After rocketing to “American Idol’s” top 3, Louisiana teen John Foster finished second in the ABC singing competition series during its grand finale on Sunday night.

Grabbing the “Idol” title was Jamal Roberts, 27, of Meridian, Mississippi, an elementary school physical education teacher.

Roberts’ finale songs included “First Time” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)”.

Finishing third was Breanna Nix, 25, a stay-at-home mom from Denton, Texas.

Foster started off the finale with a bang, performing his first solo song of the night, “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” by the late Toby Keith.

“Now, John. Now, now, John. That’s the way you run for office. I mean, you run — you run. That’s the way you work it for ‘American Idol,’” judge Lionel Richie said.

“You know, it’s the time to pull out all the stops and you’re pulling out all the stops. I’m so proud of you and all you have accomplished about this whole competition,” judge Carrie Underwood said. “I felt like I was at a John Foster concert.”

“Yeah. Your growth … Your voice has gotten better and, and everything has grown. It’s been a privilege, a privilege to watch that happen. It’s been amazing,” judge Luke Bryan added.

Foster’s songs for the finale

Later in the show, Foster returned to the stage for his second solo song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” a hitmaker for ’70s folk/country artist, the late John Denver.

“I just want to see that birth certificate one more time,” Richie joked with Foster, alluding to the maturity and polish of his vocals. “And secondly, for all of you out there, vote, vote, vote.”

Underwood followed him by saying, “Of course, the country boy would have an amazing hometown welcome. That was such a great thing to watch.”

“Yeah, that, that hometown piece, I mean, woo, I can’t take that,” Bryan chimed in. “It was really beautifully done. And hell, I’ve never seen a crawfish that big. I need to, can that thing come to Tennessee?”

Foster rode a giant Mardi Gras-style crawfish float in Wednesday’s homecoming parade in Addis.

The Louisiana singer and Bryan later teamed up for a performance of Randy Travis’ 1988 hit, “Deeper Than the Holler,” a mid-tempo ballad.

The top three finalists opened the three-hour live coast-to-coast broadcast with a performance of Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”

Foster, a biology major at LSU who just finished his freshman year, first grabbed the judges’ attention during his audition in Nashville, Tennessee. He brought each of them a Louisiana care package of boudin, beef jerky, pork sausage and Benoit’s Cajun seasoning from his family’s business, Benoit’s Country Meat Block in Addis.

Foster’s audition song, “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” by Alan Jackson, prompted judge and former “Idol” Underwood to ask for another song that would more fully showcase his vocals.

“Goodbye Time” by Conway Twitty proved the perfect choice, with Bryan singing along and the other judges pleased with what they heard.

“There’s such a sweet spot in your voice, and that really brought that out,” Underwood said.

“You’ve got a lot of great tools. That last song really showed us that,” added Bryan.

One successful week after another

Foster went on to prove himself week after week — whether it was with performances of Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock,” Travis’ “I Told You So” or his home-state favorite, Garth Brooks’ “Callin’ Baton Rouge.”

His tearful original song, “Tell That Angel I Love Her” about his high school friend who was killed in a tragic accident, was in sharp contrast to the lively and fun “Bare Necessities” from “The Jungle Book,” demonstrating his versatility.

“When you open your mouth on this song, you’re country, but you’re also storytelling country,” Richie told Foster after his “Tell That Angel” performance. “Now whether that’s old, new, happening now, later, whatever the case may be, it was so believable and I heard every word of every part of your story — and that’s what great music is about.”

Foster told the judges that he wrote the song for Maggie Dunn. Dunn and another friend, Caroline Gill, both of Brusly, were killed on New Year’s Eve 2022 when an Addis police officer ran a red light during a high-speed pursuit.

Foster also sang the song at his mini-concert in Plaquemine on Wednesday night, capping off his hero’s welcome home-state visit, which was documented in the Sunday-night finale, including footage of Foster becoming emotional during his performance of “Tell That Angel I Love Her” at his hometown concert.

If you missed Sunday night’s show, it will be available on Hulu starting Monday.