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MELANIE AMARO WINS "THE X FACTOR" TITLE AND BIGGEST PRIZE IN TELEVISION HISTORY: A $5 MILLION SONY RECORDING CONTRACT & AN ICONIC PEPSI COMMERCIAL

Spectacular Two-Hour Season Finale Featured Superstar Guest Performances By Justin Bieber and Stevie Wonder, Leona Lewis, Pitbull and Ne-Yo and 50 Cent

Online Auditions for Season Two are Open Now Through Dec. 31, 2011 at www.TheXFactorUSA.com

The first season of THE X FACTOR came to a spectacular conclusion tonight as Melanie Amaro was crowned the winner during a sensational live two-hour season finale on FOX. Host Steve Jones revealed that after the votes were cast, Amaro had bested runner-up Josh Krajcik and second runner-up Chris Rene. Amaro, 19, who was mentored by Judge Simon Cowell, emerged as America's choice and capped her coronation on Thursday's finale by singing "Listen."

After an epic battle for America's vote on Wednesday night, Amaro is the first finalist to win the coveted THE X FACTOR title, a $5 million recording contract with Sony Music and an iconic Pepsi commercial.

Tonight's show was filled with excitement as Amaro was crowned and a plethora of special guest artists performed throughout the broadcast, including Justin Bieber and Stevie Wonder, who were joined onstage by Drew; Leona Lewis; Pitbull and Ne-Yo, who were joined by Marcus Canty; and 50 Cent, who was joined by Astro. In addition, Derek Fisher, Steve Blake and Matt Barnes of the Los Angeles Lakers appeared on the show and THE X FACTOR's Top 12 Finalists reunited for a special performance.

On Wednesday night's final performance show, Amaro, Krajcik and Rene each sang two songs, one solo and one celebrity duet. Amaro sang "I Believe I Can Fly" with R. Kelly, Kracjik sang "Uninvited" with Alanis Morissette and Rene sang "Complicated" with Avril Lavigne.

Online auditions for Season Two of THE X FACTOR are open now through Dec. 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM PT. Solo artists and vocal groups 12 years old and over have the opportunity to submit their two-minute a cappella audition videos to www.TheXFactorUSA.com. More audition information to be announced.

THE X FACTOR was created by Syco Television and is produced by Syco Television and FremantleMedia North America. Rob Wade and Siobhan Greene are executive producers for Syco Television. Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Richard Holloway and Andrew Llinares serve as executive producers for FremantleMedia North America.