Phillip Phillips American singer and musician, winner of the eleventh season of the singing show American Idol Date of Birth: 30.09.1990 Country: USA

Biography of Phillip Phillips

Phillip Phillips is an American singer and musician, best known as the winner of the eleventh season of the singing competition show American Idol. He was born on September 20, 1990, in Albany, Georgia, to Cheryl and Phillip LaDon Phillips Sr. He has two older sisters, Ladonna and Lacey. When he was twelve, his family moved to the suburb of Albany called Leesburg, located just ten minutes north of Albany.

Phillips grew up in Sasser and Leesburg, and attended Lee County High School. He graduated from Albany Technical College with a degree in Industrial Systems Technology, although he had to miss his graduation because he was already busy with the show. Before participating in American Idol, Phillips worked various jobs as a student, including helping his family at their pawn shop. He started playing music at the age of fourteen and became interested in guitar. However, he had no experience performing as a singer in public until he finished high school.

Phillips' longtime friend and brother-in-law, Benjamin "Ben" Neil, was his mentor and first teacher in music. He played guitar in his sister Lacey's band, called "In-Law," where he often played alongside his sister's husband, Todd Urick. In 2009, Phillips, Ben, and Todd started performing together at various local venues and events as the "Phillip Phillips Band." They were often joined by Frederick "Fred" Williams on the saxophone and members of the "G&S" band from Albany.

In 2010, Phillips won a local vocal competition called "Albany Star." His musical idols include blues guitarist and singer Johnny Lang, as well as John Butler, Damien Rice, and Dave Matthews. Phillips was often compared to Dave Matthews during his time on American Idol, with some praising his undeniable influence and others criticizing him for being too similar. These comparisons only stopped after Phillips' performance of "The Stone" by Dave Matthews Band during the Top 6 round.

Before American Idol, Phillips auditioned for the second season of America's Got Talent but did not make it through the selection process. Inspired by multi-instrumentalist Casey Abrams' participation in the show's tenth season, Phillips auditioned in Savannah, Georgia, in September 2011. In January 2012, he appeared on American Idol as one of the contestants in the eleventh season. Despite occasionally weak performances, Phillips made it to the final "Top 12." However, after his performance in the Top 13, he had to seek medical attention for suspected kidney stones and underwent surgery.

Despite the intense pain, Phillips chose not to focus on his health issues. However, the constant discomfort made it challenging for him to participate fully in the show, and he even considered voluntarily leaving at one point, although he only revealed this after the season ended. He remained the only contestant who had never been in the "Bottom 3" after Colton Dixon's elimination in the Top 7.2 round. Phillips won the competition with a record-breaking number of votes (132 million). Jessica Sanchez finished in second place, but the margin between the finalists was never revealed.

Post-Idol, Phillips' "coronation" song, "Home" (written by Drew Pearson and Greg Holden), was released as a single and sold 278,000 copies in its first week, setting a record for the highest-selling coronation single among American Idol winners. In the summer of 2012, "Home" was used in the broadcast of the London Olympics for programs about the U.S. women's gymnastics team, giving the single a new boost. To this day, "Home" has reached the sixth position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has been certified double platinum, becoming the most successful coronation single in American Idol history.

On November 19, 2012, Interscope Records released Phillips' debut album, "The World from the Side of the Moon," on which he wrote or co-wrote most of the songs. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and topped the Rock Albums chart in its first week.

Currently, Phillips is regarded as the "current idol of America" and is focused on promoting his album. His first tour started simultaneously with the twelfth season of American Idol, with the first part taking place at colleges. He will then join the North American leg of the Matchbox Twenty tour before returning to his own solo tour.