MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) -Over 4,000 people gathered at Q.V. Sykes Park for Meridian native and American Idol winner Jamal Roberts’ Welcome Home Celebration concert.

After captivating the hearts of over 26 million people while on the show, Roberts continued to bring the heart, soul, and heat to his performances Saturday night, performing fan favorites such as “ Liar ” by Jelly Roll, and he even performed his hit version of “ Heal ”.

Betty Jones, a long-time supporter of Jamal, expresses how extremely proud she is of Jamal and all of his hard work. Even the hometown hero was excited to be back home doing what he does best.

“It’s always been love in my hometown. I appreciate everybody taking time out of their busy schedules just to come and see me. They’ve been following me on my journey the whole journey before American Idol, before Sunday Best, so it’s always good to come home and show love,” Roberts says.

“This was an awesome experience, and we want to thank the event coordinators. I remember Jamal when he was running around the school halls, being in class, singing, and everything. He is the foundation of Meridian, and we just want to thank him for bringing positive attention to Meridian, Ms., and the great state of Mississippi,” Jones says.

Highlights: Jamal Roberts full Performance at Homecoming Concert in Meridian | From Heal to Liar – YouTube

One of Jamal’s students was very excited to come out with her family to witness him perform.

“I’m very excited to see him perform on stage and sing all of his songs, because I like to hear him sing,” Jenesis Young says.

Roberts also wanted to tell his story and address any rumors that were circulating, while also showing appreciation to the county for stepping in.

“Shout out to my city, Meridian itself. I didn’t get much support from the city officials this year, seeing that former mayor Percy Bland was driving me in the parade. I’m not into politics, I just genuinely love Percy because he’s always been there for me before, the mayor title, before all that. He’s always shown love, and he’s always been supportive, but somehow, they didn’t like the way it looked, and it backfired on my end, but we still pulled it off. People still came and showed support and shout out to the county for stepping in,” says Jamal Roberts.

Jamal Roberts wins ‘American Idol’ 2025Photo by: Disney/Stewart Cook
Ever since American Idol crowned Jamal Roberts as its newest champion, fans of the long running series have been quick to criticize the singer. During a half-hour long Facebook live session, Jamal answered fans harshest questions.

Jamal Roberts Admits His Manager Convinced Him to Audition for American Idol
American Idol‘s newest winner hopped on a live stream on May 22, where he talked about all the rumors that came about after the competition. The Facebook live took place on May 22, four days after he won Season 23. At the time of the live stream, Jamal was tending to his newborn daughter home in Meridian, Mississippi.

He took this time to address the rumors that he was being taken advantage of by his longtime manager, Carlton Cofield. Cofield was often seen cheering Jamal on during American Idol. Jamal’s manager owns Atlanta-based company, Soultowne Marketing. The company specializes in representing gospel, R&B, and hip-hop artists.

Apparently, Cofield was the person who convinced him to appear in 2020 on BET’s “Sunday Best” singing competition. He finished in third place in the BET competition. Cofield was also the person who convinced Jamal to audition for American Idol. Apparently, he had auditioned for the competition show three times before getting a ticket to Hollywood.