‘It’s not really something I would write, so I’m excited to get my own stuff out there,’ he tells MTV News. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Kelly Marino Phillip Phillips on the “American Idol” finale red carpet Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images As has been his M.O. throughout this 11th season of “American Idol,” Phillip Phillips wowed the crowd and the judges with his show-stopping final performance of would-be single “Home.” MTV News was lucky enough to chat with Phillips on the red carpet leading up to the big finale Wednesday (May 23), where he revealed a few details about how he wound up choosing the rootsy ballad. “It wasn’t really too much of a process,” Phillips admitted with his trademark “aw, shucks” smile. “I got to hear it once and they said, ‘Would you like to do it?’ ” Obviously, Phillips did want to do that song, a smart decision that led to the evening’s only standing ovation from the judges. However, if the Georgia native had to do it all over again, without the strict time constraints they work under on “Idol,” Phillips said he would have preferred to have performed his own original song. “I wanted to do my own stuff, but we only had a certain amount of time to do everything, so I had to do that one, and it’s a really good song,” he said. “The writers are really good. It’s not really something I would write, so I’m excited to get my own stuff out there.” We’re sure Phillips’ adoring fans are excited to listen to his “stuff” as well. In the meantime they can watch and re-watch the sweet-tempered 21-year-old’s final performance, complete with a marching band, to hold them over. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Finale Red Carpet
‘It’s not really something I would write, so I’m excited to get my own stuff out there,’ he tells MTV News. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Kelly Marino Phillip Phillips on the “American Idol” finale red carpet Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images As has been his M.O. throughout this 11th season of “American Idol,” Phillip Phillips wowed the crowd and the judges with his show-stopping final performance of would-be single “Home.” MTV News was lucky enough to chat with Phillips on the red carpet leading up to the big finale Wednesday (May 23), where he revealed a few details about how he wound up choosing the rootsy ballad. “It wasn’t really too much of a process,” Phillips admitted with his trademark “aw, shucks” smile. “I got to hear it once and they said, ‘Would you like to do it?’ ” Obviously, Phillips did want to do that song, a smart decision that led to the evening’s only standing ovation from the judges. However, if the Georgia native had to do it all over again, without the strict time constraints they work under on “Idol,” Phillips said he would have preferred to have performed his own original song. “I wanted to do my own stuff, but we only had a certain amount of time to do everything, so I had to do that one, and it’s a really good song,” he said. “The writers are really good. It’s not really something I would write, so I’m excited to get my own stuff out there.” We’re sure Phillips’ adoring fans are excited to listen to his “stuff” as well. In the meantime they can watch and re-watch the sweet-tempered 21-year-old’s final performance, complete with a marching band, to hold them over. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Finale Red Carpet
‘I’m very nervous but I’m very excited at the same time,’ 16-year-old contestant tells MTV News before the season 11 finale. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Kelly Marino Jessica Sanchez on the “American Idol” finale red carpet Photo: Getty Images It’s all come down to this: the finale of the 11th season of “American Idol” , with 21-year-old guitar-strumming southern gentleman Phillip Phillips pitted against 16-year-old vocal powerhouse Jessica Sanchez. There are endless sports-related clich
‘I’m very nervous but I’m very excited at the same time,’ 16-year-old contestant tells MTV News before the season 11 finale. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Kelly Marino Jessica Sanchez on the “American Idol” finale red carpet Photo: Getty Images It’s all come down to this: the finale of the 11th season of “American Idol” , with 21-year-old guitar-strumming southern gentleman Phillip Phillips pitted against 16-year-old vocal powerhouse Jessica Sanchez. There are endless sports-related clich
“I#39;ve been on this road before,” he told Ryan just before the vote was announced. But he said he#39;d done his best. And he never stopped smiling – unlike James Durbin, who was shown with his face down in his hands, and later crying. Then Stefano sang “Lately,” at the conclusion of which James came out and lifted him up in a hug. Ryan Seacrest correctly referred to Wednesday night#39;s American Idol as “a colorful show” – Casey Abrams kissed Jennifer Lopez, Steven swore like a sailor, and Ry
Amy Smart was spotted at the Body Shop Three-Minute Shower Challenge at New York City’s Columbia University Thursday, flashing her gorgeous engagement ring. Though they kept the start of their relationship quiet, Amy Smart and new fiancé Carter Oosterhouse made their engagement decidedly less secretive! The actress, 35, and her groom, a 34-year-old home improvement guru, began dating in November, but didn’t go public with their budding romance until January of this year. Though details wer
Well? Who among American Idol ‘s magnificent seven is no longer with us? Did someone we expected to stick around a lot longer get the boot? Or did America send one of the guys many people had in the bottom three packing? As we saw it, Jacob Lusk , Scotty McCreery and Stefano Langone were in danger, with James Durbin, Casey Abrams, Lauren Alaina and Haley Reinhart safe. We were two-thirds correct. Jacob, Haley and Stefano were on the block … Follow the jump to see which singer left American Idol this evening … Stefano Langone ended his run on the show in seventh place. The wild-card finalist from Kent, Wash., was probably lucky to make it this far, and harbored no hard feelings about his ouster from the competition. Asked by Ryan Seacrest how Idol had changed his life, Stefano replied: “It started my career, man. That’s something you can’t put a price on.” “That’s everything. I’m so blessed. I came this far. It’s great; it really is.” Indeed. He went out in style, too, with Stevie Wonder’s “Lately.” Way to go, Stefano. Congratulations on a great run. Now, on to the top six … What do you think? Did America get it right voting off Stefano?
Duo play up hit song’s intergalactic theme with laser-heavy performance. By Adam Graham Katy Perry performs on “American Idol” Thursday Photo: FOX Katy Perry transported “E.T.” to the “American Idol” stage Thursday (April 21) and even brought a special guest along with her: Kanye West. The two reprised their recent #1 hit on the “Idol” stage in a pre-taped appearance during the “Idol” results show. The performance kicked off with Kanye’s opening verse piped in via music video, so it was a surprise when the Coachella headliner appeared onstage with Perry later in the song. Perry was carried on to the stage, arms outstretched, by three dancers dressed in alien getups, who hoisted Russell Brand’s better half high above their heads. Perry was decked out in a white, form-fitting bodysuit tricked out with pink LED lights and a long white cape. She wore some sort of futuristic space crown atop her head, making her look like the queen of a far-off pop planet. Green lasers crisscrossed the darkened “Idol” stage as Perry was placed into a throne-like cage, which was carted across the stage by her team of a half-dozen alien dancers. West took the stage in a leather coat accented with a fur overlay and exercised self-censorship on his verse’s “alien sex” line. West and Perry faced off at center stage, moving toward and away from each other to play up the tension between them. In the song’s closing moments, Perry softly caressed West’s cheek before retreating back to her throne, where the lights dimmed and her suit lit up with blinking, zigzagging lights. Perry and West both have a history with “American Idol.” Perry chipped in as a guest judge during the early rounds in season nine, at one point threatening to throw a Coke in Kara DioGuardi’s face, and performed “Waking Up in Vegas” — in an Elvis jumpsuit, no less — on the show during season eight. Earlier that same season, West took to the “Idol” stage to perform “Heartless,” from his 808s and Heartbreak LP, which would later be transformed into a winning performance by that season’s champ, Kris Allen . What did you think of Perry and West’s performance? Let us know in the comments! Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances Related Artists Katy Perry Kanye West
Haley Reinhart and Jacob Lusk also land in the bottom three. By Gil Kaufman Stefano Langone on “American Idol” Photo: FOX Wednesday night’s “Music of the 21st Century” wasn’t kind to most of the “American Idol” contestants, but even with a few missteps, host Ryan Seacrest revealed on Thursday’s (April 21) results show that more than 52 million votes were cast for the top seven. After an unrelenting march of early female departures, the remaining two ladies were safe for a second week, though Haley Reinhart did land in the bottom three again, if only for a moment before behind ushered back to safety. That left often-on-the-brink wild card Stefano Langone and Jacob Lusk sweating out their fate by hour’s end. The fourth time, alas, was not a charm for Langone, as his luck finally ran out and Lusk lived to sing another day. Looking like his usual cocky self, Langone smiled and seemed happily resigned to his fate as he watched his highlights package. “It started my career and … you can’t put a price on that,” he said in response to Seacrest’s question about how the show had changed Stefano’s life. He then happily sang Stevie Wonder’s “Lately” one more time, giving the audience another taste of his cruise-ship talents as rocker James Durbin openly wept at the sight of his pal grabbing the mic for the last time. In fact, Durbin couldn’t control his emotions and ran out to bear-hug and spin Langone around as he finished the song before the car-crash survivor was enveloped in a group hug. Earlier in the night, the first two to get the results were Lusk and Casey Abrams, with Seacrest still talking about the spontaneous kiss Casey sprang on judge Jennifer Lopez the night before. Even after the return of his scary-face singing on Maroon 5’s “Harder to Breathe,” Abrams was safe, while Lusk was back in the bottom three after failing to convince viewers with his cover of hero Luther Vandross’ “Dance With my Father.” When Seacrest asked Lauren Alaina, Durbin and Langone to take the long walk, it was no surprise that Langone was back in the bottom three after his tepid take on Ne-Yo’s “Closer,” which meant Alaina and Durbin were safe. And it seemed pretty obvious when Scotty McCreery and Reinhart were the last two to get the news that front-runner McCreery would likely be safe, and he was, meaning once again Reinhart was facing elimination after her good notices for Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” She wasn’t down long, though, as Seacrest ushered her to safety just moments later. Earlier in the night, Lauren, Haley, Stefano and Jacob sang a version of Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” to open the show that managed to make the fluffy pop confection even frothier. That was followed by Casey, Scotty and James singing a “Glee”-ky version of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida,” during which a self-assured Durbin stole the show coming off like the seasoned showman next to a pair of flat amateurs with shaky stage presence. The show also found season-seven winner David Cook coming home to sing his new single, the midtempo rocker “The Last Goodbye,” and Katy Perry taking the stage in a glowing white space suit to sing her hit alien love song “E.T.” with a surprise cameo from fur-decked collaborator Kanye West. Next week, the top six take on the catalog of 1970s pop icon Carole King on Wednesday night and Bruno Mars drops in to perform on Thursday’s elimination show. Don’t miss “Idol Party Live” every Thursday at noon on MTV.com for analysis, celebrity guests and even some karaoke — get in the conversation by tweeting with the hashtag #idolparty! In the meantime, get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 10 Performances
After last week’s shocking elimination of Pia Toscano on American Idol , we learned to be prepared for everything. No one is safe going into the results show. Would someone we expected to stick around all season be ousted again tonight? Would America cast its ballots more predictably this time? We had no clue. We did accurately predict that three among these four – Jacob Lusk, Paul McDonald, Stefano Langone and Haley Reinhart – would comprise the final three. Paul, Stefano and Haley earned the fewest votes after Wednesday night. Follow the jump to see which of the three left American Idol tonight … Paul McDonald is on his way back to Nashville. For the first time in six weeks, a guy was sent packing. Paul’s gravelly voice and Southern charm carried him far, but couldn’t get him over the hump tonight. “It’s OK, man, it’s OK. It’s been fun, a good time,” Paul told Ryan, before J. Lo offered a request for one more performance of Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May.” What do you think? Did America blow it again this week, or was Paul McDonald actually deserving of the heave-ho from Idol? Sound off below …
