Heavy/ABC "American Idol" season 22 contestant Roman Collins
The day after Roman Collins returned to the “American Idol” stage to perform with his fellow top 12 contestants on the season 22 finale, the 24-year-old gospel singer posted a video of himself shirtless in his car, stunned to hear himself singing on the radio. Audio of his rousing finale duet with gospel superstar CeCe Winans, he’d just learned, was being played on Contemporary Christian radio network K-LOVE.
“I was on the phone with my bro and he told me I was on the radio with @CeCeWinans,” Collins wrote over a video he posted on social media of himself flipping out in his car. “I ran to the car shirtless just to turn on @K-LOVE.”
Shaking his head in disbelief as he listened to K-LOVE play the audio of his duet with Winans, Collins shouted, “I’m on the radio!”
Collins’ and Winans’ performance of “Goodness of God” on the “Idol” finale — which aired live on May 19, 2024 — was so stirring, video of their duet has gone viral, racking up nearly 30 million views in just 48 hours. The massive response has suddenly catapulted the Biola University choir director back into the spotlight weeks after he was eliminated from the show.
Video of Roman Collins & CeCe Winans’ Duet Goes Viral
During Collins’ journey on “American Idol,” he routinely brought down the house with his rousing renditions of gospel and R&B classics. One performance — of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” — got judge Katy Perry moving so much, she had a serious wardrobe malfunction and joked, “That song broke my top off!”
During Collins’ and Winans’ duet, cameras captured Perry being moved to tears and season 3 winner Fantasia — one of Collins’ music heroes — singing along from the side of the stage. Within 48 hours of their performance, the video had already been viewed 27 million times on Instagram, and millions more on YouTube, TikTok and other social media platforms.
When Collins posted the video of him rushing to his car to hear it on the radio, Winans commented, “You are simply the best!! Congrats”
Collins replied to her, “pastor! I can’t express my gratitude for the role model you’ve been for so many of us for so many years then to share this moment with you shows how much God loves me”
Partnering with Winans was a dream come true for Collins. She is a 15-time Grammy winner and the most awarded female artist in gospel music history, according to K-LOVE. A live, solo rendition of “Goodness of God” is featured on her 2021 album, “Believe For It,” and though it was never officially released as a single, per K-LOVE, it’s been played widely on Christian radio stations across the U.S.
Roman Collins’ ‘American Idol’ Peers Celebrate His Success After Viral Duet
Collins was not only a fan favorite on “Idol,” but beloved by his fellow contestants on the show. Many of them celebrated his success in the comment section of his social media post about hearing the duet on the radio.
“Performance of the night, EASILY,” wrote season 22 winner Abi Carter. “Brought God on that stage.”
Top 8 contestant Kaibrienne Richins commented, “The absolute most deserving.”
Fellow gospel singer Quintavious Johnson wrote, “Yeees! 😭🙌🏾❤️” and another gospel contestant, Odell Bunton Jr., commented, “🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 LET’S GOOOOOOOOO🚀🚀🚀🚀”
Before the live shows started on “American Idol,” Collins released his debut album, “Same Gospel, New Sound” on March 15. As a result of all the buzz around his duet with Winans, the album is suddenly climbing the gospel charts. On May 22, PopVortex listed it at #31 on the iTunes gospel chart.