THE X FACTOR: The Season Finale!

Can I get a drum roll please? Tonight is the night, everyone! We are finally going to find out who is the winner of The X Factor! After a long journey, Josh Krajcik, Chris Rene, and Melanie Amaro have made it to the end, and one of them will have their dreams come true tonight! They all were amazing last night and it is obvious that the best and most deserving contestants are standing on stage tonight. It is so hard to decide who should be the champion, but it is all in the hands of America now. This is going to be a very close call! The votes are in and we will soon find out who has The X Factor!

The big show kicked off with a performance from the final 12. They sang “Edge of Glory.” Their performance was great and very entertaining. It was nice to see all these talented performers on stage together again. The 3 finalists had a featured solo at the end and they definitely shined!

Tonight’s show has a holiday theme. Each finalist will sing a Christmas song, leaving us with one last performance from them before the winner is crowned.

Melanie Amaro sang, “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Her vocals were strong and her performance was a lot of fun. L.A. said, “You did that song justice” (She really did! She takes on Mariah songs effortlessly!) and Nicole said, “It was impeccable.” Simon praised her and is proud to have been her mentor. He said, “You have been an absolute pleasure to work with.” People from her hometown and loved ones were shown and all wished her luck.

Chris Rene performed next and sang “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” He sounded great and really made the song his own. Nicole said, “You are a star from the inside out, ” and Paula said, “You are the most original” (He definitely is! He has stood out this entire competition as unlike any other performer out there). L.A. talked about his experience mentoring Chris and said, “This journey with you has been such a blessing.” Supporters from his hometown wished him luck including his adorable son!

Josh Krajcik sang “Please Come Home For Christmas.” His vocals were great and his performance was very strong. Paula said, “Your voice is magical.” Simon said, “You represented this category so well. You are going to sell so many records in the future!” Nicole expressed how proud she was to be his mentor and said, “I appreciate you so much. You open up your heart and soul to us like nobody else in this competition has” (I agree! He really puts his all into every performance). His friends and family sent him messages of support.

There was a performance from Justin Bieber. He sang “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” He did a great job. Stevie Wonder joined him and they gave a really strong performance. Justin also sang “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” His performance was a lot of fun. He called Drew (who, as we all know, is a huge Justin Bieber fan) on stage and gave her a hug and had her finish the song with him. It was really sweet of him to acknowledge her.

The final 3 and their mentors were then brought on stage for the first results. It was revealed that the contestant in third place is Chris Rene. It is sad to see him go, but he has made it so far and really proved his talent. I do not think this is the last of him. He is so unique and deserves to stay in this business.

Then, we looked back on footage of the most memorable moments in the show.

Leona Lewis performed “Run.” She sounded beautiful Her vocals were so powerful and her performance was excellent.

The final 2, Josh Krajcik and Melanie Amaro were shown backstage and spoke about how they feel being so close to winning.

We got to see footage of the many confrontations between L.A. and Simon throughout the season.

Next, there was a performance from 50 Cent. He sang “Wait Until Tonight” and did a great job. He also sang “In Da Club.” His performance was very strong and full of energy. He brought Astro on stage to perform with him and he really held his own. It was great that 50 Cent thought of him and it must’ve been incredible for Astro to be able to perform with one of the biggest names in hip hop.

Footage of the crying “battle” between Nicole and Paula over the season was shown. They kept score of the number of times each broke down and Nicole won.

Then, Pitbull and Ne-Yo performed “Give Me Everything.” It was very good and really entertaining. Marcus Canty was brought up on stage to perform with them. It was nice to see some of the contestants get to come back and perform with superstars like this.

Josh Krajcik and Melanie Amaro sang a duet of “Heroes” for their final performance. They were amazing together! They gave a really beautiful performance and further proved how much they really deserve to be in the final 2.

The final 2 contestants and their mentors were brought on stage. The time has finally come for the winner to be crowned. It was announced that America has chosen Melanie Amaro as the winner of The X Factor! She really deserves it and has given us one amazing performance after another this season. She is a true star and it is great to see that America recognized that. I hated to see Josh lose, but he definitely put up a good fight. He was such a strong performer throughout this whole competition. This definitely won’t be the end for him, he has such a great future as a performer ahead of him.

Melanie performed “Listen” as her victory song. She was extremely emotional, but still was extraordinary and definitely proved she has The X Factor! All of the contestants came on stage to support her and it was a wonderful and touching end to the show.

So that’s it, folks! Congratulations to Melanie Amaro! That was an incredible show! The 2 hours flew by tonight! We have been through so many ups and downs this season. We were graced by the performances of so many talented performers and got to follow them on such a fantastic ride. This season has been so enjoyable to watch and it is sad that it’s already over. But, we can look forward to seeing Melanie’s Pepsi commercial and all the great music that’s to come from her! And of course, we only have to wait a year for the next season of The X Factor!

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THE X FACTOR is produced by Syco Television and FremantleMedia North America. Rob Wade and Siobhan Greene are executive producers for Syco Television. Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Richard Holloway and Andrew Llinares serve as executive producers for FremantleMedia North America.

Photo Credit: Ray Mickshaw / FOX