Vote! Who Will Win The X Factor? Handicapping the Final 3

Who will America say has The X Factor? It's a tight race, and what's more, none of the finalists — Chris Rene, Melanie Amaro and Josh Krajcik —ever landed in the bottom.

In other words, it's anyone's game. But that doesn't mean we're not going to try and predict who will emerge victorious!

Will The X Factor's Steve Jones go the way of Brian Dunkelman?

Given the history of music competition shows, we at TVGuide.com are putting our money behind Melanie Amaro, Simon Cowell's sole survivor. She's an inoffensive power singer not so unlike Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks. The surprise Caribbean accent may have thrown off viewers initially, but, hey, it seems to work for Rihanna! And if both Cowell and Mariah Carey are impressed with her vocals, then America can't be far behind...

Then again, there's Josh Krajcik, the former burrito slinger who has managed to use his deep-throated rocker voice to transform songs like "Jar of Hearts" and "Dirty Diana" into raw, radio-ready Kracjcik originals. Last week's performance, a haunting rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," is still burned into our minds. He could surprise by one-upping Amaro, and go on to have a Daughtry-style career.

But there's also dark horse Chris Rene, a former drug addict whose original compositions — "Young Homie" and "Where Do We Go from Here" — have moved the judges more than any other of his competitors' performances. His personal story of triumph has reduced the aspiring singer-rapper to tears on more than one occasion, and it's not such a leap to believe that audiences, too, had their tissues on hand week after week. (If we were going to be really generous, there is also a favorable Jason Mraz comparison to be made.)

Check out photos from The X Factor

So... our money's on Melanie. But tell us what you think: Will Melanie will it all? Does Josh have a shot at rocking the vote? Or do you want to see Chris continue to succeed?

The X Factor's two-part finale airs Wednesday and Thursday at 8/7c on Fox.

Vote now: