On to the final.
Simon Fuller's Choices (aka, craptastically boring song choices that took 3 seconds to choose & clear)
- Jessica Sanchez - I Have Nothing (by Whitney Houston) - Well that was predictable. Jessica do a Whitney song? Who cares if she's done one already, and if she performs every song like a Whitney song? And this is just like every other Jessica performance: boring, predictable, and vaguely sound-alike. Snooze.
- Phillip Phillips - Stand by Me (by Ben E. King) - Sad to say it, but this one matched Jessica's snoozer of a performance. More of the same old Phillip performance here... but at least he does some original stuff in it.
"Round 1" winner: nobody. This round served absolutely no purpose, if you ask me. Waste of time.
Favorite Performances (aka, we need a third song, but don't want to make you learn another one)
- Jessica Sanchez - The Prayer (by Celine Dion) - Meh. I don't even recall Jessica doing this song, but I figured she probably did. It's a Jessica song.
- Phillip Phillips - Movin' Out (by Billy Joel) - *headtilt* Of all the songs Phillip rocked on the show... he chooses this one? Weird. That said, this was better than I remember it being. And this was a very memorable week for me.
"Round 2" winner: I'll give a slight edge to Phil. Slight. I think this is the dumbest of the three song choices for the finale... especially when both performers are doing "stand there and sing" type songs, what's the point?
Winner's Songs
- Jessica Sanchez - Change Nothing - *yawn*. Another ballad? Somebody's coasting to the end... And how she went all sharp and shrieky in the middle didn't help anything. And Jessica wanted to pick a "winner's song"? Sing about magic rainbows next time.
- Phillip Phillips - Home - If I didn't know better, I'd guess this was a Mumford & Sons song... but Mumford & Sons are awesome. That said... this is Phillip. Heartfelt, just the right vibe, just the right feel... perfect. Took 5 performances in the finale, but FINALLY someone rose to the occasion.
"Round 3" winner: Phil in a landslide.
Prediction: to be completely honest, before watching these performances, I was expecting to write something to the effect of "Jessica brought it tonight... and while I'm not sure any female can beat a white guitar playing good looking young male, Jessica should be the winner". Really, I was. It just seemed to me that she did the same thing for so long, she has to have SOMETHING else to use that voice for, plus Phillip has turned in some GREAT performances of late, he's due for a let-down... but nope. I can't do it. With his final performance, Phillip ended the competition. Not only does he fit the usual Idol-winner mold, but he deserves it more than Jessica.
