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Candice Rickelle Glover (born November 22, 1989) is an American R&B singer from Beaufort, South Carolina who won season 12 of American Idol. She is the first woman since Jordin Sparks in season 6 to win the show. She was the show's last female winner until Maddie Poppe won season 16.

Background[]

Candice is from Beaufort, South Carolina and is the oldest of seven siblings. She graduated from Beaufort High School in 2008.

Candice had previously tried out for the show in season 9 and season 11. She was living in St. Helena Island, South Carolina working at a travel agency when she tried out for season 12.

Candice's musical influences are Christina Aguilera, Adele, Whitney Houston, Drake, and Jazmine Sullivan, who once retweeted a YouTube video of Candice singing the Adele hit "Chasing Pavements", a song she would later sing on Idol. 

American Idol[]

Candice glover top 6 perf p

Candice performing

Having tried out for the show two previous times, Candice gave it another go and tried out for season 12 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her powerful, beautiful voice impressed the judges, who sent her through to Hollywood, where she shined. She made it through both the "sudden death' round and the semifinals to make it to the top 10, progressing further then she had before. During the Top 10, Candice performed "I (Who Have Nothing)" by Shirley Bassey which was performed by Jordin Sparks during season 6 and Haley Reinhart during season 10. The result of her performing this song, which was very well received by the judges, helped her make it to the Top 9. During the Top 9, Candice, nicknamed "Candi Girl" by Nicki Minaj, performed "Come Together" from the Lennon-McCartney songbook. The result of her song helped her make it to the Top 8. Candice made it to the top 7 with her rendition of The Miracles' "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", which had been made popular by Motown legend Marvin Gaye among others. For Rock Week, Candice took on the Rolling Stones' classic "(I Can't Get) No Satisfaction", which resulted in her becoming a part of the top 6 despite a broken toe. Candice then took on "Don't Make Me Over" by Dionne Warwick and the Adele version of The Cure's "Lovesong", both of which wowed the judges, to make it to the top 5. For top 5 week, Candice took on the Paula Abdul hit "Straight Up", which earned her a surprise visit and hug from Paula herself, and the Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston duet "When You Believe". Those performances earned her a spot in the top 4. Her top 4 performances, "Find Your Love" by Drake (who thanked her in person) and "Emotion" by Samantha Sang (later covered by the Bee Gees and Destiny's Child), resulted in her being in the bottom 2 with Amber Holcomb, but because

IFWT Candice2

Candice at the finale

it was a non-elimination week, everyone was safe. For top 4 redux week, known as "Now and Then", Candice sang "If I Was Your Man" by Bruno Mars as her "now" song and "You've Changed" by Harry James as her "then" song. She made it to the top 3. Candice made it to the finale with her renditions of "One" by U2, "Next to Me" by Emeli Sande, and "Somewhere" by Reri Gist from the classic musical West Side Story. During the finale performance, Candice performed "Chasing Pavements" by Adele, "I (Who Have Nothing)" by Ben E. King, and her winning single "I Am Beautiful". Her performances helped her win American Idol, making her the first woman to win the show since Jordin Sparks in 2007. She is also the first winner to not win on the first season she tried out for American Idol.

Performances[]

Episode Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition Auditionee's Choice "Syrup & Honey" Duffy N/A Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 1 A Capella "Impossible" Christina Aguilera N/A Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 2 Group Performance "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"
with Melinda Ademi, Kamaria Ousley, and Denise Jackson
Blu Cantrell N/A Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 3 Solo "Girl on Fire" Alicia Keys N/A Advanced
Las Vegas Round Personal Choice "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" Aretha Franklin 2 Advanced
Top 20 (10 Women) Personal Choice "Ordinary People" John Legend 10 Advanced
Top 10 Reveal Victory Song "I'm Going Down" Rose Royce 7 N/A
Top 10 Music of the American Idols "I (Who Have Nothing)" Ben E. King 6 Safe
Top 9 The Beatles "Come Together" The Beatles 5 Safe
Top 8 Music of Motor City Solo "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" The Miracles 1 Safe
Trio "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"
with Amber Holcomb and Angie Miller
Dee Dee Warwick 6
Top 7 Rock Duet "The Letter"
with Burnell Taylor
The Box Tops 4 Safe
Solo "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" The Rolling Stones 8
Top 6 Burt Bacharach and Hal David "Don't Make Me Over" Dionne Warwick 6 Safe
Songs They Wish They'd Written "Lovesong" The Cure 12
Top 5 Year They Were Born "Straight Up" Paula Abdul 1 Safe
Divas "When You Believe" Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston 6
Top 4 Contestant's Choice Solo "Find Your Love" Drake 2 Bottom 2
Duet "Stay"
with Angie Miller
Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko 6
One-Hit Wonders "Emotion" Samantha Sang 8
Top 4 Songs from Now and Then "When I Was Your Man" Bruno Mars 3 Safe
"You've Changed" Harry James 7
Quartet "Wings"
with Kree Harrison, Amber Holcomb, and Angie Miller
Little Mix 9
Top 3 Jimmy Iovine's Choice "One" U2 2 Safe
Judges' Choice "Next to Me" Emeli Sande 5
Producers' Choice "Somewhere" Reri Grist 8
Finale Simon Fuller's Choice "Chasing Pavements" Adele 2 Winner
Winner's Single "I Am Beautiful" Candice Glover 4
Favorite Performance "I (Who Have Nothing)" Ben E. King 6

Post Idol[]

Candice was a part of the American Idols Live tour, which kicked off on July 19, 2013 in Kent, Washington and ended on August 31, 2013 in Nashville. Her debut album, Music Speaks, was released on February 18, 2014. It has sold 40,000 copies, the lowest sales ever for an Idol winner, and debuted and peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200.

Along with runner-up Kree Harrison and second runner-up Angie Miller, Candice got to record background vocals on a song for former Idol judge Mariah Carey's next album, but the song never made the official track listing. She also said in an interview that her second single, "Cried", will have more of an R&B sound to it. "Cried" was released on November 26, 2013. She also admitted that she would love to work with Drake on a song. She was featured on singer Chadd Black's single "Love No Fear", which was released on February 14, 2015.

Candice was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice Breakout Artist". 

Post Idol appearences[]

After her victory, Candice appeared on Ryan Seacrest's radio show and even performed "I Am Beautiful" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Live with Kelly and Michael. She also performed at the 37th Annual Capitol Fourth concert in Washington, D.C. on July 4, 2013 and sang the national anthem at the 84th MLB All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York on July 16, 2013. She performed with season 2 winner Ruben Studdard on the song "A House Is Not a Home" as part of a tribute to R&B legend Dionne Warwick at the Soul Train Awards on December 1, 2013. She returned to American Idol to perform on February 27, 2014.

Second album[]

Candice is currently working on her second album and has released a new single, "My Mistake", . She is writing all of the songs herself and even mentioned on her Facebook page that the album will feature a duet with Amber Holcomb. She also collaborated with season 14 finalist Rayvon Owen on a song on his upcoming EP, Air, which was released on September 25, 2015.

Official Account[]

Discography[]

Singles:

Albums:

  •  Music Speaks (2014)
  •  TBA (2015)
Season 12
Finalists
Candice Glover ยท Kree Harrison ยท Angie Miller ยท Amber Holcomb ยท Janelle Arthur ยท Lazaro Arbos ยท Burnell Taylor ยท Devin Velez ยท Paul Jolley ยท Curtis Finch, Jr.
Semifinalists
Charlie Askew ยท Nick Boddington ยท Aubrey Cleland ยท Zoanette Johnson ยท Adriana Latonio ยท Elijah Liu ยท Vincent Powell ยท Cortez Shaw ยท Breanna Steer ยท Tenna Torres
Quarterfinalists
Melinda Ademi ยท Juliana Chahayed ยท Cristabel Clack ยท JDA ยท Rachel Hale ยท Kevin Harris ยท Jett Hermano ยท Josh Holiday ยท Brandy Hotard ยท Isabelle ยท Johnny Keyser ยท Kamaria Ousley ยท Gurpreet Singh Sarin ยท Jimmy Smith ยท Bryant Tadeo ยท Mathenee Treco ยท Shubha Vedula ยท Chris Watson ยท David Oliver Willis ยท Jenny Beth Willis
American Idol
Seasons
1  ยท 2  ยท 3  ยท 4 ยท 5  ยท 6  ยท 7  ยท 8  ยท 9  ยท 10  ยท 11 ยท 12 ยท 13 ยท 14 ยท 15 ยท 16 ยท 17 ยท 18 ยท 19 20. 21|-style="background:#5D8AA8" align="center" width="100%" Judges
Simon Cowell (Seasons 1-9)  ยท Paula Abdul (Seasons 1-8) ยท Randy Jackson (Seasons 1-12) ยท Kara DioGuardi (Seasons 8-9) ยท Ellen DeGeneres (Season 9) ยท Steven Tyler (Seasons 10-11)  ยท Nicki Minaj (Season 12)  ยท Mariah Carey (Season 12) ยท Jennifer Lopez (Seasons 10-11,13-15)  ยท Keith Urban (Seasons 12-15)  ยท Harry Connick, Jr. (Seasons 13-15)  ยท Katy Perry (Seasons 16-)  ยท Luke Bryan (Seasons 16-)  ยท Lionel Richie (Seasons 16-)
Hosts
Ryan Seacrest (Seasons 1-16) ยท Brian Dunkleman (Season 1)
Winners
Kelly Clarkson ยท Ruben Studdard ยท Fantasia Barrino ยท Carrie Underwood ยท Taylor Hicks ยท Jordin Sparks ยท David Cook ยท Kris Allen ยท Lee DeWyze ยท Scotty McCreery ยท Phillip Phillips ยท Candice Glover ยท Caleb Johnson ยท Nick Fradiani ยท Trent Harmon ยท Maddie Poppe ยท Laine Hardy ยท Just Sam  ยทChayce Beckham  ยท Noah Thompson  ยท Iam Tongi
Justin Guarini ยท Clay Aiken ยท Diana DeGarmo ยท Bo Bice ยท Katharine McPhee ยท Blake Lewis ยท David Archuleta ยท Adam Lambert ยท Crystal Bowersox ยท Lauren Alaina ยท Jessica Sanchez ยท Kree Harrison ยท Jena Irene ยท Clark Beckham ยท La'Porsha Renae ยท Caleb Lee Hutchinson ยท Alejandro Aranda ยท Arthur Gunn  ยท Willie Spence  ยท Huntergirl  ยท| Megan Danielle

style="background:#5D8AA8" align="center" width="100%"

Coronation Songs
"A Moment Like This" ยท "Flying Without Wings" ยท "I Believe" ยท "Inside Your Heaven" ยท "Do I Make You Proud" ยท "This Is My Now" ยท "The Time of My Life" ยท "No Boundaries" ยท "Beautiful Day" ยท "I Love You This Big" ยท "Home" ยท "I Am Beautiful" ยท "As Long As You Love Me" ยท "Beautiful Life" ยท "Falling" ยท "Going Going Gone" ยท "Flame"" ยท "Rise Up  ยท 23  ยท One Day Tonight  ยท " I'll Be Seeing You
From Justin to Kelly ยท Juniors ยท Christmas
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