Jessica VS. Phillip

We have reached the Season 11 Miss American Idol final face-off between Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips.

Jessica went first and started with a performance of Whitney Houston's #4 hit from 1993, I Have Nothing. Her voice is perfect for this type of ballad that requires a singer with an impressive vocal range like hers. She looked very classy as she delivered a wonderful rendition. For the next round Jessica tackled another song from an accomplished diva. This time it was The Prayer by Celine Dion. Once again, this young 16 year old finalist proved that she can easily rise to the vocal challenge. It was simply beautiful. Her final song was an original composition called Change Nothing. This mid-tempo pop selection allowed Jessica to connect her outstanding voice to some new material and genuinely make it her own. She belted out some amazing power notes that clearly proclaimed that she is the best singer left in the competition.

Phillip took on the classic Ben E. King song Stand By Me that originally hit #4 in 1961. As usual, Phillip lacks the vocal range, skill and talent to actually sing the song well. The lyrics were merely spoken with no melodic inflection at all. He then decided to musically mutilate the Billy Joel song, Moving Out as he had done earlier in the season as if once wasn't enough. The saving grace of his performances was the last one as he stood center stage for an original song called Home. And stand center stage is all that he needed to do as the band played loudly and the background singers did all the work to drown out his minimal voice. He was also upstaged by a marching band that thankfully pulled focus away from his clumsy awkwardness.   

As showcased tonight, Jessica Sanchez should easily win the Season 11 Miss American Idol Crown. She has the looks, style, stage presence and most importantly, the outstanding and impressive vocal range to take her time from this competition and translate it into a long career in the music industry.