Network TV Finales Crown Country Winners

Tate Stevens, a 37-year-old Belton, Mo. native, received a $5 million recording contract from Sony Music/Syco and a music video premiere at the 2013 Grammy Awards for his win on FOX’s X Factor last night (Dec. 20).

Performances earlier this week included Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” with Stevens in addition to 13-year-old runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar’s head-turning “How Do I Live” duet with LeAnn Rimes. More than 35 million viewers reportedly cast votes for the season finale.

Throughout the program’s second season, Stevens performed country hits including Chris Young‘s “Tomorrow,” Clay Walker‘s “Fall,” Shania Twain‘s “From This Moment On,” Garth Brooks‘ “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” Keith Urban‘s “Somebody Like You,” Lonestar‘s “I’m Already There” and Craig Morgan‘s “Bonfire” and “Tough.”

The X Factor crowning comes on the heels of NBC’s The Voice, which recently named Cassadee Pope the winner from Team Blake. Pope made impressive single sales, as examined in our Weekly Register for her cover of Keith Urban‘s “Stupid Boy,” which scanned 117k units this week. Pope also performed Miranda Lambert‘s “Over You” and Faith Hill‘s “Cry” during the NBC season.