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Season 11 of American Idol premiered on Fox on January 18, 2012. The show aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c. Ryan Seacrest returned as host, while Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez 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. This season followed the same format as Season 10, although a new title screen and logo were created, with a different font. This was the last season to feature Tyler and Lopez as judges after they confirmed they would be leaving the show two months after the finale.

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 and only female recipient of the judges' save.

Five contestants from this season were signed to record labels. The signed artists are Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Skylar Laine, Colton Dixon, and Heejun Han.

Auditions[]

Auditions for this season took place in these cities:

  • North Charleston, South Carolina
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • San Diego, California
  • Denver, Colorado
  • Houston, Texas
  • Portland, Oregon
  • St. Louis, Missouri
  • East Rutherford, New Jersey(auditions for this city not aired due to scheduling changes)


Out of an estimated 100,000 who tried out, only 310 people came out of these auditions and made it to Hollywood.

Hollywood week[]

This part of the show took place on December 12, 2011 in Pasadena, California. Out of 310 contestants, only 185 made it through to the group round, and despite illness during this part of the competition 98 survived to make it through to the final solo round. The remaining contestants were then split into four rooms with only one room of contestants not going through to the Vegas round. 70 contestants made it to Las Vegas.

Las Vegas round[]

The remaining 70 contestants went to Las Vegas for a challenge round where they had to perform traditional late 1950s songs in groups with Elvis Presley show "Immortal" serving as a backdrop. This was then followed by the "Sing-For-Your-Life" round. The 42 contestants who survived the challenge round performed to a song of their choice for Le Reve at the Wynn Las Vegas. The top 24 was revealed in a two-part episode known to fans of the show as "The Green Mile" episode that aired on February 22 and 23 of 2012.

Contestants[]

The following contestants were Season 11's Top 25.

Males:

DeAndre Brackensick Adam Brock Colton Dixon Eben Franckewitz Creighton Fraker Reed Grimm Heejun Han Aaron Marcellus
Joshua Ledet Chase Likens Phillip Phillips Jeremy Rosado Jermaine Jones

Females:

Baylie Brown Hollie Cavanagh Hallie Day Jen Hirsh Haley Johnsen Skylar Laine Shannon Magrane Jessica Sanchez
Chelsea Sorrell Elise Testone Erika Van Pelt Brielle Von Hugel

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. Jen Hirsh, Jeremy Rosado, Brielle Von Hugel, DeAndre Brackensick, Erika Van Pelt & Reed Grimm were chosen to compete in the wild card round. Afterwards, Brackensick, Rosado & Van Pelt were chosen to continue in the competition.

Top 13[]

The following contestants were Season 11's Top 13.

Males

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The Finalists; Standing: Phillip Phillips, Jermaine Jones, Erika Van Pelt, Elise Testone, Heejun Han, Shannon Magrane and Jeremy Rosado; Seated: Joshua Ledet, DeAndre Brackensick, Skylar Laine, Colton Dixon, Hollie Cavanagh and Jessica Sanchez

Females

Finals[]

Top 13 perform[]


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.

Saved Contestant[]

Elise Testone

The judges used the Top 13 save on Elise Testone who received the lowest amount of votes with Jeremy Rosado. The total was kept to 12 contestants after Rosado was eliminated from the competition.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Jeremy Rosado

Jeremy Rosado was eliminated on March 8, 2012 after the judges used the Top 13 Save on Elise Testone, bringing the total down to 12 contestants.

Top 12[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 12.

Performances[]

The female contestants performed songs from Whitney Houston, while the male contestants performed a song from Stevie Wonder. (Songs that do not have an artist's name next to them belong to rather Whitney Houston or Stevie Wonder depending on gender). The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • "As" by Stevie Wonder

Top 12 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 12 performed a song from the year they were born in for a spot in the Top 11.

Disqualified Contestant[]

Caps

Due to his criminal past, Jermaine Jones was disqualified from the competition, bringing the total down to eleven remaining contestants instead of twelve. Voting continued as scheduled with one of the remaining 11 contestants will be eliminated in addition to Jones, unlike the Season 2 disqualification of Corey Clark.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Shannon Magrane

Shannon Magrane was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 10 remaining contestants. She was eliminated on March 15, 2012.

Top 10[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 10.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Top 10 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 10 performed a song from Billy Joel for a spot in the Top 9.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Erika Van Pelt

Erika Van Pelt was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 9 remaining contestants. She was eliminated on March 22, 2012.

Top 9[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 9.

Performances[]

The contestants all sang a song that was released by Billy Joel. The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performances:

  • "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel
  • Joe Perry and group - "Happy Birthday to You" (to Steven Tyler)

Top 9 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 9 performed a song from their personal idols for a spot in the Top 8.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Heejun Han

Heejun Han was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 8 remaining contestants. He was eliminated on March 29, 2012.

Top 8[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 8.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performances:

Top 8 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 8 performed a song from the 1980s for a spot in the Top 7.

Eliminated Contestant[]

DeAndre Brackensick

DeAndre Brackensick was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 7 remaining contestants. He was eliminated on April 5, 2012.

Top 7[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 7.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performances:

Top 7 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 7 performed a song from the 2010s for a spot in the Top 6.

Saved Contestant[]

Jessica Sanchez

The judges used their save on Jessica Sanchez who received the lowest amount of votes on April 19, 2012. The total was kept to 7 contestants.

Top 7[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and remained in the Top 7.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance on performance night:

Group Performance on results night:

  • "Raise Your Glass" by Pink

Top 7 perform (redux)[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 7 performed songs from Now & Then for a spot in the Top 6. Normally, two finalists would be eliminated the week after using the judges' save, however, the program announced that only one of the finalists will be eliminated.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Colton Dixon

Colton Dixon was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 6 remaining contestants. He was eliminated on April 19, 2012.

Top 6[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 6.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas

Top 6 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 6 performed a song from Queen or their own choice for a spot in the Top 5.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Elise Testone

Elise Testone was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 5 remaining contestants. She was eliminated on April 26, 2012.

Top 5[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 5.

Performances[]

The first half of the performances were songs produced by Queen, and the second half of the performances was a song of contestant's choice. The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • Brian May and Roger Taylor with group - "Fat Bottomed Girls" / "Another One Bites the Dust" / "We Will Rock You" / "We Are the Champions" by Queen

Top 5 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 5 performed songs that is British Pop and from the 1960s for a spot in the Top 4.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Skylar Laine

Skylar Laine was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 4 remaining contestants. She was eliminated on May 3, 2012.

Top 4[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 4.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performances:

Top 4 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 4 performed a song from California or a song they wished they'd written for a spot in the Top 3.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Hollie Cavanagh

Hollie Cavanagh was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 3 remaining contestants. She was eliminated on May 10, 2012.

Top 3[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 3.

Performances[]

The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performances on performance night:

Group Performance on results night:

  • "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & the Papas

Top 3 perform[]


During this round of the finals, the Top 3 performed a song of the Judge's choice, a song of their own choice, and a song of Jimmy Iovine's choice for a spot in the Top 2.

Eliminated Contestant[]

Joshua Ledet

Joshua Ledet was the eliminated contestant bringing the total down to 2 remaining contestants. He was eliminated on May 17, 2012.

Top 2[]

The following contestants were safe from that round and advanced on to the Top 2.

Performances[]

(The first round of performances were chosen by the judges, the second round was the contestant's choice, and the final round was Jimmy Iovine's Choice). The contestants performed in the following order:

Group Performance:

  • "Got to Get You into My Life" by The Beatles

Top 2 perform[]


During the final round of the finals, the Top 2 performed a song of Simon Fuller's choice, a song of the contestant's favorite performance, and their winner single for a spot as Season 11's American Idol.

Runner-up[]

Jessica Sanchez

Jessica Sanchez was announced the runner-up of American Idol Season 11 on May 23, 2012.

Performances[]

(The first performance from the contestants were songs of Simon Fuller's choice, the second was a song from their favorite performances, and the last was their winner single). The contestants performed in the following order:

Winner[]

Phillip Phillips

Phillip Phillips was announced the winner of American Idol Season 11 on May 23, 2012.

Elimination song[]

The elimination song for season 11 was "Please Remember Me" by season 10 winner Scotty McCreery. The song, originally recorded in 1995 by country singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell, was a hit for country music superstar Tim McGraw in 1999.

Controversies[]

Jermaine Jones disqualification[]

On March 14, 2012, contestant Jermaine Jones was disqualified after it had been revealed that he had not only been arrested twice but had concealed both arrests as well as the outstanding warrants from show producers. Jones denied it, claiming that he had admitted to the arrests when he signed up for the show. A police official in a New Jersey town where Jones was the target of the outstanding warrants said that "the case wasn't big enough to merit going after him", and that for Idol to "expose, embarrass and interrogate a young man without an attorney in front of 40 million viewers was an outrage." Critics suggested that the disqualification may have been staged to help boost the show's ratings, which have been going down in recent years.

Jennifer Lopez music video[]

The music video for Lopez's song, "Dance Again", which had aired on the show, was criticized as inappropiate 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 appropiate for any children to watch, including Lopez's own twins." Jenna Hally Rubenstein from MTV Buzzworthy also commented about the video's content not being appropiate 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'". Ed Masley from AZCentral.com said that the video was on the verge of being too "steamy" for the show.

Gender and ethnic biases[]

Phillip Phillips became the 5th consecutive male and white person to win the show, which lead 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, with some complaining about the predictability of the likely winner. 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 comtemporary radio, but as.....who's the nicest guy in a popularity contest," he said. "And this has led to a dynasty of 4, and possibly now 5, consecutive, affable, very nice, good-looking white boys."

Notable past Idol contestants[]

  • George Horga, Jr., who got cut in Hollywood week, later auditioned for season 5 of The Voice and got R&B singer Cee Lo Green as his mentor. He was eliminated in the Knockout Rounds.
  • Agina Alvarez, who was cut in Hollywood week, later auditioned for season 4 of The Voice and got Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine as her mentor. She was eliminated in the Battle Rounds.
  • Jared Keim, who made it to Hollywood week, later joined the country trio Restless Road, who were formed on season 3 of The X Factor. He replaced original member Colton Pack, who left the group to pursue a solo career.
Season 11
Finalists
Phillip Phillips ยท Jessica Sanchez ยท Joshua Ledet ยท Hollie Cavanagh ยท Skylar Laine ยท Elise Testone ยท Colton Dixon ยท DeAndre Brackensick ยท Heejun Han ยท Erika Van Pelt ยท Shannon Magrane ยท Jermaine Jones ยท Jeremy Rosado
Semifinalists
Reed Grimm ยท Jen Hirsh ยท Brielle Von Hugel ยท Adam Brock ยท Baylie Brown ยท Hallie Day ยท Creighton Fraker ยท Eben Franckewitz ยท Haley Johnsen ยท Chase Likens ยท Aaron Marcellus ยท Chelsea Sorrell
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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