The first season of The X Factor was being broadcast on Fox. The series started airing on September 21, 2011, with the live shows starting on October 25, 2011 and ended on December 22, 2011, with Melanie Amaro winning.
The first season of the American version of the music competition show The X Factor began airing on Fox on September 21, 2011.
The X Factor is an American reality television music competition show created by Simon Cowell and produced by FremantleMedia North America and SYCOtv, a partnership between Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment, which aired on Fox. Based on the original UK show, and an addition to The X Factor franchise, the series found new singing talent, drawn from public auditions, and they competed against each other for votes. The winner is determined by the show's viewers via telephone, the Internet, and SMS text voting, and is awarded a recording contract with Cowell's record label Syco Music, worth $5 million in seasons one and two, and $1 million in season three. America voted for the following winners: Melanie Amaro, Tate Stevens, and Alex & Sierra, respectively.
Melanie Ann Amaro is an American singer who won the first season of The X Factor USA in 2011, securing a $5 million recording contract with Syco Music and Epic Records. Amaro was also the youngest contestant to win the competition during the show's run (2011-2013).
The "Boys" category was mentored by L.A. Reid. Contestants in this category were males aged 12 to 29. The eight candidates were Skyelor Anderson, Brian Bradley, Marcus Canty, Tim Cifers, Brennin Hunt, Phillip Lomax, Chris Rene and Nick Voss. Reid chose the following:[1]
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid is an American record executive, record producer, A&R representative, and panelist. He is founder and current co-chairman of Hitco Entertainment. He has served as the chairman and CEO of Epic Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group, the president and CEO of Arista Records. Reid was the founder and CEO of Hitco Music Publishing and the co-founder of LaFace Records with producing partner Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. He has won three Grammy Awards, picking up awards as a songwriter for songs such as Boyz II Men's "End Of The Road."
Christopher "Chris" Rene (born December 25, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and producer from Santa Cruz, California. He had been in a band called Diversion and also had a solo career, including the album Soul'd Out. He finished third overall in the competition, behind winner Melanie Amaro and runner-up Josh Krajcik. He is most popular in New Zealand, with his single "Young Homie" reaching number one in the New Zealand charts.[2]
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California. As of 2013 the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Santa Cruz's population at 62,864.
Joshua Andrew Krajcik is an American singer-songwriter who currently resides in Columbus, Ohio. He began his career as a solo artist and later went on to form the Josh Krajcik Band with Corey Gillen and Mitch Pinkston. He was the runner-up in the first season of The X Factor USA in 2011.
Marcus Canty (born January 22, 1991) is from Bowie, Maryland, where he lives. During his audition, he sang "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder. His musical influences include Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige, Monica, Bobby Brown, and Whitney Houston. At judges' houses, he performed "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo. On the November 23 results show, he landed in the bottom three with Lakoda Rayne and LeRoy Bell, and had to sing off against Bell. He was saved by having more votes than Bell due to the judges being deadlocked. The following week, on December 1, he landed in the bottom three again along with Drew and Astro, and had to sing off against Drew. Simon Cowell voted to send Drew through to the quarter-final, but Reid, Scherzinger and Abdul voted to send Canty through to the quarter-final. However Drew received more votes than Canty meaning if Abdul sent the result to deadlock, Drew would’ve been sent through to the quarter-final and Canty would’ve been eliminated. In the quarter-final, he ended up in the bottom two yet again, along with Rachel Crow. The result went to deadlock for a second time, and Canty was sent through to the semi-final by having more votes than Crow. In the semi-final, Canty was eliminated by receiving the fewest votes, taking fourth place overall.
Bowie is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 54,727 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous city and third largest city by area in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2014 CNN Money ranked Bowie 28th in its Best Places to Live in America list.
Stevland Hardaway Morris, better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist.
Marvin Gaye was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, including "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is ", and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", and duet recordings with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Diana Ross, and Tammi Terrell. He earned the titles "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".
Brian Bradley (born August 26, 1996), known by his stage nameAstro, is from Brownsville, New York, where he lives. He has said that "Astro" is short for "the astronomical kid".[3] He impressed the judges at his audition in Newark, New Jersey by performing his original composition "Stop Looking at My Mom". It was described as 'Brilliant' because he made the rap himself and he performed like an actual rapper.[4] He landed in the bottom two on November 17 with Stacy Francis, but was saved by L.A. Reid, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. However, Francis received more votes than Astro meaning if Cowell sent the result to deadlock, Astro would’ve been eliminated. He was eliminated on December 1, along with Drew, after landing in the bottom three with Drew and Marcus Canty and receiving the fewest votes. He came in seventh place overall. Later on, however, 50 Cent came on to rap and Astro came out and started rapping with the rapper.
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers, such as actors, comedians, singers and musicians. Such titles are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and may be similar or nearly identical to an individual's birth name. In some situations, a performer will eventually adopt his or her title as a legal name, although this is often not the case. Personal names or nicknames that make up the professional name should not necessarily be considered as a "fake name" like Lady Gaga : for example: Miley Cyrus: born Destiny Hope Cyrus, uses her personal nickname "Miley" and her maiden name "Cyrus" as her professional name.
Brooklyn is the most populous borough of New York City, with an estimated 2,648,771 residents in 2017. Named after the Dutch village of Breukelen, it borders the borough of Queens at the western end of Long Island. Brooklyn has several bridge and tunnel connections to the borough of Manhattan across the East River, and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge connects it with Staten Island. Since 1896, Brooklyn has been coterminous with Kings County, the most populous county in the U.S. state of New York and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, after New York County.
New York is a state in the Northeastern United States. New York was one of the original thirteen colonies that formed the United States. With an estimated 19.54 million residents in 2018, it is the fourth most populous state. To distinguish the state from the city with the same name, it is sometimes called New York State.
Weeks after being eliminated, Astro was featured on the UK single version of Cher Lloyd's "Want U Back" and also signed a record deal with Epic Records who he is expected to release his debut album through. He then also starred in an episode of CBS's hit show Person of Interest. On 29 October, Astro released his first song called "Deadbeat" which talks about what his dad had told him about life. He starred in the film Earth to Echo and the FOX show Red Band Society.
Cher Lloyd is an English singer, songwriter, and model. Lloyd rose to fame in 2010 when she finished fourth in the seventh series of The X Factor. Following the seventh series finale, she was signed to Syco Music. Lloyd's debut single, "Swagger Jagger", was released in July 2011 and entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart. Her second single, "With Ur Love" featuring Mike Posner, was released on 31 October 2011, and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. Lloyd's debut album, Sticks and Stones had two releases: its standard edition and a US version. The album peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart while the latter version debuted at number nine in the US Billboard 200. Lloyd signed to US record label Epic Records in 2011.
"Want U Back" is a song by English singer Cher Lloyd from her debut studio album, Sticks and Stones (2011). It was released as the third and final single from the album on 17 February 2012, and it was released as the lead single from the US version of the album on 22 May 2012. The UK single release features guest vocals from The X Factor US contestant Astro. In the United States the song was released as a solo single, without Astro's verses. Its remix features Snoop Dogg. The song was written by Savan Kotecha and Shellback, with production being handled by the latter. Musically, "Want U Back" is a dance-pop song, with elements of bubblegum and synthpop, while lyrically the song is about a girl who's jealous of her ex-boyfriend's new relationship, and tries to sabotage the new relationship.
CBS is an American English language commercial broadcast television and radio network that is a flagship property of CBS Corporation. The company is headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City with major production facilities and operations in New York City and Los Angeles.
Phillip Lomax
Phillip Lomax (born August 8, 1989) age 23, an actor from Seattle. He performed "Don't Stop the Music" in front of Rihanna during judges' houses. He was eliminated by Reid after singing "I'm a Believer" on the first live show.
The "Girls" category was mentored by Simon Cowell. Contestants in this category are females aged 12 to 29. The eight candidates were: Melanie Amaro, Simone Battle, Rachel Crow, Caitlin Koch, Jazzlyn Little, Drew Ryniewicz, Tiah Tolliver, and Tora Woloshin. Cowell chose five as follows:
Melanie Ann Amaro (born June 26, 1992 in Florida) was sent along with her two brothers to Tortola, British Virgin Islands to live with her grandparents when she was only three years old. She lives in Sunrise, Florida with her family.[5] Amaro was initially not chosen to be part of the Top 16, but Cowell surprised her at her Florida home[6] and revealed that she would be added to the finals to form a Top 17. She was announced as the winner during the final on December 22, beating Josh Krajck and Chris Rene, and making Simon Cowell the winning mentor.
Simone Battle (June 17, 1989 - September 5, 2014) was from Los Angeles, California. In the first live show, she performed "Just Be Good to Me"[7] and was one of two acts eliminated by decision of her mentor Simon Cowell, the other being Tiah Tolliver. The same night, her debut music video "He Likes Boys" premiered online. In 2013 Battle became a member of G.R.L.. Battle was found dead at her Los Angeles home on September 5, 2014.[8]
Rachel Crow (born January 23, 1998) is from Mead, Colorado, and lives in Burbank, California. She performed "Mercy" by Duffy at her audition,[9] "If I Were a Boy" by Beyoncé at bootcamp[10] and her own rendition of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys at judges' houses.[11] On the December 8 results show, Crow landed in the bottom two for the first time with Marcus Canty, who had appeared in the bottom three in the two previous weeks. After the result went to deadlock, she was eliminated after she had fewer votes than Canty and finished in 5th place. Immediately after the results were revealed, Crow collapsed on stage and cried convulsively. She cried for her mother who went up on stage and tried to console her. Nicole Scherzinger, the judge responsible for sending the result to deadlock, was also visibly upset by the result. When Steve Jones asked Scherzinger whether she had anything to say, she turned away from Jones and was booed by the audience for inadvertently sending Crow home. Crow released a five-song EP on June 26, 2012.
Drew
Drew Ryniewicz (born January 7, 1997), better known as Drew, is from Chino Valley, Arizona, where she currently resides. Performing "Baby" for her first audition, she made her way through the initial stages of the competition to become a finalist. Beginning with the live shows of The X Factor, she announced that she was going to go by the mononymous name Drew. One memorable moment in her X Factor journey was when she dedicated "Skyscraper" by Demi Lovato to her friend Shelby Forshey. She was eliminated on the results show on December 1, along with Astro, after landing in the final showdown against Marcus Canty, with only her mentor, Simon Cowell, voted to send Drew through to the quarter-final while L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul voted to send Canty through to the quarter-final. Therefore, she took 6th place overall. On December 17, 2012, she released a live EP titled "Hello It's Me", which reached #8 on the iTunes Pop Albums Chart. After the show was over it was revealed in Week 2, Drew came in 1st with the most votes. Also in the sixth week she received more votes than Canty, meaning if Abdul sent the result to deadlock, Drew would have advanced to the quarter-final and Canty would have been eliminated. She released her debut single, "Ugly" on August 24, 2015, followed by the release of single "High" and her debut EP "180" on January 29, 2016. Also featured in single "Rise Again" by Wasback and released 18 March, 2018.[12]
Tiah Tolliver
Tiah Tolliver (born July 23, 1991) is from Chula Vista, California, and lives in Chula Vista, California. In the first live show, she performed "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"[13] and was one of two acts eliminated by decision of her mentor Simon Cowell the other being Simone Battle. There was reportedly drama between Tiah Tolliver and the winner of season one Melanie Amaro. Tolliver is of Afro-Jamaican and Japanese descent. Tiah Tolliver is currently working on her first single "I", "Cup Caken" and the music video. A sneak preview of "I" was released March 18, 2012 and a sneak preview of "Cup Caken" May 26, 2012 on her YouTube channel "SFCS21".
The "Over 30s" category was mentored by Nicole Scherzinger.[14] Contestants in this category are of either sex, aged 30 or over. There is no upper age limit. The eight candidates were: LeRoy Bell, Tiger Budbill, Christa Collins, Stacy Francis, Elaine Gibbs, Dexter Haygood, James Kenney, and Josh Krajcik. Scherzinger chose the following:
LeRoy Bell (born September 13, 1951) is a former postman from Tacoma, Washington, lives in Edmonds, Washington. He got through auditions with his performance of "Lean On Me" by Ben E. King.[15] Playing music since his teens, LeRoy Bell and his band have opened for and toured with Sheryl Crow, Joan Osborne, and B.B King, the late Etta James, Joe Cocker, Michael McDonald, Van Morrison, Mavis Staples, The Temptations, The O'jays and more. LeRoy has also written songs for Elton John, Teddy Pendergrass, Johnny Mathis, The Spinners, The O'jays, and Lou Rawls. As part of the duo Bell & James, had his own Top 20 hit on A&M records in 1979, called "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)". Bell landed for the bottom two for the first time on Week 5, November 23 against Marcus Canty, he was eliminated after the result went to deadlock, with his mentor Nicole and Paula voting to save him and Reid and Simon voting to eliminate him. He finished in 8th place.
Stacy Francis (born April 16, 1969)[16] is a single mother from Brooklyn, New York, and lives in Los Angeles, California. At the beginning of bootcamp, she revealed that her father had just died.[17] Francis has previous experience on Broadway,[18] performed for Tom Cruise at his 40th birthday party,[19] has had a solo album out and released several albums whilst previously signed by Reprise Records as part of a girl band called Ex-Girlfriend. Francis was eliminated on November 17 after landing in the bottom two with Astro, with only her mentor, Nicole Scherzinger, voting in her favor, therefore taking 11th place. However Francis received more votes than Astro meaning if the result went to deadlock, Astro would’ve been eliminated. Francis has also made some appearances in some TV series in the past, including the pilot episode of Phil of the Future, Third Watch, The Parkers, and Half & Half. Francis is the daughter of an Italian American father and an African American mother.
Dexter Haygood
Dexter Haygood is from Portland, Oregon, and lives in Memphis, Tennessee. In the first live show, he performed a mash-up of "Womanizer" and "I Kissed A Girl" and was eliminated by decision of his mentor Nicole Scherzinger. In an interview, Haygood said he wanted to leave the show two days before lives shows because he could not be the "rock artist" he wanted to. He told his mentor Scherzinger, and she went to the producers with the situation. The producers told Haygood that he had to perform on the first live show, then would be eliminated on purpose by Scherzinger. Simon Cowell denied these claims.
Joshua "Josh" Krajcik (30) is a singer and songwriter from Wooster, Ohio, and lives in Columbus, Ohio. In 2005, he formed the Josh Krajcik Band, along with bassist Mitch Pinkston and drummer Corey Gillen. Josh Krajcik Band has released two CDs released independently, Ghosts 2005 & Atavistic 2011. Josh came in second place overall.
The Groups category was mentored by Paula Abdul. Acts in this category are duos or vocal groups. All members must be aged 12 or over. At the Judges' Houses stage of the competition, Abdul was joined by Pharrell Williams to help judge the contestants.[20] The eight candidates were: 2Squar'd, 4Shore, Illusion Confusion, InTENsity, Lakoda Rayne, The Anser, The Brewer Boys, and The Stereo Hogzz. Abdul chose the following:
InTENsity
Intensity (stylized as InTENsity) consists of 10 members who auditioned solo but were put together in the bootcamp to compete as a group. The members are: Ma'at Bingham Shango (born May 13, 1999 (age 18) Houston, Texas), Nick Dean (born July 12, 1996 (age 21) Rochester, New York), Francesca Duncan (born May 25, 1994 (age 23) Orange County, New York), John Lindahl (born August 10, 1996 (age 21) Trabuco Canyon, California), Emily Michalak (born September 30, 1998 (age 18) Pine Brook, Morris County, New Jersey), Austin Percario (born November 18, 1995 (age 21) Warren, New Jersey), Arin Ray (born September 2, 1995 (age 22) Cincinnati, Ohio), Ellona Santiago (born August 1, 1996 (age 21) San Lorenzo, California), Emily Wilson (born May 14, 1996 (age 21) Warren, New Jersey) and Lauren Ashley (born November 13, 1993 (age 23) Houston, Texas). They were eliminated on November 3 by the public vote after landing in the bottom two with The Stereo Hogzz, with only Simon Cowell voting in their favor. However InTENsity received more votes than The Stereo Hogzz meaning if the result went to deadlock, InTENsity would’ve been saved. They took 12th place overall.[21] Arin Ray auditioned for the second season in Providence, Rhode Island to become a solo artist instead of a group member. He made it all the way to the live show and was being mentored by Britney Spears. He was eliminated in week four, with the fewest votes, as double eliminations are the only type of elimination in Season 2, therefore landing in tenth place overall. Ellona Santiago auditioned for the third season to become a soloist. Kelly Rowland described her audition as "unexpected" as she was very shy and modest at first but had put in so much fierceness and passion into her song, "Wings" by Little Mix. Simon Cowell did not recognize her until she told him that she was from InTENsity and that he referred to her as "the girl in the red jacket". Santiago is part of the girls category by mentor Demi Lovato. Austin Percario auditioned for the thirteenth season of American Idol where he was given a golden ticket to Hollywood. On April 4, 2014, Percario came out with his EP called The Me That I Have Known, that was in the Top 50 on the iTunes Pop charts. John Lindahl was signed to Epic Records but is currently signed to Elysium. Francesca Duncan appeared on Are You the One? season 4 and Second Chances.
Lakoda Rayne
Lakoda Rayne came in the competition as solo artists but were put together after bootcamp. Lakoda Rayne consists of four members: Paige Elizabeth Ogle (born March 17, 1993), Hayley Orrantia (born February 21, 1994), Cari Fletcher (born March 19, 1994) and Dani Knights (born November 28, 1988). At judges' house, they sang the country version of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga.[22] They were in the bottom two along with The Stereo Hogzz on November 10 and were spared elimination after L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell voted to save them. They were eliminated on the November 23 results show after being in the bottom three with Marcus Canty and LeRoy Bell and receiving the fewest public votes, and therefore came in ninth place. Ogle left the group in May 2012. The remaining three members released a music video for a song titled "Emergency Brake". The song released on iTunes on September 18, 2012. In 2013 Hayley Orrantia left the group for a part on the ABC series The Goldbergs. It was announced on June 6, 2014 by Cari Fletcher that the group had split up for good. Since then, she has been a solo artist known as "FLETCHER".
The Brewer Boys
The Brewer Boys is a duo of Filipino-American brothers, Justin Timothy Brewer, 18, and Nathan A. Brewer, 15.[23] They are from Temecula, California, where they currently live.[24] In the first live show, they performed a medley of "Rich Girl" and "Faith" and were eliminated by their mentor, Paula Abdul.[25]
The Stereo Hogzz
"Jon Glenn" redirects here. For other uses, see John Glenn.
The Stereo Hogzz consists of five members: Justin Williams (Just'n, 25), Kregg Gibson (KG, 24), Jonathan Glenn (Jon Glenn, 25), George Jenkins III (Trae Badd, 25) and Trace Kennedey (24). They are all from Houston, Texas. Jenkins attended the audition on the same day his child was born. On the November 3 results show, they landed in the bottom two alongside fellow group InTENsity. Simon Cowell voted against them, but Nicole Scherzinger, L.A. Reid and their mentor, Paula Abdul, voted to save them. They were eliminated on the November 10 results show, landing in the bottom two with fellow group Lakoda Rayne, with only their mentor voting in their favor.
Related Research Articles
The X Factor is a British reality television music competition to find new singing talent. The contestants are aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September until December. The show is produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the UK and simulcast on Virgin Media One in Ireland. "X Factor" refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality. The series consists of auditions, bootcamp, judges' houses, several weeks of live shows, semi-finals and the final. The series had a spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor, which aired directly after the main show on ITV2. This lasted for the first thirteen series, when it was cancelled by ITV in January 2017. It is replaced by an online spin-off show Xtra Bites exclusively on the ITV Hub. The first three series were presented by Kate Thornton, then from series four to eleven, the show was presented by Dermot O'Leary. Series 12 was presented by Caroline Flack and Olly Murs with O'Leary returning for series 13 onwards.
LeRoy Bell, at times Leroy Bell, is an American singer and songwriter. He and his friend Casey James played in Special Blend, and then went on to form their own duo Bell and James, also composing songs that were hits for other artists most notably two charting hit singles for Elton John. Later Bell became a member of the trio Only Friends. In 2011, Bell applied for the American The X Factor and was chosen for the Final 16 and went on to the live shows being mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. He was eliminated after the fifth live show finishing 8th overall in the inaugural season of the American The X Factor when he was in bottom three with Marcus Canty and Lakoda Rayne.
Marcus Canty is an American R&B and soul singer and dancer. He finished in fourth place in the first season of The X Factor USA.
Stacy Francis is an American singer and actress. She is best known for being a part of the girl group Ex Girlfriend and as a contestant in the first season of The X Factor USA. Francis has also made several television appearances on various shows. She also performed for Tom Cruise at his 40th birthday. Stacy participated in the nineteenth series of the UK television show Celebrity Big Brother as a "new star" housemate.
Simone Sherise Battle was an American actress and singer from Los Angeles, California. She was a finalist on The X FactorUS in 2011 and a member of the pop group G.R.L..
Season two of the American television music competition show The X Factor premiered on Fox on September 12, 2012, and ended on December 20, 2012.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series began airing on ITV on 18 August 2012 and ended on 9 December 2012. Dermot O'Leary returned as presenter of the main show on ITV, whilst Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa returned as judges. Nicole Scherzinger was confirmed as the fourth permanent judge after Geri Halliwell, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Mel B, Anastacia and Scherzinger herself stood in as guest judges for the vacant position left by Kelly Rowland. After the show of 8 December, two of Scherzinger's acts, James Arthur and Jahméne Douglas, became the top two, meaning that Scherzinger was guaranteed to win. Arthur was announced as the winner on 9 December, and released a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible" as his winner's song. As of 2016, it is the most successful winner's single in the show's history.
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