The X Factor (American season 1)
Contestant Age ( s ) Hometown Category ( Mentor ) Result
Melanie Amaro 19 Tortola , British Virgin Islands Girls ( Cowell ) Winner
Josh Krajcik 30 Wooster , Ohio Over 30s ( Scherzinger ) Runner-up
Chris Rene 29 Santa Cruz , California Boys ( Reid ) 3rd place
Marcus Canty 20 Bowie , Maryland Boys ( Reid ) 4th place
Rachel Crow 13 Mead , Colorado Girls ( Cowell ) 5th place
Drew 14 Chino Valley , Arizona Girls ( Cowell ) 6th place
Astro 15 Brooklyn , New York Boys ( Reid ) 7th place
LeRoy Bell 60 Tacoma , Washington Over 30s ( Scherzinger ) 8th place
Lakoda Rayne 17-23 Various Groups ( Abdul ) 9th place
Stacy Francis 42 Los Angeles , California Over 30s ( Scherzinger ) 10th place
The Stereo Hogzz 24-25 Houston , Texas Groups ( Abdul ) 11th place
InTENsity 18-23 Various Groups ( Abdul ) 12th place
Simone Battle 22 Los Angeles , California Girls ( Cowell ) 13th place
Tiah Tolliver 20 Chula Vista , California Girls ( Cowell ) 14th place
Dexter Haygood 49 Memphis , Tennessee Over 30s ( Scherzinger ) 15th place
The Brewer Boys 15 & 18 Temecula , California Groups ( Abdul ) 16th place
Phillip Lomax 23 Seattle Boys ( Reid ) 17th place
Finalists
Main article : List of The X Factor finalists ( American season 1 ) The final 17 finalists were confirmed as follows ; Key : – Winner – Runner-up – Third place Wildcard ( Live shows )
The first season of the American version of the music competition show The X Factor began airing on Fox on September 21, 2011. Based on the UK format, the competition consists of auditions, in front of producers and then the judges with a live audience; boot camp; judges' houses and then the live finals. Auditions for the show began in March 2011 and concluded in June 2011. The show was hosted by Welsh TV presenter Steve Jones, while the original judging panel consisted of Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Paula Abdul and L.A. Reid. Cole later departed from the show after just two audition rounds and was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger, who originally co-hosted with Jones. An early preview of The X Factor aired during the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 12, 2011. Another preview was shown following NFL on Fox on September 11. The show was simultaneously broadcast in Canada on CTV or CTV Two, depending on schedule. Season one's finale aired on December 22, 2011, resulting in Melanie Amaro as the winner, and Simon Cowell as the winning mentor.