during the performance, he isn't expressing much concern about his critics. His supporters are more than willing to drown out the naysayers. When Trump first entered the theater, standing at the lip of the presidential box overlooking the crowd, he was met with loud cheers and boos. Then chants of 'USA, USA, USA' broke out. Darlene Webb, a self-identified Trump supporter since 2016, said the expletives and jeering just made her want to express her support more loudly. 'I just wanted to clap and yell over it, because at this type of performance I don't think it was good for them to do that, professionally,' Webb said. Cara Segur, a friend of Webb's, said she 'found it kind of ironic that he was here' given the subject matter of the musical. In the backdrop of Wednesday night's performance — the story of a former convict fighting for a second chance against a law enforcement officer's dogged pursuit to put him back in prison — Trump has deployed the National Guard and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles to quash protests, which were sparked by the administration's immigration crackdown. 'Seeing some of the actors and actresses, it looked like they were singing at him, instead of just singing to the crowd. And it felt really powerful and I liked it,' Segur said. Not all the protests against Trump's presence at the Kennedy Center Wednesday night were vocal. Four drag queens sat below the presidential box, a visual pushback against Trump's vow that there would be no more 'woke' performances or drag shows at the Kennedy Center. One of the drag queens, Tara Hoot, said their appearance in full drag was 'a message of inclusivity. I really love musicals, I mean I'm a drag queen.' 'A lot of people have been applauding, asking for pictures,' another drag queen who goes by Vagenesis said, waving a fan with the DC flag on it. 'Some people are throwing some glances, confused about what they see, but that's always to be expected wherever we go.' Some in the audience bought tickets well before Trump decided to attend, including Carol Campion, her daughter Kristen Farren and her two grandchildren. Farren said she would like the Kennedy Center to 'remain apolitical. It's a beautiful, beautiful location that has been part of our country for a very long time, and I think it should just be dedication to the arts as it was meant to be.' The performers, who did not make any sort of statement about Trump's presence during the show, received a standing ovation from the audience. Trump and the first lady stood and clapped, as well as the entire presidential box, which included Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance and Kellyanne Conway, among others. Trump left before the lights came back on. Before the show, the president and Melania Trump attended a VIP reception hosted by the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees intended to raise money to revamp the building. Gold sponsors of the event were asked to contribute $2 million for 10 premier seats, a photo opportunity with Trump and 10 tickets to the VIP reception. Silver sponsors were expected to pay $100,000 for a photo opportunity with Trump, performance seating and two tickets to the VIP reception. At the red carpet ahead of the performance, Trump said that $10 million had been raised for the Kennedy Center. Trump has taken purposeful steps to reshape power at the Kennedy Center, installing allies on the board who elected him chairman. That includes his chief of staff Susie Wiles, Usha Vance, Bondi, White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's wife, Allison. He also appointed Fox News hosts Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham, as well as 'God Bless the USA' singer Lee Greenwood. 'We're going to make it incredible,' Trump said on the red carpet before the show. 'We have all the funding — we raised a lot tonight. We'll put it — lot of money, we're going to bring it back to the highest level, higher than it was ever before.' Trump was asked while entering the venue about a previous CNN report that at least 10 to 12 cast members planned to boycott the performance due to his appearance. While it was not immediately clear how many cast members followed through on those plans, Trump said he was unbothered. 'I couldn't care less, honestly I couldn't,' he replied. 'All I do is run the country – well.'
