Rihanna was set to perform on the finale, with Fox promising other "surprise guests" and a reunion of the season's top 12 finalists.
This image provided by FOX-TV shows the two finalists with the judges. From left: Jennifer Lopez, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson. The booming 20-year-old vocal powerhouse from Westlake, La., Joshua Ledet, was revealed Thursday May 17, 2012 to have received the fewest viewer votes on the Fox talent contest, leaving bluesy 21-year-old crooner Phillip Phillips of Leesburg, Ga., and sassy 16-year-old budding diva Jessica Sanchez of San Diego, to compete for the show's record deal grand prize on next week's finale. (AP Photo/Michael Becker, FOX)LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A teenage songbird or a bluesy guitar man will claim the 11th "American Idol" crown Wednesday.
Jessica Sanchez, 16, of Chula Vista, Calif., and Phillip Phillips, 21, of Leesburg, Ga., made their final stand Tuesday, each performing three songs for the TV viewers choosing between them. Host Ryan Seacrest was to announce the winner Wednesday.
Rihanna was set to perform on the finale, with Fox promising other "surprise guests" and a reunion of the season's top 12 finalists.
On Tuesday, Phillips earned consistently high marks from the show's judges, while Sanchez faltered on "Change Nothing," the song that could serve as her first release.
The teenager agreed with panelists Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, saying she should have gone more "urban" with her song choice.
Phillips had better luck with his potential future single selection, a slow tempo acoustic tune titled "Home," which the judges said recalled artists like Fleet Foxes, Paul Simon and Mumford and Sons. At one point during Phillips' final performance, the pawn shop worker was accompanied by a marching band.
It was a hit with the panel. Jackson beamed, "I love the song. I love you. I love the production. I love the marching band. Everything about that was perfect."
High school student Sanchez and competitor Phillips dazzled the judges in Tuesday's initial rounds. The panel declared that she won the first matchup featuring song selections by "Idol" creator Simon Fuller, soaring with Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," while Phillips delivered a solid rendition of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me."
"It's like a battle of the opposites," said Lopez. "How do you compare?"
The second round recalled the finalists' favorite previous "Idol" performances. Sanchez reprised "The Prayer" by Andrea Boccelli and Celine Dion from the Las Vegas solo round, and Phillips crooned "Movin' Out" from Billy Joel week. Lopez gave the bout to Phillip, while Tyler said Sanchez took it and Jackson declared it a "dead heat."
The judges flatly rejected "Change Nothing," the lukewarm potential future single that failed to fully showcase Sanchez's vocal prowess. Jackson told her that it "lacked pop flavor," while Tyler declared that it wasn't "the proper song for you."
Sanchez concurred, saying, "Definitely, when I make my record, if I ever do, it's going to be a lot more me."