Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jessica Sanchez versus Phillip Phillips one last time.

Well, I should say three times, because that’s how often they’ll perform tonight.

Each will sing their favorite song from the season, a song assigned by Idol creator Simon Fuller and their “individual” new single.

What will they be singing?

That hasn’t been leaked, though Nigel tweeted earlier this evening that The Macarena, Jolene and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head are among the songs they won’t be performing.

Funny guy, that Nigel.

Anyway, time for an Idol Chatter commercial break because I’ve compiled lots of season ending blogs for you to check out. Like …

The top 10 performances of Season 11

The best and worst of Season 11

Phillip Phillips and Jessica Sanchez: How they match up and who should win

So check those out when you get a chance.

OK, showtime. Ryan calls it one of the tightest finale races in Idol history.

Round 1: Simon Fuller’s Song Choices

Jessica Sanchez: For her, Simon has picked Whitney’s “I Have Nothing.” Hardly a novel song choice, but more in her wheelhouse than a couple of last week’s selections. Jessica eased into that a bit, but she was in full glory note and growl mode by the middle of the song. And at the end, we saw a little of the passion she displayed a couple of weeks ago singing “I Am Not Going.” Grade: B.

Phillip Phillips: Simon picks “Stand by Me” for him. And I can tell you right now, Phillip is going to do an excellent job on this song. Well, until he tried to reach for a note. Then his voice strained, as always. On the difficulty scale, I’d say Phillip sure got the easier song. That said, he did a very nice rendition of it. He even sorta made it his own. Grade: B-.

The judges: Jennifer says it’s tough to compare, their styles are so different. In other words, she didn’t judge. Randy awarded round one to Jessica. Steven just watched it all go down. Ophs, Jennifer agrees. Steven still doesn’t speak.

Round 2: Contestants’ song choices

Jessica Sanchez: She’ll sing “The Prayer.” Nice choice, because this is from back in Vegas Week, and a song we didn’t get to hear on the show. Wow, she sure showed off her range in that song. She hit a glory note in the middle of that song that lasted a long, long time. Loved, loved, loved the song choice because it gave her a chance to display her vocals at their best without disappointing us with a repeat of a well-known finals performance that wouldn’t match the original. Grade: A-

Phillip Phillips: He’s going to perform “Movin’ Out” by Billy Joel, and he’s switched it up. Well, if the goal was to show how he can make a song his own, that was one of his best transformations over the course of the season. And he did it well, accompanied by his blond sax player. Sorta neat ending. The vocal wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t special. Grade: B.

The Judges: Steven gives the round to Jessica. Randy calls it a dead heat. Jennifer gives it to Phillip, saying she’s seen Jessica do that before. Hmm.

The potential singles

Jessica Sanchez: Darn, this young lady always looks like a star doesn’t she. She’s singing “Change Nothing.” OK, it sounded like she was shouting the chorus. And that’s something I almost never think when Jessica is singing. Not thrilled with the song. And, surprisingly, I wasn’t thrilled with the vocal. Randy says he didn’t love the song. Jennifer didn’t like the song either.Grade: C.

Phillip Phillips: He’s singing “Home.” Here’s guessing this song is a better fit for Phillip. Nice harmony on that line. Hey, I like this song. Now a band shows up? Where was Jessica’s band? Hey, that was a much better song. And a much better fit for the guy who was singing it. Very nice job, Phillip. Randy calls it “genius” and the performance of the night. Grade: A-.