Final 2 - 5/22/12

Surprise, our finale is on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Hope you remembered to watch. This was a quick hour so I will make my thoughts short. We welcome the judges, Ryan and the top 2.

Both Jessica Sanchez and Phil Phillips will sing 3 songs: Simon Fuller pick, their personal choice and their coronation song. The audience looks huge (7000) at the Nokia theatre. Let's get started with the performances:

Round 1 - Simon Fuller pick

Jessica Sanchez goes first and sings what I thought was a safe choice for her. The song is "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston. In my mind this was just okay although she did put some growl in her voice for some of the song. My grade: B

Phil Phillips also just gives a so-so performance to the song "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King. I felt he sang it too slow. My grade: B

Judges take: Randy Jackson feels Jessica took the first round, Steven Tyler declines to comment, Jennifer Lopez does alot of rambling about how opposite the contestants are but eventually agrees with Randy.

Round 2 - Their Choice

Sorry but I felt Jessica singing "The Prayer" was not the best choice overall. I could barely understand her lyrics in the beginning because she sang so low plus I found this a boring performance. My grade: B-

I was surprised by Phil's choice of "Movin Out" by Billy Joel. I would have much preferred to hear something else like "Volcano" or "U Got It Bad". Regardless he sang it well even though I was not completely blown away. My grade: B+

Judges take: Randy calls it a dead heat. Jennifer opts for Phil while Steven thinks Jessica took the second round.

Round 3 - Coronation Song

Poor Jessica getting stuck with such a lousy song like "Change Nothing". I was not impressed at all. My grade: C-

Phil on the other hand is singing an original song he wrote. It is called "Home". I know this will probably sound like favortism but I actually liked the song. I felt the marching band was a plus. My grade: A

Judges take: Phil gets a standing ovation from them. Randy loved everything about it and called it perfect. JLo thinks there is nothing liked this on the radio and she likes it. Steven calls him "the man".

Final thoughts:

I feel Phil has it in the bag with the last number he sang. I know I am voting for him big time. However anything can happen. The good news is both will get contracts and being the winner is no guarantee for success as we have seen in the past. I wish each of them much success. Be back tomorrow with the results.

Side note: Nice to see Scotty McCreery ending the night with his song "Remember Me". Take care all and I welcome your comments.

I have to agree with you on all counts Crystal. Phillips last song (that he wrote himself) is the one that made him a winner IMO.