Season 23

American Idol Season 23
Where Stars Are Made
Winner	Jamal Roberts
Coronation Song	"Heal"
Runner-up	John Foster
Judges	Lionel Richie Carrie Underwood Luke Bryan
Host	Ryan Seacrest
Created by	Simon Fuller
Directed by	Phil Heyes
Network	ABC
Held from	March 2, 2025 - May 18, 2025
Season Guide
← Previous	Season 22
Next →	Season 24

The twenty-third season of American Idol premiered on March 2, 2025 and ended on May 18, 2025. It is the eighth season to air on ABC.

Auditions online were held until October 15, 2024. Ryan Seacrest returned as the host; Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan returned to the judge’s panel. This is Carrie Underwood's first season on the panel as she took Katy Perry's previous place.

This season concluded on May 18, 2025, as Jamal Roberts took the winning spot as the next American Idol.

Auditions

Main Article: Season 23 Auditions

Audition cities

The following cities held auditions for Season 23, date of the auditions are also shown.

The Idol Across America virtual auditions program returned. Remote auditions took place from August 12 to September 9, 2024, as well as a number of open-call auditions, and from these, the producers selected the contestants who were then invited to audition in front of the judges.

The "platinum ticket" also returned from the previous three seasons. During the audition round, a total of three platinum tickets were awarded. The platinum ticket recipients were Kolbi Jordan, Filo, and Canaan James Hill.

American Idol (season 23) – auditions

City	Filming date(s)	Filming venue
New York City, New York	September 30, 2024	Penn Station
Nashville, Tennessee	October 30, 2024	Music City Center
Los Angeles, California	December 2024	Calamigos Ranch

Hollywood Week:

• The Idol Arena episode aired on Monday, March 31, 2025, and along with the Showstoppers and Head to Head rounds, were all filmed at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
• A total of 144 contestants made it to Hollywood Week. 82 of them were eliminated after the Idol Arena, leaving 62 to compete in the Showstoppers round (59 of whom advanced out of the Idol Arena and the three Platinum Ticket holders who received an instant bypass during the Showstoppers round).

Showstoppers and Head to Head

Showstopper Round (Sunday, April 6, 2025)

Contestant	Song	Artist
Victor Solomon	"In the Air Tonight"	Phil Collins
Mattie Pruitt*	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"	James Brown
Kolbi Jordan	"River Deep Mountain High"	Ike and Tina Turner
Isaiah Misailegalu	"What Hurts the Most"	Rascal Flatts
Breanna Nix	"The Trouble with Love Is"	Kelly Clarkson
Drew Ryn	"Always On My Mind"	Elvis Presley
Jamal Roberts	"Tennessee Whiskey"	Chris Stapleton
Amanda Barise	"Ain't Nobody"	Rufus and Chaka Khan
Desmond Roberts	"Barracuda"	Heart
John Foster	"In Color"	Jamey Johnson
Zaylie Windsor*	"Happier Than Ever"	Billie Eilish
Filo	"Anything Worth Holding On To"	Shoshana Bean
Slater Nalley	"Ophelia"	The Band
MKY	"Sabor a Mí"	Luis Miguel
Gabby Samone*	"Four Women"	Nina Simone
Grayson Torrence	"Oscar Winning Tears"	Raye
Thunderstorm Artis	"Imagine"	John Lennon
Olivier	"Like a Stone"	Audioslave
Canaan James Hill*	"Never Would Have Made It"	Marvin Sapp
Ché	performance not aired
Penny Samar	performance not aired
Kyana Fanene	performance not aired
Baylee Littrell	performance not aired
Josh King	performance not aired

• An asterisk (*) indicates the contestant advanced directly to the top 24 from this round. 16 contestants were also eliminated after the Showstoppers.
• The remaining 20 spots were determined in the Head to Head round on Monday, April 7, 2025, when the remaining 42 contestants (not counting the four already advanced) performed in 21 duets for the last spots.

Top 24

Main Article: Top 24 (season 23)

Group 1 (April 13, 2025)

Guest Judge/Mentor: Ashanti/Jelly Roll

Contestant	Song	Artist	Result
Ché	“Master Blaster (Jammin’)”	Stevie Wonder	Safe
Penny Samar	“Good Luck, Babe!”	Chappell Roan	Eliminated
Kolbi Jordan	“New Attitude”	Patti LaBelle	Safe
Baylee Littrell	“Happy”	Pharrell Williams	Safe
Victor Solomon	“That’s My Kinda Night”	Luke Bryan	Safe
Gabby Samone	“It’s All Coming Back To Me Now”	Celine Dion	Safe
MKY	“Adorn”	Miguel	Eliminated
Zaylie Windsor	“Heart Of Glass”	Blondie	Safe
Breanna Nix	“Still Rolling Stones”	Lauren Daigle	Safe
Isaiah Misailegalu	“You Can Have It All”	Maoli	Safe
Slater Nalley	“Over The Rainbow”	Judy Garland	Safe
Jamal Roberts	“Liar”	Jelly Roll	Safe

Guest Performance

Guest Artist	Song
Ashanti	“The Way That I Love You”/“Foolish”

Group 2 (April 14, 2025)

Guest Judge/Mentor: Josh Groban/Jelly Roll

Contestant	Song	Artist	Result
John Foster	“Callin’ Baton Rouge”	Garth Brooks	Safe
Desmond Roberts	“Do I Do”	Stevie Wonder	Safe
Drew Ryn	“I’m With You”	Avril Lavigne	Safe
Canaan James Hill	“Glory To Glory To Glory”	Fred Hammond & Radical For Christ	Safe
Filo	“Who’s Lovin’ You”	The Jackson 5	Safe
Kyana Fanene	“I AM (Māori Version)”	Stan Walker	Eliminated
Olivier Bergeron	“I Am Not Okay”	Jelly Roll	Safe
Grayson Torrence	“ceilings”	Lizzy McAlpine	Eliminated
Josh King	“I’m Still Standing”	Elton John	Safe
Mattie Pruitt	“Wide Awake”	Katy Perry	Safe
Thunderstorm Artis	“Is This Love”	Bob Marley	Safe
Amanda Barise	“Defying Gravity”	From Wicked	Safe

Guest Performance

Guest Artist	Song
Josh Groban	“Be Alright”

Top 20

Performance Night (April 20, 2025)

Top 20 — Performance Night

Contestants	Song	Artist
Canaan James Hill	“Better Days”	Le’Andria Johnson
Drew Ryn	“Yellow”	Coldplay
Desmond Roberts	“Worship”	Jon Batiste
Filo	“Bridge Over Troubled Water”	Simon & Garfunkel
Josh King	“You Are So Beautiful”	Joe Cocker
Thunderstorm Artis	“Reckless Love”	Cory Asbury
Amanda Barise	“If I Ain’t Got You”	Alicia Keys
John Foster	“Tell That Angel I Love Her”	John Foster
Mattie Pruitt	“Rescue”	Lauren Daigle
Olivier Bergeron	“Stay”	Rihanna (ft. Mikky Ekko)
Breanna Nix	“Up To The Mountain”	Patty Griffin
Victor Soloman	“For Every Mountain”	Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers
Baylee Littrell	“Gone Without Goodbye”	Brian Littrell
Isaiah Misailegalu	“Give You Blue”	Allen Stone
Gabby Samone	“I Am Changing”	From Dreamgirls
Slater Nalley	“Soulshine”	The Allman Brothers Band
Zaylie Windsor	“Silver Springs”	Fleetwood Mac
Jamal Roberts	“Forever”	Jason Nelson
Ché	“Redemption Song”	Bob Marley & The Wailers
Kolbi Jordan	“Amazing Grace”	Traditional

Guest Performances

Guest Artists	Song
Lionel Richie (with the Top 24)	“Eternity”
Luke Bryan	“Jesus ‘Bout My Kids”
The Brown Four	“Oh, How I Love Jesus”/“This Little Light Of Mine”
Jelly Roll & Brandon Lake	“Hard Fought Hallelujah”
CeCe Winans & Roman Collins	“Come Jesus, Come”
Carrie Underwood	“How Great Thou Art!”

Results Night (April 21, 2025)

Top 20 — Results Night: Victory Songs/Wildcard Performances

Contestants	Song	Artist	Result
Kolbi Jordan	“I’m Every Woman”	Chaka Khan	Immune
Isaiah Misailegalu	“Sleepwalker”	Sammy Johnson	Eliminated
Thunderstorm Artis	“I Love You”	Billie Eilish	Immune
Olivier Bergeron	“It’s Not My Time”	3 Doors Down	Eliminated
Drew Ryn	“Million Reasons”	Lady Gaga	Eliminated
John Foster	“Neon Moon”	Brooks & Dunn	Immune
Filo	“Skyfall”	Adele	Immune
Josh King	“Never Gonna Give You Up”	Rick Astley	Judges Save
Mattie Pruitt	“In The Stars”	Benson Boone	Immune
Canaan James Hill	“Stand”	Donnie McClurkin	Immune
Ché	“Jealous Guy”	John Lennon	Judges Save
Baylee Littrell	“All Of Me”	John Legend	Eliminated
Desmond Roberts	“Titanium”	David Guetta (feat. Sia)	Judges Save
Breanna Nix	“The Show Must Go On”	Queen	Immune
Zaylie Windsor	“Still Into You”	Paramore	Eliminated
Jamal Roberts	“Try A Little Tenderness”	Otis Redding	Immune
Slater Nalley	“This Ain’t It”	Jason Isbell And The 400 Unit	Immune
Victor Solomon	“Stayin’ Alive	Bee Gees	Eliminated
Gabby Samone	“Don’t Rain On My Parade”	Barbra Streisand	Immune
Amanda Barise	“Ain’t No Way”	Aretha Franklin	Judges Save

Top 14

Filo	"With a Little Help from My Friends" (The Beatles)	Advanced
Mattie Pruitt	"Piece of My Heart" (Janis Joplin)	Advanced
John Foster	"Jailhouse Rock" (Elvis Presley)	Advanced
Desmond Roberts	"Jesus is Love" (Commodores)	Eliminated
Jamal Roberts	"Shout, Pts. 1 & 2" (The Isley Brothers)	Advanced
Amanda Barise	"I Can't Help It" (Michael Jackson)	Eliminated
Canaan James Hill	"Mary, Don't You Weep" (Aretha Franklin)	Advanced
Josh King	"The Longest Time" (Billy Joel)	Advanced
Thunderstorm Artis	"Fire and Rain" (James Taylor)	Advanced
Gabby Samone	"Saving All My Love for You" (Whitney Houston)	Advanced
Breanna Nix	"Open Arms" (Journey)	Advanced
Kolbi Jordan	"You're All I Need to Get By" (Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell)	Advanced
Ché	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" (James Brown)	Advanced
Slater Nalley	"Your Song" (Elton John)	Advanced

Top 12

Slater Nalley	"Angel from Montgomery" (John Prine)	Originally sung by Megan Danielle	Advanced
Ché	"Dancing On My Own" (Robyn)	Originally sung by Colin Stough	Eliminated
Thunderstorm Artis	"House of the Rising Sun" (The Animals)	Originally sung by Haley Reinhart	Advanced
Kolbi Jordan	"Over the Rainbow" (Judy Garland)	Originally sung by Katharine McPhee	Advanced
Filo	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (Jennifer Holiday)	Originally sung by Jennifer Hudson	Eliminated
Mattie Pruitt	"Because of You" (Kelly Clarkson)	Originally sung by Kelly Clarkson	Advanced
Canaan James Hill	"Goodness of God" (CeCe Winans)	Originally sung by Roman Collins	Advanced
Gabby Samone	"A Song for You" (Donny Hathaway)	Originally sung by Elliott Yamin	Advanced
Josh King	"All By Myself" (Celine Dion)	Originally sung by Pia Toscano	Advanced
Breanna Nix	"Tell Your Heart to Beat Again" (Danny Gokey)	Originally sung by Danny Gokey	Advanced
John Foster	"I Told You So" (Randy Travis)	Originally sung by Carrie Underwood	Advanced
Jamal Roberts	"Heal" (Tom Odell)	Originally sung by Leah Marlene	Advanced

Top 10

John Foster	"Something to Talk About" (Bonnie Raitt)	Advanced
Kolbi Jordan	"The Chain" (Fleetwood Mac)	Eliminated
Josh King	"Rolling in the Deep" (Adele)	Advanced
Breanna Nix	"Water Under the Bridge" (Adele)	Advanced
Canaan James Hill	"Love Wins" (Carrie Underwood)	Eliminated
Thunderstorm Artis	"When We Were Young" (Adele)	Advanced
Slater Nalley	"Whoever's In New England" (Reba McEntire)	Advanced
Jamal Roberts	"Undo It" (Carrie Underwood)	Advanced
Mattie Pruitt	"The House That Built Me" (Miranda Lambert)	Advanced
Gabby Samone	"I Was Here" (Beyoncé)	Advanced

Top 8

Breanna Nix	"Independence Day" (Martina McBride)	Chosen by Luke Bryan	Advanced
Mattie Pruitt	"Always Been You" (Jessie Murph)	Chosen by Luke Bryan	Bottom 2 (Saved)
John Foster	"I Cross My Heart" (George Strait)	Chosen by Carrie Underwood	Advanced
Josh King	"Home" (Michael Bublé)	Chosen by Lionel Richie	Eliminated
Gabby Samone	"Hero" (Mariah Carey)	Chosen by Lionel Richie	Advanced
Jamal Roberts	"I Believe" (Fantasia Barrino)	Chosen by Lionel Richie	Advanced
Thunderstorm Artis	"Faithfully" (Journey)	Chosen by Carrie Underwood	Advanced
Slater Nalley	"Atlantic City" (Bruce Springsteen)	Chosen by Luke Bryan	Advanced

Top 7

Gabby Samone	"How Far I'll Go" (Auli'i Cravalho)	Eliminated
Jamal Roberts	"Go the Distance" (Roger Bart)	Advanced
Breanna Nix	"Reflection" (Lea Salonga)	Advanced
John Foster	"Almost There" (Anika Noni Rose)	Advanced
Slater Nalley	"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Elton John)	Advanced
Mattie Pruitt	"Remember Me" (Natalia Lafourcade & Miguel)	Eliminated
Thunderstorm Artis	"Colors of the Wind" (Vanessa Williams)	Advanced
Breanna Nix	"Like My Mother Does" (Lauren Alaina)	Advanced
Gabby Samone	"Home" (Stephanie Mills)	Eliminated
Slater Nalley	"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" (Bob Dylan)	Advanced
Jamal Roberts	"A Change is Gonna Come" (Sam Cooke)	Advanced
Mattie Pruitt	"Those Kind of Women" (Lauren Alaina)	Eliminated
Thunderstorm Artis	"Out of the Blue" (Thunderstorm Artis)	Advanced
John Foster	"Believe" (Brooks & Dunn)	Advanced

Top 5

Slater Nalley	"You've Got a Friend in Me" (Randy Newman)	Toy Story	Eliminated
John Foster	"The Bare Necessities" (Phil Harris)	The Jungle Book	Advanced
Thunderstorm Artis	"A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" (Ilene Woods)	Cinderella	Eliminated
Breanna Nix	"This Will Be" (Natalie Cole)	The Parent Trap	Advanced
Jamal Roberts	"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell)	Remember the Titans	Advanced
Slater Nalley	"Born To Be Wild" (Steppenwolf)	D3: The Mighty Ducks	Eliminated
Thunderstorm Artis	"Find Yourself" (Brad Paisley)	Cars	Eliminated
John Foster	"Rainbow Connection" (Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog)	The Muppet Movie	Advanced
Breanna Nix	"You'll Be in My Heart" (Phil Collins)	Tarzan	Advanced
Jamal Roberts	"Beauty and the Beast" (Peabo Bryson & Celine Dion)	Beauty and the Beast	Advanced

Season 23 Finale

John Foster	"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" (Toby Keith)	Runner-Up
Jamal Roberts	"First Time" (TEEKS)	Winner
Breanna Nix	"In Jesus Name (God of Possible)" (Katy Nichole)	Third Place
John Foster	"Take Me Home, Country Roads" (John Denver)	Runner-Up
Jamal Roberts	"Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" (The Temptations)	Winner
Breanna Nix	"The Climb" (Miley Cyrus)	Third Place
John Foster	"Tell That Angel I Love Her"	Runner-Up
Jamal Roberts	"Heal"	Winner

Trivia

• This marked the first year since the Platinum Ticket was implemented that all of the recipients became finalists.
• This marked the second season where two contestants with the same surname made the Finals, after season 7.