Spoiler alert: 'American Idol' winner announced
Image by: MARIO ANZUONI / REUTERS
Indie artist Phillip Phillips was crowned "American Idol" on Wednesday a fter winning the hearts of millions of young women to become the fifth straight "white guy with a guitar" to take the title on the top-rated TV singing contest.
Spoiler alert: 'American Idol' winner announced - The 21-year-old from Georgia, who stamped his style with individual and sometimes quirky arrangements, beat the big voice and power ballads of 16-year-old Californian Jessica Sanchez.
"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest said a world record 132 million votes were cast by phone, text and online for the two Season 11 finalists.
Phillips, whose style has been compared to Dave Matthews and British folk-rock band Mumford and Sons, l ooked stunned as his name was announced at the end of a two-hour finale featuring performances by Rihanna, Neil Diamond and Reba McEntire.
"Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez sang her new single and Steven Tyler's band Aerosmith closed the show with their 1976 classic rock tune "Walk This Way".
Fighting back tears after he won, Phillips abandoned the performance of his new single "Home" and unstrapped his acoustic guitar to walk off stage and hug his family in the front row of the audience.
"I feel so numb, the whole situation is unbelievable. Did I think I would win? No, heck no," he told reporters afterward, describing himself as "not a great singer" but someone who loves being on stage and having fun with music.
"It's so unreal, it still hasn't sunk in yet. It is such an amazing blessing to have, and I really haven't comprehended it all," he added.
Sanchez, bidding to become the youngest ever winner of "American Idol," had come into Wednesday's finale seemingly ahead as she dominated social media and Twitter buzz in the last few days.
But Phillips' shy, goofball humor earned him a large female fan base, and he had never appeared in the bottom three in public votes during earlier stages of the Fox TV show.
Phillips wins a guaranteed record contract, but Sanchez is also expected to be signed by a record label.
TWO DIFFERENT SINGERS
"American Idol" mentor and record producer Jimmy Iovine said the two singers appealed to completely different audiences.
"I think it came down Phillip having that country base and the young girl thing going that's hitting the button a lot of times," Iovine told reporters backstage afterwards.
Tyler said: "He's real, we watched him pull out of his soul ... he can really sing a melody right. He's just really evolved and he's been vulnerable, and I think America loves that."
Phillips, who worked in his father's pawn shop before auditioning for "Idol," also won sympathy for a recurrent kidney problem that has plagued his health during the season.
Sanchez had a pitch perfect voice, but was sometimes faulted for lacking the emotion needed to deliver ballads made famous by Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Celine Dion.
She was saved by the judges from elimination in April after placing bottom in public voting, and the show's judges disliked her third song in Tuesday night's performance finale.
But Tyler said on Wednesday she also had a great future ahead of her. "She sings so beautiful, so if the right person writes her the right song, she'll be on her way," he said.
Sanchez said she had no regrets and was happy for Phillips. "I really think Phillip deserved to win and I'm so happy for him," she told reporters. "Phillip has everything about him. He has his funny side and his humble side and he's just an original artist."
"American Idol" remains the most-watched show on U.S. television but public appetite for the contest and its winners is slipping after 11 years on the air and a slew of rival, months-long talent shows.
Audiences are down about 23 percent this year, and Tuesday's performance finale was watched by just 14.4 million people - the lowest-rated performance finale since the show began in 2002.
"American Idol" launched the careers of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert - who on Wednesday scored his first No. 1 album with his second disc "Trespassing."
With the exception of 2011 "Idol" winner, country singer Scotty McCreery, recent contestants have fared less well. A female singer has not won the title since Jordin Sparks in 2007, leading Phillips to be dubbed the latest "white guy with a guitar" to emerge as America's newest pop star.
http://www.timeslive.co.za
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