Girl power in American Idol

MANILA, Philippines - After six years of not having a female winner, American Idol will definitely have a lady champion this year. That is certain because a month before the finals, girls are battling it out for American Idol this year.

The last time a female contestant won in American Idol was in 2007, with Jordin Sparks. After that, male winners were consecutively declared every year. David Cook won over David Archuleta in 2008. Kris Allen bested Adam Lambert in 2009.

Lee Dewyze edged out Crystal Bowersox in 2010. Scotty McCreery was the champion over Lauren Alaina in 2011. Last year, Phillip Phillips was named winner over Jessica Sanchez, much to the big disappointment of thousands of Filipino fans all over the world who rooted for the latter.

This time, five female American Idol contestants from the Top 10 finalists of the singing competition have remained. (As of press time, however, Janelle Arthur was already eliminated.) From the selection of the Top 10 last month, all the boys made their exit one after the other.

Lazaro Arbos was the last man standing for the guys before American Idol became an all-female contest this year. Earlier, Curtis Finch Jr. was the first one to exit for the boys, followed by Paul Jolley, Devin Velez and Burnell Taylor.

American Idol Season 12 took off last Jan. 17 with a new set of judges. On board the judging panel this time are new celebrities ­— Keith Urban, Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj — joining veteran judge Randy Jackson.

Tens of thousands of hopefuls from across the US flocked to auditions for a shot at stardom and the much-coveted chance to become the next American Idol, following in the footsteps of past winners some of whom turned music superstars (early winners were Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks).

As in the past years, the auditions were held in different cities, starting in New York, followed by Chicago then Charlotte (North Carolina), Baton Rouge (Louisiana), San Antonio (Texas), Longbeach (California) and Oklahoma City.

Initially, the Top 40 were taken to Las Vegas for the next round of auditions. “One song, one chance, no mercy.” It was the show’s first time to do a sudden death round, this time at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. Then, the final Top 10 were chosen in Hollywood.

The ladies are Kree Harrison, Angela Miller, Amber Holcomb, Candice Glover and Janelle Arthur. “These Top 5 girls are the best (Top 5) we ever had,” said long-time American Idol judge Randy Jackson.

The last time it became an all-girl battle on American Idol was in Season 3, when three ladies — Fantasia Barrino, Latoya London and Jennifer Hudson — strongly fought it out, with Fantasia emerging as winner.

Starting this season, viewers use Twitter to post their comments about the show or any contestant. A hashtag is posted onscreen throughout the show for viewers with Twitter accounts to participate. Even the judges and host Ryan Seacrest also have their respective Twitter accounts.

American Idol pioneered viewer participation more than a decade ago with toll-free numbers for voting.

Said Mariah, “When I started in the music business, I basically had nothing but my dreams. American Idol has provided an amazing platform for people to make it to the top of the music charts.”