Fans campaign for Jessica Sanchez to stay on 'American Idol'

Fans of "American Idol" hopeful Jessica Sanchez are taking no chances this week.

 

Sanchez's fans the whole world over are in a frenzy campaigning for people to vote for her—even if they are not in the United States.

 

A YouTube video detailing how to access US phone lines using the voice-over-Internet Protocol application Skype has gone viral.

 

Only US residents, with US-registered landlines and mobile phones, could previously send in votes for the contestants

 

An early favorite, the 16-year-old Filipina-Mexican very nearly got eliminated from the competition last week—she received the lowest number of votes, but was saved by the judges.

 

'Otherwordly' talent

 

Sanchez’s latest performance on “American Idol” Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila) received mixed reviews from netizens and viewers, even as judges once again praised her vocal prowess and commended her “passion” and the way she “plays with songs.”

 

This week’s episode was themed “Now and Then,” and contestants were asked to sing two songs: a Billboard chart-topper from 2000 up to the present, and a “classic soul” selection from earlier decades.

 

For the “Now” part, Sanchez picked Alicia Keys’ Grammy-winning song Fallin’, which prompted the judges to declare that their use of their only special “save” power on the teenager was worth it.

 

Randy Jackson called her talent “otherwordly”, and exhorted America to “show up and vote” for her this week.

 

Steven Tyler gushed, “With a talent like yours, you have a right to get mad at a song.”

 

Connecting with the audience

 

Sanchez also sang Otis Redding’s Try A Little Tenderness, which has been sung many times by other contestants in the show’s 11-season history.

 

"Good god almighty, bless my soul, you've done it again," was Tyler’s exclamation after Sanchez’s second performance.

 

But while Jackson said she can “sing like nobody’s business,” he also told her: “Where you should grow now is just about connecting with the audience.”

 

Jennifer Lopez, who in the previous week ran up the stage and grabbed the microphone from Sanchez before the latter could even finish her “save me” song, echoed Jackson’s comments, adding that good voice alone is not enough . 

 

Daunting prospects

 

Laura Pudrom of the Huffington Post called Sanchez’ rendition of Fallin’ overplayed, but showed the “purity of her tone, her enviable control and the sultry depths of her range.”

 

Michael Slezak of TVLine.com said that Sanchez’s version of “Try A Little Tenderness” was “oddly loungy,” but “solid.” 

 

But Hahn Nguyen of the aggregator TV Guide had daunting prospects for Sanchez.

 

In an article, Nguyen listed five factors why Sanchez would never win the “American Idol” crown, which has eluded a female contender for four consecutive years now.

 

Nguyen cites the viewers’ demographics as a main reason why female contestants like Sanchez would be hard put to compete with male contestants. 

 

“'Idol''s track record doesn't favor winners of the Asian persuasion,” Nguyen adds, citing that this year’s only Asian contender, Korean Heejun Han, lasted as long as he could on the “strength of his charismatic quirkiness.”

 

Two contestants are expected to be eliminated tomorrow after last week’s save, as the season enters its final five weeks. –KG, GMA News