WATCH This Filipino Powerhouse Sing Better Than Whitney Houston On ‘American Idol’ — Where Is She Now?
FOX Jessica Sanchez, a Filipino-Mexican-American earned the label as the frontrunner of season 11 of American Idol from the very beginning. It was her cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” that turned her into a worldwide phenomenon. Check out the performance below that will send shivers down your spine.
Jessica Sanchez Slayed Whitney Houston Cover On ‘American Idol’
Jessica who previously competed on America’s Got Talent, hoped that American Idol would be her big break. She soared through the audition rounds and semi-finals and had her shining moment during the week where contestants sang Whitney Houston songs.
It was simply her on stage with the lights dim with her voice on full display. She hit every single note perfectly. Jessica received one of the longest standing ovations in American Idol history and the judges jumped up and down in awe after her performance.
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“Jessica Sanchez is legit” Randy Jackson said over the noise of the crowd. “This is one of the hardest songs in the world to sing. You not only are the best vocal of the night, I think you’re one of the best singers in this whole competition.” He proceeded on to say that she is one of the best talents in the entire country.
Jennifer Lopez struggled to find words to describe Jessica’s incredible performance. She said she was “speechless” and praised her for her stunning vocals. “Jessica, you may be the one,” Steven Tyler said. “You just made 40 million people cry.”
She was of course voted into the next round by America. She performed Vicki Sue Robinson’s “Turn the Beat Around” which received some criticism from the judges but was able to pick herself back up again in the following weeks of the competition. Shockingly, Jessica did not win the entire competition and was instead named as the runner up against Philip Philips.
Where Is Jessica Today?
After appearing on American Idol, Jessica took her talents to the small screen portraying the role of Frida Romero on the hit Fox show Glee. She went on to release her debut album “Me, You, & the Music” in 2013 after signing with Interscope Records. In 2014, she parted ways with Interscope. Jessica headlined a concert called “Jessica Sanchez: Up Close and Personal Live in Manila” in 2015.
In 2016, she released a very successful single called “Stronger Together.” Beginning in 2019, she has since been going by the name Jes. She also performed “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Holliday at the finale of Idol Philipines in 2019.
Jes continues to post covers and videos on Instagram. For her, singing has always been what she has wanted to pursue, and she has always had pride in her culture. “I feel like it’s pretty typical for Filipinos to come out singing,” she said in an interview with Metro Style. “I started singing as soon as I could talk, I was born in California. San Diego is my hometown. My mother’s Filipino and my dad’s Mexican. I was kind of more around of the Filipino culture growing up. I would go to Seafood City to eat lumpia, and my mother would cook sinigang and adobo, so I’ve always been into Filipino food.”
Jes is just one of the many amazing Filipino acts that has taken on some of the world’s biggest stages. Check out the video below where host Mriganka talks about some seriously incredible Filipino acts that competed on talent competitions. Plus, she gives an update on where each of the acts is now.
Jes also has a Youtube channel with 495,000 subscribers if you would like to hear more of her covers.
SEE ALSO: FILIPINO SINGER STUNS JUDGES BY SINGING BETTER THAN BEYONCE HERSELF
What did you think of this powerhouse performers American Idol journey?
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