"Doing himself a disservice" — American Idol fans react to Jamal Roberts singing Carrie Underwood's Undo It
The 27-year-old P.E. teacher from Meridian, Mississippi, Jamal Roberts, took the American Idol stage to present the judges with his rendition of Undo It by Carrie Underwood. The contestant chose the song for the Ladies Night-themed episode, which was aired on May 4, 2025. His performance garnered praise and applause from the panelists, among whom sat the song's original singer.
Miranda Lambert, the guest mentor for the night, guided Jamal during rehearsals, helping him notice the areas he needed to work on. Jamal's act left a lasting impression on the panelists and the audience inside the studio, as they cheered for him.
As the contestants performed, the public voted for their favorite artists, hoping to see them advance to the next stage of the competition. Jamal successfully managed to convince America to save him with his act as he moved on to the Top 8 and got a step closer to clinching the winner's trophy.
While judges appreciated his performance, the American Idol fans felt unsure and disappointed by Jamal's song choice. They flooded X with their opinions, saying he could have chosen a different Carrie Underwood song. Regardless, some appreciated his decision.
"I hate that Jamal picked a Carrie Underwood song. He is doing himself a disservice by picking one of her lame songs. Bruh!" a fan wrote.
"I personally think this is one of carries worst songs. This and Last Name are hard skips for me. So many options and he picked this. Obv he is top tier talented so its fine but," another fan commented.
"Me watching Jamal sing that bulls**t by Carrie. Like please! Your voice is too good for this. Chile, let us just vote him on through so we can redeem ourselves tomorrow," a netizen commented.
Many American Idol fans were unhappy with the song Jamal picked.
"The song choices are so bad tonight. Jamal did his best but still," a user reacted.
"Idk Jamal might be shoot himself in the foot out of all the choices," a person commented.
"Of all the Carrie songs, Jamal chose one he definitely shouldn’t have performed lol," another fan wrote.
"Jamal woke the crowd up…. BUT I didn’t care for his song choice," one user posted.
However, some American Idol fans appreciated Jamal's song choice and overall performance.
"i love the song jamal is doing tho!! one of the only carrie songs i like," a person reacted.
"Loved that take on Undo It! He looks like a superstar on that stage! Total package!" another netizen commented.
"You are mesmerizing" — American Idol panelist Lionel Richie comments on Jamal Roberts' Ladies Night performance
Episode 15 of American Idol saw the contestants pick songs by renowned female artists from the music industry. While Adele emerged as the contestants' go-to choice, Jamal Roberts took on Carrie Underwood's Undo It.
Donning a cowboy hat and a black suit, Jamal took the stage, hoping to impress the judges and the public. Supported by backing vocalists and a live band, the American Idol contestant wowed the panelists with his act. Toward the end of his performance, he threw his hat in the air, which Luke Bryan caught and jumped around with it before allowing Jamal to throw it to Carrie.
While reviewing his performance, Lionel Richie said:
"All I'm gonna say is throughout your presence here, you are mesmerizing and I love it."
Carrie Underwood pointed out that Jamal made mistakes with the lyrics of the song, but added that nobody cared because the performance was "so much fun."
Soon after, host Ryan Seacrest appeared on stage, encouraging viewers to vote for Jamal by texting 12 to 21523.
Stream episodes of American Idol season 23 on Hulu.
