NEWS'American Idol' Recap: Live at the Finale as Phillip Phillips Wins!
May 24 2012, Published 6:56 a.m. ET
After wowing the crowd with his musical prowess and his adorable face, it was not a huge surprise that Phillip Phillips took home the trophy on the finale of the 11th season of American Idol. The crooner from Georgia had been a front-runner from the start. But powerhouse vocalist Jessica Sanchez was not an easy one beat.
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Before Ryan Seacrest got down to the big news, the crowd was treated to a two-hour spectacle of a show and we were live in the audience to take it all in. Phillip sang a foot-thumping medley with John Fogerty, Skylar Laine hoe-downed on the stage with Reba McIntyre and Hollie Cavanagh wailed away with the fabulous Jordin Sparks. But the killer of the night had to be Jennifer Holliday taking on her famous Dreamgirls number "And I am Telling You I Am Not Going" with Jessica. We are telling you if Jessica had sung that last night, she could have taken the whole crown. Watching that live and in person, it blew you away. The crowd was insane and jumping on their feet. Jessica is one young girl who is going to go far in the music world.
We also had fabulous group numbers with the boys and Neil Diamond and the girls with Chaka Khan. We just kind of feel that some of these guests should have a bit more current. But it was still a blast to watch.
And let's not forget about the big artists of the night. We saw not only a killer performance from Rihanna, but judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez also took to the stage to wow the crowd. Steven rocked out with his boys from Aerosmith while J.Lo and her abs got the crowd roaring.
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Before we got back to the important results, the final two did an inspiring duet of "Up Where We Belong." We were just worried about how Phillip was feeling as he sat on a stool during the performance while Jessica stood next to him. But boy does Phillip clean up good as he sported a hot black suit after being Mr. Casual all-season.
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When the time finally came and Phillip was announced winner, Jessica just hugged him as best pal Heejun Han came running over. Phillip begun to sing his coronation song "Home" but couldn't get through it as he began to cry and confetti flew into his mouth. It was a very sweet moment and the show came to a close as he ran off stage to hug his family. A sincere moment to end a great season.
Phillip winning makes it the fifth year in a row that a cute guy on guitar took home the crown. Can a girl ever win this show again?
After the show was over, we were invited to KIIS-FM's Idol viewing party for the West Coasters where Stefano Langone and Kris Allen were amazing as they sang their hot new music from Stefano's "On a Roll" to Kris' "The Vision of Love." We were even treated to a brand new cover from Kris of Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend"! What a night!
Do you think Phillip deserved to win? Weigh in below!
