Inevitability doesn’t always rule the day when it comes to singing competitions and home voters.
But it did so Thursday on “The X Factor” finale as the super-cute 22-year-old lovebirds Alex Kinsey and Sierra Deaton took the $1 million recording contact.
And just as they had through the long two-hour show, they cried and cried and could hardly make it through their winning song, their version of A Great Big World’s “Say Something”
The Florida couple becomes the first group to win the competition, and brings mentor Simon Cowell into the winner’s circle for the first time since season one.
“I feel like Christmas came early,” Cowell said when the duo won. “I genuinely think they deserve it.”
Jeff Gutt, the big voiced classic rocker from rural Michigan took second, with Carlito Olivero, the coffee shop worker from Chicago taking third.
From the first time Alex & Sierra performed this season on “The X Factor,” it was clear they had something different. While they may have been overlooked had they auditioned individually, together they had a spark that was undeniable.
He gave her confidence as she sang softer, jazzier lines to pop songs; he harmonized and underscored her efforts. She was Cher to his Sonny, but by performing together, often keeping eye contact with one another throughout a song, brought a deep dimension to their songs that the rest of the singers, whatever their technical quality, could not touch.
As inevitable as their win seemed — especially against two guys who arguably shouldn’t have made finals — it was a long wait before the confetti gun went off.
The show began with a weird silent laser salute before the Top 13 returned wearing white — as if they had all gone to heaven — to do U2’s “One.” It was a remarkable display, since some singers weren’t recognizable at all (who were these people?) and we were reminded that others were so good they probably should have been in the finals (Ellona Santiago, Lillie McCloud).
The two hour broadcast was trying to accomplish two things Thursday — delay the results and celebrate the season. so the top three also sang Christmas songs, as did a couple of the guest stars.
Carlito did a good job on “Christmas (Baby Please Go Home),” shining despite the fussy production; Jeff Gutt stood his ground to do “O Holy Night” (instead of, say, Slade’s “Merry Christmas Everybody”). And Alex & Sierra did their whispy thing on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
Of the guests, Mary J. Blige did a jazzy take on “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” scatting at one point, and UK “X Factor” winner Leona Lewis did a splendid job on her sprightly new holiday single “One More Sleep.”
Other guests dared not stray from their new singles, so Pitbull did his “Timber” amid a phalanx of ill-clad women, Lea Michele of “Glee” did “Cannonball” (but not the Breeders song of the same name, unfortunately). And One Direction, minus the hype that accompanied them last time, did “Midnight Memories,” which sounds like a warmed over copy of “Pour Some Sugar On Me.”
Too bad none the guests chose to do duets with the contestants (that had happened Wednesday) and none of the rest of the Top 13 were particularly spotlighted in any way. I wouldn’t have minded if they would have brought back some of the memorable bad auditions for a reprise, but that happened.
instead, there were clip packages about all of the judges’ quirks, ad extremely emotional films featuring the finalists’ loved ones pronouncing love support amid incongruous shots of gleaming Honda Odysseys.
When Demi Moore saw the film poking fun at her penchant of drinking soda and spraying insults to Simon she could be seen mouthing “this is f–ed up” to Kelly Rowland (a scene worthy of its own clip reel some day).
Cowell was tweaked for being mean, Rowland for eying hot men, and Paulina Rubio for speaking funny (foreigners!).
Mario Lopez kept things rolling but got to be annoying quickly when all he could say was that someone was about to have their life changed.
But for all of that, not that much seemed to immediately change for Alex & Sierra — they were still looking into eachother’s eyes and crying about as much as usual.