Phillip Phillips is the new 'American Idol'

Although some critics dismissed Phillips as a Dave Matthews clone, viewers embraced him for his humility, his on-camera mugging and his memorable acoustic covers of songs like Usher's "U Got It Bad." In weekly tallies, Phillips never fell among the low vote-getters.

On Tuesday, he earned consistently high marks from the show's judges, while Sanchez faltered on "Change Nothing," the song that could serve as her first release.

The teenager agreed with panelists Randy Jackson, Lopez and Tyler, saying she should have gone more "urban" with her song choice.

Phillips had better luck with the slow-tempo, acoustic tune "Home," which the judges said recalled artists like Fleet Foxes, Paul Simon and Mumford and Sons. At one point during Phillips' final performance, the pawn shop worker was accompanied by a marching band.

It was a hit with the panel. Jackson, beaming, exclaimed: "I love the song. I love you. I love the production. I love the marching band. Everything about that was perfect."

Last year's contest between McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina drew more than 122 million votes, the record that was broken Wednesday.

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report.