Phillip Phillips Bests Jessica Sanchez for American Idol Crown
It’s that time of year again when the next “American Idol” is named – and this time around the title goes to Phillip Phillips.
The 21-year-old with the husky voice received the majority of the 132 million votes cast for the 11th season of the show. He beat out 16-year-old Jessica Sanchez, the contestant that landed the runner-up position. Many Twitter commenters have labeled Phillips as another WGWG, which stands for “white guy with guitar.”
The term has come up because Phillips is the fifth in a row of the type to take home the “Idol” crown, following (in order starting with the most recent) Scotty McCreery, Lee DeWyze, Kris Allen and David Cook.
The two-hour finale featured many performances, beginning with an appearance by all the contestants that ended in the top 12 this season (minus Phillips and Sanchez). When it was time for Phillips to perform, he started with a couple of duets with John Fogerty. The two sang “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” and then “Bad Moon Rising.”
One surprise during the show was when during a Ford commercial, the car company gave both Phillips and Sanchez a new car. Ford is one of the main sponsors for the show.
Another duet highlight from the night was Sanchez performance of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” along with Jennifer Holliday. This was closely followed by a performance by “Idol” judge Steve Tyler and his band Aerosmith. Even though the band is allegedly working on new music, they unsurprisingly select the hit “Walk This Way” for their performance.
For the final performance, the final two contestants perform their own duet. The two select “Up Where We Belong,” before show host Ryan Seacrest hops onstage to announce the winner. After the announcement, Phillips receives an acoustic guitar and performs his single, “Home.”
And after the show, Seacrest spoke for all of America when he tweeted, “What a night, what a year, can’t wait to do it again.”
