American Idolseason 23 has crowned its winner, Jamal Roberts, andhe’ll be taking home a substantial prize and a recording contract.American Idolseason 23 welcomed Carrie Underwood to the judging panel, alongside Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. Together they discovered extraordinary talent at the auditions, which led to America voting for the Top 3 contestants–Jamal, John Foster, and Breanna Nix–after a season of phenomenal competition.
Jamal wonAmerican Idolseason 23, with John as the runner-up, and Breanna placing third. Jamal is a 27-year-old R&B singer and physical education teacher from Meridian, Mississippi; John is an 18-year-old country singer and college student from Addis, Louisiana; and Breanna is a 25-year-old Christian singer and stay-at-home mom from Denton, Texas. Here’s everything Jamal will receive as the winner ofAmerican Idolseason 23.
The American Idol Season 23 Winner Receives A Cash Prize & A Recording Contract
Jamal Has Earned Many Perks As The American Idol Winner
According toNewsweek, as theAmerican Idolseason 23 winner,Jamal will receive a recording contract with Hollywood Records, and a cash prize which has ranged from $125,000 to $250,000 in past seasons. He’ll also most likely be invited to perform at major ABC events, asotherAmerican Idolwinnershave appeared on network specials. The cash prize in the ABC era of the show has been reduced significantly from the FOX days of the show, during which the first winner, Kelly Clarkson, won $1 million and a recording contract with RCA records.
In fact,American Idolseason 16 winner, Maddie Poppe, who was the first to win in the ABC era in 2018, toldBusiness Insiderin 2022 thatthe cash prize isn’t as life-changing as people think. She explained that people thought that her parents and her sister could quit their jobs because she could support them, but this wasn’t the case.
Maddie revealed that she wasn’t"set for life"as people assumed, saying,“You do get $250,000, but not really because of taxes. And you get half of it before you complete your record, and then the second half you get after you complete the record. So it’s just like an advance from the record deal, but I’m pretty sure I have to recoup it.”
The American Idol Season 23 Winner & Runner-Up Receive A Disney Cruise
Host Ryan Seacrest Surprised Jamal & John With The Trip
After Jamal andJohn were voted as theAmerican Idolseason 23Top 2 contestants,host Ryan Seacrest surprised them by announcing that they’d both be receiving a prize of a Disney cruise. They each received a trip for four on the Disney Wish cruiseline, which includes world-class dining, Disney entertainment, and character experiences. It also includes a stay at Disney’s private island called Castaway Key. Disney is the parent company of ABC, the network on whichAmerican Idolairs.
The American Idol Winner & Runner-Up Received Cars In The Fox Era Of The Show
Carrie Underwood Still Drives The Car She Won
In anAmerican Idolseason 23 episode,Carrie drove Ryan, Luke, and Lionel around in the car, which had runner-up Bo Bice’s version of “Inside Your Heaven” playing from the CD player. Bo was then shown driving a blue Ford Mustang convertible with the license plate,“S4WINNER,“while listening to Carrie’s version of the song, which jokingly implied that they’d mixed up their cars twenty years after winning them.
As the latestAmerican Idolwinner,Jamal will receive a Disney cruise, a cash prize, and a recording contract, but, arguably, the most important thing he earned on the show was the publicity that will skyrocket him to superstardom. The same is true of John, Breanna, and all of the other finalists.American Idolhas made global superstars of Kelly, Carrie, and other winners, but it also launched the incredible careers of non-winners such as Jennifer Hudson, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, and Adam Lambert.When it comes toAmerican Idol, everyone wins.
