'American Idol' Is Phillip Phillips' To Lose

Judges prefer his potential winning single to Jessica Sanchez's bland ballad.
By Adam Graham

Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez on "American Idol" Tuesday
Photo: FOX

Advantage: Phillip Phillips.

The "American Idol" final two duked it out onstage at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Tuesday night (May 22), battling for the 11th-season title. And Phillips — the Dave Matthews-type from Leesburg, Georgia — was a clear favorite over 16-year-old Jessica Sanchez, who appeared defeated by "Change Nothing," the ironically titled song she was given for her potential winning single, which didn't match up with her sassy, Beyoncé-in-training style.

Phillips' song "Home," on the other hand, was tailor-made for the 21-year-old. He performed the rootsy ballad with a full drum line and stole the show, earning the evening's only standing ovation from the judges following the song.

"I loved the song, I loved you, I loved the production, I loved the marching band, everything about that was perfect! I loved it!" gushed Randy Jackson, who compared Phillips to Mumford & Sons and Fleet Foxes. "That's your best performance of the night. That was amazing!" the Dawg said.

Jennifer Lopez agreed, telling Phillips, "There's nothing on the radio that sounds like that," and Steven Tyler followed up by saying, "You were perfect tonight, and I think you are the man."

The fans in the audience were certainly on Phillips' side as well, making more noise throughout the night for Phil-Squared than they did for Sanchez. All that weight was certainly felt by Sanchez, whose "Change Nothing" was all but dismissed by the judges.

"Let me just be straight up here: I did not love the song," Jackson said following the pop ballad. "But what I did love is that you made something more out of the song." He said the song didn't effectively capture her "urban" style or her "swag." "You brought the song to life, but I thought the song was just OK."

Lopez told Sanchez she has to let herself shine through in her songs, and Tyler said he didn't feel "Change Nothing" was "the proper song for you to sing." Sanchez seemed to feel that way too following the performance.

"Ummm, I mean, I definitely agree with them," Sanchez told host Ryan Seacrest after the judges weighed in. "I did want to do more urban something, but like, this is the finale, and, like, I was trying to pick a winning song, something more that shows my voice. But definitely when I make my record — if I ever do — it's going to be a lot more me." Not exactly the glowing, confident words of a champion.

The contestants' potential winning songs came after two other songs: the first chosen by "Idol" creator Simon Fuller, the second their favorite song of the season.

Sanchez opened the show with Whitney Houston's "Bodyguard" ballad "I Have Nothing." She has had good luck with Houston this season, becoming an early front-runner with her version of "I Will Always Love You" and doing the bouncy "How Will I Know" during '80s week, and she turned in another solid performance with "I Have Nothing."

Phillips, who won last week's coin toss and opted to perform second in the finale, opened with Ben E. King's "Stand by Me," which he sang in low-key Phillip Phillips style. The first round was awarded to Sanchez by Randy Jackson.

In round two, Sanchez revisited Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli's "The Prayer," while Phillips took on Billy Joel's "Movin' Out." Tyler gave one of his most cuckoo critiques of the whole season when he said of Phillips, "You don't always have to be a good egg. Hatch or go bad. And tonight, you know, he's hatched some, but I would have to say that Jessica took [the round]."

Jackson, meanwhile, said the round was a "dead heat," while Lopez gave it to Phillips.

Of course, the judges don't get a say — unless they pick up the phone and vote — and as Seacrest said at the close of the show, "The rest is in the universe!" The two contestants traded niceties on the stage at the end of the night, wishing each other luck. But heading into Wednesday's finale, it appears to be Phillips' competition to lose.

What did you think about part one of the "Idol" finale? Let us know in the comments!

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions.

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'Breaking Bad' Coming Back July 15

Final season starts with eight new episodes this summer and ends with eight more next summer.
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AMC announced its summer programming lineup Monday (May 21), and the highlight is undoubtedly the news that we'll be seeing Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) sooner rather than later. The expectedly explosive fifth and final season of "Breaking Bad" will premiere Sunday, July 15, at 10 p.m., starting with eight all-new episodes and ending with eight more next summer.

The highly anticipated news has been met with ecstatic reactions among the show's obsessive fanbase, particularly via a few dedicated celebrity fans like "Parks and Recreation" star and general funnyman Aziz Ansari.

"BREAKING BAD IS BACK JULY 15TH! F--- YES," he tweeted, an enthusiastic reaction that fellow fan John Legend shared and then expressed with a retweet of Ansari's excited sentiments.

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Usher Keeps It Smooth On 'Saturday Night Live'

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Photo: NBC

Exactly one month before his new album, Looking 4 Myself, hits shelves, the wheels of Usher's promotional wagon gained momentum when the entertainer provided America with a set of contrasting performances and chuckles during this weekend's "Saturday Night Live" episode, which was hosted by "SNL" alum Will Ferrell.

Rocking simple black jeans, a jacket and tee, and a faux hawk, Ursh looked vibrant and energetic as he performed his brand-new single "Scream." Unlike previous expertly choreographed numbers for his dance tunes, the sunglass-donning singer showed off minimal, but nonetheless slick, moves, while his band and two backup singers filled his Studio 8 back stage.

"We at it again, 'SNL,' and this time we going to make you scream," he told the crowd at the start of the energetic cut.

His second performance was for the Diplo-produced cut "Climax," during which the singer showed off his sensual and smooth side. Clearing the area of his accompanying singers, Usher made his smooth falsetto the forefront of the number. It was a simple, authentic rendition of the hit song that was essential proof of his multi-faceted vocal talents.

In addition to his set of performances, the ATL singer appeared alongside Ferrell in the "2012 Funkytown Debate" skit, in which he played a character named Galactic Fantastic. Dressed in some sparkling duds and an oversized afro, the R&B entertainer played a wacky sidekick who brought in his singing voice to support Farrell's side of the grooving song debate.

Usher got even more airtime when he was joined by Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Michael Bolton, Will Ferrell and Natalie Portman, who all made cameos in the episode's special 100th Digital Short. Paying tribute to some of the most popular Shorts like "Di-- in a Box" and "Shy Ronnie," Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and the Biebs most fittingly put on a big-time celebration with accompanying jingle. It was an all-star affair and brought back some major giggles — especially when JT and Portman reprised their original Short roles.

To add to the night's surprises, Liam Neeson popped up during a "Weekend Update" segment for the Nicolas Cage parody "Get in the Cage." Neeson's upcoming summer flick "Battleship" was the main topic of conversation, with Samberg, as Cage, asking his usual "How am I not in that movie?!" Samberg went on to babble jealous nonsense about Neeson's other flicks in his spot-on Cage impersonation.

Like last week's musical guest Rihanna, Mr. Raymond's gig on the late-night sketch show marks his third appearance. And it's one of the many stops that the singer will make to promote his upcoming project. He's set to kick off the "Today" show's summer concert series on Friday, perform at the Billboard Music Awards on May 20 and head overseas for Capital FM's Summertime Ball 2012 in London in early June.

Mick Jagger will perform double duty as host and musical guest on next week's "Saturday Night Live" season finale.

What did you think of Usher's "SNL" performances? Sound off below.

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