LOS ANGELES — Jessica Sanchez wishes she could’ve changed one thing about the “American Idol” finale: her final song.
The judges completely dismissed “Change Nothing,” the lukewarm potential future single that failed to fully showcase the 16-year-old singer’s vocal prowess during the Fox talent competition’s final performance round Tuesday.
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“Idol” judge Randy Jackson told the high school student from Chula Vista, Calif., that it “lacked pop flavor,” while Steven Tyler declared that it wasn’t “the proper song for you.” Sanchez agreed, informing the panel that she wanted something more “urban.”
“Definitely, when I make my record, if I ever do, it’s going to be a lot more me,” she said.
Phillip Phillips, her bluesy 21-year-old fellow finalist, had better luck with his potential future single, a slow tempo acoustic ditty titled “Home,” which the judges said recalled artists like Fleet Foxes, Paul Simon and Mumford and Sons. At one point during Phillips’ final performance, the pawn shop worker from Leesburg, Ga., was accompanied by a marching band.
It was a hit with the panel. Jackson beamed, “I love the song. I love you. I love the production. I love the marching band. Everything about that was perfect.”
Sanchez fared better in the earlier rounds Tuesday evening. The panel declared that she won the first matchup featuring song selections by “Idol” overlord Simon Fuller, soaring with Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” while Phillips delivered a consistent rendition of Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me.”
The second round recalled the finalists’ favorite previous “Idol” performances. Sanchez reprised “The Prayer” by Andrea Boccelli and Celine Dion from the Las Vegas solo round, and Phillips crooned “Movin’ Out” from Billy Joel week. Lopez gave the bout to Phillip; Tyler said Sanchez took it; and Jackson declared it a “dead heat.”
The winner with the most viewer votes will be crowned today.
‘Tonto’ an honorary Comanche
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Johnny Depp has been made an honorary member of the Comanche tribe.
Depp is in New Mexico, shooting the film adaptation of “The Lone Ranger.” He plays “Ranger” sidekick Tonto in the film.
Comanche Nation tribal member LaDonna Harris said Tuesday that the tribal chairman presented Depp with a proclamation at her Albuquerque home May 16. She said the Comanche adoption tradition means she now considers Depp her son.
Harris said Depp seemed humbled.
His spokeswoman, Jayne Ngo, confirmed the actor participated in a ceremony, but she declined to provide details.
Harris said she had read in interviews that Depp identified himself as being part Native American, so she thought it would be fun to adopt him – a tradition she says is common in Comanche culture. She ran the idea past her adult children, and they agreed.
Harris said she reached out to the “Dark Shadows” star through a friend who is working as a cultural adviser on the “Lone Ranger” set.
The Comanche Nation is based in Lawton, Okla. About half of its 15,000 members live in southwestern Oklahoma.
Birthday visit to Bethlehem for supermodel
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Supermodel Naomi Campbell celebrated her 42nd birthday Tuesday with a trip to the birthplace of Jesus, wishing for “good vibrations, not destruction” in the troubled Middle East.
Campbell was flanked by Palestinian guards and her own private security detail as she toured the biblical town.
She lit candles in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, said Palestinian officials. The church is built on the spot where Christians believe Jesus was born.
The West Bank town is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Israel has built a high concrete wall around most of the town to keep Palestinian militants, including suicide bombers, out of nearby Jerusalem.
“As much traveling as I’ve done, I’ve never come here,” Campbell told a Palestinian TV station. The supermodel said she hoped for peace.
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