Jessica Sanchez

Jessica Elizabeth Sanchez (born August 4, 1995) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to prominence following her runner-up finish on the eleventh season of American Idol. Her debut studio album, Me, You & the Music, peaked at number twenty-six on the US Billboard 200. In 2025, having been ousted in the semifinals of the first season, Sanchez returned nineteen years later for the twentieth season of America's Got Talent and was announced the winner on September 24, 2025.

Early life Jessica Elizabeth Sanchez was born in Chula Vista, California, on August 4, 1995. She is the daughter of Edita Sanchez (née Bugay), whose family is from Samal, Bataan, in the Philippines; and Gilbert Sanchez, a Mexican American from Texas who served as an aviation ordnanceman (Petty Officer First Class) in the United States Navy Reserve. She is the eldest of three children, with two younger brothers. Sanchez was raised in the neighborhood of Eastlake in Chula Vista. She attended Eastlake Middle School.

Career 2006–2011: Career beginnings In 2005, Sanchez performed "Respect" by Aretha Franklin on the music television show Showtime at the Apollo. A year later, she competed on the first season of NBC's talent show competition America's Got Talent, Sanchez collaborated with the label once again in 2010 for a cover of "I'd Rather Go Blind" by Etta James for YouTube and was released as an exclusive download on the label's website. Earlier same year, she collaborated with Brandon Kane for the single "Just You and Me". Additionally, she was among the fifty-seven singers who contributed in a YouTube edition of the charity single "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", which was produced by Lisa Lavie.

2012: American Idol

On July 8, 2011, Sanchez auditioned for the eleventh season of American Idol in San Diego, California. She progressed through subsequent rounds prior to being eliminated in the twenty-eighth episode on April 12, 2012, which the judges overturned by drawing the "Judges' Save" for her to remain in the competition. Sanchez ultimately finished as the runner-up in the grand finals behind Phillip Phillips on May 23, 2012. She subsequently performed three songs ("The Star-Spangled Banner," "God Bless America", and "The Prayer") at the PBS' National Memorial Day Concert from the west lawn of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2012. On June 29, 2012, it was announced that Sanchez signed a record deal with Interscope Records. Furthermore, the performance was succeeded by four events towards the end of the year: the City of Hope Spirit of Life Awards Gala on October 10, 2012, the 26th Annual Carousel Ball of Hope on October 23, 2012, the 2012 Brittania Awards on November 7, 2012, and Trevor Live on December 2, 2012.

Performances and results

2013: Me, You & the Music

Sanchez performing "God Bless America" by Irving Berlin during a Memorial Day concert on the west lawn of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. on May 26, 2013.

"Tonight", the lead single from Sanchez's debut studio album, was released on March 22, 2013. The song featured vocals from Ne-Yo. The song enjoyed minor domestic commercial success, where it debuted and peaked at number 48 on the Digital Songs chart. Elsewhere, "Tonight" debuted and peaked at number 42 on the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart in Australia. On April 1, 2013, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" for then United States president Barack Obama and his family at the White House for the Easter Egg Roll. Sanchez released her debut album Me, You & the Music on April 30, 2013. The album underperformed, debuting and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 14,000 copies in its first week. Due to Me, You & the Music Clarity" by Zedd and Foxes with Jermaine Leong) of the second season of MediaCorp Channel 5's singing competition The Final 1 on August 21, 2013. Sanchez collaborated with Christian Bautista for the song "Two Forevers", which was released on November 5, 2015, in conjunction of its music video, from his studio album Kapit. Sanchez released the Christmas extended play Christmas with Jessica on December 8, 2015. The record was composed of covers of famed Christmas songs including "Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt and was recorded within two days. and of Justin Bieber and Halsey's "The Feeling" on March 30, 2016. Sanchez subsequently returned to American Idol for the grand finals of the fifteenth season on April 7, 2016, during which she performed "The Prayer" by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli. Her performance was lauded by the audience. Sanchez released the single "Call Me" on May 10, 2016. She performed the song during the Tubathon 2016 in Burbank, California on April 20, 2016. The song was played following Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech at the convention. The song was remixed by Tracy Young and re-released on November 2, 2016, with an accompanying music video.

Sanchez appeared as a featured artist on "Beauty and the Beast" by Matt Bloyd from his extended play Covers, Vol. 2, which was released on July 20, 2017. She performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to Los Angeles Chargers' match against the Oakland Raiders on October 15, 2017. Following her performance, Sanchez knelt in support of the U.S. national anthem protests. and became her first single since "Stronger Together", which was released two years prior. Sanchez performed the song during the June 3, 2018 broadcast of ABS-CBN's musical variety show ASAP, and again inside of the Wish Bus on June 7, 2018. She subsequently reunited with Jake Zyrus for his concert billed as "Music & Me" as a musical guest on May 25, 2018, at the Sky Dome in Quezon City, Metro Manila. "Millionaire" was released on June 1, 2018. Sanchez performed at the Filipino Community of Guam’s 64th Anniversary ball at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort in Tumon on October 19, 2018. It was announced that she would be reuniting with Christian Bautista for the Christmas single "Another Silent Christmas song" on October 23, 2018. with a music video premiering on November 16, 2018. Sanchez co-headlined a concert with Martin Nievera at Solaire Resort & Casino in Entertainment City, Bay City on November 10, 2018. The concert was her second at the resort and casino since 2014 for the first anniversary of its grand opening.

2019–2024: "Love You", "Angels", "Us", and "Baddie" Sanchez performed for the House of Bolkiah during the Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah's birthday celebration on February 18, 2019. Under the mononym Jes, she released a single titled "Love You" on April 22, 2019. In an interview with The Philippine Star on May 15, 2019, Sanchez revealed that she would be releasing her third extended play within 2019. Sanchez released the single "Angels" on June 21, 2019. She reunited with Matt Bloyd for a duet of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from his extended play King, which was released on July 17, 2019. Sanchez performed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer Holliday during the grand finals of the first season of Idol Philippines on July 28, 2019. She became an ambassador of Frontrow on July 29, 2019, and performed at its Thanksgiving event, Frontrow All In, on November 9, 2019. Sanchez held concerts, which were billed as In the Spotlight: Jessica Sanchez, on November 22 and 29, 2019, during which she was accompanied by Lance Busa and Lucas Garcia. Sanchez collaborated again with Bautista, who was one of the judges of the second season of GMA Network's reality talent competition show The Clash, on December 6, 2019, to reprise their Christmas single "Another Silent Christmas Song" prior to performing "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey with the seven remaining contestants.

On May 8, 2021, she released a single titled "Us" as a response to the xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its music video premiered on the same day and featured guest appearances from Apl.de.ap and Mark Cuban.

2025: Winning America's Got Talent season 20 In 2025, Sanchez auditioned for the twentieth season of America's Got Talent. In the auditions round, she received a golden buzzer from judge Sofía Vergara, sending her directly to the live shows. Sanchez advanced to the finale where she won the show on September 24, becoming the first former contestant to win in the show's history, the first solo female winner since Darci Lynne in 2017, and the fourth female singing contestant to win the competition. At 30 years old, Sanchez became the oldest female winner in the show's history. and gave birth to their daughter, Eliana Mae Gallardo, on October 13, 2025.

Discography

Studio albums Me, You & the Music (2013)

Independent albums Szn (2026)

Filmography Television + Year Title Role Notes 2006; 2025 America's Got Talent Contestant Semi-finalist (season 1), Winner (season 20) 2012–2014; 2016 American Idol Various (season 11)Guest performer (season 12–13; 15) 2013 Glee Frida Romero 2 episodes 2026–present ASAP XP Herself Recurring guest performer

Tours Joint tours American Idols Live! Tour 2012 (with American Idol season 11 finalists) (2012)