On Thursday night, X Factor 2012 came to an exciting but predictable conclusion as the Season 3 winner was crowned.

It was all down to Fifth Harmony, Carly Rose Sonenclar and Tate Stevens. So who won X Factor 2012?

Tate Stevens, 37, walked away with the title. 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar finished second and girl group Fifth Harmony came in third place.

At the start of the night, I got a little confused because it looked like we were watching a nightmare version of the MTV Music Award arrivals, but it was really just the X Factor producers trying something new. And by something new, I men a horribly fake and rehearsed red carpet event. The judges and finalists showed up in Escalades and Rolls Royces and were greeted and “interviewed” by Khloe and Mario.

The finalists actually sang on the red carpet (and by sing I mean lip sync terribly) as they made their way inside to the finale stage.

It was probably the worst opening to any TV show (finale or otherwise) in the history of the world. Ever. In the world. Ever. Ever.

The final three each performed a holiday song. Tate sang a song that I’ve already forgotten about. Fifth Harmony sang one of my favorite Christmas tunes “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). And Carly Rose sang the age-inappropriate “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

After several performances and judges montages, it’s time for some results. Mario and Khloe call the acts and their mentors to the stage to announce the third place winner. That spot gwent to Fifth Harmony. And the world can rest assured that the show was not staged and that Simon did not hand-pick the winner.

More performances and general irritation follows until it’s time for the final results. Carly and Tate return to the stage with Britney and L.A. and Mario announces that the winner of X Factor 2012 is Tate Stevens. He performs his swan song, cue glitter, the end.

I’m not surprised that Tate won. There was really no suspense since we already knew that he topped the leader board most of the season. For a split second, I thought maybe Fifth Harmony’s strong performances from the night before might have given us a shocker tonight, even if they just landed in second place. But everything turned out just as I and a lot of others expected.

What did you think of the outcome? Who did you want to win X Factor 2012?

Tonight one of three finalists will be named X Factor 2o12 champion before a packed house in Los Angeles.

Will it be Fifth Harmony, Carly Rose Sonenclar or Tate Stevens? What did you decide, America, following last night’s finale performances?

We will soon find out. But first you’ve got two-hours of special performances and guests, including One Direction and Pitbull. Oh, and one of the cheesiest openings in TV history.

The X Factor 2012 Finale Results

• Third Place: Fifth Harmony
• Second Place: Carly Rose Sonenclar
• The X Factor 2012 WINNER: Tate Stevens

There you have it, America. What do you think of the results?

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The X Factor 2012 Top 3 performed for America’s votes one final time Wednesday night and tonight one of those three will be crowned the winner of Season 3.

So who is it going to be? Fifth Harmony (mentored by Simon Cowell), Carly Rose Sonenclar (mentored by Britney Spears) or Tate Stevens (mentored by L.A. Reid)? I think after the night’s performances, it could be anyone’s game. Carly and a few iffy moments, Tate was slow and steady and Fifth Harmony shined. So there could have been a shift in votes.

According to our poll, you guys still think Carly is on top, with Tate coming in second and Fifth Harmony in third.

Aside from the naming of the new winner, the two-hour finale will include multiple performances by all the finalists and guest performers, including One Direction and Pitbull.

Be sure to check back here for live coverage of the X Factor 2012 live finale and a full recap of the show later.

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The X Factor 2012 two-part finale started Wednesday night with the Top 3 taking on three songs each. And everyone is going to have their own opinions, but from what I saw, Fifth Harmony came from behind to win the night.

As I mentioned, each contestant performed three songs. Round one was a song they have already performed (their best of the season, it’s presumed). The second was a duet with a special guest. And the last was just a random song of their choice.

Carly Rose Sonenclar, Feeling Good

Oh, boy, this song again. But since she sang it during her audition, I guess that’s OK. And since it’s her, I’ll definitely let it pass. Her styling was definitely an F, but the performance was great. I sill can’t believe she’s only 13. Her vocals were strong and she command the stage. A

Tate Stevens, Anything Goes

I don’t remember him singing this before, so I’m not sure what that says about the performance or myself. I thought it was very boring and dragged on too long. The vocals were fine, but it’s not a song or performance I want to hear ever again. B

Fifth Harmony, Anything Can Happen

This was the best performance of the season, so it was a smart move to do this song again. I thought it was odd to do the exact same staging, but it was still great. It wasn’t any better than the first time, which either means they didn’t try or there was nothing wrong with it in the first place. At any rate, I thought it was great and the best performance of the first round. A+

Carly Rose Sonenclar, How Do I Live

Her duet with LeAnn Rimes got off to a bit of a rocky start. She seemed pretty unrehearsed. I thought by the time LeAnn came out, things would improve, but that didn’t happen. They were both all over the place. It was a huge mess. F

Tate Stevens, Pontoon

Little Big Town joined Tate for this one. While the song was catchy and fun, it was just kind of there. It was definitely better than Carly and LeAnn. Overall, it was just kind of middle of the road. B+

Fifth Harmony, Give Your Heart A Break

Paired with Demi (which I find odd), and I am so happy that I can say this, but they sounded WAY better than she did. They definitely showed her up. It wasn’t a bad performance. It wasn’t amazing either. It was just OK. B

Carly Rose Sonenclar, Hallelijah

This song? Again? So she did Feeling Good and Hallelujah? She’s got the singing show songs covered. And again, it was just kind of OK. I’m not sure what’s going on with her this week. It’s almost like she’s trying to lose. There were good moments in the song, but how about something upbeat? B+

Tate Stevens, Love You Like There’s No Tomorrow

Another country ballad song. The vocals were great, but again I was bored. I’m sure he’s still going to win this thing, so it doesn’t matter. I just wasn’t that entertained. B

Fifth Harmony, Let It Be

This was a great performance. I feel like the show is doing everything in its power to make sure Fifth Harmony wins tomorrow night. And it might be working. They definitely had the best showing of the night. This was a very solid performance. A

I just feel like Fifth Harmony had the best showing of the night. And as I just mentioned, it almost feels like the producers are trying to push them. From their duet with Demi to the pimp spot (final performance of the night) to a Beatles song to appeal to the older voters. It just all seems like they’re the ones intended to take the win. Oh, and I guess I could also mention they’re Simon’s group, and this is Simon’s show…

What did you think of the Top 3 performances? Who is going to win X Factor 2012?

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We have a final 3. The X Factor 2012 Top 4 became the Top 3 Thursday night when America’s votes decided who should move on to next week’s grand finale and who should go home.

In the end, America decided that Tate Stevens, Carly Rose Sonenclar and Fifth Harmony should be in the  X Factor Season 2 Finale. Yes, you read that correctly. Fifth Harmony made it through and Emblem 3 was sent packing.

At the start of the night, the Top 4 started things out with a group performance. Carly Rose Sonenclar starts with the lyrics “tell the world I’m coming home …” and while the Twittersphere thought that was some sort of foreshadowing, that was proven false as she’s not going anywhere this week.

Following the group number we get an annoying recap from the night before. So much filler, so little … wait, so MUCH time.

And after 26 minutes, we finally get to some of the results. Fifth Harmony is safe! What a surprise. Britney Spears’ face said it best:

After that shocking (and hilarious — thanks to Britney) moment, we get a performance by Bridget Mendler. I have no clue who that is, but I might suggest that person is what’s wrong with the world today. Well, at least what’s wrong with the music world today. We have such little expectations for talent. And here I am off-track already. Back to it.

Time for more results. Tate Stevens is safe. So that leaves Carly Rose and Emblem 3.

And more filler. This time Bruno Mars performs.

And it’s time for the final results: Carly Rose is sent to safety and Simon’s Emblem 3 is out of the contest. That means everyone but Demi has an act in the finals.

Who do you think is going to win X Factor 2012? Are you happy about the results or were you rooting for Emblem 3?

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She might be the only contestant to ever be eliminated from a singing competition show and win it as well.

Melanie Amaro walked away with the title of X Factor 2011 Champion and a $5 million dollar contract Thursday night. Oh, and there’s also that Pepsi commercial. Not many surprises there. America was sure to get behind their favorite judge Simon Cowell’s only remaining contestant. Oh, and there’s that whole thing where she was the best singer in the competition.

I must say I was a bit surprised to see Chris Rene go out in third place. But with this Top 3, anything was possible. It could’ve easily been Josh Krajcik or Chris in that No. 1 spot with Melanie finishing second or third. They each had some amazing aspect about them that could have landed them in the winner’s circle.

Earlier in the night, the Top 12 acts returned to sing some Lady Gaga. Then we go to hear the Top 3 sing some holiday songs. Did anyone else expect Mariah Carey to jump out of one of those Christmas presents during Melanie’s version of “All I Want For Christmas Is You”?

Chris gave us his version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and I kept saying to myself, “Quick Chris, get to the part where you rap.” A crooner, you are not, sir. But that magical spark in your personality is always there, so it’s all good.

Josh’s version of “Please Come Home For Christmas” was probably the best of the three. It sounded better than half the Christmas songs I hear on the radio from Thanksgiving day until Dec. 26 or after.

After all that, Steve says we get to find out who made it in the third place spot. I thought that was odd. That person still has 25 minutes to suffer through this too-long-already show. Gah. And that title went to Chris.

Then we get some more filler performances and it’s finally back down to business.

Melanie or Josh? Simon or Nicole? Like we already know, it was Melanie. Steve tries what most shows don’t try to do to the person who just won and that’s ask stupid questions. Melanie blurts out a couple words and goes back to rejoicing in the fact that she just won $5 million dollars.

What are your thoughts on the outcome of The X Factor 2011?

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The big finale wraps up tonight when we find out who won X Factor 2011 and who goes home without the $5 million recording contract. No matter who wins, I’d guess all three of these singers will get themselves a contract so congrats to all of them for making it this far. What we probably won’t discover is why Nicole was dressed up last night like Egon from the Ghostbusters cartoon as seen above. At least she didn’t go as Slimer.

Tonight’s show should be a big one. There will be lots of guest performers during the 2-hour show including Justin Bieber, Pitbull, and Ne-Yo will be there along with lots more surprise appearances. The Justin and Drew duet should be pretty entertaining, but that won’t be live since it was recorded last week.

Be sure to vote in our unofficial poll for this week and then join us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest X Factor USA updates and results.

As we head in to tonight’s XFactor finale, share your thoughts on who has been the best performer this season and who you think will win tonight. Based on our site poll, which is completely unofficial, it looks like this could be Melanie’s to lose. Do you think she’ll pull off the win or could we be in for a big upset?

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The first part of the “X Factor” finale was definitely a mixed bag for me. It was great to see some special guest show up in the first round, but those guests ended up overshadowing the contestants. Well, mostly. Avril Lavigne couldn’t overshadow anyone.

So it was round two where the Top 3 really shined and we can only hope America votes based on those performances.

As always, I’ll review each performance and assign each the grade I personally feel they deserve.

ROUND ONE. In order of performance:

Josh Krajcik, “Uninvited.” At first I thought “now why would this lug of a guy be singing an Alianis Morrisette song. I thought that because I never in a million years though a special guest would show up during a performance that America was actually voting on. But I was wrong. She did show up and I thought it was very random. Josh did not pull out his best performance ever and Alanis upstaged him just a bit. B-

Chris Rene, “Complicated.” If I thought Alanis and Josh were a weird pairing then imagine how I must’ve felt when Chris was paired with Avril Lavigne. Weird…. Much like Josh, Chris wasn’t at his best. But Avril’s such a blah singer at least she didn’t upstage Chris. It did get better later in the song when Chris put his own spin on the song. I’m just happy there’s a round two. B

Melanie Amaro, “I Believe I Can Fly.” What planet must I be from? I ask that because in NO shape or form believe this song is one of the best or most important songs ever written. I couldn’t disagree more with the judges on that one. And is R. Kelley even allowed to be on TV anymore? Anyway, Melanie is never a bad vocalists, but she does have the tendency to be boring. During this one, she nearly flatlined. She was just kind of absent. Maybe she hates this tack song too. B+

ROUND TWO:

Josh Krajcik, “At Last.” It was such a smart move to pull out the contestants’ original audition songs. And the fact that Josh did a stripped down acoustic version of this classic song was pure brilliance. He surely picked up some non-fan votes with this great performance. I loved it. A+

Chris Rene, “Young Homey.” I was a little afraid that Chris wouldn’t do this one again since he used a bit of it a couple weeks ago. So I was very happy when he did. I’m so not tired of this song yet. He could’ve performed it every week as far as I’m concerned. Chris won me over when he first sang the song and he did it again Wednesday night. I think Chris might have actually won the X Factor with tonight’s performance. As the judges have said, it’s not just about singing. It’s about an energy, a passion, a connection to music and an audience. And Chris nails those areas. A+

Melanie Amaro, “Listen.” Melanie nailed this song the first time we heard her sing it and she did it again Wednesday night. Her performance reminded me how much I liked her the first time and how happy I was when Simon brought her back into the competition. But for the past several weeks (including Round One this week), she’s bored me. But I remember now how amazing she is. An energy and passion that she sometimes doesn’t show was definitely there this time. A+

Who should win this contest? I have no idea. If it were based purely on vocal ability, then it should be Melanie. If it were based purely on passion, heart, presence and likability, then it would go to Chris Rene. If you base it on all the above, then it would go to Josh. What a tough one. I think I’m leaning just a tiny bit toward Chris. But then I quickly change my mind and go with Melanie. But then I think of Josh. Aaaaaaah! OK, Chris. That’s my final answer.

What did you think of the performances? Who should win this $5 million contest?

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It’s time for the big X Factor 2011 finale show. The remaining Top 3 singers: Josh, Chris, and Melanie; perform tonight for one last chance at your votes. The singers drew cards earlier this week and set their order of appearance. Melanie has the best spot as she’ll be closing out the show, though I think she’ll end up winning no matter where she performed. Let’s see how everyone does tonight! Best of luck to them all.

Join us on Facebook and on Twitter to get the latest X Factor updates and news.

Check out each performer’s song and voting phone number below. Need a refresher on how to vote for X Factor? Then you can also vote in our unofficial poll below.

XFactor 2011 Top 3 Performances:

• Josh Krajcik w/ Alanis Morrisette – Uninvited – 1-855-843-9301
• Chris Rene w/ Avril Lavigne – Complicated – 1-855-843-9302
• Melanie Amaro w/ R. Kelly – I Believe I Can Fly – 1-855-843-9303

• Josh Krajcik – At Last – 1-855-843-9301
• Chris Rene – Young Homie – 1-855-843-9302
• Melanie Amaro – Listen – 1-855-843-9303

Which performance was your favorite of the night? Vote in our poll below:

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It all comes down to this. The X Factor 2011 Top 3 finale show airs tonight on FOX starting at 8PM. Melanie, Josh, and Chris will battle it out for your votes in the hopes of winning the $5 million recording contract. Kinda crazy to think one of these three will earn $5 million, but that’s how it goes (not that they aren’t worth it, just a lot of money!).

The decision on performance order was set by random drawing. Josh will open the show. Chris performs second, and Melanie will close things out. Since it’s a full 90-minute episode I’m assuming we’ll see two performances from each of the singers.

Then be sure to watch the big results show on Thursday to find out who won X Factor 2011. There will be lots of guest performers that night including Leona Lewis, Pitbull, and even the rumored duet between Justin Bieber and Drew.

Which singer are you most excited to see perform tonight on The XFactor?

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