Jessica Sanchez said Wednesday she is happy for Phillip Phillips, after he was crowned the new American Idol.

Sanchez came in second during last night's season finale.

"I really think that Phillip really deserved to win, and I'm so happy for him," the 16-year-old singer told MTV after the show.

In a separate interview she also said:

“I think America made the right choice,” she told Entertainment Weekly after the finale.

“Not that I don’t think I’m good, but he’s worked hard for it. He’s really, really put his heart and soul into it, and he’s pushed through all the health issues, and he’s done it. He did it.”

A new record high of 132 million votes were cast for the winner of the show. Phillips is the fifth consecutive man to win "American Idol" since Jordin Sparks won in 2007.

The finale featured performances by Rihanna, Aerosmith, Jennifer Lopez, Neil Diamond, Reba McEntire, Chaka Khan and John Fogarty but the song that made headlines was Sanchez' duet with Jennifer Holiday.

Sanchez told Entertainment Weekly that she didn't know she was going to perform with the superstar until the day previous to the finale.

"That was insane! I love her so much, I've been listening to her ever since I was 7 years old, and we both dug deep into our hearts and sang the heck out of that song," she told MTV.

Sanchez hopes to begin working with her first album soon.

Tags: American Idol