XFactor Winner

XFactor Winner, The X Factor Usa crowned its first winner last night, 19-year-old Melanie Amaro from Sunrise, Florida. The singer, who has been likened to Whitney Houston and Beyonce among others, won a $5 million recording contract with Simon Cowell’s record label SyCo and a role in a Pepsi television commercial.

Amaro had been touted to win the competition from the start of the live rounds, though ironically she was eliminated during the judges houses stage, only to be subsequently reinstated. She beat out over 100,000 people who auditioned for the chance to compete in The X Factor, and won consistent praise from judges Cowell, La Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul during the live finals. Speaking after host Steve Jones had announced the winner, Melanie’s mentor Cowell said, “I want to say America, thank you for giving this girl an opportunity”.

That opportunity will include not only the huge prize fund, but the chance to record an album that will almost certainly reach the upper echelons of the Billboard chart. Though Thursday’s final result was almost a foregone conclusion after Cowell has labelled Amaro the true “winner” the previous night, some fans were still holding out for rocker Josh Krajcik to win – he eventually finished in second place ahead of rapper Chris Rene. Established artists to appear on the season finale included pop superstar Justin Bieber, soul legend Stevie Wonder and 50 Cent.

X Factor Winner

X Factor Winner, Simon Cowell’s FOX singing contest series “The X Factor” is set to reveal its first winner on Thursday, December 22. Wednesday’s episode featured the top three finalists – Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro and Josh Krajcik – singing two songs each: A duet with a popular artist and a track they have sung on the show before.

Krajcik, a 30-year-old Ohio rocker and former burrito maker, earned praise from the judges with his duet of “Uninvited” with Alanis Morissette. Cowell added that he thought Krajcik was intimidated by the singer. He also sang Etta James’ song “At Last,” which he had performed during his first televised audition for “The X Factor.”

Rene and pop star Avril Lavigne sang her hit single “Complicated.” Rene, a 28-year-old Santa Cruz hip hop singer whose history of substance addiction and recovery has often been highlighted on the show, also performed “Young Homie,” an original tune he sang at his own first on-air “X Factor” audition. Cowell called the latter track Rene’s “$5 million song,” referring to the prize set to be given to the winner.

During Wednesday’s show, Amaro, a Florida soul and ballad singer, sang “I Believe I Can Fly” with R. Kelly, who scored a hit with the song in 1996. Co-judge L.A. Reid said the track was “one of the most important songs of the last 50 years,” but that he thought Amaro was overshadowed by the male singer during her performance.

Amaro, 19, also performed a cover of Beyonce’s track “Listen,” which Reid called a “$50 million performance.” Cowell, who mentored Amaro during the course of the season, declared that she should win “The X Factor.”