The Audition That Made Him the Winner of American Idol 2025

What are you going to sing for us today? I'm singing Mary Jane by Rick James. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay. Okay! laughs piano plays Mary Jane I'm not the only one That Mary wants to play around I'll let her have her fun She's not the kind of girl That you can just tie down She likes to spread her love And turn your head around Do you love me Mary Jane? Whoa, whoa, whoa Do you, do you, do you, do you, do you, do you Do you think you love me Mary Jane? Don't play no game Whoa, whoa, whoa Yeah Do you love me Mary Jane? Yeah laughs All right, this one's antsy, so I'm just going to toss it this way. He's got stuff he needs to say! laughs Well, you know, you know... I see him in the corner and I'm over there like Man, you got some stuff in there. And by the end, you were letting it come out. Just relax. You've got the voice, and you know how to tell a story. Priceless. Thank you. Yeah, I mean, what I love about it is it was like really, really like Southern soulfulness. Was it perfect? Was it flawless? No, but you're not trying to sing it perfectly and flawless. You're just singing it from the heart, and that's what I felt. I agree with everything they just said. But you gotta loosen up. You need some swagger. You can't walk around with that big ol' voice and not have the rest of you being like, yeah. It might just be like a confidence thing. I think that's what... I think exactly what you're doing. But you're so good. Like, just loosen up and let your body match your voice. It's a yes for me. Thank you. It's a yes for me. Big ol' yes. Thank you. It's a yes for me. Thank you so much. Thank you. You're going to Hollywood! laughs Oh my goodness! Daddy's going to go on a ticket!