The X Factor: We've Gone Country

Tonight’s finale of The X Factor awards a $5 million recording contract and a lifetime supply of Pepsi (something like that) to one of our Final Three acts. Will it be Tate “Family Man” Stevens, Carly Rose “Alien Child” Sonenclar or Fifth “I Should Have Been a Soloist” Harmony? We have a long wait to find out the answer, but the evening does not go without a few high points….

 

The Final Three got in the holiday spirit and all tackled Christmas songs, with Tate singing “Please Come Home for Christmas,” Fifth Harmony choosing “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” and Carly taking on “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Out of the three I would say I enjoyed Fifth Harmony the most…because their performance was the cheeriest. And that’s right - even Simon can love Christmas with the right song.  

Pitbull joined us this evening as well, performing "Don't Stop the Party," and the audience went absolutely crazy when One Direction took the stage to sing "Kiss You." You know somewhere in the studio Emblem3 was taking notes...or having someone take notes for them because their arms were full with multiple skateboards. Both performances were entertaining, but my favorite of the night was definitely Tate and Carly’s duet. They sang Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” beautifully. She’s just being Carly? Watch below.

 

Additionally, I’m not usually one to get excited about all of the video montages and tributes during these episodes. In fact, I used to enthusiastically fast forward through most of them (too much filler) before I started this blog. However, the clip show of Britney’s faces throughout the season is priceless. She is seen cringing while it plays, but I hope she understands that she has been the highlight of the season for many viewers. The collection of facial expressions is posted below as well. Fantastic.  

Results! While Carly did spend several weeks as the front runner and Fifth Harmony hoped to pull off an underdog win, Tate Stevens emerged victorious tonight. Carly finished in second place(bummer) with our young girl group coming in third. So, I am 0 for 2 this week with the winners for both The Voice and The X Factor, but I’m not super disappointed. Tate has been touted as the blue-collar family man with a dream all season, and it’s not a huge surprise to see him win regardless of the results I wanted.

And with that, Season 2 of The X Factor comes to an end. I’ll say that the addition of Britney and Demi made this season marginally better than the first, and for the show’s sake I hope they stick around. However, Brit Brit might be so pissed off that her girl lost, she might take an umbrella to anyone trying to offer her a 2013 contract in the near future. I wouldn’t blame her really. Should the show find new hosts? Absolutely. Preferably individuals who are slightly more literate and can sense where the cameras are by at least the 2^nd live episode. As for LA's announced departure after this season, I had initially been pleased....but now that he proved that the "old people" category can produce a winner (come on - that's really what they should call it), would it be better if he stayed? I think so, but that's just one opinion.

I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season, and I look forward to American Idol’s return in 2013!