List of The X Factor finalists (U.S. season 1)

The first U.S. season of The X Factor is currently being broadcast on Fox network. The series started airing on September 21, 2011, with the live shows starting on October 25, 2011.

Boys

The "Boys" category is being mentored by L.A. Reid. Contestants in this category are 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. L.A. Reid chose:^[1]

Astro

Brian Bradley, known by his stage name Astro (born August 4, 1996) (15) is from Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York where he currently lives.^[2] He impressed the judges at his audition in Newark, New Jersey by performing his original composition “Stop Looking At My Mom”.^[3]. He landed in the bottom two on November 17th with Stacy Francis, but was spared elimination.

Marcus Canty

Marcus Canty (born January 8, 1991) (20) is from Bowie, Maryland, where he currently lives. During his audition, he sang "I Wish" by Stevie Wonder. At Judges' Houses, he performed "All My Life" by K-Ci & JoJo.

Phillip Lomax

Phillip Lomax (22) lived in the United Kingdom, Japan, South Africa and Israel. He currently lives in Seattle, Washington. At the Judges' Houses, Lomax performed his rendition of "Please Don't Stop the Music," by Rihanna^[4]. In the first live show, he performed "I'm a Believer" and was eliminated by decision of his mentor L.A. Reid.

Chris Rene

Chris Rene (28) is a trash collector from Santa Cruz, California, where he currently lives. During his audition, Rene admitted to have just gotten out of rehabilitation and sang his original song, "Young Homie."^[5] His sister Gina auditioned for the show in the over 30's category but did not make it through to the judges houses round.

Girls

The "Girls" category is being 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 Amaro

Melanie Amaro (1992) (19) is from Tortola, British Virgin Islands and currently lives in Sunrise, Florida^[6]. Amaro was initially not chosen to be part of the Top 16, but Simon Cowell surprised her at her Florida home^[7] and revealed that she would be added to the finals to form a Top 17.

Simone Battle

Simone Battle (22) is from Los Angeles, California where she currently lives. In the first live show, she performed "Just Be Good to Me"^[8] 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

Rachel Crow (born January 23, 1998) (13) is from Longmont, Colorado and currently lives in Burbank, California. She performed "Mercy" by Duffy at her audition^[9], "If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce at Boot Camp^[10], and her own rendition of "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys at the Judges' Homes episode^[11].

Drew

Drew Ryniewicz (born January 7, 1997) (14), better known as Drew, is from Chino Valley, Arizona, where she resides. Going by her full name in the auditions, bootcamp and judges' houses, she announced that beginning with the live shows of the X Factor, she was assuming her mononymous name instead.

Tiah Tolliver

Tiah Tolliver (20) 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 black & Japanese ancestry.

Over 30s

The "Over 30s" category is being 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

LeRoy Bell (60) 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.^[15]

Stacy Francis

Stacy Francis (42) is a single mother from Brooklyn, New York and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. At the beginning of X-Factor Boot Camp, it was revealed that her father had just passed away.^[16] Francis has previous experience on Broadway,^[17] has performed for Tom Cruise at his 40th birthday party^[18], has had a solo album out and released several albums whilst previously signed by Reprise Records as part of an all-female band called Ex-Girlfriend. Francis was eliminated on November 17th after landing in the bottom two with Astro, with only her mentor, Nicole Scherzinger, voting in her favor.

Dexter Haygood

Dexter Haygood (49) is from Portland, Oregon and currently lives in Chicago, Illinois. In the first live show, he performed a mash up of "Womanizer" (Britney Spears) and "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry and was eliminated by decision of his mentor Nicole Scherzinger.

Josh Krajcik

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

Groups

The Groups category is being 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.^[19] The eight candidates were: 2Squar'd, 4Shore, Illusion Confusion, InTENsity, Lakoda Rayne, The Anser, The Brewer Boys, The Stereo Hogzz. Paula Abdul chose:

InTENsity

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 3rd by the public vote after landing in the bottom 2 with the Stereo Hogzz, with only Simon Cowell voting in their favor.^[20] Lauren Ashley has quit the group because she is working on finishing college.

Lakoda Rayne

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 a country version of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. ^[21] They were in the bottom two on November 10th and were spared elimination after L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell voted to save them.

The Brewer Boys

The Brewer Boys is a duo of Filipino-American brothers, Justin T. Brewer (17) and Nathan A. Brewer (14)^[22]. They are from Temecula, California, where they currently live.^[23] 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^[24].

The Stereo Hogzz

The Stereo Hogzz consists of 5 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. Williams attended the audition on the same day his child was born. On the November 3rd results show, they landed in the bottom 2 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 10th results show, with only Abdul voting in their favor.

References

1. ^ Lamb, Bill. "http://top40.about.com/b/2011/10/18/x-factor-usa-picks-17-finalists-for-live-shows.htm". http://top40.about.com/b/2011/10/18/x-factor-usa-picks-17-finalists-for-live-shows.htm. 
2. ^ "Astro (Brian Bradley)". http://www.thexfactorusa.com/contestants/brian-bradley#. 
3. ^ "Astro Biography". http://www.buddytv.com/info/astro-info.aspx. 
4. ^ "X Factor USA 2011- Judges House- Phillip Lomax- Please Don't Stop The Music- Rihanna.avi". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AexhZvaVjhw. 
5. ^ Baine, Wallace. "inShare Santa Cruz's Chris Rene amazes judges on 'The X Factor'". http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_18957365?source=most_viewed. 
6. ^ "Melanie Amaro: Contestant Wall Bio". http://www.thexfactorusa.com/contestants/melanie-amaro#. 
7. ^ Johnson, Chris. "We made it! Tears and cheers on X Factor USA as 32 become 17 after judges select their finalists (and Simon gets an extra act)". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2050775/X-Factor-USA-Final-17-selected-Simon-Cowell-gets-extra-act.html. 
8. ^ "Simone Battle - Just Be Good To Me - X Factor USA (Live L.A.". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ8rFH9sMoc. 
9. ^ "Error: no |title= specified when using {{Cite web}}". http://www.thexfactorusa.com/videos/rachel-crow-audition-1. 
10. ^ "RACHEL CROW - Bootcamp Audition". http://www.thexfactorusa.com/videos/rachel-crow-bootcamp-audition. 
11. ^ "Rachel Crow Biography". http://www.buddytv.com/info/rachel-crow-info.aspx. 
12. ^ "TIAH TOLLIVER - "Sweet Dreams" - X FACTOR USA 2011 (Top 17 Performance)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3RBlVl38Ms. 
13. ^ Martin, Lara. "Digital Spy Home Headlines Video Blogs The X Factor Play Games Celebrity TV Reality TV Music Movies Gaming Tech Comics Weird TV News Episode Recaps Interviews TV Blog: Tube Talk Canceled & Renewed Scorecard 2011-2012 Season TV Video Clips Home > TV > The X Factor > News Wednesday, November 2, 2011 TV The X Factor Dancing with the Stars The Amazing Race Glee Once Upon a Time Two and a Half Men Desperate Housewives 'X Factor' USA: Meet Nicole Scherzinger's overs". http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s141/the-x-factor-us/news/a346326/x-factor-usa-meet-nicole-scherzingers-overs.html. 
14. ^ "LeRoy Bell Biography". http://www.buddytv.com/info/leroy-bell-info.aspx. 
15. ^ Corneau, Alison. "5 Things You Don't Know About 59-Year-Old X Factor Standout LeRoy Bell". http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/5-things-you-dont-know-about-59-year-old-x-factor-standout-leroy-bell-2011710. 
16. ^ "Stacy Francis Bio". http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/stars/stacy-francis/bio.html. 
17. ^ "Stacy Francis Biography". http://www.buddytv.com/info/stacy-francis-info.aspx. 
18. ^ http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/11/tom_cruise_and_stacy_francis_scientology.php#more
19. ^ Martin, Lara. "'X Factor' USA: Meet Paula Abdul's groups". http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s141/the-x-factor-us/news/a346332/x-factor-usa-meet-paula-abduls-groups.html. 
20. ^ "Ellona Santiago's vocal group InTENsity enters Top 17 of The X Factor". http://www.pep.ph/guide/tv/9162/ellona-santiago39snbspvocal-group-intensity-enters-top-17-of-the-x-factor. 
21. ^ "Lakoda Rayne". http://www.thexfactorusa.com/contestants/lakoda-rayne. 
22. ^ Schultz, Craig. "TEMECULA: Brothers advance in music competition". http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/temecula/temecula-brothers-advance-in-music-competition/article_333826b0-c446-5060-887e-ae4dc39ebdb1.html. 
23. ^ "The Brewer Boys Biography". http://www.buddytv.com/info/the-brewer-boys-info.aspx. 
24. ^ Schultz, Craig. "TEMECULA: Brewer Boys eliminated from 'X Factor'". http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/temecula/article_cf159151-ba1c-59d9-9a3e-a6884137e657.html.