‘The X Factor’ USA finale results: Was Alex & Sierra, Jeff Gutt, or Carlito Oliver the winner?

Who won “The X Factor” USA season 3? All night long, host Mario Lopez was keenly / robotically intent on reminding us that this was a life-changing moment, though we’re not sure that we can fully believe that. Remember here that season 1 champion Melanie Amaro still has no album in stores, and season 2 champion Tate Stevens is already so much of an afterthought that producers didn’t bother getting him on the show this year.

But, of course this was a two-hour finale, so we had to sit through a bunch of filler to get to the part that you were really looking forward to. This included seeing a variety of guest performers (One Direction, Leona Lewis, and more), some pre-taped segments sponsored by Honda, Simon Cowell making this show seem extremely important, and Mario Lopez spending time awkwardly hugging family members in the audience. (Watching these family members not knowing where to look was personally very entertaining.)

The finalists also did perform a series of various numbers during the show, from Christmas classics to duets to even a group performances that reminded us that Sweet Suspense and others are still out there. During the show, we also learned that Carlito Olivero was in third place, and this was not a shock to anyone. He’d been in danger a few times already, so we really all knew that this was coming. The best thing that he can hope for now is to convince Paulina to take him into the Latin market, and for him to find a career there.

From here, we were left with that predictable final two of Alex & Sierra and Jeff Gutt. The winner seemed obvious at first in Simon’s duo based mostly on sales and other factors, but crazier things have happened on this show. Thankfully, crazier things did not happen tonight. Maybe Alex & Sierra can ride like knights in shining armor and save this mess of a season with a good career? Grade: B (the winners’ A offsets the show’s C).

Do you think that the right people ended up winning “The X Factor”? Share your thoughts below!