The Tribune

By LESH

AFTER months of competition on American Idol, a winner was finally crowed. Contestant Jessica Sanchez gave a jaw dropping performance with legendary singer Jennifer Holiday, but it was not enough to steal the crown from Philip Phillips, who was officially named the winner.

Philip became the fifth consecutive male contestant to be crowned on American Idol. As the winner, Philip receives a record deal with a major label. He also secures a management contract with American Idol's affiliation, 19 Management.

After the show, in an interview with Fox All Access, Philip said he was still in shock and he couldn't believe it. He said there were a couple of moments during the show, where he wanted to give up, but all in all he stuck through it.

"It gets tough you know. I've been sick and I don't like complaining or anything so that's why I always get in trouble, because I wouldn't complain. But I am glad I stuck it out. I'm the American Idol," he said.

While some Idol fans were excited to see Philip take the title, some were also disappointed. In an interview with In Ya Ear, a view said Jessica's loss was very unfortunate.

"It is evident that American Idol has nothing to do with talent these days. The entire world watched Jessica be cheated on Wednesday night and that was very unfortunate. I did not like it at all. I mean come on, please tell me why Philip was chosen, when we can't even remember the past few American Idol male winners," she said.

Another fan said she has no worries at all for Jessica because she will succeed, seeing that there are many Idol contestants, who made great moves in the music scene even though they did not win the title.

"Look at people like Jennifer Hudson who didn't win, and then Lee DeWyze and Ruben Studdard, who actually won the title. I can't tell you the last time they even had bad media scandals, judge a good song or something. So as always, I wish the best for little Jessica," she said.

According to USA TODAY, Jessica spoke with reporters about her journey, saying she is going to miss everything, from the people and the schedule to the "whole craziness," she said.

"I've gotten a lot of advice, but something I've always believed in is to keep striving for my dreams and if I do succeed, always stay humble and stay grounded and always remember where I came from," said Jessica.

Speaking about the overall result, she said she is not at all surprised. She said she believed Philip was going to win, not because she thought she was bad, but because he has a huge fan base.

Another view said: "I can't disagree that the wrong contestant was chosen as a winner, but if they had their eyes set on choosing a male winner, it should have been Joshua, who was voted off just a week before the finale."