'American Idol' 2025: The best performances from Season 23, including Jamal Roberts

In the Season 23 premiere, Carrie Underwood immediately clocked Baylee Littrell as a familiar face: The 21-year-old college student from Alpharetta, Georgia, is the son of Backstreet Boys star Brian Littrell.

Bucking any expectations that he'd go the saccharine pop route, Baylee took a risk with an original song called "Waiting on Myself to Die." The judges were convinced enough by the acoustic guitar set and the vulnerability in a song about not letting yourself give up, but for good measure, they requested a father-son duet. Brian joined for a reprisal of the song, providing the upper range for the chorus. And with three yeses delivered, Brian was left in tears.

Read the full Episode 1 recap here.

Isaiah Misailegalu, a 17-year-old high school senior from Las Vegas, is not only the varsity football team captain, a member of the honor choir and president of his school's Polynesian club, but he also has immense singing talent. With confidence and emotion infused into his "silky" voice, he sang Donny Hathaway's "A Song For You" with accompaniment from his Uncle Luigi on acoustic guitar. And the performance was one you'll want to put on a loop.

One issue: Underwood refused to believe that voice could come from someone who only recently started singing in front of others. "It sounds like you’ve been doing it forever. You made it sound very easy, and it’s not. So well done, you liar," she joked. He received a unanimous vote of confidence for Hollywood Week.

Soon after boldly pronouncing she was "not a crier," Carrie Underwood was proven wrong when 17-year-old Slater Nalley performed a song dedicated to the late Carter Davis, son of high school English teacher Mrs. Davis (pictured). The tune, "Traces of You," was crafted from poems Mrs. Davis wrote after Carter was killed in 2016.

The judges were so impressed by the teen that they didn't even have to vote. The trio simply announced that Slater was heading to Hollywood.

Before 19-year-old college student Lola and her dad Rob Bonfiglio launched into Lola's audition song, she brought in some backup: her mom, Carnie Wilson, and aunt Wendy Wilson. Which, yes, makes Lola one of Brian Wilson's grandchildren. Lola, Carnie and Wendy first sang the 1990 chart-topper "Hold On" as Underwood mouthed along. But then it was time for Lola to fly away from the nest, and she sang Kacey Musgraves' "Rainbow" as mom cried with pride and fanned her face from the sidelines.Her performance was good enough to get her to the next round.

Read the full Episode 3 recap here.

Are you sensing a theme yet? Nina Daig also had a sweet family moment during her audition.

It was the 25 year old's first time singing in front of other people, but she pushed through the nerves to deliver a sweet original song about her older brother Joe, which left Underwood sniffling away tears. The judges were torn over whether to send Nina through or hold her back to develop her confidence more, but they ultimately gave her three yeses for Hollywood Week.

Landynn Kennedy, 20, revealed a devastating backstory of overcoming obstacles before launching into a memorable rendition of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can’t Make You Love Me."

From the first word, Landynn's voice came out clear and strong. There were a few imperfections, but also some impressive riffs showcasing his unique take on the '90s song. "You have so much raw talent," Underwood told Landynn. "I feel like you would be one that would be a lot of fun to watch grow in a competition like this." And thus, he was sent to Hollywood with three yeses.

Read the full Episode 4 recap here.

Canaan James Hill, the The 17-year-old aspiring preacher who was presented with the third and final platinum ticket, unleashed clear, pure vocals from the get-go as he launched into Marvin Sapp's "Never Would Have Made It" in the Showstoppers round of Hollywood Week.

Canaan showed off his incredible range, went into a little bit of scatting, and elicited a massive compliment from Bryan: "He's one of the best singers I've ever seen." The recent high school grad had the judges fired up after his cover, with Richie declaring to the judges, "That was the greatest performance I have ever seen." Underwood went so far as to scream at the crowd, "He's seventeen! What!""Top one," Bryan said as Richie repeated: "Top one."

Read the full Episode 6 recap here.

Thunderstorm Artis opened his mouth, let a smile spread across his face and used not much more than just his voice and his guitar to captivate his audience at downtown LA's Orpheum Theatre with a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine." It was a simple yet moving performance that didn't require much help at all from the band — which was a good move, as some of his competitors struggled to sing along with the live band.

As Desmond Roberts covered Heart's "Barracuda" during the Showstoppers round, you could tell he was fighting for his life. He was doing this for his family, who are struggling financially and moved in with his grandmother.

With just his opening lines, Lionel Richie was rolling away from the judges' desk in astonishment, later doing a 360-degree turn to express his bewilderment. Desmond screamed, he beatboxed and "took us on a rollercoaster ride with that song," Underwood commented. After a handful of singers was cut, Desmond advanced to the head-to-head round.

Illinois' Victor Solomon boldly took on Luke Bryan's "That's My Kind of Night" during the Top 24 performances — and the risk paid off. The judges were up on their feet early in the performance, as Victor upstaged Bryan with his hip-swinging, foot-tapping moves.

Wearing a cowboy hat, suspenders (that soon came loose due to the aforementioned dancing) and tight jeans, Victor showed impressive voice control as he worked the stage while not missing a single note.The fast-food director "can truly out-dance me," Bryan admitted.

Read the full Episode 8 recap here.

Airport pianist Josh King found himself some main character energy during the Top 24 performances. He earned the "most improved" award by donning a white blazer and matching pants and breaking out some impressive footwork while performing "I’m Still Standing" by Elton John. As he walked around toting the mic stand, he got the judges dancing up on their feet.

As Josh kneeled on the ground, whipped out a harmonica and charismatically engaged with the crowd, there was no trace left of the guy who had his butt firmly on a piano seat during his "Over the Rainbow" audition.

Read the full Episode 9 recap here.

For the Top 24, seasoned performer Amanda Barise chose a song she felt "embodies my time on the show." She and the band came up with a unique, upbeat and slightly tropical-themed arrangement for "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked."

Amanda, showcasing her newfound confidence, was barefoot on stage as she seemingly hit every note known to mankind in delivering her rendition of Elphaba's famous solo. The song's dramatic climax was something that must be heard to be believed.

Gabby Samone brought her A-game to stay in the Top 12. Her rendition of Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love for You" was soft, ethereal and powerful at once and blew Luke Bryan away.

"Top to bottom one of the best things I’ve seen sitting in this chair," he told the child-care worker from Baltimore.

Read the full Episode 12 recap here.

With no flashy production elements in sight during his Top 12 performance, Jamal Roberts – seated on a stool at the mic stand – captivated the crowd with Tom Odell's "Heal." Even with the simplest notes, he infused the song with all of the pain and emotion in his being.

After the closing notes, silence reigned as Jamal slowly got up from his stool. Carrie Underwood glanced around, looking lost in her awe, and following the crowd's applause, Richie repeated a compliment he'd delivered earlier in the episode: "divinely guided."

Read the full Episode 13 recap here.

Thunderstorm Artis loves a stool and an acoustic guitar, and his Disney Night part 2 performance of the Disney classic "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" was no different. The song, which he explained he'd sing as a lullaby for older son Ezekiel, was performed so sweetly as his wife and children watched from the audience. Well, Ezekiel was appropriately asleep for the moment, but we can't blame him. Unfortunately, Thunderstorm did not make it into the Top 3.

Read the full Episode 13 recap here.

With Breanna Nix's husband wiping away proud tears in the audience, how could you not be moved by this rendition of "You'll Be in My Heart" from "Tarzan" that got her into the Top 3? Watch the full performance here.