American Idol (season 11)
Order Contestant Song Result
1 Jen Hirsh Oh ! Darling Eliminated
2 Jeremy Rosado I Know You Wo n't Advanced
3 Brielle Von Hugel Someone Like You Eliminated
4 DeAndre Brackensick Georgia on My Mind Advanced
5 Erika Van Pelt The Edge of Glory Advanced
6 Reed Grimm Use Me Eliminated
Semi-finals -- Wild Card round
Following those ten singers advancing on Thursday , March 1 , six of the remaining 25 semi-finalists were selected by the judges to compete in the Wild Card round . The Wild Card round immediately began , following the announcement of the ten finalists . Following another performance by each Wild Card contender , the judges then selected three contestants to advance to the final group of 13 .
The eleventh season of American Idol premiered on Fox on January 18, 2012. The show aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c. Ryan Seacrest returned as host, while Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, and Jennifer Lopez 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 season 10. Tyler and Lopez announced that they would be leaving the show two months after the finale. Lopez later returned as a judge for the show's thirteenth season. The season set a record when 132 million votes were gathered for the finale. On May 23, 2012, Phillip Phillips became the winner of the eleventh season of American Idol, beating Jessica Sanchez, the first female recipient of the judges' save.