American Idol (season 11)

American Idol
Season 11
Broadcast from	January 18 – May 23, 2012
Judges	Randy Jackson Jennifer Lopez Steven Tyler
Host(s)	Ryan Seacrest
Broadcaster	Fox Broadcasting Company
Finals venue	Nokia Theatre Los Angeles
Winner
Phillip Phillips
Phillips at the American Idols Live! Tour 2012 at Seattle Center's KeyArena
Origin	Leesburg, Georgia
Song	"Home"
Genre(s)	Rock
Runner-up
Jessica Sanchez

The eleventh season of American Idol premiered on Fox on January 18, 2012. The show aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c.^[1] Ryan Seacrest returned as host,^[2] while Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler,^[3] and Jennifer Lopez^[4] all returned as judges. Interscope Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine, a songwriter and producer, also returned as an in-house mentor to work with the contestants on a weekly basis.^[5] This season followed the same format as season 10, although a new title screen and logo were created, with a different font. Tyler and Lopez announced that they would be leaving the show two months after the finale.^[6][7] Though Lopez later returned as a judge for the show's thirteenth season.^[8]

The season set a record when 132 million votes were gathered for the finale. On May 23, 2012, Phillip Phillips became the winner of the eleventh season of American Idol, beating Jessica Sanchez, the first female recipient of the judges' save.^[9]

Six contestants from this season were signed to record labels. The signed artists are Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Elise Testone, Colton Dixon, DeAndre Brackensick and Heejun Han. Several contestants that were not signed by a record label have independently released music, such as Hollie Cavanagh, Joshua Ledet, Erika Van Pelt, Jeremy Rosado and Shannon Magrane. Additionally, Skylar Laine signed to 19 Entertainment's management and was in the process of finding a label, but she later parted ways with them.^[10]

Regional auditions

Auditions took place in the following cities:^[11]

Episode air date	Audition city	Date	Venue	Callback date	Callback venue	Golden tickets
January 18, 2012	North Charleston, South Carolina	July 22, 2011	North Charleston Coliseum[12]	August 17–18, 2011	Hyatt Regency, Savannah, Georgia[13][14]	42
January 19, 2012	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	July 15, 2011	Heinz Field[15]	September 28–29, 2011	David L. Lawrence Convention Center[16]	38
January 22, 2012	San Diego, California	July 8, 2011	Petco Park[17]	October 9–10, 2011	USS Midway Aircraft Carrier[18]	53
January 25, 2012	Denver, Colorado	July 29, 2011	Invesco Field[19]	October 5–6, 2011[20]	Doerr-Hosier Center, Aspen[21]	31
January 26, 2012	Houston, Texas	August 26, 2011	Reliant Arena[22]	August 30–31, 2011	Galveston Island Convention Center[23]	55
February 1, 2012	Portland, Oregon	July 2, 2011	Rose Garden[24]	October 1–2, 2011	Red Lion Hotel[25]	45
February 2, 2012	St. Louis, Missouri	June 28, 2011	Scottrade Center[26]	September 2–3, 2011	Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark[27]	46
— ^a	East Rutherford, New Jersey	September 22, 2011	IZOD Center[28]	September 24–25, 2011[29]	—	—
Total number of tickets to Hollywood						310

A helicopter view of American Idol auditions at Petco Park, San Diego, July 8, 2011

• ^Note a The New Jersey audition episode was not aired due to scheduling changes.^[30]

The New Jersey audition was a late addition to the schedule,^[31] the audition was held although the attendance was reportedly low.^[32] However, the audition episode was not shown, the first time that a scheduled audition that had taken place was not shown. Contestants known to have auditioned in New Jersey were listed as having auditioned elsewhere on the official American Idol website, for example Alex Wong who auditioned in New Jersey has San Diego listed as his audition city on the official website.^[33][34]

Hollywood week and Vegas rounds

The Hollywood rounds of auditions were held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium starting December 12, 2011.^[35] There were 309 contestants at the start of Hollywood Week. The contestants performed solo for the first round, and 185 made the cut. Amongst those sent home included actor/comedian Jim Carrey's daughter, Jane Carrey.^[36] Another contestant, Symone Black, collapsed and fell on stage, but made the cut. The second round involved group performances, and a number of contestants became ill and collapsed in the auditorium. 98 contestants moved on to the third and final round, which were solo performances accompanied by a band or instrument. The contestants were then separated into four rooms, where one room of 28 contestants were all eliminated, while the 70 contestants in the other three rooms all advanced to the Las Vegas round.

After Hollywood, the contestants went to Las Vegas for a challenge round where they performed traditional late 1950s song in groups with Elvis Presley "Viva, Elvis!" show as the backdrop.^[37] 28 of the 70 contestants were eliminated. Next came a solo round accompanied by an instrument at the stage for Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas. After the 42 remaining contestants sang their last solo at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel, they were called one by one to hear the final judgement. Twelve guys and twelve girls were initially announced as the semi-finalists; however, the judges announced plans to add a thirteenth male semi-finalist between Jermaine Jones, Richie Law, Johnny Keyser and David Leathers Jr. The following week, after the male performances, Jermaine Jones was revealed to be the thirteenth performer.

Semi-finalists

The following is a list of semi-finalists who failed to reach the finals:

Females Contestant Age at time of show Date of birth Hometown Audition location Baylie Brown 22 January 6, 1990[38] Krum, Texas Houston, Texas Hallie Day 24 April 6, 1987[39] Baltimore, Maryland Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Jen Hirsh 25 June 25, 1986[40] Agoura Hills, California Houston, Texas Haley Johnsen 23 January 3, 1989[41] Beaverton, Oregon Portland, Oregon Chelsea Sorrell 23 June 30, 1988[42] Stokesdale, North Carolina Charleston, South Carolina Brielle Von Hugel 17 May 4, 1994[43] Staten Island, New York Rutherford, New Jersey

Males Contestant Age at time of show Date of birth Hometown Audition location Adam Brock 27 May 29, 1984 Washington, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Creighton Fraker 28 May 12, 1983 Queens, New York Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Eben Franckewitz 15 June 13, 1996[44] Loveland, Ohio Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Reed Grimm 26 April 12, 1985 Ellsworth, Wisconsin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Chase Likens 21 February 15, 1991 Point Pleasant, West Virginia Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Aaron Marcellus 27 July 25, 1984 Atlanta, Georgia Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Semi-finals

The semi-finals round started on February 28. Below are the two semi-final groups (males and females) with contestants listed in their performance order. The top five males and top five females, along with the three wild card choices by the judges, advanced to the finals. The males started the semifinal round, and the females continued on following night's episode, the contestants perform songs of their choice (there was no particular theme). This season, long-time vocal coach Debra Byrd was replaced by Jimmy Iovine's own team in the live shows.^[45]

Males

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Reed Grimm	"Moves Like Jagger"	Wild Card
2	Adam Brock	"Think"	Eliminated
3	DeAndre Brackensick	"Reasons"	Wild Card
4	Colton Dixon	"Decode"	Advanced
5	Jeremy Rosado	"Gravity"	Wild Card
6	Aaron Marcellus	"Never Can Say Goodbye"	Eliminated
7	Chase Likens	"Storm Warning"	Eliminated
8	Creighton Fraker	"True Colors"	Eliminated
9	Phillip Phillips	"In the Air Tonight"	Advanced
10	Eben Franckewitz	"Set Fire to the Rain"	Eliminated
11	Heejun Han	"Angels"	Advanced
12	Joshua Ledet	"You Pulled Me Through"	Advanced
13	Jermaine Jones	"Dance with My Father"	Advanced

Females

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Chelsea Sorrell	"Cowboy Casanova"	Eliminated
2	Erika Van Pelt	"What About Love"	Wild Card
3	Jen Hirsh	"One and Only"	Wild Card
4	Brielle Von Hugel	"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"	Wild Card
5	Hallie Day	"Feeling Good"	Eliminated
6	Skylar Laine	"Stay with Me"	Advanced
7	Baylie Brown	"Amazed"	Eliminated
8	Hollie Cavanagh	"Reflection"	Advanced
9	Haley Johnsen	"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"	Eliminated
10	Shannon Magrane	"Go Light Your World"	Advanced
11	Jessica Sanchez	"Love You I Do"	Advanced
12	Elise Testone	"One and Only"	Advanced

Wild Card round

Following those ten singers advancing on Thursday, March 1, six of the remaining 25 semi-finalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round. The Wild Card round immediately began, following the announcement of the ten finalists. Following another performance by each Wild Card contender, the judges then selected three contestants to advance to the final group of 13.

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Jen Hirsh	"Oh! Darling"	Eliminated
2	Jeremy Rosado	"I Know You Won't"	Advanced
3	Brielle Von Hugel	"Someone Like You"	Eliminated
4	DeAndre Brackensick	"Georgia on My Mind"	Advanced
5	Erika Van Pelt	"The Edge of Glory"	Advanced
6	Reed Grimm	"Use Me"	Eliminated

Finalists

Phillip Phillips

• Phillip Phillips (born September 20, 1990) is from Leesburg, Georgia. He attended Lee County High School. He graduated Albany Technical College, but had to miss the graduation ceremony due to being on American Idol. He auditioned in North Charleston, singing "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" with the guitar.^[46] He performed "I Only Have Eyes For You" with Heejun Han, Neco Starr, and Jairon Jackson during Hollywood Week. Many people have compared his vocal style to that of Dave Matthews, whom he has also noted as an influence. Phillips was announced the winner on May 23. Philips' coronation song, "Home", was a great success with sales 4 million copies in the U.S.

Jessica Sanchez

• Jessica Sanchez (born August 4, 1995)^[47] is from San Diego, California. Sanchez auditioned in San Diego. She performed "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" with DeAndre Brackensick and Candice Glover in Las Vegas. During the Sing For Your Life green mile round, Sanchez performed "The Prayer" by Andrea Bocelli. Before Idol, she was known for her appearance on the first season of America's Got Talent where she was brought back by judge Brandy during the show's wildcard round. Sanchez also participated in the YouTube edition of "We Are the World" along with 56 other YouTube artists, including American Idol season 10 finalist Thia Megia. She was saved from elimination by the judges after receiving the lowest number of votes in the top seven round, making her the first female contestant to be saved by the judges. Sanchez was announced the runner-up on May 23, 2012.

Joshua Ledet

• Joshua Ledet (born April 9, 1992) is from Westlake, Louisiana. He writes songs and lyrics for and attends the House of Prayer Holiness Church. He auditioned in Houston, Texas. He originally auditioned for American Idol season 10, but he did not make it past the audition stage. He was dubbed "Mantasia" (as being the male version of American Idol season three winner Fantasia Barrino) during the semi-finals. He performed "Blue Suede Shoes" with Shannon Magrane, Amber Holcomb, and Curtis Finch Jr. His musical influences are his mother, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Fantasia Barrino, James Brown, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder and Elton John. He was eliminated on May 17, coming in third place.

• Hollie Cavanagh (born July 5, 1993) is originally from Liverpool, Merseyside, England but grew up in McKinney, Texas. She originally auditioned for season 10, but she was eliminated in the green mile round and was encouraged by Jennifer Lopez that she could win the competition in a couple of years with practice. Hollie sang "Mr. Sandman" with Naomi Gillies and Marissa Pontecorvo in Las Vegas. Hollie's only appearance in season 11 was during the Top 42 green mile round. She sang "Change" by American Idol season four winner Carrie Underwood for the Sing for Your Life round. She was eliminated on May 10, coming in fourth place. She auditioned in Galveston.

Skylar Laine

• Skylar Laine (born February 1, 1994)^[48] is from Brandon, Mississippi. She is the second finalist to hail from Mississippi, with the previous one being Jasmine Murray from season eight. She auditioned in Galveston, singing "Hell on Heels" by Pistol Annies. In Las Vegas, she performed "Dedicated to the One I Love" with Colton Dixon, Chase Likens, and Cari Quoyeser. Her musical influences include George Jones, Waylon Jennings, and Miranda Lambert. She was eliminated on May 3, coming in fifth place.

• Elise Testone (born July 29, 1983) is from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She auditioned in North Charleston with the song "Get It While You Can" by Janis Joplin.^[46] Prior to Idol, she was a voice instructor in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina,^[49][50] and she performed regularly, either solo or with one of several bands, in Charleston, South Carolina.^[51][52] In 2011, her band, the Freeloaders, won the Funk/Soul/R&B Artist of the Year award in the Charleston City Paper’s Music issue.^[50][53] Testone received additional recognition from the Charleston City Paper in 2011, winning the staff pick for Best Tribute for Elise Testone’s James Brown Dance Party.^[54] She has performed as an opening act for various other artists, including Snoop Dogg, Nappy Roots, Seven Mary Three, and Kevin Costner’s band, Modern West.^[55] She was eliminated on April 26, coming in sixth place.^[56] Her debut album, In This Life was released on February 11, 2014.

Colton Dixon

• Colton Dixon (born October 19, 1991^[57]) is from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He auditioned in North Charleston with his younger sister, Schyler. He originally auditioned for season 10 along with Schyler in the Nashville, Tennessee, auditions, but she was cut in the group round and then he was cut in the green mile round. Dixon returned in season 11, however he did not plan to audition, initially planning to simply accompany his sister Schyler to her audition. The judges implored Dixon to audition as well, where he sang David Cook's "Permanent". Colton performed "Dedicated to the One I Love" with Skylar Laine, Chase Likens, and Cari Qouyeser in Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, Schyler was eliminated, bringing Colton to tears. He performed the Coldplay song "Fix You", and dedicated it to his sister. He was eliminated on April 19, coming in seventh place. Prior to his elimination, Dixon had never been in the Bottom 3. His debut album A Messenger was released on January 29, 2013.

• DeAndre Brackensick (born October 21, 1994) is from San Jose, California. He auditioned in San Diego, California. He originally auditioned for American Idol season 10, but he was cut in the green mile round. He performed "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" with Jessica Sanchez and Candice Glover in Las Vegas. He is an active participant in Oak Grove High School's Theater Arts program and is the president of the school's Polynesian Club. He was eliminated on April 5, coming in eighth place.

• Heejun Han (born April 20, 1989 in Anyang, Gyeonggi, South Korea) is from Flushing, New York. He and his family migrated to Queens, New York when he was a child and then moved to Flushing, Queens, New York during his teenage years. Before American Idol, he was a non-profit organizer, working with children with special needs. He has spoken of suffering from emotional depression and credited the children that he worked with for helping him to recover from his illness. He has also said that the children motivated him to audition for American Idol. He auditioned in Pittsburgh with "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You". His audition brought Jennifer Lopez to tears, and Steven Tyler stated "I think you are really great. I think you could be the American Idol". He is the first Korean American to make the finals on American Idol. He was eliminated on March 29, coming in ninth place.

Erika Van Pelt

• Erika Van Pelt (born December 12, 1985^[58]) is from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. She auditioned in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with song "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by The Shirelles. She draws her influences anywhere from Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Joss Stone, Jill Scott, and Kim Burrell. She has a passion for rhythm and blues, soul, country, jazz, rock and classical. She was eliminated on March 22, coming in tenth place. Her debut album, My Independence was released on October 8, 2013.

• Shannon Magrane (born October 21, 1995^[59]) is from Tampa, Florida. She is the daughter of Tampa Bay Rays broadcaster and former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Magrane.^[46] She auditioned in North Charleston, South Carolina, with the song "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James.^[46] She was eliminated on March 15, coming in eleventh place.^[60]

• Jermaine Jones (born November 18, 1986) is from Pine Hill, New Jersey. He auditioned in Portland, Oregon. He attended Overbrook High School. Before Idol, he worked as a vocal instructor at Highest Praise Performing Arts Center.^[61] Jones was not originally chosen for the semi-finals, but he was called back after the top 24 selection filming, making him the 25th semi-finalist and thirteenth male semi-finalist. Standing 6 feet 8 and a half inches tall, he was dubbed "The Gentle Giant" on the show. His musical influences are his mother and John Legend. On March 13, he was disqualified for concealing arrests and outstanding warrants.^[62] He is the second Idol contestant to be disqualified during the finals, as Corey Clark was disqualified in the second season, and he came in twelfth place.

• Jeremy Rosado (born March 24, 1992) is from Valrico, Florida. Rosado previously auditioned for American Idol four times. He was eliminated on March 8, coming in thirteenth place. He is the fourth wild card finalist to be the eliminated first in the finals, with his female predecessors being Leah LaBelle (season three), Jasmine Murray (season eight), and Ashthon Jones (season ten). His musical influences are Francesca Battistelli, Kirk Franklin, and Israel Houghton. His debut single, Don't be Afraid was released on April 2, 2013.

Finals

In this season, maintaining the previous season's format, there are 12 weeks of the finals and 13 finalists, with one finalist eliminated per week based on the American public's votes (exceptions include Top 13-week, where the judges were able to decide who would go home based on the lowest votes between the male and female contestants, and Top 12-week, where Jermaine Jones was disqualified). Previous season's winner Scotty McCreery recorded the Tim McGraw song "Please Remember Me" as the send-off song played when a contestant is eliminated. Jimmy Iovine resumed duties as a weekly mentor to the contestants, frequently assisted by guest mentors. This season, the fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and Soyon An were employed as image advisers for the Top 10 finalists.^[63]

Top 13 – Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder

• Guest mentor: Mary J. Blige

On March 7, 2012, the women performed Whitney Houston songs and the men performed Stevie Wonder songs. Ryan Seacrest stated that it will be a competition between the male and female contestants. As a result, the bottom three of each gender, as well as the male and female contestant who received the lowest number of votes amongst their gender, were announced the next night, and the judges chose who went home. However, this will not count as the supposed "Judges' Save" which can only be used once in the competition before the Top 5. Between Jeremy Rosado and Elise Testone, each of whom received the lowest number of votes for their respective gender groups, the judges used the Top 13 Save on Elise Testone and chose to eliminate Jeremy Rosado from the competition.

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Joshua Ledet	"I Wish"	Bottom 3 (M)
2	Elise Testone	"I'm Your Baby Tonight"	Saved
3	Jermaine Jones	"Knocks Me Off My Feet"	Bottom 3 (M)
4	Erika Van Pelt	"I Believe in You and Me"	Bottom 3 (F)
5	Colton Dixon	"Lately"	Safe
6	Shannon Magrane	"I Have Nothing"	Bottom 3 (F)
7	DeAndre Brackensick	"Master Blaster (Jammin')"	Safe
8	Skylar Laine	"Where Do Broken Hearts Go"	Safe
9	Heejun Han	"All in Love Is Fair"	Safe
10	Hollie Cavanagh	"All the Man That I Need"	Safe
11	Jeremy Rosado	"Ribbon in the Sky"	Eliminated
12	Jessica Sanchez	"I Will Always Love You"	Safe
13	Phillip Phillips	"Superstition"	Safe

• Group performance: "As"

Top 11 – Year They Were Born

• Guest mentor: will.i.am

Due to a hidden criminal past, Jermaine Jones was disqualified prior to the Wednesday performance show.^[64] Footage of executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick confronting Jones was shown in what would have been his performance slot, in between Van Pelt's and Laine's performances.^[65] A clip of his rehearsal, singing "Somewhere Out There", was shown after his removal from the competition. Voting continued as scheduled with one of the remaining 11 contestants eliminated in addition to Jones, unlike the season 2 disqualification of Corey Clark.

Order	Contestant	Song	Year	Result
1	Phillip Phillips	"Hard to Handle"	1990	Safe
2	Jessica Sanchez	"Turn the Beat Around"	1995	Safe
3	Heejun Han	"Right Here Waiting"	1989	Safe
4	Elise Testone	"Let's Stay Together"	1983	Bottom 3
5	DeAndre Brackensick	"Endless Love"	1994	Safe
6	Shannon Magrane	"One Sweet Day"	1995	Eliminated
7	Colton Dixon	"Broken Heart"	1991	Safe
8	Erika Van Pelt	"Heaven"	1985	Bottom 3
9	Skylar Laine	"Love Sneakin' Up On You"	1994	Safe
10	Joshua Ledet	"When a Man Loves a Woman"	1992	Safe
11	Hollie Cavanagh	"The Power of Love"	1993	Safe

Top 10 – Billy Joel

• Guest mentor: Diddy

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	DeAndre Brackensick	"Only the Good Die Young"	Bottom 3
2	Erika Van Pelt	"New York State of Mind"	Eliminated
3	Joshua Ledet	"She's Got a Way"	Safe
4	Skylar Laine	"Shameless"	Safe
5	Elise Testone	"Vienna"	Safe
6	Phillip Phillips	"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"	Safe
7	Hollie Cavanagh	"Honesty"	Safe
8	Heejun Han	"My Life"	Bottom 3
9	Jessica Sanchez	"Everybody Has a Dream"	Safe
10	Colton Dixon	"Piano Man"	Safe

• Group performance: "The Longest Time"
• Joe Perry with group: "Happy Birthday to You" (to Steven Tyler)

Top 9 – Their Personal Idols

• Mentor: Stevie Nicks

Order	Contestant(s)	Song(s)	Personal Idol	Result
1	Colton Dixon	"Everything"	Lifehouse	Safe
2	Skylar Laine	"Gunpowder & Lead"	Miranda Lambert	Bottom 3
3	Colton Dixon, Phillip Phillips & Elise Testone	"Landslide" / "Edge of Seventeen" / "Don't Stop"	N/A	N/A
4	Heejun Han	"A Song for You"	Donny Hathaway	Eliminated
5	Hollie Cavanagh	"Jesus, Take the Wheel"	Carrie Underwood	Bottom 3
6	DeAndre Brackensick	"Sometimes I Cry"	Eric Benét	Safe
7	Jessica Sanchez	"Sweet Dreams"	Beyoncé	Safe
8	DeAndre Brackensick, Heejun Han & Joshua Ledet	"The Lady in My Life" / "Rock with You" / "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"	N/A	N/A
9	Phillip Phillips	"Still Rainin'"	Jonny Lang	Safe
10	Joshua Ledet	"Without You"	Mariah Carey	Safe
11	Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine & Jessica Sanchez	"Like a Prayer" / "Borderline" / "Express Yourself"	N/A	N/A
12	Elise Testone	"Whole Lotta Love"	Led Zeppelin	Safe

Top 8 – Songs from the 1980s

• Guest mentors: Gwen Stefani & Tony Kanal

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	DeAndre Brackensick	"I Like It"	Eliminated
2	Elise Testone	"I Want to Know What Love Is"	Bottom 3
3	Colton Dixon & Skylar Laine	"Islands in the Stream"	N/A
4	Phillip Phillips	"That's All"	Safe
5	DeAndre Brackensick & Hollie Cavanagh	"I'm So Excited"	N/A
6	Joshua Ledet	"If You Don't Know Me by Now"	Safe
7	Jessica Sanchez	"How Will I Know"	Safe
8	Phillip Phillips & Elise Testone	"Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"	N/A
9	Hollie Cavanagh	"Flashdance... What a Feeling"	Bottom 3
10	Joshua Ledet & Jessica Sanchez	"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)"	N/A
11	Colton Dixon	"Time After Time"	Safe
12	Skylar Laine	"Wind Beneath My Wings"	Safe

Top 7 (first week) – Songs from the 2010s

• Guest mentor: Akon

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Skylar Laine	"Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You"	Safe
2	Colton Dixon	"Love the Way You Lie"	Safe
3	Phillip Phillips & Elise Testone	"Somebody That I Used to Know"	N/A
4	Jessica Sanchez	"Stuttering"	Saved
5	Joshua Ledet	"Runaway Baby"	Bottom 3
6	Colton Dixon & Skylar Laine	"Don't You Wanna Stay"	N/A
7	Hollie Cavanagh	"Fuckin' Perfect"	Safe
8	Phillip Phillips	"Give a Little More"	Safe
9	Hollie Cavanagh, Joshua Ledet & Jessica Sanchez	"Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)"	N/A
10	Elise Testone	"You and I"	Bottom 3

• Group performance: "Raise Your Glass"

Top 7 (second week) – Songs from Now & Then

Each contestant performed two songs: a Billboard number-one hit from the 21st century and a song from the classic soul era. Normally two finalists would be eliminated the week after using the judges' save, however, only one finalist was eliminated.

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Hollie Cavanagh	"Rolling in the Deep"	Bottom 3
2	Colton Dixon	"Bad Romance"	Eliminated
3	Elise Testone	"No One"	Bottom 3
4	Phillip Phillips	"U Got It Bad"	Safe
5	Jessica Sanchez	"Fallin'"	Safe
6	Skylar Laine	"Born This Way"	Safe
7	Joshua Ledet	"I Believe"	Safe
8	Hollie Cavanagh	"Son of a Preacher Man"	Bottom 3
9	Colton Dixon	"September"	Eliminated
10	Elise Testone	"Let's Get It On"	Bottom 3
11	Phillip Phillips	"In the Midnight Hour"	Safe
12	Jessica Sanchez	"Try a Little Tenderness"	Safe
13	Skylar Laine	"I Heard It Through the Grapevine"	Safe
14	Joshua Ledet	"A Change Is Gonna Come"	Safe

• Group performance: "Dancing in the Street"

Top 6 – Queen / Contestant's Choice

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Jessica Sanchez	"Bohemian Rhapsody"	Safe
2	Skylar Laine	"The Show Must Go On"	Bottom 3
3	Joshua Ledet	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"	Safe
4	Elise Testone	"I Want It All"	Eliminated
5	Phillip Phillips	"Fat Bottomed Girls"	Safe
6	Hollie Cavanagh	"Save Me"	Bottom 2
7	Jessica Sanchez	"Dance with My Father"	Safe
8	Skylar Laine	"Tattoos on This Town"	Bottom 3
9	Joshua Ledet	"Ready for Love"	Safe
10	Elise Testone	"Bold as Love"	Eliminated
11	Phillip Phillips	"The Stone"	Safe
12	Hollie Cavanagh	"The Climb"	Bottom 2

• Brian May & Roger Taylor with group on performance night: "Fat Bottomed Girls" / "Another One Bites the Dust" / "We Will Rock You" / "We Are the Champions"

Top 5 – Songs from the 1960s / British Pop

• Guest mentor: Steven Van Zandt

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Hollie Cavanagh	"River Deep – Mountain High"	Bottom 2
2	Phillip Phillips	"The Letter"	Safe
3	Skylar Laine	"Fortunate Son"	Eliminated
4	Joshua Ledet & Phillip Phillips	"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"	N/A
5	Jessica Sanchez	"Proud Mary"	Safe
6	Joshua Ledet	"Ain't Too Proud to Beg"	Safe
7	Hollie Cavanagh	"Bleeding Love"	Bottom 2
8	Phillip Phillips	"Time of the Season"	Safe
9	Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine & Jessica Sanchez	"(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher"	N/A
10	Skylar Laine	"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"	Eliminated
11	Jessica Sanchez	"You Are So Beautiful"	Safe
12	Joshua Ledet	"To Love Somebody"	Safe

Top 4 – Music of California / Songs They Wish They'd Written

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Phillip Phillips	"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?"	Safe
2	Hollie Cavanagh	"Faithfully"	Eliminated
3	Joshua Ledet	"You Raise Me Up"	Safe
4	Jessica Sanchez	"Steal Away"	Safe
5	Joshua Ledet & Phillip Phillips	"This Love"	N/A
6	Hollie Cavanagh & Jessica Sanchez	"Eternal Flame"	N/A
7	Hollie Cavanagh, Joshua Ledet, Phillip Phillips & Jessica Sanchez	"Waiting for a Girl Like You"	N/A
8	Phillip Phillips	"Volcano"	Safe
9	Hollie Cavanagh	"I Can't Make You Love Me"	Eliminated
10	Joshua Ledet	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"	Safe
11	Jessica Sanchez	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"	Safe

• Group performance: "California Dreamin'"

Top 3 – Judges' Choice / Contestant's Choice / Jimmy Iovine's Choice

Order	Contestant	Song	Chosen By	Result
1	Joshua Ledet	"I'd Rather Go Blind"	Randy Jackson	Eliminated
2	Jessica Sanchez	"My All"	Jennifer Lopez	Safe
3	Phillip Phillips	"Beggin'"	Steven Tyler	Safe
4	Joshua Ledet	"Imagine"	Self	Eliminated
5	Jessica Sanchez	"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"	Self	Safe
6	Phillip Phillips	"Disease"	Self	Safe
7	Joshua Ledet	"No More Drama"	Jimmy Iovine	Eliminated
8	Jessica Sanchez	"I'll Be There"	Jimmy Iovine	Safe
9	Phillip Phillips	"We've Got Tonight"	Jimmy Iovine	Safe

• Group performance: "Got to Get You into My Life"

Top 2 – Simon Fuller's Choice / Favorite Performance / Winner's Single

Order	Contestant	Song	Result
1	Jessica Sanchez	"I Have Nothing"	Runner-up
2	Phillip Phillips	"Stand by Me"	Winner
3	Jessica Sanchez	"The Prayer"	Runner-up
4	Phillip Phillips	"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"	Winner
5	Jessica Sanchez	"Change Nothing"	Runner-up
6	Phillip Phillips	"Home"	Winner

Elimination chart

Females

Males

Top 25

Top 13

Wild Card

Winner

Did Not Perform

Safe

Safe First

Safe Last

Eliminated

Top 13 Save

Judges' Save

Stage:		Semi-Finals	Wild Card	Finals
Week:		3/1		3/8^1	3/15	3/22	3/29	4/5	4/12^3	4/19	4/26	5/3	5/10	5/17	5/23
Place	Contestant	Result
1	Phillip Phillips	Top 13													Winner
2	Jessica Sanchez	Top 13							Saved						Runner-up
3	Joshua Ledet	Top 13		Bottom 3 (M)					Bottom 3					Elim
4	Hollie Cavanagh	Top 13					Bottom 3	Bottom 3		Bottom 3	Bottom 2	Bottom 2	Elim
5	Skylar Laine	Top 13					Bottom 3				Bottom 3	Elim
6	Elise Testone	Top 13		Saved	Bottom 3			Bottom 3	Bottom 3	Bottom 3	Elim
7	Colton Dixon	Top 13								Elim
8	DeAndre Brackensick	Wild Card	Top 13			Bottom 3		Elim
9	Heejun Han	Top 13				Bottom 3	Elim
10	Erika Van Pelt	Wild Card	Top 13	Bottom 3 (F)	Bottom 3	Elim
11	Shannon Magrane	Top 13		Bottom 3 (F)	Elim
12	Jermaine Jones	Top 13		Bottom 3 (M)	Disq^2
13	Jeremy Rosado	Wild Card	Top 13	Elim
14–16	Reed Grimm	Wild Card	Elim
	Jen Hirsh	Wild Card
	Brielle Von Hugel	Wild Card
17–25	Adam Brock	Elim
	Baylie Brown
	Hallie Day
	Creighton Fraker
	Eben Franckewitz
	Haley Johnsen
	Chase Likens
	Aaron Marcellus
	Chelsea Sorrell

^Note 1 : The 'Top 13' results featured 'Bottom 3' groups for each gender, with Testone and Rosado receiving the least votes among their respective genders. The judges subsequently opted to save Testone, thereby eliminating Rosado from the competition.
^Note 2 : Jones was disqualified for failing to disclose his full criminal history prior to the voting rounds commencing.
^Note 3 : Due to the judges using their one 'Judges' Save' per season, in order to save Sanchez, the 'Top 7' remained intact for another week.

Results show performances

Week	Performer(s)	Title	Hot 100 reaction	Digital sales reaction	Performance type
Top 13	Lauren Alaina	"Georgia Peaches"	did not chart	12,000 (+64%)	live
	Mary J. Blige	"Why"	did not chart	—	live
Top 11	Demi Lovato	"Give Your Heart a Break"	did not chart	—	live
	Daughtry	"Outta My Head"	did not chart	—	live
Top 10	Lana Del Rey	"Video Games"	did not chart	13,000 (+147%)[66]	pre-recorded
	Haley Reinhart	"Free"	104 (debut)[67]	35,000 (debut)[66]	pre-recorded
Top 9	Nicki Minaj	"Starships"	6 (−1)[68]	204,000 (+17%)[68]	live
	Scotty McCreery	"Water Tower Town"	did not chart	15,000 (+3,519%)[69]	live
Top 8	Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull	"Dance Again"	27 (debut)[70]	118,000 (debut)[71]	music video premiere
	The Wanted	"Glad You Came"	3 (+1)[72]	209,000 (+24%)[72]	live
	Kellie Pickler	"Where's Tammy Wynette"	did not chart	—	live
Top 7 Week 1	James Durbin	"Higher Than Heaven"	did not chart	—	live
	Jennifer Hudson & Ne-Yo	"Think Like a Man"	90 (debut)[73]	25,000, (+109%)[74]	live
Top 7 Week 2	Kris Allen	"The Vision of Love"	did not chart	11,000 (debut)[69]	live
	LMFAO	"Sorry for Party Rocking"	did not chart	15,000 (−18%)[75]	live
Top 6	Queen Extravaganza	"Somebody to Love"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Stefano Langone	"I'm on a Roll"	did not chart	20,000 (debut)[76]	live
	Katy Perry	"Part of Me"	11 (+1)[77]	73,000 (−6%)[74]	pre-recorded
Top 5	Coldplay	"Paradise"	48 (re-entry)[78]	—	pre-recorded
	Carrie Underwood	"Blown Away"	66 (debut)	66,000 (debut)[79]	live
	Coldplay	"Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall"	did not chart	—	pre-recorded
Top 4	David Cook	"The Last Song I'll Write for You"	did not chart	15,000 (debut)[80]	live
	Jennifer Lopez	"Dance Again"	17 (+3)[81]	104,000 (+39%)[80]	pre-recorded
Top 3	Lisa Marie Presley	"You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet	did not chart	—	pre-recorded
	Adam Lambert	"Never Close Our Eyes"	did not chart	—	live
Top 2	Jason Derülo	"Undefeated"	did not chart	—	live
	Scotty McCreery	"Please Remember Me"	did not chart	16,000 (+302%)[82]	live
Finale	American Idol Top 12 (minus Phillip Phillips & Jessica Sanchez)	"Runaway Baby"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	John Fogerty & Phillip Phillips	"Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" / "Bad Moon Rising"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Fantasia Barrino & Joshua Ledet	"Take Me to the Pilot"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	American Idol Girls & Chaka Khan	"Ain't Nobody" / "Through the Fire" / "I'm Every Woman"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Rihanna	"Where Have You Been"	11 (+2)[83]	136,000 (+47%)[83]	live
	Reba McEntire & Skylar Laine	"Turn On the Radio"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Jessica Sanchez	"I Will Always Love You"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Neil Diamond & American Idol Boys (minus Phillip Phillips)	"America" / "Cracklin' Rosie" / "I'm a Believer" / "Sweet Caroline"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Jennifer Lopez, Lil Jon & Flo Rida	"Goin' In"	—	—	live
	Jennifer Lopez & Wisin & Yandel	"Follow the Leader"	failed to chart	13,000 (+203%)[82]	live
	Jordin Sparks & Hollie Cavanagh	"You'll Never Walk Alone"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	American Idol Boys (minus Phillip Phillips)	"Words" / "How Deep Is Your Love" / "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" / "To Love Somebody"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Jennifer Holliday & Jessica Sanchez	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Aerosmith	"Legendary Child" / "Walk This Way"	did not chart	10,000[82]	live
	Phillip Phillips & Jessica Sanchez	"Up Where We Belong"	unreleased	unreleased	live
	Phillip Phillips	"Home"	10 (debut)[84]	278,000 (debut)[82]	live
"—" denotes no figure was available.

Controversies

Disqualification of Jermaine Jones

On March 14, finalist Jermaine Jones was disqualified for concealing arrests and outstanding warrants.^[62] Jones, however, denied that he had concealed his previous arrests, as he admitted his arrests when he signed up for Idol.^[85] A police official in a New Jersey town where he was the target of two arrest warrants said that "the case wasn't big enough to merit going after him in California", and a New Jersey legislator commented that for the show "to expose, embarrass and interrogate a young man without an attorney in front of 40 million viewers was an outrage".^[86] Critics suggested that the show may have staged the disqualification to boost ratings.^[87] When asked about speculations that producers had prior knowledge of his criminal past and that the producers were simply out to exploit him on-air, Jones replied that "I haven’t even taken my mind into that and why they did what they did, because then I’ll drive myself crazy".^[88]

Jennifer Lopez music video

The music video of Jennifer Lopez's song, "Dance Again", which aired on the program, was criticized as inappropriate for younger viewers. Dan Gainor of the Culture and Media Institute wrote, "Even the supposedly family-friendly TV shows like American Idol are never safe in the hands of Hollywood," and went as far as saying her "skanky new video shows how desperate she is to retain her fame despite her fading relevance. Such sexualized videos aren't appropriate for any children to watch, including Lopez's own twins."^[89][90] Jenna Hally Rubenstein from MTV Buzzworthy also commented about the video's content not being appropriate for a family show, "we thought "Idol" was a family show? This video is less "sit on the couch and chill with dad" and more "call your boyfriend over immediately."^[91] Ed Masley from AZ central.com said that the video was on the verge of being too "steamy" for the show.^[92]

Gender and ethnic biases

Phillip Phillips became the fifth consecutive white male to win the show, which led to some viewers and critics accusing American Idol of having gender and ethnic biases. The bias towards the so-called "white guy with guitar" (WGWG) has been widely commented on before and after the result was known, with some complaining about the predictability of the likely winner.^{[93][94][95][96]} The string of white guitar-playing male winners includes David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, and Scotty McCreery who won seasons 7, 8, 9, and 10 respectively. Just hours before the finale, Richard Rushfield, author of the book American Idol: The Untold Story, said, “You have this alliance between young girls and grandmas and they see it, not necessarily as a contest to create a pop star competing on the contemporary radio, but as…who’s the nicest guy in a popularity contest,” he says, “And that has led to this dynasty of four, and possibly now five, consecutive, affable, very nice, good-looking white boys.”^[96]

Other Idol contestants

Season 12 contestants

Thirteen of the contestants from season 11 auditioned for the subsequent season and made into the Top 40. Ten of them made into the voting rounds. On March 8, 2013, only Janelle Arthur, Candice Glover, Curtis Finch, and Amber Holcomb made into the Top 10 and have guaranteed a spot on the Summer Live Tour. Aubrey Cleland later made it as well.

• Amber Holcomb – auditioned in Houston, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds
• Aubrey Cleland – auditioned in Portland, cut at the Top 24 selection
• Bryant Tadeo – auditioned in San Diego, cut on the last day of Hollywood week
• Candice Glover – auditioned in Savannah, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds,and won the twelfth season.
• Cortez Shaw – auditioned in Houston, cut at the Top 24 selection
• Curtis Finch, Jr. – auditioned in St. Louis, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds
• Elijah Liu – auditioned in San Diego, cut on the group day of Hollywood week
• Janelle Arthur – auditioned in Houston, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds
• Johnny Keyser – auditioned in St. Louis, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds, however, Keyser was called for a surprise twist along with three eliminated hopefuls including Jermaine Jones, but Jones took the final spot
• Mathenee Treco – auditioned in Aspen, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds
• Nick Boddington – auditioned in New Jersey, called back for the judges in Portland, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds
• Tenna Torres – auditioned in Pittsburgh, cut on the performance challenge in the Las Vegas rounds
• Vincent Powell – auditioned in Houston, cut on the last day of Hollywood week

Season 13 contestants

Three of the contestants from season 11 auditioned for the subsequent season and made into the Top 30.

• Caleb Johnson – auditioned in Savannah, cut at the Top 24 selection, and won the thirteenth season.
• George Lovett – auditioned in Savannah, cut at first day of Hollywood Week.
• Neco Starr – auditioned in Savannah, cut at the Top 24 selection

Season 15 contestants

• Stephany Negrete - Cut during Hollywood Round 3/Final Solo Round.

U.S. Nielsen ratings

The premiere was watched by 21.93 million viewers. While at the time it drew the second largest audience of any entertainment program in the television season, it was down 16 percent from the previous year's premiere, which was watched by 26.23 million viewers.^[97] After seven consecutive years as the most watched program on primetime television (eight years in the 18/49 demo), the eleventh season of American Idol came in second place to NBC Sunday Night Football in total viewers, as well as in the 18/49 demo.^[98] The Wednesday episode (ranked second for the year) averaged 19.811 million while the Thursday episode (placing fourth during the same year) averaged 18.332 million. The show's continued strengths in its Wednesday and Thursday timeslots, however, helped Fox attain its eight consecutive season in its winning streak in the 18-49 demographics, the most in U.S. television history.

Episode list

Show Episode Air date Rating Share Rating/share 18–49 Viewers (millions) Weekly rank Note 1 "Savannah Auditions" January 18, 2012 12.3 19 7.4/19 21.93 3 [99][100] 2 "Pittsburgh Auditions" January 19, 2012 10.3 16 5.7/15 18.02 4 [100][101] 3 "San Diego Auditions"^a January 22, 2012 N/A N/A 7.9/21 19.70 N/A^b [102] 4 "Aspen Auditions" January 25, 2012 11.1 17 6.5/18 19.67 1 [103][104] 5 "Houston/Galveston Auditions" January 26, 2012 10.0 16 5.5/16 17.14 2 [104][105] 6 "Portland Auditions" February 1, 2012 10.6 17 6.0/17 18.48 4 [106][107] 7 "St. Louis Auditions" February 2, 2012 10.2 16 5.5/15 17.41 5 [107][108] 8 "Hollywood Week, Part 1" February 8, 2012 11.0 17 6.1/17 19.32 3 [109][110] 9 "Hollywood Week, Part 2" February 9, 2012 10.5 17 5.8/16 18.13 4 [110][111] 10 "Hollywood Week, Part 3" February 15, 2012 10.8 17 6.1/16 18.89 2 [112][113] 11 "Las Vegas Round" February 16, 2012 9.8 15 5.1/14 16.71 3 [113][114] 12 "Final Judgement Part 1" February 22, 2012 9.3 15 5.1/14 16.10 6 [115][116] 13 "Final Judgement Part 2" February 23, 2012 9.3 15 4.5/13 15.64 8 [116][117] 14 "Semifinalists Boys Perform" February 28, 2012 9.4 14 5.1/13 16.11 4 [118][119] 15 "Semifinalists Girls Perform" February 29, 2012 10.1 16 5.0/13 17.23 3 [119][120] 16 "Wildcard Results/Finalists Chosen" March 1, 2012 10.8 17 5.4/15 18.27 1 [119][121] 17 "Top 13 Perform" March 7, 2012 10.9 17 5.7/16 18.69 1 [122][123] 18 "Top 13 Results" March 8, 2012 10.2 16 4.9/14 17.27 2 [123][124] 19 "Top 11 Perform" March 14, 2012 10.7 17 5.4/16 18.38 1 [125][126] 20 "Top 11 Results" March 15, 2012 9.4 16 4.6/14 16.02 2 [126][127] 21 "Top 10 Perform" March 21, 2012 10.4 17 5.1/15 17.21 3 [128][129] 22 "Top 10 Results" March 22, 2012 9.3 15 4.2/13 15.58 5 [129][130] 23 "Top 9 Perform" March 28, 2012 10.5 17 5.3/15 17.87 3 [131][132] 24 "Top 9 Results" March 29, 2012 9.6 16 4.4/13 15.87 5 [132][133] 25 "Top 8 Perform" April 4, 2012 10.2 17 4.9/14 17.09 2 [134][135] 26 "Top 8 Results" April 5, 2012 8.8 15 3.9/13 14.34 5 [135][136] 27 "Top 7 Perform" April 11, 2012 10.0 18 5.0/14 16.81 2 [137] 28 "Top 7 Results" April 12, 2012 9.7 16 4.3/13 15.81 4 [137] 29 "Top 7 Redux Perform" April 18, 2012 10.7 16 4.8/14 16.89 2 [138][139] 30 "Top 7 Redux Results" April 19, 2012 9.2 16 4.0/13 14.99 4 [139][140] 31 "Top 6 Perform" April 25, 2012 10.2 16 4.8/14 16.87 2 [141][142] 32 "Top 6 Results" April 26, 2012 9.1 15 4.0/12 14.87 3 [142][143] 33 "Top 5 Perform" May 2, 2012 10.2 16 4.7/14 16.66 2 [144][145] 34 "Top 5 Results" May 3, 2012 9.4 16 4.0/13 15.56 4 [145][146] 35 "Top 4 Perform" May 9, 2012 10.0 16 4.5/13 16.46 2 [147][148] 36 "Top 4 Results" May 10, 2012 9.5 16 4.0/13 15.62 4 [148][149] 37 "Top 3 Perform" May 16, 2012 10.5 17 4.9/14 17.68 2 [150][151] 38 "Top 3 Results" May 17, 2012 9.8 17 4.4/15 16.40 3 [151][152] 39 "Top 2 Perform" May 22, 2012 8.7 14 4.4/14 14.85 4 [153][154] 40 "Finale" May 23, 2012 12.2 20 6.4/18 21.49 1 [154][155]

• ^Note a This episode was shown on Sunday, January 22, 2012, after the NFC Championship Game, but was repeated on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 with ratings of 5.7/9 overall and 3.4/9 for the 18/49 demographic. Overall, the episode averaged 9.64 million viewers.^[104][156]
• ^Note b Episode was bumped out of primetime due to the NFC Championship Game going into overtime, therefore it was not included in the weekly rankings.^[97]

See also

• American Idols LIVE! Tour 2012

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