Latest news with #Mississippian
USA Today
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Auburn football locks in official visit with LSU pledge Tristen Keys
Auburn football locks in official visit with LSU pledge Tristen Keys Will Auburn flip the nation's No. 1 wide receiver from LSU? Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze is known for his ability to flip top talent away from other programs, and he will attempt to work his magic this June when he welcomes the nation's No. 1 wide receiver for an official visit. Despite his pledge to LSU, five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys will take an official visit to Auburn beginning June 10, according to a report by Steve Wiltfong of On3. Keys spent last weekend at Miami, and will visit Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas A&M this month in addition to Auburn. Keys last visited Auburn during Big Cat Weekend in April, and came away impressed with fellow Mississippian Deuce Knight's ability to "flip it." During a visit in January, Keys complimented Auburn's energy, which keeps the Tigers in the hunt. 'The coaches and the environment is great,' Keys said. 'It gets loud. That is something I would like as a receiver. I enjoy the coaches. Coach Davis and Coach Freeze they're my guys. They're very energetic. Coach Freeze is around a bunch of young coaches and the energy it fits me. What they're doing for Auburn is great." Auburn's energy and his relationships with Freeze and Davis keep Auburn in the mix, but how likely is it that he will flip from LSU? Keys says that he is "locked-in" with LSU due mostly to their established supremacy in wide receiver development. Still, the door remains open for Freeze to sway his decision away from Baton Rouge during the official visit. Keys is the top-ranked wide receiver from the 2026 cycle according to On3, 247Sports, and ESPN, and ranks as high as No. 4 in the class ranking. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mississippi sets historic new record for employment: governor
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi set new records in April 2025 for employment in the state, according to Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.). At 1,243,807 people, the state reached a new record high for the number of Mississippians employed. The total non-farm employment reached a record high with 1,202,000 jobs. 'More Mississippians are working than ever before, and there are a record number of jobs,' said Reeves. 'Mississippi isn't making news – we're making history. Yesterday, we announced a $38 million economic development project that's creating 450 jobs, and today we've set records in employment. There's never been a better time to be a Mississippian. I'm incredibly proud of what our state is accomplishing.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'American Idol': Mississippi native Jamal Roberts makes Top 7. See his captivating performance
Jamal Roberts is steadily rising through the ranks of "American Idol" Season 23. The Meridian native is now in the Top 7. Last week, the 27-year-old Crestwood Elementary P.E. teacher became the sixth Mississippian in the show's history to break the Top 10. Sunday night, May 4, Roberts earned his spot in the Top 8 with a passionate rendition of Carrie Underwood's "Undo It." Monday night, May 5, Roberts gave a captivating performance singing Fantasia's "I Believe," bringing the audience to their feet. Roberts started his "American Idol" journey when he won a golden ticket singing "Mary Jane" by Rick James in audition rounds. In the weeks since his audition round aired, Roberts has traveled throughout the U.S. with his fellow contestants, eluding elimination rounds with his raw, soulful performances. In the first few weeks of elimination rounds, judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood held the power to decide who stayed and who went home. The power shifted into audiences' hands once the contestants were down to the Top 24. Roberts has proved to be an audience favorite, making it into the Top 20, then the Top 14, Top 10, Top 8 and now, the Top 7. Monday night's elimination was a combination of audience votes and judge decisions. The audience voted to determine the first six of the Top 7. Roberts secured his Top 7 spot on audience votes alone. Contestants Mattie Pruitt and Josh King did not earn enough votes, meaning the judges could chose one to complete the Top 7. The judges anonymously submitted a list of songs for the contestants to choose from Monday night. The two judges with the most songs selected by the contestants got to decide who to send home. Bryan and Richie earned the power to chose. After they conferred, Bryan and Richie announced their decision: Pruitt was sent home, and King advanced to the Top 7. If you want to cast your vote for Roberts, you can text during live episodes using Roberts' code, which appears on screen as he performs. Vote through the "American Idol" app or vote through the "American Idol" website. Here is the Top 7 of "American Idol" Season 23, in no particular order: Thunderstorm Artis John Foster Breanna Nix Jamal Roberts Slater Nalley Gabby Samone Josh King If you want to follow along with Roberts' journey, episodes air Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. CST and on Hulu the following day. Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@ This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Who is left on American Idol? Mississippi's Jamal Roberts makes Top 7
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"American Idol": Meridian native Jamal Roberts makes Top 8. See his performance here
Jamal Roberts has his eyes on the prize. The Meridian native is officially in the Top 8 of "American Idol" Season 23. Last week, the 27-year-old Crestwood Elementary P.E. teacher became the sixth Mississippian in the show's history to break the Top 10. Sunday night, May 4, Roberts earned his spot in the Top 8 with a passionate rendition of Carrie Underwood's "Undo It." Roberts started his "American Idol" journey when he won a golden ticket singing "Mary Jane" by Rick James in audition rounds. In the weeks since his audition round aired, Roberts has traveled throughout the U.S. with his fellow contestants, eluding elimination rounds with his raw, soulful performances. In the first few weeks of elimination rounds, judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood held the power to decide who stayed and who went home. The power shifted into audiences' hands once the contestants were down to the Top 24. Roberts has proved to be an audience favorite, making it into the Top 20, then the Top 14, then the Top 10 and now, the Top 8. If you want to cast your vote for Roberts, you can text during the episode using Roberts' code, which will appear on screen as he performs. Vote through the "American Idol" app or vote through the "American Idol" website. Here is the Top 8 of "American Idol" Season 23, in no particular order: Thunderstorm Artis John Foster Mattie Pruitt Breanna Nix Jamal Roberts Slater Nalley Gabby Samone Josh King Canaan James Hill and Kolbi Jordan did not receive enough votes and were sent home. If you want to follow along with Roberts' journey, episodes air Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. CST and on Hulu the following day. Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@ This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jamal American Idol Top 8
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Did Meridian, MS, singer Jamal Roberts win 'American Idol'?
Meridian-native Jamal Roberts is the new "American Idol." More than 26 million viewers voted on Sunday night, May 18, the biggest turnout in the show's history. This season's final three was stacked with Southerners. Roberts competed against John Foster, 18, of Addis, Louisiana and Breanna Nix, 25, of Denton, Texas. After two rounds of performances, the three competitors stood on stage awaiting the third place announcement. Suspense grew and the singers held their breath before host Ryan Seacrest announced Nix would not be joining the final two. Roberts is the second Mississippian to win "American Idol." Trent Harmon of Amory won Season 15. Before Roberts, five Mississippi natives had made it to the Top 10. Skylar Laine of Jackson was a finalist on Season 11. La'Porsha Renae of McComb was runner-up on Season 15. Most recently, Gattman resident Colin Stough placed third in Season 21. Also in Season 21, Amory resident Zachariah Smith made the top five. Roberts, a 27-year-old P.E. teacher at Crestwood Elementary, started his "American Idol" Season 23 journey when he won a golden ticket singing "Mary Jane" by Rick James in audition rounds. Before competing on "American Idol," Roberts grew a following singing covers on TikTok. In the weeks following his audition, Roberts traveled throughout the U.S. with his fellow contestants, eluding elimination rounds with his raw, soulful performances. On Monday, May 12, Roberts became the fourth Mississippian in "American Idol" history to break the Top 3. When Roberts first auditioned, judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood were impressed, but agreed Roberts could use some more confidence. The singer gradually grew his stage presence, and by the finale, Roberts easily commanded the room. Mississippi has rallied around Roberts in the past few weeks, and no community has supported the singer more than his own hometown. Last week, Meridian held a massive celebration for Roberts' homecoming including a parade. Roberts gave a performance outside Meridian Town Hall that drew a crowd of 20,000. Meridian's entire population in just over 33,500. A video package shown before Roberts' second performance Sunday night showed the P.E. coach's homecoming before he flew back to California for the finale. "We are very proud that he is from Meridian," a resident said in the video. "He's showing our children they can accomplish their dreams." Roberts' students gave emotional speeches as the entire city showed their support. "No matter what happen after this, I'm still going to be your coach," Roberts told his students. Roberts moved the audience with a passionate rendition of TEEKS' "First Time" for his first performance Sunday night. Signs sporting "Team Jamal" swayed in the audience, and Roberts' family wiped tears as the music faded out. "You just look so comfortable and at ease in the way you're walking around interacting with everybody," Underwood said in a full-circle moment. Underwood told Roberts in his audition that he needed to work on looking more comfortable and confident while singing. "Will you teach me how to be how that smooth?" Bryan joked. "When we leave the set and I go back home, people ask me about you, and I'm like, 'Man, he is just so smooth with his delivery,' … Everything about you is a star." "What I love about you is the way you just navigate the story and it happens to come out of your mouth in brilliant form," Richie said. The song was hand-selected by this season's artist-in-residence Jelly Roll, who earlier in the season said Roberts' performance of his song "Liar" was even better than his original. Jelly Roll declared the song "Jamal's song." Roberts isn't the only Mississippian with ties to the song. Grammy-nominated songwriter Ben Johnson, a member of the sibling trio Track45, co-wrote the song. The Johnsons originally are from Meridian. Sunday night, Roberts and Jelly Roll sand "Liar" together. For his second performance, Roberts sang "Just My Imagination" by The Temptations. "I cannot believe that you've been in a school room teaching kids and you go from that to what you're able to do in front of us," Bryan said. "You're one of the most amazing people that I've ever seen on this show." After the judges' comments, Seacrest pointed out the lipstick stain still on Roberts' cheek from his mom before the performance. Roberts has shown his love for his family throughout the competition. Roberts is a father of three daughters Harmoni, 6, Lyrik, 4, and Gianna, who was born just two weeks before the finale. Harmoni and Lyrik have joined the audience for several of Roberts' performances, and once again cheered for their dad Sunday night. For his final performance, Roberts performed Tom Odell's "Heal," which he also performed to earn a spot in the Top 10. Once again, Roberts moved the audience to tears, adding his own twist on the original song, centering his version on his religious faith and love for Jesus. Roberts' version of "Heal" is available now for purchase and streaming. Lici Beveridge contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jamal Roberts wins American Idol 2025
