Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro, and Josh Krajcik (Getty, Bauer Griffin)
Melanie Amaro (Fox) We've endured sobbing teenager girls, hit or miss judges, a very lifelike host robot, and the horror that was InTENsity, but we finally made it to the X Factor Top 3 performance finale. Woo hoo for us!
So who looks poised to take home the $5 million recording contract while singing under a shower of confetti? Let's take a look at how last night went for Melanie Amaro, Josh Krajcik, and Chris Rene, who all managed to have a few shining moments despite being saddled with some dubious duets.
Josh Krajcik
The former burrito slinger performed "Uninvited" with Alanis Morrissette, which was kind of a strange choice (but not the strangest of the evening). The song sounded like it may have been too low for Krajcik, who has been a fairly consistent singer thoughout the competition. He definitely fared better on his bluesy, stripped down version of "At Last," which judge Paula Abdul called "authentic."
Chris Rene
Chris is probably the weakest vocalist left in the competition, but gosh darn it, he seems like a really nice guy and he's got a tremendously inspiring backstory. But his hopes for an underdog win may have been dashed by his "Complicated" duet with Avril Lavigne, which was all kinds of awful. Rene tried to wash away the Avril stink with another performance of his viral hit "Young Homie."
Melanie Amaro
Of all the contestants, Amaro probably walked away as the star of the evening. She first took the stage to perform a duet with R&B singer R. Kelly of "I Believe I Can Fly," then blew the roof off the X Factor house with her redition of Beyonce's diva ballad "Listen." "That was not a $5 million song, but a $50 million performance," L.A. Reid effused, and we have to agree.
But what do you think? Who should be the first winner of The X Factor USA?
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