05:47 PM EDT 05/17/2013
Nicki Minaj
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American Idol Crowns Candice Glover Its Winner!
Originally posted 05/16/2013 10:05PM
After months of auditions, eliminations, performances and judges' feedback, American Idol finally has its season 12 winner.
Candice Glover and Kree Harrison each performed three songs on Wednesday night – a favorite of their choice from the season, one picked by producer Simon Fuller and the song that would become the winner's first single – in front of fans, friends, family and the Idol judges at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.
Mariah Carey said, "It's going to be very, very difficult for America" to decide a winner. Indeed, PEOPLE readers voted, giving R&B diva Candice only a slight edge over authentic country girl Kree.
So, who's the winner? Candice Glover is the new American Idol! And Kree Harrison is season 12's runner-up.
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Keith Urban: I Want to Return as a Judge on American Idol
Originally posted 05/16/2013 10:30AM
There is at least one American Idol judge who wants to be back on the panel next season: Keith Urban.
Asked at Wednesday's big showdown between Kree Harrison and Candice Glover if he would like to be a judge on season 13, the country superstar said, "I would. I mean, I literally enjoy coming to work every day, and that's a rarity."
This comes after veteran judge Randy Jackson announced he is leaving the show and rumors that producers plan to replace the entire season 12 panel.
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American Idol: Kree Harrison and Candice Glover Compete in the Finale
Originally posted 05/15/2013 09:55PM
The entire season of American Idol came down to three final performances from two dueling divas, country crooner Kree Harrison and R&B singer Candice Glover, on Wednesday night at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live.
At the end of the night, Mariah Carey summed up the competition best. After noting that both women offered something special, she said, "It's going to be very, very difficult for America tonight."
But before one note was sung, Kree seemed to have an edge – she got a more rousing round of applause when host Ryan Seacrest asked the studio audience to cheer for their favorite. Then round one seemed to change up the momentum. Here's how it all played out ...
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American Idol: Readers Take Sides in Kree Harrison vs. Candice Glover
Originally posted 05/15/2013 08:00PM
It's an American Idol showdown!
Season 12's top two, Kree Harrison and Candice Glover, are facing off Wednesday on the final night of competition at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live. And they couldn't be more talented – or different. Kree has an authentic country vibe while Candice is pure R&B diva. They each will sing their "coronation song," a song of their choice from the season and a song chosen by producer Simon Fuller.
Judges Keith Urban, Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey and the departing Randy Jackson are definitely making their opinions known as the contestants sing one more time for America's votes. But we want to know what you think about the all-female finale as it's happening.
Tweet your thoughts @peoplemag and your comment may end up right here on People.com.
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American Idol Season 12 Finalists Revealed!
Originally posted 05/09/2013 09:05PM
Ryan Seacrest opened up Thursday's American Idol episode with a nod to Randy Jackson's announcement that he's moving on after 12 seasons.
"A little later on we'll be revealing who is leaving our show," Ryan said, standing behind the only remaining original judge. "A little heads up?"
Randy just chuckled.
The joke is that Ryan could have been talking about Idol's super talented top three – Kree Harrison, Angie Miller and Candice Glover, who performed three songs each on Wednesday. They faced one last hurdle before the season 12 finale: another elimination night.
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Randy Jackson Leaving American Idol After 12 Years
Originally posted 05/09/2013 06:05PM
Bye, dawg.
After 12 years at the judge's table, celebrating the soaring voices and putting down the pitchy, Randy Jackson is leaving American Idol.
Alerting his fans with statement beginning "Yo! Yo! Yo!," the exuberant Jackson – the last of the show's original judges, going back to the original Simon Cowell-Paula Abdul days – says he finally wanted to "put all of the speculation to rest" about his future.
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American Idol's Top 3 Wow Judges with 3 Songs Each
Originally posted 05/09/2013 08:10AM
After traveling to their hometowns to perform for huge crowds of cheering fans and to reconnect with their families, American Idol's final three contestants took the stage Wednesday night to try to sing their way into the finale.
By the end of the night, during which the gals sang three songs – one picked by mentor Jimmy Iovine, one chosen by the judges and one by the show's production team – it was clear that the emotional hometown visits had a powerful effect on the performances.
Kree started off the night with Iovine's choice, "Perfect" by Pink, which left the judges underwhelmed.
"You sang it good but it didn't have a lot pizzazz for me," Randy Jackson said.
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American Idol Names Its Top 3
Originally posted 05/02/2013 09:05PM
After performing two songs each – a pop hit and a standard – on Wednesday night, American Idol's fabulous final four women faced elimination on Thursday.
Last week, Amber Holcomb and frontrunner Candice Glover were in the bottom two. But in a twist, no one was sent home. This week, the singer with the lowest number of votes wasn't so lucky.
And the stakes are high. Not only will the top three perform next week and stay in the running for the finale, but they will also get a hero's welcome when they go on the emotional hometown visits.
Keep reading to find out who was sent home – and who made season 12's top three ...
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American Idol: Top 4 Take On Top Hits and Standards
Originally posted 05/01/2013 10:55PM
Last week's surprise non-elimination round left American Idol's Amber Holcomb and Candice Glover with the lowest number of votes.
So on Wednesday's show, the pressure was on for them to make up ground against Angie Miller and Kree Harrison.
Thanks to an extremely up-and-down night – that featured some controversial coaching by mentor Harry Connick Jr. – they may have done just that.
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American Idol: Did One of the Final Four Go Home?
Originally posted 04/25/2013 09:45PM
Twelve seasons into American Idol, things can sometimes get very predictable. Contestants will sing, judges will judge, America will vote and someone will go home. So at the beginning of Thursday's show, Ryan Seacrest teased the audience: "In just a bit," he said, "I will announce some shocking news that will affect the judges and turn the competition upside down."
After a group performance of Alicia Keys's "Girl on Fire" by the top four contestants (Amber Holcomb, Angie Miller, Candice Glover and Kree Harrison), the weekly segment sponsored by Ford, a surprise appearance by Drake (mostly for Candice's benefit), a performance by season 9 winner Lee DeWyze (his new single is "Silver Lining") and other filler, it was time for the twist to be announced. What would it be?
Seacrest split the finalists into two groups. Candice and Amber were on one side of the stage, Kree and Angie were on the other. To the displeasure of the audience, Seacrest announced that Candice and Amber were the bottom two. The judges also looked stumped.
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