Philip Philips is American Idol 2012

Phillip Phillips won the fifth season of American Idol over Jessica Sanchez, Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila).

The 21 year- old white guy with guitar reigned over the 16-year-old Filipino-Mexican-American contender after having over 130 million votes, a record high throughout the four-hour period, after Wednesday's Final Two performance.

Phillips received a standing ovation from the A.I. judges for his performance of "Home", the song that will turn out to be Phillips' first single.

The young performer did a duet with John Fogerty of Credence Clearwater Revival. They performed "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" and "Bad Moon Rising.

Sanchez on the other hand performed "And I'm Telling You," a duet with 'Dreamgirls' star Jennifer Holliday- a performance which elicited a standing ovation from the audience, along with AI judges Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson. — ARA