Jessica Elizabeth Sanchez (born August 4, 1995) is an American singer of Filipino and Mexican decent who is the runner-up of season 11 of American Idol. Before that she had previously been a contestant on season 1 of America's Got Talent.
Biography[]
Sanchez, the eldest of three children, is a Filipino-Mexican-American who was born on August 4, 1995 in San Diego, California. Jessica’s maternal grandmother is from Manila and her maternal grandfather is from Bataan. Her mom, Editha, also hails from Bataan. Her dad, Gilbert, a Mexican-American, originally hailed from Texas and serves in the U.S. Navy. Jessica started singing at the age of 2, basically teaching herself to sing with a talented ear for music. Her influences include Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera and Whitney Houston just to name a few.
Early Career[]
America's Got Talent (season 1)[]
Sanchez had previously been a contestant on season 1 of America's Got Talent. She made it past the Los Angeles auditions but wasn't picked to perform in the semifinals. She appeared in the Wild Card Round as the choice of Brandy, where she got eliminated. Her Wild Card appearance reached more than 5,000,000 views on Youtube.
We Are the World Remake[]
Sanchez was one of the singers in Lisa Lavie's collaboration video "We Are the World 25 for Haiti (YouTube Edition)" for charity relief for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, along with previous American Idol finalist Thia Megia. The video's participants were collectively recognized as "Persons of the Week" on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer on Friday, March 19, 2010.
American Idol[]
In 2012, Sanchez auditioned for season 11 in San Diego and advanced to the semi-finals.
Jessica with Joshua Ledet
In the semi-finals she performed Jennifer Hudson's "Love You I Do" from the film Dreamgirls. She was one of the top five female vote getters and advanced to the top 13.
CNN's "HLN News Now" reported that Sanchez's performance of "I Will Always Love You," sung on Whitney Houston tribute night March 7, 2012, got "rave reviews," the CNN video's commentator stating that she "brought the judges to their feet." Her name was a Worldwide trend on twitter on the following day. When the video of the performance was uploaded to Youtube it received 5 million views in 3 days.
In the top 11 round, Sanchez has received criticism from the judges for her rendition of Vicki Sue Robinson's "Turn the Beat Around" as they say she was good but there could be improvement. Sanchez rebounded with her amazing rendition of the Billy Joel song "Everybody Has A Dream" the following week. However, on April 12, 2012 Sanchez found herself on the verge of being eliminated but was saved by the judges, making her the youngest contestant and first female ever to be saved by the judges.
Sanchez finished second to Phillip Phillips on May 23, 2012.
Performances[]
| Week # | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order # | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | Aretha Franklin | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Part 1 | First Solo | "Get Me Bodied" | Beyonce | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Part 2 | Group Performance | Not Aired | N/A | Advanced | |
| Hollywood Round, Part 3 | Second Solo | Not Aired | N/A | Advanced | |
| Las Vegas Round, Part 1 | Songs from the 1950s
Group Performance |
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore " | Buddy Holly | N/A | Advanced |
| Las Vegas Round Final | Final Solo | "The Prayer " | Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli | N/A | Advanced |
|
Top 25 (12 Women) |
Personal Choice | "Love You I Do " | Jennifer Hudson | 11 | Advanced |
| Top 13 | Whitney Houston | "I Will Always Love You " | Dolly Parton | 12 |
Safe |
|
Top 12 |
Year They Were Born | "Turn The Beat Around" | Gloria Estefan | 2 |
Safe |
| Top 10 | Billy Joel | "Everybody Has A Dream" | Billy Joel | 9 |
Safe |
| Top 9 | Their Personal Idols | "Sweet Dreams" | Beyonce | 6 | Safe |
Post-Idol[]
In honor of Memorial Day, Sanchez performed both the national anthem and "The Prayer" at the PBS' National Memorial Day Concert in Washington, D.C. on May 27, 2012. She also got to sing the national anthem at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada before the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight on June 9, 2012. Sanchez also sang the national anthem at Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder on June 12, 2012. She also performed at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 5, 2012.
Sanchez, along with the rest of the top 10, was a part of the American Idols Live tour, which kicked off on July 6, 2012 in Detroit, Michigan. Sanchez had her debut solo concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines on February 14, 2013 (Valentines' Day), which also featured Colton Dixon.
Sanchez got to perform with season 10's Pia Toscano and season 8's Allison Iraheta on Jennifer Lopez's new song "I Luv Yuh, Papi" on Idol on March 20, 2014.
Acting[]
In addition to her music, Sanchez tried her hand at acting, portraying rivel glee club singer Frida Romero on the hit Fox show Glee. Her first episode, "Lights Out", aired on April 26, 2013. She also appeared on the show's season finale on May 9, 2013.
First single and album[]
Jessica & DeAndre Brackensick
Sanchez performed her first single, "Tonight" featruing popular R&B singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, on Idol on March 21, 2013. Her debut album, Me, You, & the Music, was released on April 30, 2013. It debuted at number 26 on the Billboard 200 with 14,000 copies sold.
Leaving Interscope Records and second album[]
Sanchez announced that she had parted ways with Interscope Records in 2014 after she had released her new single, "This Love", on iTunes on November 15, 2014. She is currently working with producer Mark J. Feist on her second album.
Personal Life[]
On July 19, 2012 Sanchez confirmed in a chat on her UStream channel that she and fellow season 11 contestant DeAndre Brackensick were dating. Sanchez later confirmed in May 2013 that they had split up.
Official Account[]
- Jessica Sanchez Instagram
- Jessica Sanchez Facebook
- Jessica Sanchez Twitter
- Jessica Sanchez on Insstar.com
- Jessica Sanchez on Insstars.com
- Jessica Sanchez on Instagweb.com
- Jessica Sanchez on Buzzcent.com
Discography[]
EPs:
Singles:
- "Change Nothing" (2012)
- "This Love" (2014)
- "Caught Up" (2018)
- "Millionaire" (2018)
Albums:
- Jessica Sanchez: Journey to the Finale (2012)
- Me, You, & the Music (2013)
- TBA (2015)