Another season of The X Factor came to a close tonight, with one of the three remaining acts earning a sizable record contract and the glory of being the second season's winner. Going into tonight's bulky finale, it came down to 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar, country singer Tate Stevens and girl-group Fifth Harmony. Following a number of performances and flashbacks from the second season of the singing competition, a winner was crowned.
The all female group Fifth Harmony was eliminated first during tonight's results episode. I can't say that I'm especially surprised by that, however, given how quickly the groups were picked off in the series' first season, Simon Cowell deserves some credit for getting two of the three groups as close to the final two as he did this season. That left L.A. Reid's contestant, the 37-year-old Tate Stevens and Britney Spears' contestant, 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar standing side by side in the season's final moments.
The winner of the $5 million record contract and Season 2 of The X Factor is Tate Stevens. Following the announcement of his win, Stevens tearfully thanked "the man upstairs" for taking care of him, his family, and the country music fans for all of the votes. And there were surely plenty of those over the course of the season. Carly was gracious in her defeat, keeping her head up and giving Tate a hug following the announcement of his win. Considering her age and her demonstrated talent, it won't be a surprise if we hear more from Carly in the future. In the meantime, Tate closed out the show with Chris Young's "Tomorrow."
And that wraps it up for Season 2 of The X Factor. It'll be interesting to see what becomes of this season's contestants as they move forward in their careers.
