Phillip Phillips was crowned this year's American Idol, which means Jessica Sanchez placed 2nd. I'm not really bummed about the result although I would have much preferred Jessica to win. What I am displeased about though was the massive pimping of Phillip during finale performance night. He got a marching band to back him up and a standing ovation from the judges who practically crowned him then and there, and I honestly don't think that performance merited that deluge of praise. I guess this really is WGWG territory and everyone else is just passing by. :)
It's the first time I followed American Idol closely in a long time, and that is really because Jessica was in it. I first noticed her when she sang 'It doesn't matter anymore' with Deandre Brackensack and Candice Glover (what a fantastic performance that was!) but it was her version of 'The Prayer' right before she got into the top 24 that got me hooked. She followed it up with a whole lot of solid and consistently good performances, sprinkled with a few moments of her own. Not only did she become a frontrunner with her version of 'I will always love you', her save was the best save in Idol history so far! And while she seemed to be losing a bit of ground after being saved, her showstopping rendition of 'And I am telling you' in top 4 week reminded people just how good she was and practically guaranteed a finale placement.
That she got to perform 'And I'm telling you' again in the finale with the legendary Jennifer Holliday who originated this song when she played Effie in 'Dreamgirls' back in the 80s is just icing on the cake. I still maintain that no one sings those big Dreamgirls hits better than Holliday (not even Jennifer Hudson) and you can see how experienced she is with this song when she takes the stage with Jessica, but I do think Jessica held her own. The extended standing ovation they got (that started midway through the song!) was merited, unlike a dozen other ones given this season haha, and their duet will be remembered as one of the best idol contestant-celebrity duets on the show ever. Here it is again:
video uploaded in youtube by salinesolution
While it's unfortunate that she didn't win the grand prize, she did leave with a car and a myriad of new fans globally. Somehow I'm confident that Jessica will land a record deal, and if she ends up having difficulty building a career in Hollywood, she can always come to the Philippines where she will surely make it big. :)
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