‘X Factor’ Finale Results: And The Winner Is…

Melanie almost missed this opportunity, when Simon--either in a rare case of admitting he was wrong, or in a not-so-rare-case of manufacturing TV drama for ratings--initially eliminated her during the Judges' Houses rounds, and brought her back as a bonus contestant after having a last-minute change of heart/strategy. But once Melanie was back in the game, she was a frontrunner from that point on, never landing once in the bottom two--and this Thursday, she was declared the very first "X Factor USA" winner. Simon may have made some bad decisions this season--firing Cheryl Cole, not giving Steve Jones a co-host, keeping Simone Battle over Caitlin Koch, making Drew Ryniewicz spend an entire performance glued to a chair--but apparently going back for Melanie was not one of them.

via ca.music.yahoo.com