X FACTOR RECAP: And the Winner Is...

By: Dec. 20, 2012
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The X Factor season has come to a close - and crowned the second winner of a $5 million recording contract! Was it girl group Fifth Harmony, teen talent Carly Rose Sonenclar or country crooner Tate Stevens? Read on to find out!

The show opens with an awkward mini red carpet with super scripted arrivals, a performance from One Direction (the crowd goes wild and I kind of like that these guys are clearly loving it, because it's not that often you find people who'll acknowledge the teenage girl screaming her lungs out two feet away from them) and interviews with the families and former contestants (everybody's proud of everybody).

So, without further ado, here are the rankings of the final three:

Tate wins! Tate Stevens, whose given name is Stephen Eatinger, began performing at the age of 4 when he'd hop up onstage with his father, who was a big influence on him. "I remember knowing that I wasn't scared and that I wanted to keep singing in front of people. I had so much fun," recalls the country singer, who was the last of L.A. Reid's Over 25s. From there, Tate would perform at talent shows, oprys, church choir, and school choir before hitting the road right out of high school with his band, the Dixie Cadillacs, who opened for many of today's biggest country stars, including Sammy Kershaw and others.

13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar came in second place. Carly, who was the last contestant standing out of Britney Spears' Teens, first started singing professionally at age seven in the Off-Broadway show, The Night of the Hunter. Later, she appeared in the Broadway production of Les Miserables and in 2009, played Carrie in the national tour of Little House on the Prairie: The Musical. Carly's credits also include the Broadway show Wonderland and the PBS TV series The Electric Company. (Look back at Carly's stage experiences here!)

Fifth Harmony (formerly LYLAS and 1432), who was assembled from solo singers Dinah Jane Hansen (15, Santa Ana, CA), Lauren Jauregui (16, Miami, FL), Ally Brooke (19, San Antonio, TX), Normani Hamilton (16, Houston, TX) and Camila Cabello (15, Miami, FL), at the end of Boot Camp, finished third as the last remaining contestants from Simon Cowell's groups. But worry not, fans - word on the web is that they've struck a deal with Sony Music.

What do you think of the results? Ecstatic? Disappointed? Sound off below!



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