‘American Idol’ Recap: Candice Glover Wins Season 12

by uInterviewMay 17, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

Candice Glover was crowed the winner of season 12 of American Idol during last night’s performance-packed episode, where Kree Harrison was named the season’s first runner up.

Before the final results were read off by host Ryan Seacrest, the two-hour show was filled with performances of Idol winners and finalists of seasons past. Jordin Sparks, whose win in season six was the last by a female on the show, returned as well as Adam Lambert, Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks and Kim Locke. The top five women from this season of Idol performed a medley of Aretha Franklin hits with the soul legend joining them by satellite. And, Jennifer Hudson did a duet with the would-be winner, Glover.

The bill also featured past and present American Idol judges, including Jennifer Lopez who performed her new hit “Live it Up” with Pitbull. Current judge Mariah Carey performed a medley of her own hits with Randy Jackson on guitar, and Keith Urban sang his new track “Little Bit of Everything.”

The Band Perry took to the Idol stage to perform “Done” with Janelle Arthur. Amber Holcomb returned for a duet with Emeli Sande on “Next to Me.” Psy wowed with his new single “Gentleman.” The top five male contestants (who were eliminated one after the other in the first five rounds of audience voting) returned for a medley with Frankie Valli. And, Angie Miller, the one-time front-runner of this year’s competition, performed “Titanium” with previous Idol runner-up Adam Lambert before her duet with Jessie J on “Domino.“

The night that marks Glover’s deserved win also marks the end of Jackson’s 12-season tenure on the judges panel of American Idol – the last of the show’s original judges. Nicki Minaj has also announced that she won't be returning next year, and rumors have it that neither Carey or Urban will be returning either. Along with a host of new talent for season 13, American Idol will be introducing fans to new (and hopefully improved) personalities in the judges’ chairs.