Phillip Phillips

Mentor Stevie Nicks said Phillips would have been good enough to join Fleetwood Mac back in 1975, after his performance of Jonny Lang's "Still Rainin," for which he received a standing ovation from the judges.

After the Top 13 performance night, Phillips was taken to a doctor for possible kidney stones.

He had eight procedures while he was performing on Idol, and considered quitting the show due to the pain.

For his Top 3 performance, Phillips sang Bob Seger's "We've Got Tonight."

For Top 4, he did a cover of Damien Rice's "Volcano" - which has been heralded as one of the best American Idol performances of all time.

As the sole contestant who was never in jeopardy of elimination in any week of the competition, Phillips became the winner on the finale against Jessica Sanchez after a record-breaking 132 million votes were cast.

His coronation song, "Home," was released after his performance, and had the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song.

Phillips said, "It was crazy and it changed my life completely. I didn't know what to expect, I just loved playing music."

"It never seemed like a competition. I always made sure I was having fun and the band was having a good time."

Phillip LaDon Phillips Jr. (born September 20, 1990) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who rose to fame after winning the eleventh season of American Idol in 2012.

His coronation song, "Home", became the best-selling song in American Idol history.

In 2009, he formed the Phillip Phillips Band with Neil and another brother-in-law, Todd Urick, and performed in various local venues and events.

He won a local singing competition, "Albany Star," in 2010.

Phillips' favorite singer is Jonny Lang.

Other favorites include John Butler, Dave Matthews, and Damien Rice.

He also enjoyed Mumford & Sons and Tool.

He grew up listening mainly to '60s and '70s music such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin; "Then as I got older I found Damien Rice and Dave Matthews and John Butler, which is what really set it off for me in terms of finding my voice as a musician."

He has described his music as "jazz and rock alternative sound."

Prior to trying out for American Idol, Phillips also auditioned on the second season of America's Got Talent.

Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia.

He sang "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder.

One of the show's executive producers, Megan Michaels-Wolflick, stated "I remember the day in Savannah in 2011 when Phillip Phillips walked in the room and I thought, "This guy is going to win this season." As he walked in front of American Idol judges for his initial audition, Steven Tyler whispered to Jennifer Lopez, "I got a funny feeling about this." The judges asked him to perform a second song with his guitar, and he performed Michael Jackson's "Thriller." He advanced to the Hollywood rounds, and later to the Las Vegas round.

His debut album The World from the Side of the Moon was released on November 19, 2012, and was on the Billboard Top 200 album chart for 61 weeks.

It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

The album included the singles "Home", "Gone, Gone, Gone."

On February 23, 2012, Phillips was chosen as one of the Top 25 semi-finalists, and was voted into the Top 13.

His performance style on the show has been compared to Dave Matthews, and he covered one of his songs, "The Stone," in the competition.

When asked about Phillips' imitation of his style, Dave Matthews said: "More power to him, I don't mind," and added "He should kick my ass, [then] maybe I can retire and he can take over my band."

He followed up with Behind the Light, in 2014 with the singles "Raging Fire" and "Unpack Your Heart".

His third album, Collateral, was released in 2018 and included the song "Miles".

Phillip Phillips fourth studio album Drift Back was released June 2023 and it included the single "Dancing with Your Shadows".

Phillips toured with John Mayer, Gavin DeGraw, the Goo Goo Dolls and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen.

Phillips has sold over 7.8 million digital singles and has sold over 3 million album equivalents.

He accumulated over 1.1 billion on-demand streams and over 1.2 billion Pandora streams.

Phillip Phillips was born in Albany, Georgia, to Sheryl (Jacks) and Phillip LaDon "Donnie" Phillips, Sr. He moved with his family to Leesburg, Georgia when he was 12.

He has two older sisters, LaDonna, the eldest, and Lacey.

Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School.

He graduated from Albany Technical College with a major in Industrial Systems Technology, but missed the graduation ceremony due to his obligations to American Idol. Prior to appearing on American Idol, he worked at his family's pawn shop.

Phillips started playing music, particularly the guitar, when he was 14.

He was mentored by his long-time friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin Neil, whom he credits for piquing his interest in music.