Phillip Phillips wins American Idol

Phillip Phillips, the 21-year-old from Leesburg, Ga., was anointed the winner of the 11th season of American Idol on Wednesday night. A fan and judges' favorite, the easy-going singer sailed through the competition, never landing among the weekly bottom three.

By way of contrast, Jessica Sanchez, the 16-year-old from Chula Vista, Calif., whom Phillips prevailed over in the finals, was actually eliminated by viewer votes more than a month ago but was brought back by the judges.

Phillips, the fifth consecutive male Idol, had his detractors who saw him as mannered and egregiously derivative. But his supporters responded overwhelmingly to his distinctive style, his easy charm, and relaxed sexiness.

Phillips confirmed his laid-back image Wednesday night. Ryan Seacrest asked the finalists if they had gotten any sleep on the eve of the big night. Phillips responded, "I got nine and a half, ten hours sleep. It was good." So, yeah, he wasn't sweating the results too much.

But he has had health concerns. Struggling with significant kidney problems through the Hollywood portion of the season, Phillips is reportedly scheduled for surgery now that the show has wrapped.

The two-hour finale was the usual grab bag of seasoned musicians: John Fogerty, Chaka Khan, Rihanna, Neil Diamond and others. Mostly the program seemed designed to promote the Idol summer tour with upbeat song and dance medleys for the other Top 12 contestants. Last year the tour had trouble with ticket sales.

This was also the season that for the first time in nearly a decade saw Idol lose the crown as TV's most watched show, getting surpassed by CBS's NCIS.

Whether Phillips can spur an Idol revival or if he will preside over the show's accelerating fall should quickly become apparent. Either way, you suspect he won't lose much sleep over it.

Contact David Hiltbrand at 215-854-4552 or dhiltbrand@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @daveondemand_tv. Read his blog, "Dave on Demand," at www.philly.com/dod.