Jamal Roberts Brings Soul & Storytelling to "Mary Jane"—Judges Say Yes! | American Idol

American Idol
10 followers
5 Video Views·Oct 26, 2025
What are you going to sing for us today?
I'm singing Mary Jane by Rick James.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Okay.
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 think you love me, Mary Jane?
Don't play no game
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Yeah
Do you love me, Mary Jane?
Alright, this one's antsy,
so I'm just going to
toss it this way.
He's got stuff he needs to say.
Well, you know, you know.
I see him in the corner
over there like
he's fancy pants.
You know, 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 old 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.
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 old yes.
Thank you.
It is a yes for me.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
You're going to Hollywood!
Oh, my goodness.
Yes!
Daddy's gonna go
and get a ticket!
