Jessica Sanchez’s amazing feat

JESSICA Sanchez landing in the finals of “American Idol” is described as “a battle for the future of the show itself.” photo: www.americanidol.com

LOS ANGELES—By the time you read this column, either Jessica Sanchez or Phillip Phillips would have been crowned as the new “American Idol.”

Win or lose, Jessica scored quite an achievement. With her talent, humility and charm, she managed to unite the splintered Filipino-American communities across the United States to rally and vote for her. We saw so many Fil-Ams carrying posters expressing support for Jessica as they entered the Nokia Theatre for the performance show last Tuesday evening (Wednesday in Manila).

Enormous support

We have never seen such an enormous support by Fil-Ams for a single cause—to vote, and as many times allowed, for Jessica. From the time the 16-year-old singer was announced as one of the final two contestants, Fil-Ams flooded social media sites, especially Facebook, with messages imploring friends to vote for the teenager whose mother and father are Filipino and Latino, respectively.

Facebook was rife with humorous status and comments about how many of the site’s Fil-Am users dropped everything to vote for Jessica, “hanggang mapudpud ang mga daliri.”

FILIPINO-AMERICAN fans show their support for Jessica Sanchez at the Nokia Theatre. RUBEN NEPALES

In an article for The Hollywood Reporter, writer Michele Amabile Angemiller noted how popular Jessica is on Facebook and Twitter: “With 411,955 rabid Twitter followers (and climbing by the second), Sanchez definitely has the fan support to secure victory. The social network research company, General Sentiment, is calling for a Sanchez landslide based on her online support on both Facebook and Twitter. According to the study, Sanchez scores 61,489 positive mentions on social media on Twitter over Phillip Phillips, who nets 38,372 in his favor. The ‘sentiment’ breakdown for both vocalists reads: 81.9 percent positive references in Sanchez’s corner, and 27.6 percent for Phillips.”

Of course, a few “AI” contestants who were also popular on these sites did not make it far in the elimination rounds. But there was no discounting the fact that Jessica was aided significantly by how passionate Fil-Ams—and Filipinos all over the world, for that matter—have taken to Facebook and Twitter.

Female-driven shift

The following are excerpts from James Montgomery’s story on MTV.com. Titled “If You Love  ‘American Idol,’ Vote For Jessica Sanchez, it is a nice commentary on the show and our times:

“‘Idol’ has unquestionably suffered. Long gone are the days when the show could create actual chart-dominating superstars. None of the previous four winners has done much of anything, sales-wise, which isn’t really surprising, given the female-driven shift of popular music. Rihanna or Katy Perry or Lady Gaga or Beyoncé could never be crowned champion these days, mostly because voters would choose the handsome guy with the guitar instead. Given that they’re the biggest stars in the universe, that’s slightly troubling.

“If anything, ‘American Idol’ has become completely antithetical to what it set out to be. It reflects the whims of a demographic more attuned to adult contemporary as opposed to pop music.

JESSICA Sanchez and Phillip Phillips answer questions from the media backstage after three rounds.RUBEN NEPALES

“And yet, I find myself breaking my season-long ban on ‘Idol’ just in time for Tuesday night’s (May 22) performance finale, which pits yet another handsome dude with a guitar—the indomitably growly Phillip Phillips—against the sassy, sublimely talented Jessica Sanchez. I’m making this exception mostly because I have loved this show for 11 seasons now, but also because tonight’s extravaganza is much more than just another overproduced coronation ceremony: It may very well be a battle for the future of the show itself.

‘Best hope’

“See, for the first time in years, ‘Idol’ voters have a chance to make a genuine change tonight. In Sanchez, they have the show’s best hope recapturing that old magic, of creating an actual, of-the-moment pop superstar. She is young (just 16) and current, she can sing pop, R&B and soul, and, as her alter ego BeBe Chez has proven, she possesses that sheer diva-tude that has driven the likes of RiRi and Bey to superstardom.

“In every way, from her biracial background to her grab bag of musical inspirations (Mariah, Xtina, MJ) to her supreme belief in self, she best represents the whims and attitudes of the millennial generation that drives trends and shapes culture (and downloads singles). In short, she is relatable to the people who really matter, and that’s the key to it all.

“Like Rihanna or Katy or Gaga, there is a belief—either real or imagined—that today’s biggest stars aren’t only your best friends, they’re you, living out your wildest dreams and fantasies.

“And ‘Idol’ hasn’t had a potential champ like that since, shoot, maybe Jordin Sparks in 2007 (who actually won). Allison Iraheta was gone too soon. Crystal Bowersox was great, but she wasn’t going to go pop, no matter what. Haley Reinhart was an old soul, pure and simple. And last year’s runner-up, Lauren Alaina, well, she was country to the core.

“By giving Sanchez the crown, not only can voters send her on her way, but they give the show a shot at actually becoming culturally relevant once again. It can be the launching pad for the next great superstar.”

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