ABC’s American Idol crowned a new champion Sunday night, but for many viewers, the highlight aired earlier in the show, when Christian artist CeCe Winans joined contestant Roman Collins for a powerful rendition of Goodness of God.
On Instagram, the Winans/Collins song garnered more likes, comments and shares than any other post for the night, including singer/contestant duets involving Hootie and the Blowfish, New Kids on the Block, Bishop Briggs and Wynonna Judd. Katy Perry, a judge, was moved to tears.
Goodness of God is a song that was originally included on a 2019 Bethel Music album and then covered by Winans, whose 2021 live rendition entered the Top 10 of Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart. It was included on her Believe for It album.
Image Courtesy: ABC
“CeCe Winans just took the American Idol finale audience to church!” worship leader Brian Tabor wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Hard to believe it was allowed on network TV, but CeCe Winans just blew everyone off the stage on Idol with ‘Goodness of God.’ Had Katy Perry, former worship singer turned mainstream, in tears. Just unbelievable,” sports journalist Brad Crawford wrote.
“@cecewinans and Roman Collins proclaimed the gospel to millions of homes across the world at the American Idol finale Sunday night. Incredible performance with teary-eyed folks all over the room. Chills!” reporter Jacob Davis wrote.
.@cecewinans and Roman Collins proclaimed the gospel to millions of homes across the world at the American Idol finale Sunday night. Incredible performance with teary-eyed folks all over the room. Chills! #GoodnessOfGod #AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/lEkvq8Bdrx
— Jacob Davis (@JacobScottDavis) May 20, 2024
Shannon Bream of Fox News also was moved.
“That @cecewinans duet with Roman Collins -- I am not okay,” Bream wrote.
Winans told K-Love earlier this year she added Goodness of God to her 2021 album because many people in the African American community had not heard it. In fact, Winans was one of those until a member of the worship team at her church introduced her to it.
“There’s a lot of people who haven’t heard it, who look like me,” Winans told K-Love. “That song showed me how sometimes our cultures are so far apart. A song can really be big in the CCM world, and in the Black church, or in a different denomination, they haven’t heard it.”
She said of the popular song, “This is my testimony.”
Abi Carter won American Idol Season 22. Roman Collins -- like Winans, a Christian -- recently released his debut album, Same Gospel New Sound. He finished in the Top 12 of American Idol.
Photo credit: ABC/YouTube.com
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.