The season 12 winner of American Idol will be revealed tonight at 8 PM on FOX, available through Comcast Cable!
Ever since the season premiere in January, faithful viewers of American Idol have been on the lookout for the country’s next mega artist. The search came down to six performances last night, three apiece from the final two contestants of Season Twelve, Kree Harrison of Texas and Candice Glover of South Carolina. This is the first two girl finale since Fantasia Barrino and Diana DeGarmo battled for the title in Season Three. Both contestants gave it their all in three rounds of performances to over 7,000 in person fans at the Nokia Theatre at LA Live and millions more watching on FOX.
The first strategic move of the night was made before the first note was sung. Having become a tradition of the American Idol finale, after the Final Two are announced, they gather around host Ryan Seacrest for the toss of a special commemorative coin with the face of one of the final contestants on either side. Ryan tosses the coin, and whichever contestant’s face it lands on gets to choose if they will perform first or second on finale night. Kree Harrison won the toss and chose to go first, a historical death slot. In seven of Idol‘s eleven previous seasons, the eventual winner has performed second. The final performance of the night is historically the best, stays with the viewers’ memories, and thus often seals the winner, so it is interesting that Kree chose to perform first.
The theme of Round One was songs chosen for the contestants by the creator of American Idol, Simon Fuller. He chose for Kree Harrison Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” and for Candice Glover Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.” Kree’s performance stirred emotion while Candice’s brought down the house. The latter result is typically desirable for the Idol finale, and outgoing twelve-season judge Randy Jackson gave Round One to Candice after making the bold comment that both choices of his boss were boring.
Round Two was the performance of the potential winner’s singles. Kree performed an emotional ballad called “All Cried Out” to a standing ovation by everyone save Nicki Minaj. Candice had an uplifting number called “I Am Beautiful,” fitting for her self-esteem struggles throughout the season.
The third round was songs the contestants had performed previously in the season. Kree chose “Up to the Mountain” and received a standing ovation. Keith Urban called it beautiful, and the rest of the panel agreed. Candice went with the classic “I (Who Have Nothing)” and again brought down the house. Randy Jackson, in his final Idol critique, said that the competition was about singing and that Candice had it all.
Candice was said to have a slight edge going in, and she probably held on to it last night. It was arguably the closest finale in Idol history, and the win could fall either way. However, DialIdol, the telephone software that has correctly predicted every winner since Season Four, gives Candice the hearty victory. Viewers will find out tonight on the Season Twelve finale!
