Millions see duet performance of 'Goodness of God' on 'American Idol' finale
More than 20 million people have now seen a duet performance of a popular gospel song that aired on national television on Pentecost Sunday.
The "American Idol" season 22 finale, which aired on ABC Sunday, featured a duet performance by gospel singer CeCe Winans and former contestant Roman Collins, who made it into the Top 12 in this year's installment of the reality TV singing competition.
The duo performed "Goodness of God" before the audience gathered at the live finale event in Hollywood, California, which coincided with Pentecost Sunday. According to Nielsen Media Research, 5.64 million people tuned into the three-hour show.
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"American Idol" shared a video of the performance on its Instagram account, accompanied by a caption reading "PRAISE!" and featuring an emoji of praying hands. "American Idol" is not a religious show, but several contestants in recent years have proclaimed their Christian faith and used the stage granted to them to perform Christian music. Collins is no exception.
Collins took to Instagram Tuesday to express gratitude that he "got to minister with CeCe Winans in front of America" and Fanatasia on Pentecost Sunday.
His comment reflects that Fantasia, the winner of "American Idol" season 3, was seated in the audience during the performance. The camera panned over to Fantasia several times during the duet.
"The video is already at now 25 MILLION VIEWS (earlier it was 7)," he added. "God, you're so faithful."
Collins concluded that "God really loves me," adding, "it's always a pleasure and full circle moment working with friends and family."
Collins' album, Same Gospel New Sound, was released in March while he was still a contestant on "American Idol."
During the episode featuring the top 20 finalists on "American Idol," he performed the gospel song "Never Would Have Made It," originally performed by gospel artist Marvin Sapp. He introduced himself to the "American Idol" audience as a worship leader and car cleaner during his audition.
"Goodness of God" first made it onto Billboard's "Hot Christian Songs" chart in May 2022, spending 31 weeks there and peaking at the No. 6 position in December 2022. The song first debuted on Billboard's "Gospel Airplay" chart in August 2022, peaking at No. 1 for four of the 41 weeks it was on the list. The song's popularity continued into 2023 when Billboard placed the song in the No. 2 spot on its year-end chart documenting "Hot Gospel Songs."
While "Goodness of God" has received much attention as a song covered by Winans, the hit was originally performed by Jenn Johnson of Bethel Music and released in 2019.
The season finale of "American Idol" concluded with Abi Carter receiving the coveted title. Will Moseley was named the season 22 runner-up, while Jack Blocker finished in third place. The program featured performances from the top three finalists and several contestants who were eliminated throughout the season.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
