Who is the next ‘American Idol’? A winner was crowned at the season 23 finale

LOS ANGELES — After thousands of auditions, a lot of hope, heartache, and eliminations… this season of “American Idol” came down to two singers.

The top three were narrowed down to only two when Breanna Nix was eliminated from the show in Sunday night’s finale. That meant the final two contestants were John Foster — an 18-year-old college student from Louisiana, and Jamal Roberts — a 27-year-old P.E. teacher from Mississippi.

The judges — Carrie Underwood, Lionel Ritchie, and Luke Bryan — watched this season’s singers up their games week after week and were proud to see the three in the finale.

Before announcing the winner, host Ryan Seacrest said there were a record-breaking 26 million votes, more than double last year’s finale.

So, who won “American Idol”?

Mississippi’s Jamal Roberts, the father of three and P.E. teacher to many young students, is now also the new 27-year-old “American Idol.”

“You are holding that like an Oscar,” Entertainment Reporter George Pennacchio said as Roberts gripped the card that named him the winner.

“It’s an Oscar. This is an Oscar. This is a dream come true. I’m so thankful,” Roberts said. “I always had faith. I just knew it wasn’t going to be an easy journey. I knew it was going to be a ride, and if I wanted to be the ‘American Idol,’ I had to sit in the passenger seat with my seatbelt on and enjoy the ride.”

I won for my kids. I won for my hometown. I won for the state of Mississippi,” Roberts said.

Pennacchio caught up with Seacrest and the judges about the exciting conclusion to the season.

“If you’re going to have 20 facets of singing, he has all 20 of them,” Bryan said. “And if you add five more, which is emotions, all the five, he’s got all that, too.”

“He would come, show up like this was a sporting event. He would work hard and practice, and he would play great in the game,” Seacrest said.

“He has a toolbox with a whole lot more in there, so I’m just excited for him,” Ritchie said. “I’m just blown away.”

Didn’t know who was going to win because you don’t know. You don’t know what’s going on out there, but there was no wrong answer,” Underwood said.

For the two finalists who did not get the title, they say they got something else.

“I feel 100% peace and 100% satisfaction for sure. I feel content,” Nix said.

“This journey on ‘American Idol’ has given me exactly what I need to make a successful career in country music, because that’s what I’ll do ’til the day I die is country music,” Foster said.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC, Hulu, and this ABC station.