Māori soul singer Teeks has been absolutely blown away after one of his songs was powerfully covered in the 'American Idol' 2025 grand finale.
Jamal Roberts sang straight from the heart in his final performance, soulfully taking on 'First Time' by the Aotearoa-born artist.
All three judges were on their feet, giving Jamal a well-deserved standing ovation, with Carrie Underwood saying: “You just feel so comfortable and sound so comfortable, and it sounds so good.”
Lionel Richie added: “What I love about you is the way you just navigate the story. It happens to come out of your mouth in brilliant form.”
Teeks himself reacted to the stunning cover on his Instagram Story, writing: “Man. My song was just performed on the grand finale of 'American Idol'.”
“The BVs (background vocals) are even singing my arrangement. I’m done for the day, bye.”
He also shared the performance alongside a bunch of sobbing emojis.
That’s got to be the ultimate compliment - the OG artist praising and sharing your version of their track.
People have jumped in the comments section on the 'American Idol' Instagram page, with Kiwis buzzing over Teeks’ song making it to the world stage, and others simply blown away by Jamal’s talent.
“Stoked for Teeks, our humble NZ-produced artist, having his music beautifully covered in the grand finale 🙌❤️,” one person wrote.
Another said: “This man is so beautiful! Physically and most of all, SPIRITUALLY!!! 🙌🙌🙌”
“It just flowed like butter! So flawless,” added a third. “Pure passion and talent…”
“I want to see you do a duet together,” someone else commented - SAME!
This isn't the first time a Kiwi artist has been covered on this season of the singing show. Stan Walker also praised contestant Kyana Fanene for her “extremely emotional” cover of his track 'I AM'.
Jamal went on to win this year’s season, and as the fan favourite, it seems like this is just the beginning of a long and successful career.
Who knows, that duet might not be far off. I've got my finger and toes crossed for it!
