Will A Girl Ever Win American Idol Again?

Phillip Phillips became the fifth consecutive boy to win the title of American Idol last night in Hollywood defeating Jessica Sanchez.

It really was no surprise when Ryan Seacrest announced, that Phillip Phillips was the Season 10 American Idol. He became the fifth consecutive boy to win the coveted title. He joins David Cook, Season 7 winner, Kris Allen, Season 8 winner, Lee DeWyze, Season 9 winner and Scotty McCreery, Season 10 winner as American Idol winners, since Jordin Sparks won in Season 6.

Kelly Clarkson won Season 1, while Fantasia Barrino won Season 3, Carrie Underwood won Season 4 and Jordin Sparks was the Season 6 winner and are the only girls to win American Idol in 11 seasons.

The girls won three of the first four seasons, but the guys have won six of the last seven seasons. Jessica Sanchez was a much better singer, than Phillip Phillips, yet saw her American Idol dreams dashed last night.

American Idol needs to address the voting issue, to keep this trend of guys winning from continuing, whether they are best singer or not. The more votes cast, then the more chance of a guy winning. 

I have a feeling that the girls are voting early and often for the guys, especially when 132 million votes were cast on Wednesday night. It may be time to forget about announcing these huge vote totals and allow one vote per person. That change should give the girls a better chance of winning.

Taylor Hicks and Lee DeWyze are two guys that may have never been voted as American Idols, if the voters had been limited one vote. I know that American Idol doesn’t want the final vote for each singer released, but it would give us an idea of how the voting is slanted toward the guys.

Just my opinion but I think Josh Ledet and Jessica Sanchez should have been the two finalists last night, but Phillips voters kept Josh from having a chance to make the final two. 

Jessica was very fortunate that the judges hadn’t used their save on someone like Heejun Han, or she wouldn’t have been saved. It is difficult to believe that she received the fewest votes that week, since she was showing week after week, that she was the best female singer on the show.

American Idol lost almost six million viewers, compared to the 2011 final performances. The final performance show drew a record 31.78 million viewers in Season 5, but only 14.85 million voters tuned in on Wednesday night, a drop of almost 17 million viewers from the record.

The ratings for the finale last night have not been announced, but I look for it to be lowest total for a finale night.

The Voice and X-Factor have caused a huge dent in American Idol ratings. With The Voice and X-Factor returning in September, viewers may have tired of watching reality singing competitions even more, by the time American Idol returns next January. X-Factor is hoping to increase their ratings with the addition of Britney Spears and Demi Lovato, as judges to replace the departed Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul.

American Idol producers will be making changes to the show, hoping to slow the declining ratings. American Idol isn’t the juggernaut it once was, but it is usually near the top in the ratings.

Now American Idol has to deal with Phil Phillips having surgery very soon, since he will need four to six weeks to recover from his surgery and ma y not even be available for rehearsals for the summer tour.

Will Best American Idol Singer Win Tonight?

The next American Idol may not have anything to do with which singer is the better singer, but more about  how many of their supporters voted for them  last night.

Now that the final votes have been cast, we can only speculate, on who will actually become the next American Idol on the Fox television network reality finale show, when Ryan Seacrest announces the winner at about 8:55 PM tonight.

The judges seemed to favor Phil Phillips last night. I have a feeling that the teenyboppers and girls past that stage, texted and voted online to make the Phillips the next American Idol.

It is still possible that Jessica Sanchez could win, but I expect Ryan to announce after a long pause, that Phil is the new American Idol.

Musical Guests Tonight

Among the musical guests according to the Hollywood Reporter will be Gloria Gaynor, Thelma Houston, Gladys Knight along with Nelly Furtado, Sheila E., Jennifer Holliday and Kristin Chenoweth offering a tribute to the late Donna Summer, who passed away last week. Chenoweth will join Jessica in a duet of Enough is Enough. The female singers from Season 11 will also appear in the tribute to Summer.

Phil and the other male singers will pay tribute to the late Robin Gibb, who died of cancer last week by singing songs made famous by the Bee Gees. 

In addition, John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival will sing a duet with Phil, Reba McIntire will join Skylar Laine in a duet, while Joshua Ledet and Fantasia will also sing a duet.

Jessica and Jennifer Holliday will team up to sing I Am Telling You I’m Not Going, while Hollie Cavanagh and Jordin Sparks, the last girl to win American Idol will sing a song from a Broadway show.

As if that is not enough star power for one show, Neil Diamond will sing a song with the boys, while Aerosmith and Rihanna will also make an appearance in the star-studded finale.

After all those singers sing, it will be almost anti-climatic when Ryan announces the winner. Even those who don’t care who wins tonight, still will be able to see some of the best singers in the music business, making watching the show worthwhile.

I have no doubt that Jessica will be a successful singer and should have a long career. However, Phil may need to win to have a chance to be a star, since I can’t see him releasing an album that would sell in the millions.

In conclusion, if Jessica doesn’t win tonight, I will feel the best singer didn’t win. It could create a problem for American Idol if Phil wins, since he reportedly will be undergoing surgery very soon and might miss rehearsals for the summer tour and might join the tour after it started. The recovery time has been mentioned as taking as long as six weeks, which wouldn’t allow Phillip to join the concert tour till July.

So if Phil does win, American Idol producers will have to wait until after his surgery, before the publicity engine of American Idol can go full throttle on the Phil Phillips train.

But all that is conjecture, since the winner hasn’t been announced. The announcement will be made in about ten hours, as to who will be the next American will be.

The show starts in eight hours and forty-three minutes, so we can start the official countdown….right now.

Enjoy the show !!!

Who Will Go Home Next on American Idol?

Joshua Ledet seems to be the one to beat in American Idol this season after his performance last night. However, we know American Idol voters can shock us sometimes. If Joshua Ledet winds up in the bottom three tonight, then all bets are off as to who will win Season 11 of American Idol.

Skylar Laine and Jessica Sanchez seem to be gaining momentum after their performances last night. I look for Hollie Cavanagh or Phillip Phillips to be going home tonight, but it depends on how strong of a voter base that Skylar has after her Wednesday night’s performances.

I will continue to support Joshua Ledet, as long as he remains in the competition. My favorite singer after Ledet is Hollie Cavanagh, but she could be exiting the show tonight, despite singing very well last night.

American Idol has reached the point of the competition, where a very good singer will go home every night till finale night, so Hollie  may be a victim of the numbers game tonight. Personally, I think Hollie is a much better singer, than Phillip Phillips but feel like his fanbase is probably stronger than her fan base.

We didn’t get home from church till the show was half over, so this recap from the Los Angeles Times has more details of performance night:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2012/05/american-idol-recap-top-5-60s-brits.html

Joshua Ledet The Next American Idol?

Joshua Ledet from Westlake, Louisiana is another step closer to becoming the Season 11 American Idol.

 

Joshua Ledet seems to be gaining momentum in his quest to be the American Idol. He got the best feedback from the judges and from Jimmy Iovine.

Ledet sings with emotion, which goes a long way in having a successful music career. I think he has the talent to be one of the more successful American Idols, but not sure how strong his voting base is having come from a smaller city in Westlake, Louisiana.

It was no surprise that Elise Testone was sent packing after all the negative feedback on Wednesday night. She had some really good nights and some really bad nights, but still has the talent to become a successful singer.

Jessica Sanchez has rebounded from her last place finish two or three weeks ago to stay in the competition, but can’t see her becoming the next American Idol, but if Joshua has a bad night, she could be the favorite to win it all. 

Phillip Phillips may find himself in the Bottom 3 next week, unless he makes a better impression on the judges and American Idol fans. Just my opinion for what little it is worth, but he doesn’t seem to be improving from week to week.

Hollie Cavanaugh keeps hanging around, but now she may the next to go home if Phillip Phillips doesn’t go home next week.

It was a huge surprise that Skylar Laine was in the Bottom 3 last night, after the judges had such positive feedback after she sang on Wednesday night. That raises the question of how strong her voter base is and if she is in Bottom 3 again next week, her time on the show could be nearing an end. 

There should be a lot of competition the next two weeks, as the singers try to make it to the Final 3 so they can visit their hometowns.

Living just a few miles from Joshua’s hometown of Westlake, Louisiana has me pulling, for him to be in the final three.

American Idol: No Save This Week For Jessica Sanchez

Jessica Sanchez finished last in the voting on American Idol and will try to stay out of the bottom three this week.

American Idol fans were shocked last week to find out that Jessica Sanchez received the fewest votes of the remaining seven singers.

She was more or less considered the favorite to be the next American Idol, but now it looks like she will have to struggle to avoid going home this week.

It looks like Jessica may face the fate of Pia Toscano, who was regarded as one of the best singers in Season 10, yet left early in the competition.

The voting last week makes the show this week more important than ever, since Jessica may actually have the least chance of winning of any of the remaining seven singers.

It surprised me that Joshua Ledet was in the bottom three along with Elise Testone, since they have the best stage presence of the remaining singers.

Colton Dixon, Skylar Laine, Phillip Phillips and Hollie Cavanagh had to be encouraged, to know they received more votes, than Jessica, Joshua and Elise.

American Idol producers surely didn’t want the show to turn into a popularity contest, but apparently that is exactly what is happening, since the three best singers received the least votes.

The question now is if Jessica can receive enough votes to stay out of the bottom three this week. If she continues to finish in the bottom three, it will be a sign, that she will not be the next American Idol.

My favorite is still Joshua, but I feel being from a smaller town may prevent him, from having the fan base to become the next American Idol.

Hollie Cavanagh is my next favorite if Joshua is sent home. The show has reached the stage, where good singers will be going home until the last singer goes home on finale night.

Votefortheworst.com is now trying to have voters vote for Phillip Phillips and claim their support kept him from being in the bottom three last week.

It is hard for me to believe that Jessica Sanchez actually received the fewest votes last week, but will assume American Idol is giving us the votes as they are cast. 

Jessica is a good singer, but not sure if she or any other singer this year can sell a million albums like Scotty McCreery has done. Skylar Laine may sell a lot of albums, if she becomes the American Idol, since it seems like American Idol winners, who are country artists sell more albums than a singer like Lee DeWyze who won Season 9 but sold few albums.

Randy Jackson was shocked to find out that Jessica received the least votes last week:

http://www.rickey.org/randy-jackson-says-jessica-sanchez-is-one-of-the-best-singers-in-america-ever-are-you-kidding-me/

American Idol: Jessica Sanchez Saved By Judges

American Idol Season 11 had the most shocking vote of the season last night, when Jessica Sanchez tallied the least votes of any of the remaining seven contestants.

This development reminded me of Pia Toscano being voted off the show early in Season 10 last year. However, this is an even bigger shock, since it was a given that Jessica would be the next American Idol. The vote shows her fanbase is not as solidly behind her as thought or they thought she was so safe, that they didn’t vote for her. It will be interesting to see where she is in the voting on next Thursday night.

Most fans if they are honest, would admit that they assumed Hollie Cavanagh, Phillip Phillips and Colton Dixon were in the bottom three. I am happy that Skylar Laine refused to say which group was the bottom three and which group was safe. You would think Ryan Seacrest would stop asking that question, now that nobody wants to answer it. 

Anyway, Skylar is told she is in the group with Colton, Hollie and Phillip, then is told she is safe along the others in the group.

Randy Jackson said America got it wrong and maybe they did, but he may have angered the other four contestants by telling America to vote for the best.

After the judges criticized Hollie on Wednesday night, it was almost a foregone conclusion she would be in the bottom three and voted off the show. But instead, she wasn’t even in the bottom three and could have possibly received enough votes, to have finished among the leaders in the voting. We have no way of knowing, how many votes she polled so can only guess at the voting outcome.

Phillip Phillips didn’t get much praise from the judges on Wednesday night or from Jimmy Iovine. It is almost like he is singing the same song every week and he is beginning to look like a one-trick pony. So it was a surprise that he wasn’t in the bottom three either.

It is almost like the fans are voting in large numbers, for the contestants criticized the most by the judges. After the voting fiasco last night, it wouldn’t surprise me to see fewer fans watch the show next week, or it could have the opposite effect and draw more fans to the show, since Jessica is not the clear-cut winner she appeared to be before last night.

Hang on because it looks like it could be wild ride, on the way to finale night of Season 11.