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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.

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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 Qouyeser 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 was 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. He auditioned in Portland. Jones was not originally chosen for the semifinals, but was called back after the top 24 had been selected. On March 13, he was disqualified for having concealed prior arrests and outstanding warrants.


 * Jeremy Rosado (born March 24, 1992) was from Valrico, Florida. Rosado had previously auditioned for American Idol four times.

Finals
There were twelve weeks of finals with thirteen contestants competing. At least one contestant was eliminated every week based on the public's votes, although the judges could veto one elimination through the use of the "judges' save". On March 15, 2012, during what would have been the top 11, it was announced that Jermaine Jones had been disqualified.

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Top 13 – Whitney Houston & Stevie Wonder
Mary J. Blige served as a guest mentor this week. This week, all of the ladies performed one song from the Whitney Houston discography and all of the men performed one song from the Stevie Wonder discography. In a twist, the bottom three from each group were announced the next night. The man and the woman who each received the fewest votes faced the judges, who had to decide which contestant would be saved and which would be eliminated. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 11 – Contestants' birth year
Jermaine Jones was disqualified prior to the performance show for failing to disclose his criminal past. Footage of executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick confronting Jones was shown during what would have been his performance slot, and he was not replaced in the competition.

will.i.am served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants each performed one song from the year they were born, and are listed in the order they performed.

Top 10 – Billy Joel
P. Diddy served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed one song from the Billy Joel discography, and are listed in the order they performed.

During the results show, the top 10 contestants performed "Happy Birthday to You" along with Joe Perry to celebrate the birthday of judge Steven Tyler.

Top 9 – Personal idols
Stevie Nicks served as a guest mentor this week. Contestants performed two songs each from their own personal idols: one solo and one trio with two fellow contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 8 – Music from the 1980s
Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal served as guest mentors this week. Each contestant performed two songs: one solo and one duet with a fellow contestant. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 7 (April 12) – Music from the 2010s
Akon served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs: one solo and either one duet with a fellow contestant or one trio with two fellow contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed. The judges chose to use their "judges' save" when Jessica Sanchez was announced as the performer to be eliminated. As a result, no one was eliminated this week.

Top 7 (April 19) – Music from now & then
Each contestant performed two songs: one Billboard number one hit from the 21st century and one song from the classic soul era. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 6 – Queen
Each contestant performed two songs, one of which was from the Queen discography. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 5 – Music from the 1960s & British pop
Steven Van Zandt served as a guest mentor this week. Each contestant performed two songs: one solo and either one duet with a fellow contestant or one trio with two fellow contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 4 – Music of California & songs the contestants wish they'd written
Each contestant performed three songs: one solo, one duet with a fellow contestant, and one song with all four contestants. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 3
Each contestant performed three songs: one chosen by one of the judges, one chosen by the contestant, and one chosen by mentor Jimmy Iovine. Contestants are listed in the order they performed.

Top 2 – Finale
Each contestant performed three songs, one of which was chosen by producer Simon Fuller, and are listed in the order they performed.

Elimination chart
Color key: • {{legend|gold|Winner}}

• {{legend|silver|Runner-up}}

• {{legend|#FFEBCD|Did not perform}}

• {{legend|#FDFC8F|Saved by the public}}

• {{legend|#B0E0E6|Saved by the judges}}

• {{legend|#e0f0ff|Bottom two or three}}

• {{legend|#FFB694|Disqualified}}

• {{legend|#FF91A4|Eliminated}}

Compilation album
American Idol Season 11 Duets and Trios Highlights, a compilation album by the top 6 finalists, was released on July 3, 2012. It consisted of the following songs:

Controversies
On March 14, finalist Jermaine Jones was disqualified for concealing arrests and outstanding warrants. Jones, however, denied that he had concealed his previous arrests and had admitted his arrests when he signed up for Idol. A police official where he was the target of two arrest warrants said that "the case wasn't big enough to merit going after him in California," and a New Jersey legislator commented that for the show "to expose, embarrass and interrogate a young man without an attorney in front of 40 million viewers was an outrage." Critics suggested that the show may have staged the disqualification to boost ratings. When asked about speculations that producers had had prior knowledge of his criminal past and that the producers were simply out to exploit him on-air, Jones replied that "I haven't even taken my mind into that and why they did what they did, because then I'll drive myself crazy."

U.S. Nielsen ratings
The premiere was watched by 21.93 million viewers. While at the time it drew the second largest audience of any entertainment program in the television season, it was down 16 percent from the previous year's premiere, which was watched by 26.23 million viewers. After seven consecutive years as the most watched program on primetime television (eight years in the 18/49 demo), the eleventh season of American Idol came in second place to NBC Sunday Night Football in total viewers, as well as in the 18/49 demo.


 * This episode was shown on Sunday, January 22, 2012, after the NFC Championship Game, but was repeated on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 with ratings of 5.7/9 overall and 3.4/9 for the 18/49 demographic. Overall, the episode averaged 9.64 million viewers.
 * Episode was bumped out of primetime due to the NFC Championship Game going into overtime, therefore it was not included in the weekly rankings.