The little joke Phillip Phillips parents played on him by naming him twice will only make the "American Idol" contestant easier to remember. The 20-year-old Georgia native, along with Amy Brumfield, a 24-year-old Tennessee woman who lives in a tent, emerged as early favorites during Wednesday night's "Idol" season 11 premiere.
Judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson appeared to be at least a tad skeptical when plaid-clad, mandals-sporting pawn shop employee Phillips stepped onto the stage.
But if his enthusiastic performance of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" didn't quite win over the whole trio, his stripped-down, guitar-accompanied cover of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" ensured he got one of those coveted gold tickets to Hollywood.
Also read: The 'American Idol' Blah Factor: Why Do Voters Keep Picking Boring Finalists?
Brumfield, meanwhile, shared her economic woes — she and her boyfriend live in a tent in the woods — and wowed the judges with her cover of Alicia Keys' "Superwoman."
Lopez told Phillips, "it's like you have electricity going through your body." Tyler told Brumfield, meanwhile, "the spirits of the children of the woods snuck into you."
Watch their performances below: