Phillip and Jessica – who will it be?
Well y’all, this is it. It’s either Phillip or Jessica. I either quit American Idol forever* or I have a renewed faith in the show.
*I reserve the right to go back on this statement.
If Phillip Phillips wins, he’ll be a near identical winner to the last several White Guys With Guitars. If Jessica wins, it will be recognition that she’s one of the best vocalists the show has ever seen. Let’s see what happens.
Round One – Simon Fuller’s Choice
Jessica Sanchez – “I Have Nothing”: This was a pretty safe choice, but a good one. I’m pretty sure Jessica can kill it on absolutely any Whitney track, and this was one that definitely suited her voice. However, choosing this song for Jessica meant she couldn’t really choose her previous Whitney song for her next performance, and she was better on “I Will Always Love You”. There still isn’t as much passion in Jessica’s performance as one might hope, but Jessica has some of the best raw talent we’ve ever seen on this show.
Phillip Phillips – “Stand By Me”: Ugh. OK, fine. This was a great song choice. Good job, Simon Freakin’ Fuller. Thanks a lot for helping Phillip Squared achieve his inevitable win. Phillip growled out this song like he really meant it and without having to exhibit a lot of range, so it was very much his jam.
Round One goes to…Phillip? Jessica? Obviously I want to choose Jessica, because I think she’s inherently better. So you know what? I’m going with Jessica. Sue me.
Round Two – Contestant’s Favorite Song of the Season
Jessica Sanchez – “The Prayer”: I was glad Jessica chose this song for a couple reasons. First of all, it’s beautiful. Second of all, I didn’t watch the early rounds of the show so this was an entirely new performance to me. Recently on The Voice, Christina Aguilera sang this with her contestant Chris Mann, a trained opera singer. They were amazing, and Jessica Sanchez was every bit as breathtaking. She’s such a tiny human, her body actually vibrates when she hits the big notes. And those soft, high notes? Fantastic. A truly memorable, amazing, AMAZING performance.
Phillip Phillips – “I’m Movin’ Out: This is what I said about Phillip the first time he sang this song:
“Are we all in love with Phillip Phillips yet? I am. He really is the new David Cook, isn’t he? I loved his take on this song. I’m worried that this schtick might get old within a couple more weeks, but for now I’m still a fan.”
Yeah, the schtick got old. The second time around, I wasn’t as into this performance. It was just OK, and honestly it felt like something I could see in one of Halifax’s better bars.
Round Two goes to…Jessica, hands down. “The Prayer” was one of her best performances to date.
Round Three – The Terribly Unfortunate Singles
Jessica Sanchez – “Change Nothing”: I never care much for these Idol singles, and Jessica’s was pretty run of the mill. There was enough opportunity for her to show off her vocals and the song wasn’t too infuriating. So, for one of these singlers, it was pretty good. It was too bad that the judges focused so much on how the pop ballad wasn’t right for her, because I doubt Jessica had much of a say in the song choice.
Phillip Phillips – “Home”: This is really unfair. This was a WAY better song than what Jessica got. This sounded like something Mumford & Sons would do. Not fair, not fair at all. This song suited Phillip’s voice and his sound and his vibe perfectly. This could be a hit. And it has nothing to do with talent, it’s just the material that’s been handed to the finalists.
Round Three goesto…Phillip, only because the song is fantastic and it was his best performance of the season. But “true artist performance”, Randy? Really? HE DIDN’T WRITE THE SONG, GODDAMMIT! Geez. Don’t throw a parade in his honor.
It kind of felt like the producers want Phillip to win, didn’t it? He got a better single. He got a better first song choice, one that wasn’t by an artist he’d already covered a couple of times on the show. He got ample praise from the judges, while they focused far too much on Jessica’s crappy single that isn’t representative of the album she deserves to make.
Look, yes. Phillip’s last performance was great. But Jessica deserves this! She is a much better singer! Phillip has a vocal range of twelve notes! And he’s exactly like every winner we’ve seen in the past several seasons. I really, really, really hope America pulls through for me (because yes, this is all about me) and crowns Jessica the next American Idol winner.
But they won’t, will they?
All I can say… well… Need a female to win and Jessica is far, far, far better that P2. Next, Movin’ Out was the worst performance of P2′s season and tonight did NOTHING to change that perception. It was awful both times. Just ghastly. Insulting to Billy Joel, a complete desecration of the song. If this is music (and I saw the cheering) today, then truly the music buying demographic has completely derailed. I cannot express in words how bad this performance was, how “weird it is” that people liked it at all, and how overly pedestrian P2 is. As said last week, it really is both a shame and a waste that the Final gave no real competition to Jessica.
I agree!
It’s all a matter of opinion. Jessica has an amazing voice but is not very interesting – in my opinion. Phillip may not have the perfect voice but he always captures my attention and has the intangibles that make me want to listen. Again, my opinion. Both are worthy of the final and the win.
I don’t agree.
You don’t have to agree. It’s an opinion. We all get to have one.
Jill, bitter are we. Your right, Jessica is a wonderfull mimic. She was given the opportunity to shine with the final song and she failed, because she does not have a defined voice. I agee that they are not given much choice of songs in the final song, but she did nothing with it. Music is more than high notes. I think Jessica is a good singer and when she starts singing her own songs or songs written for her she will do well. It does not bother me at all who wins this thing, it is what happens after this that will matter. I like Phillip better, simply because his voice is different and his final song was a bit folksy. If he goes that route he should do well in the future. I wish people would get away from the WGWG attitude. It should be who we like period. Everyone has different musical tastes and thats what makes music so great, there is something for everyone.
I think you are too harsh on Jessica. A mimic she is not. She has the best singing voice on Idol in a long long time. It will be a while before someone of her calibre comes along again.
I disagree, I do think Jessica has a defined voice. I just think that song was really lousy, and Philip was lucky to get a song that truly displayed the best things about him. The WGWG thing bothers me because the same sort of singer wins every season lately, and that’s boring to me.
I agree with Aimee and Randy, , its not about who has the best voice, its about the whole package, and Phillip definitely is much more interesting than just listening to a boring ballad singer all the time, I think America doesnt like the posh, can hit high notes and growl and scream it out singers that you always see on American Idol, but rather they like uniqueness, down to earth, not going to fit in any mold kind of person. Jessica bored me, Phillip deserved the win!
Just a matter of opinion, I suppose. I personally didn’t find Phillip to be very interesting or different. I felt like he fit the mold of a lot of singers we’ve already seen on Idol, so I actually found him more boring than Jessica and Joshua.
Aimee, Randy,Diana you are all idiots!!!! Jessica can sing anything ! Phillip may have won but he is a looser and he knows it thats why he was up there crying! He didn’t deserve it ! Let me say once again it’s a singing competition!! He had three good songs over the last three weeks ither than that he sucked!
We can disagree without being disagreeable here.
Thanks for commenting, but please in the future keep it pleasant! I like seeing passionate comments, but there’s no need to call others names.
You are an idiot. I understand everyone is entitled to their own opinion but really? He did NOT get the best picks and for goodness sake,Jessica was voted off and saved…..she is awesome but 16 so she will have her day. Phillip is very worthy…..humble…..grounded…..family oriented and yes…..an extremely talented artist/musician. Not a powerhouse voice but a true artist. There are a million Jessicas but no other Phillip Phillips. America needs different….uniqueness….and not a screamer and growler……but just good humbled music. And he has been working through a very bad illness and will need surgery as soon as this is over….even Jimmy Iovine said most other artists would have quit but Phillip kept smiling and kept on keeping on……..he deserves this!!
Please keep the comments friendly!
As you said, everyone is entitled to their opinions. Phillip wasn’t that interesting to me – and I don’t see how “family oriented” comes into play – are you suggesting that Jessica, a 16 year old girl who seemed to have a great family, is not? That seems like a very odd argument to make to me. I’ve never argued that Phillip isn’t a great guy, I’m sure he is. But it’s a singing competition, and my favorite singer was Jessica. That’s all I base my opinions on.
FYI, “I who have nothing ” and “Stand by me ” were both originally Ben E. King songs, fair start. Very simple. Both were talented, so were others. Phillip was appreciated by a larger audience. Accept it, the NBA playoffs are on!
I love Ben E King, that’s why I thought Phillip was given a better song to start off the show!
Phillip was preferred by two groups of people who gave him the win. The first, the reason why we have all these consecutive WGWG is tween girls voting for cute guys. The second, Vote For The Worst championed him early on. As to talent, there is no comparison. P2 may be different. It will largely, LARGELY depend on the song — and no matter what great songs he covers, writes or gets to debut, others could do them better. Yes, it is a question of musical taste. Those who prefer P2 lack that taste. These comments above indicate that. Jessica does not sound like many other people. Hers is unique voice that if managed correctly (and with time) very well “could” launch her into a list of top ten, or even top five, female singers of all time. That said, not everything she did was great and she lacked some stage presence, and people chose inappropriate songs for her… but talent she certainly has. In any case, Joshua was the best this season and frankly, even weighing in Kelly and Carrie from the ladies side, probably the best American Idol has ever had.
And who cares about the NBA? Pro basketball is BORING and nothing closely compared to NCAA basketball. I’d rather watch chess than the NBA — and I could care less about chess.
I think regional issues come into play as well. Phillip is from the South, where people vote a lot. Jessica is from California, which has been known on Idol for awhile as not a place where people vote on Idol or care about the show. I totally agree with you about Jessica, I think she has the potential to be Mariah Carey amazing if managed correctly.
Music, like any other form of art, is a matter of personal taste. That’s why there are so many genres and artists. Preferring one style or artist over another doesn’t make you stupid, an idiot or bitter. Jessica wasn’t my favorite, but I can respect that others loved her without calling their taste into question….
I didn’t watch the entire season, only the last few episodes. I thought Jessica sounded like a Disney singer. I found nothing unique about her at all. I prefered listening to Phillip, but he’s not exactly unique either. I can definitely see why they both were loved to the extreme and disliked to the extreme!