21st and 22nd December 2011
After an exceptional first series and a truckload of enviable talent across the board, the US version of the X Factor rolled into final week as a huge success, and although the viewing figures may not have lived up to Cowell’s weighty expectations (at least in the early stages) you cannot deny that it has unearthed some future stars; that, at the end of the day, should be all it is about.
On the first night of the final (yes, predictably stretched across two nights as with the UK show) the themes for the final three Melanie Amaro, Chris Rene and Josh Krajcik saw them tackle a celebrity duet, and their audition songs.
Josh opened things up with a rather tepid version of Uninvited, collaborating with the inimitable Alanis Morissette. It was a rather poor song choice for him, with the judges stating that they felt he had been upstaged by his collaborator. I would have to agree. This was one of his poorest performances yet, and albeit listenable and not inherently terrible, it was just not a patch on any of his previous showings.
Chris Rene followed up with a storming run through of Avril Lavigne's Complicated, which, with a little impromptu original rap from Rene added in for good measure, saw him throw the gauntlet down at the outset. Cowell rightly said that this version of the record would be a hit if released today; it was that good. Melanie did well on R Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly, but was, like Josh, somewhat overshadowed by a huge vocal from R Kelly. He may have had a storied past, but the dude can sing. The perfect song choice for her, but she didn't deliver as well as she could have done.
Round one, without a shadow of a doubt went to Rene.
Josh fared better with his version of Etta James' At Last, but yet again, was a rather uninspiring choice for him to sing, somewhat restricted by the theme perhaps. Rene raised the roof with a blistering rendition of THAT first audition, Young Homie, an original track which pretty much captured the imagination of the viewers of the series, and catapulted him to superstardom.
A real tale of survival and of turning his life around, Young Homie was the perfect way to round off tonight for Rene and made him a strong contender for the crown. Melanie once more delivered a stunning version of Listen from the Dreamgirls movie, but even after the acts had performed (and as good as Melanie was) it was hard not to feel moved by Rene's performance, which sent his star firmly into the ascent.
He had been picking up steam in the last few weeks, and tonight saw him race ahead; dubbed the dark horse by Cowell, and even by the audience (I always saw Josh and Melanie being in the last two before tonight), there was a real sense that he could have gone all the way after Young Homie. He transformed himself from the obvious third place finalist, to potential winner all on his own, and he made himself a star on this night, a real homage to how well he had done over the course of the past few weeks.
Elsewhere on the first night we saw the three finalists and Cirque Du Soleil's Michael Jackson: The Immortals World Tour performing They Don't Care About Us.
On the second night we saw the top 12 finalists perform Gaga's The Edge Of Glory, Leona Lewis perform Run, and a few ingenious collaborations; 50 Cent and Astro (Wait Until Tonight and In Da Club) Pitbull, NeYo and Marcus Canty (International Love/Give Me Everything) and Justin Bieber (The Christmas Song with Stevie Wonder and Santa Claus is Coming to Town with Drew).
Getting down to the business end of proceedings, the top three performed Christmas songs, namely All I Want For Christmas Is You (Melanie), Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Chris) and Please Come For Christmas (Josh).
As the third place finalist was announced, it was a little shock to see Chris Rene not ascend to the top of the mountain. He had had a good run though, and there is no way he won't get a deal off the back of this show.
That left Melanie and Josh to fight it out for the crown, which I had called a few weeks back,and which I had always expected, but with the resurgence of Rene, always looked like it may have possibly been in doubt.
However, with order restored, Melanie pipped Josh to the crown and to the title of the inaugural winner of the US X Factor. Simon Cowell is confident that she will represent the show worldwide, and become a superstar in her own right. I can see that happen, and it will surely only be a matter of time. She has one hell of a voice, the right look, and the girl will definitely go far. As will Josh, who will have no trouble securing a deal after this, or selling records by the bucketload. Either one would have been a worthy winner, but I could see Amaro winning the show for a while, and it was no real surprise to see her take the title.
A sterling finish, and a fantastic result, considering she didn't even make the cut the first time round, until Simon realised his mistake and brought her back. Luckily, he rectified that in time to give her a shot, and she took him all the way. Bragging rights for series one will go to Cowell, but the result is all about the vocal powerhouse that is Melanie Amaro; the girl has a huge future ahead of her.
Overall? What an absolutely cracking series that has unearthed at least one superstar, if not a multitude of others.
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