Jessica Sanchez in the AMERICAN IDOL - Season 11 finale | ©2012 Fox/Michael Becker

AMERICAN IDOL has become more predictable as it ages. And if anyone thinks Jessica Sanchez is going to win over Phillip Phillips is seriously mistaken. The Tween girls rule IDOL, which is why cute guys tend to win the show over cute girls.

This year however, if you compare the two finalists and the songs they sang, it was obvious, one was the clear winner.

And your winner, though not yet crowned, is Phillip Phillips.

Yes, there could be some producer trickery and Sanchez could pull an upset, but it would be insincere to say the least.

The rundown of the final competition goes something like this.

Jessica Sanchez sings yet ANOTHER Whitney Houston song with “I Have Nothing.” The end result – boring. I keep repeating, put a moratorium on The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Whitney songs, but nobody listens. We’re tired of it.

Phillip Phillips, on the other hand, is given the old Ben E. King standard “Stand By Me” and does a fantastic job re-arranging it and making it sound fresh and current.

The next round finds the contestants picking their favorite performance of the season. Sanchez revisits Celine Dion’s “The Prayer” (ugh!) and Phillips does a redux on Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out.” Neither, frankly, worked for me, but, oh well.

Now it’s on to the “coronation” song – the original song each contestant gets to pick to hopefully send them to the winner’s circle. Sanchez picks a very Whitney-esque “Change Nothing” and it’s utter crap. Awful. Pick something a little more up-tempo.

And Phillips saves the day with the Mumford and Sons-esque “Home.” It’s here, with this song, that Phillips shows the type of eclectic and unique performer he is. He made this song is own, and frankly, it’s what will likely make him the winner.

So why did Sanchez fail. I don’t think it’s her, per se, because she has a good voice. It’s that the producers and whoever else was advising her was trying to make her older than she actually was – particularly with the song choices and the outfits she wore. She’s 16 – which means no one is going to buy her album if they position her as Whitney, Celine or Mariah. She needed to appeal to her core demographic, which will be difficult if she wins or gets a record deal afterwards (which she will), because she is not Whitney — yet.

Unfortunately, no one saw that. Phillips on the other hand knew who he was, and appealed to himself, creating music that stretched beyond the core Tween demographic.

We’ll see what happens tonight, but, AMERICAN IDOL fails again in creating a compelling and exciting show – particularly an exciting finale. We’ll see how it all works out tonight, but, barring any strangeness, Phillips is clearly the winner.

Related Link: AMERICAN IDOL Season 11 recap: And the winner is …

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Article Source: Assignment X 
Article: AMERICAN IDOL Season 11 recap: Phillip Phillips becomes a frontrunner during the Finals; Jessica Sanchez falters

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