The first time season 23 “American Idol” winner Jamal Roberts heard Tom Odell’s 2013 song “Heal” was while he was choosing which song to perform for the live show on April 28, 2025. He worked on the tune with one of his musical idols, guest mentor Fantasia, and the result was so powerful, it rendered the judges and audience speechless.
Roberts’ cover of “Heal” is now his first official single, released on May 17 by “American Idol” partner 19 Recordings, and it immediately landed at the top of iTunes’ Top Songs chart. On May 21, according to Chartoo, the tune still topped the chart, just above the very first “American Idol” winner, Kelly Clarkson, with her song “Where Have You Been.”
But with so much buzz about “Heal,” what does the song’s originator, British singer-songwriter Tom Odell, think of Roberts’ rendition of his original song? On May 19, the day after Roberts won “American Idol,” Odell told New York radio station KTU that he was blown away by it.
Tom Odell Says Jamal Roberts’ Version of ‘Heal’ Made Him Cry
While discussing being a songwriter on KTU, Odell said, “The other day this guy in America, here in America, did a cover of ‘Heal’ on ‘American Idol.’”
“Watch this thing,” he implored the DJ. “It made my cry. He does this version of ‘Heal’ and, you know, this is a song I wrote when I was 20 years old and I’m 34 now. And I watched this thing on YouTube.”
“He even said, he got interviewed, he’d only heard the song, like the day before,” Odell marveled. “And he does this version of it and I’m just like, ‘That is why I do this.’ That’s what music is!”
Odell, who’s touring in May and June with Billie Eilish, continued, “It’s about someone covering it on TikTok or, like, someone seeing it on ‘American Idol.’ Like, someone remixing it, someone speeding it up, someone slowing it down. Like, to me, it’s all communication, and it’s all about that amazing thing of cultures coming together and learning something from one another. That’s what music is.”
The indie-pop star is familiar with his music reaching far and wide. His debut single, “Another Love,” has become one of the most-streamed songs of all time on Spotify, according to The Australian.
Jamal Roberts Chose to Sing ‘Heal’ Based on Leah Marlene’s Performance 2 Seasons Earlier
Roberts chose to sing “Heal” for the April 28 episode of “American Idol” because the show’s theme was “Iconic Idol Moments.” Two years prior, season 21’s third-place finisher Leah Marlene performed a show-stopping, slowed-down version of the same song, which left the judges floored.
The pace of Roberts’ version is closer to Marlene’s than Odell’s, but he gave the song his signature soul sound and, for his single, even added some new lyrics at the end. Roberts told Parade Magazine after his win that he loves performing songs from different genres and adding his own special sauce, as he did with “Heal.”
“I really studied the lyrics. I read them, I write them, and I put myself inside of them. I am, ‘What’s on this paper that I can relate to? What situation have I been through that I can relate to? And I just go from there.”
He performed “Heal” again on the May 18 finale, and two days after winning the title, he performed it on “Good Morning America” and on “Live With Kelly and Mark.”
