SRO crowd cheers ‘Idols’ concert

Jessica Sanchez (right), backed up by DeAndre Brackensick (left) and Joshua Ledet. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/ Mylene Morales

MANILA, Philippines—A wildly cheering SRO crowd filled the Smart Araneta Coliseum to watch the last “American Idols” 2012 concert tour date on Sept. 21, featuring Jessica Sanchez and nine other top finalists of this year’s edition of the popular US reality TV talent competition.

Phillip Phillips. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Mylene Morales

The concert, which ran for more than two hours, showcased the individual talent of each of the “Idol” Top 10 – led by winner Phillip Phillips, runner-up Sanchez, Joshua Ledet, Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine, Elise Testone, Colton Dixon, DeAndre Brackensick, Heejun Han and Erika Van Pelt.

They interpreted a select repertoire of classic and contemporary rock, R&B, soul, metal, dance and pop tunes, including a few originals written by Dixon and Phillips.

‘American Idols’ 2012 finale number at Smart Araneta Coliseum. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Mylene Morales

Sanchez, the crowd’s hometown favorite – her mother is Filipino – fired up the stage with her scorching Tina Turner version of “Proud Mary,” with Ledet and Brackensick on backup vocals.

But it was Phillips who blew away many in the audience with his strikingly offbeat rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” among other numbers that culminated in his own composition, “Home.”

Other standouts were Van Pelt, Testone and Ledet – who drew a standing ovation on his James Brown act, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.”