American Idol Jessica Sanchez Biography

Jessica Sanchez is a Filipino - American Finalist of American Idol Season 11. 

Jessica Sanchez, the eldest of three siblings, was born on August 4, 1995 in Chula Vista, California to Gilbert and Edita Sanchez. Her father, a Mexican American originally from Texas, is a U.S. Navy veteran who fought in the Iraq War. Her mother is Filipina and originally hailed from Bataan province in the Philippines. Her maternal grandfather, Eddie Bugay, is a retired U.S. Navy sailor.

Sanchez, a former student of Eastlake Middle School in Chula Vista, was selected for full scholarship training at the Theater of Arts in Hollywood.She is currently a homeschooled high school student in 11th grade.

She started singing at the age of 2 and aspires to be a mainstream singer that can "belt but sing upbeat songs". Beyonce and Eminem are her favorite artists. Other musical influences include Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Etta James, Christina Aguilera, and Michael Jackson.

Sanchez auditioned on America's Got Talent when she was 11. She sang "The Prayer" to advance to Hollywood.

On July 8, 2011, Jessica auditioned for the eleventh season of American Idol in her hometown of San Diego, California.

During the Top 7 Elimination night of American Idol Season 11, She received the lowest vote but when she perform once more to let the judge decide whether they will use their save card, judge Jennifer Lopez walk to the stage and interrupted her midway through the song to tell her that the judges will use their about to expired save card to let her continue competing to be the American Idol 2012 Season 11.

“Gimme that mic! This is crazy … you ain’t going home! Go sit down!” JLO Said. 

For the second week of top 7, Sanchez pleased the judges with her take on Alicia Keys’ "Fallin'". "Your talent is so other worldly. I don’t even know if you know how good you really are and how great you can even be," Jackson remarked. "With talent like yours, you have the right to get mad at a song. That was the passion that you released," was Tyler's response. Lopez concurred, "I’m glad you’re still here and we had a save and used it on you." Her rendition of Otis Redding’s "Try a Little Tenderness" left Lopez critiquing, "The vocal ability is so great, that we need to start connecting with you here [heart]. Just the voice is not gonna do it". Tyler noted, "I like that fact that you’re stepping out. It's all about stepping out and winning these people's hearts". Jackson echoed similar comment saying, "Where you should grow now is really just in connecting with the emotion with the lyrics."

On Queen night, Sanchez performed Bohemian Rhapsody. Tyler opined that rock music is not her forte. Still, he remarked, "Freddie Mercury would have been proud to hear that." Lopez agreed that the vocal was beautiful but "needed a bit more of that rock performance". "You hit the high notes, you sounded beautiful," said Jackson but he wanted her to channel a little Tina Turner. Her rendition of Luther Vandross' Dance with My Father earned rave reviews. "The tenderness, the feeling, your vocal ability, everything. The feeling, more than anything, is what makes me say that it was the most beautiful I've ever heard it," Lopez gushed. "Your voice is so different than anybody else is. It kind of touches on Whitney," Tyler enthused and added it was a joy and honor to watch her evolve on the show. Jackson thought it was beyond reproach saying, "Now you got that feeling in there, and that's what was always a little bit missing for me. But now, you're making that connection."

After the conclusion of the top 4, she is the last surviving female contestant in the Idol competition. Sanchez has received six unanimous standing ovations for her competitive performances from the judges, four from solo performances, one for group performance, and one for a duet. This made her one of the front-runners in the competition.

On Top 3 Performance, Jessica Sanchez sung three songs, My All by Mariah Carey, I'll be there by Jackson 5 and her own choice song I Don't want to miss a thing by Aerosmith which she has received standing ovation from the smash artist of the same Stev Tyler.

The 16-year-old half-Mexican, half-Filipina contestant took on Aerosmith's "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing," and slayed the song. "You just took a great song and made it greater," raved judge Steven Tyler. "Thank you Diane Warren for writing that for me and for getting her to sing it as well as you did...beautiful."

Judge Jennifer Lopez also loved the performance, saying: "That was amazing.That note in the end! Oh, wow. Sends everybody into the heavens. Really, really great job, baby!" And Judge Randy Jackson said, "I was waiting on a big moment and dude, you delivered man."

Earlier in the night, Sanchez delivered an equally beautiful performance of Mariah Carey's "My All," that prompted Steven Tyler to predict she'll win the whole competition. "When you sing, you make people hang on your every note," Tyler said following the understated performance. "I hope you get used to encores. And on another crazy note, I think you'll be the last person standing there," he said.

And as if it wasn't ambitious enough taking on Mariah and Aerosmith, Sanchez also performed the classic Jackson 5 song, "I'll Be There."

"Perfect song, perfect voice, you nailed it, delicious," Steven Tyler said, while judge Jennifer Lopez raved, "It was perfect for the tone in your voice. You almost sounded like Michael."

Only judge Randy Jackson didn't like the performance, saying, "Once again, we're at the end here, and you're on the stage with all these other dynamic singers. There was never a moment moment."


May 18, 2012, Jessica was nominated top 2 alongside Phillip Phillips from Georgia.