Baylie Brown

The eleventh season of ''American Idol'' premiered on Fox on January 18, 2012, and concluded on May 23, 2012. Ryan Seacrest returned as host, while Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, and Steven Tyler all returned as judges. Interscope Records chairman Jimmy Iovine, a songwriter and producer, also returned as an in-house mentor to work with the contestants on a weekly basis. This season followed the same format as the tenth season. Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler both announced that they would be leaving the show two months after the finale, although Lopez later returned as a judge for the show's thirteenth season.

The season set a record when 132 million votes were received for the finale. On May 23, 2012, Phillip Phillips became the winner of the eleventh season of ''American Idol'', beating Jessica Sanchez, who was the runner-up.

Changes from previous seasons

This season, long-time vocal coach Debra Byrd was replaced by Jimmy Iovine's own team. Additionally, fashion designers Tommy Hilfiger and Soyon An were employed as image advisers for the top 13 finalists.

Regional auditions

Auditions took place in the following cities:

The audition in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was a late addition to the schedule. The audition was held, although the attendance was reportedly low. However, the audition episode was not shown. Contestants known to have auditioned in East Rutherford were listed as having auditioned elsewhere on the official ''American Idol'' website. For example, Alex Wong, who auditioned in East Rutherford, had San Diego listed as his audition city on the official website.

Hollywood week

The Hollywood rounds were held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium starting December 12, 2011. The 309 contestants performed solo for the first round, and 185 made the cut. Amongst those sent home included Jim Carrey's daughter, Jane Carrey. The second round involved group performances, and a number of contestants became ill and collapsed in the auditorium. 98 contestants moved on to the third and final round: solo performances accompanied by a band or an instrument. The contestants were then separated into four rooms, where one room of 28 contestants were all eliminated, while the 70 contestants in the other three rooms all advanced to the Las Vegas round.

In Las Vegas, the contestants performed traditional 1950s songs in groups with Elvis Presley's "Viva, Elvis!" show as the backdrop. 28 of the 70 contestants were eliminated. Next came a solo round accompanied by an instrument at the stage for Le Rêve at the Wynn Las Vegas. After the 42 remaining contestants sang their last solo, they were summoned one-by-one to appear before the judges. Twelve men and twelve women were initially announced as the semifinalists; however, the judges announced that one of four men eliminated (Jermaine Jones, Johnny Keyser, Richie Law, or David Leathers, Jr.) would be reinstated into the competition as a surprise thirteenth male, rendering it a Top 25 this season. Ultimately, Jones was selected, and revealed at the end of the males' semifinals show for his performance.

Semifinals

The semifinals began on February 28. The males and females competed on back-to-back nights, and the top five from each group, along with the judges' three Wild Card choices, advanced to the finals.

Color key:

Top 25

Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Wild Card round

Following the ten singers who advanced on Thursday, March 1, six of the remaining semifinalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round. The judges selected three contestants to advance to the final group of 13. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 13 finalists

*Phillip Phillips (born September 20, 1990) was from Leesburg, Georgia. He auditioned in North Charleston, singing "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson's " Thriller" with the guitar. He performed "I Only Have Eyes For You" with Heejun Han, Neco Starr, and Jairon Jackson in Hollywood.

*Jessica Sanchez (born August 4, 1995) was from San Diego, California. She auditioned in San Diego. She performed "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" with DeAndre Brackensick and Candice Glover in Las Vegas. She also performed " The Prayer" by Andrea Bocelli.

*Joshua Ledet (born April 9, 1992) was from Westlake, Louisiana. He had originally auditioned for the tenth season, but did not make it past the audition stage. He auditioned in Houston, and was dubbed "Mantasia" (ie. the male version of ''American Idol'' third season winner Fantasia Barrino) during semifinals. He performed "Blue Suede Shoes" with Shannon Magrane, Amber Holcomb, and Curtis Finch, Jr.

*Hollie Cavanagh (born July 5, 1993) was originally from Liverpool, England, but grew up in McKinney, Texas. She auditioned in Galveston. She had originally auditioned for the tenth season, but was encouraged by Jennifer Lopez to return in a couple of years with practice. Hollie sang "Mr. Sandman" with Naomi Gillies and Marissa Pontecorvo in Las Vegas. She also sang "Change" by ''American Idol'' fourth season winner Carrie Underwood.

*Skylar Laine (born February 1, 1994) was from Brandon, Mississippi. She auditioned in Galveston, singing "Hell on Heels" by Pistol Annies. In Las Vegas, she performed "Dedicated to the One I Love" with Colton Dixon, Chase Likens, and Cari Quoyeser.

*Elise Testone (born July 29, 1983) was from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She was originally from Kinnelon, New Jersey. She auditioned in North Charleston with "Get It While You Can" by Janis Joplin.

*Colton Dixon (born October 19, 1991) was from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He auditioned in North Charleston with his younger sister, Schyler. He and Schyler had originally auditioned for the tenth season, but were both cut before the semifinals. Dixon returned in the eleventh season; however he did not plan to audition, and was simply accompanying his sister to her audition. The judges implored Dixon to audition as well, where he sang David Cook's "Permanent". Colton performed "Dedicated to the One I Love" with Skylar Laine, Chase Likens, and Cari Quoyeser in Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, Schyler was eliminated, bringing Colton to tears. He performed the Coldplay song "Fix You", and dedicated it to his sister.

* DeAndre Brackensick (born October 21, 1994) was from San Jose, California. He had originally auditioned for the tenth season, but was cut before the semifinals. He auditioned in San Diego. He performed "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" with Jessica Sanchez and Candice Glover in Las Vegas.

*Heejun Han (born April 20, 1989) was from Flushing, New York. He and his family migrated from Anyang, South Korea, when he was a child. He auditioned in Pittsburgh with "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You". His audition brought Jennifer Lopez to tears, and Steven Tyler stated: "I think you are really great. I think you could be the ''American Idol''."

* Erika Van Pelt (born December 12, 1985) was from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. She auditioned in Pittsburgh with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" by the Shirelles.

* Shannon Magrane (born October 21, 1995) was from Tampa, Florida. She is the daughter of Tampa Bay Rays broadcaster and former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Joe Magrane. She auditioned in North Charleston with "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James.

*Jermaine Jones (born November 3, 1986) was from Pine Hill, New Jersey

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