The first USA 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.
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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, Nick Voss. Reid chose:[1]
Christopher "Chris" Rene (born December 25, 1982) is a trash collector from Santa Cruz, California, where he currently lives. Chris is the grandson of Leon René, a famous composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s and a founder of a number of record labels. During his audition broadcast on September 21, 2011, Chris Rene sang his original song, "Young Homie". He also admitted to have just gotten out of Janus Rehabilitation Center. On November 22, it was revealed that he had been addicted to methamphetamine.[2] He later sang a mix of "Let It Be"/"Young Homie" on November 22, 2011 in week 7 of the live shows of the series. His sister Gina auditioned for the show in the "Over 30s" category, but did not make it through to the judges' houses round. On December 7, in week 7 of the live shows, he also sang another of his own songs entitled "Where Do We Go from Here". Rene finished the competition in third place.
Marcus Canty (born January 22, 1991) is from Bowie, Maryland, where he currently lives. During his audition, he sang "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder. His musical influences include Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Boys 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 3 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 3 again along with Drew and Astro, and had to sing off against Drew. Simon Cowell voted to eliminate him, but Nicole Scherzinger, Paula Abdul and his mentor L.A. Reid voted to save him. Then, on December 8, he landed in the bottom 2 yet again, along with Rachel Crow. The judges went into deadlock for a second time, and he was saved by having more votes than Crow. In the semi-finals, Canty was eliminated by receiving the least number of votes, taking fourth place overall.
Brian Bradley (born August 26, 1996) known by his stage name Astro, is from Brownsville, New York, where he currently 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".[4] He landed in the bottom two on November 17 with Stacy Francis, but was saved by judges L.A. Reid, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. He was eliminated on December 1, along with Drew, after landing in the bottom 3 with Drew and Marcus Canty and receiving the fewest amount of votes. He came in 7th place overall.
Weeks after being eliminated, it was revealed that Astro would feature on the single version of Cher Lloyd's "Want U Back".
Phillip Lomax (born 1989) is an actor from Seattle, Washington. Lomax performed "Don't Stop The Music" in front of Rihanna during the Judges House process. Eliminated by LA 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, Jazzyln Little, Drew Ryniewicz, Tiah Tolliver, Tora Woloshin. Cowell chose five (rather than four) as follows:
Melanie Ann Amaro (born June 26, 1992) is from Tortola, British Virgin Islands, and currently lives in Sunrise, Florida.[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. In the finale it is revealed that Melanie Amaro won. She has come in first place in the competition and won the 5 million dollar recording contract.
Simone Battle (born June 17, 1989) is from Los Angeles, California, where she currently lives. 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.
Rachel Crow (born January 23, 1998) is from Mead, Colorado, and currently lives in Burbank, California. She performed "Mercy" by Duffy at her audition,[8] "If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce at bootcamp[9] and her own rendition of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys at judges' houses.[10] On the December 8th results show, Crow landed in the bottom two for the first time with Marcus Canty, who had already been there twice. After the judges' votes were deadlocked, she was eliminated after she had fewer votes than Canty. Immediately after the results were revealed, Crow collapsed on stage and sobbed inconsolably. She cried for her mother who went up on stage and tried to soothe her, telling her that everything was going to be all right to which Rachel responded through her sobs, 'You promise?! You promise?! Nicole Scherzinger, the judge responsible for sending the vote to Deadlock, was visibly upset by the result. When Steve Jones asked Nicole if she had anything to say, she turned away from Jones and was booed by the audience for taking the vote to deadlock. Rachel's mother was addicted to crack cocaine, so her maternal aunt and uncle adopted her.[11]
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, voting in her favor. Therefore, she took 6th place overall.
Tiah Tolliver (born September 26, 1991) is from Chula Vista, California, and currently lives in Bremerton, Washington. In the first live show, she performed "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"[12] and was one of two acts eliminated by decision of her mentor Simon Cowell the other being Simone Battle. Tolliver is of Afro-Jamaican and Japanese descent.
The "Over 30s" category was mentored by Nicole Scherzinger.[13] 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, Josh Krajcik. Scherzinger chose:
LeRoy Bell (born September 13, 1951) is a former postman from Tacoma, Washington, and currently lives in Edmonds, Washington. He got through auditions with his performance of "Lean on Me" by Ben E. King.[14] Having opened for Sheryl Crow, Joan Osborne, and B.B. King, Bell has previous experience in the music industry. He is also known for writing the song, "Mama Can't Buy You Love," for Elton John. He was eliminated on the November 23rd results show, along with Lakoda Rayne, after landing in the final showdown with Marcus Canty and receiving fewer votes than Canty, due to the judges being deadlocked, therefore taking 8th place.[15]
Stacy Francis (born April 16, 1969)[16] is a single mother from Brooklyn, New York, and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. At the beginning of bootcamp, she revealed that her father had just passed away.[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 10th place. 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 is from Portland, Oregon, and currently 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.
Joshua "Josh" Krajcik (30) is a singer and songwriter from Wooster, Ohio, and currently 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 2nd 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, The Stereo Hogzz. Abdul chose:
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 (12, Houston, Texas), Nick Dean (15, Rochester, New York), Francesca Duncan (17, Orange County, New York), John Lindahl (15, Trabuco Canyon, California), Emily Michalak (13, Pine Brook, New Jersey), Austin Percario (15, Warren, New Jersey), Arin Ray (16, Cincinati, Ohio), Ellona Santiago (15, San Lorenzo, California), Emily Wilson (15, Warren, New Jersey), and Lauren Ashley (17, Houston, Texas). They were eliminated on November 3 by the public vote after landing in the bottom 2 with the Stereo Hogzz, with only Simon Cowell voting in their favor. They took 12th place overall. [21] They Rock \m/
Lakoda Rayne came in the competition as solo artists but were put together after bootcamp. Lakoda Rayne consists of Paige Elizabeth Ogle (18, Baltimore, Maryland), Hayley Orrantia (17, Highland Village, Texas), Cari Fletcher (17, Wall Township, New Jersey), and Dani Knights (22, Santa Clarita, California). At the Judges' House, they sang the country version of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga.[22] They were in the bottom two 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 23rd results show after being in the bottom 3 with Marcus Canty and LeRoy Bell and receiving the fewest public votes, and therefore came in 9th place.
The Brewer Boys is a duo of Filipino-American brothers, Justin T. Brewer (18) and Nathan A. Brewer (14).[23] They are from Temecula, California, where they currently live.[24] In the first live show, they performed a mash up of "Rich Girl" (Hall & Oates) and "Faith" (George Michael) and were eliminated by decision of their mentor Paula Abdul.[25]
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, with only Abdul voting in their favor, therefore finishing the competition in 11th place.
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