Here we are, folks. It’s The X Factor Finale. Melanie Amaro, Chris Rene, and Josh Karjcik are the last contestants standing. One of them will win a $5 million recording contract as well as star in a Superbowl Pepsi commercial. By now, most of us likely have our favorites, a contestant we vote for each and every week no matter how their performances go. So will tonight’s performances cause anyone to change their minds? Are there enough undecided voters watching to make a difference in the outcome tomorrow night?

Join me after the jump as I live blog The X Factor Top 9 Performances. And chat with other X Factor fans during the show in our Shoutbox.

NOTE: DJ Slim will be posting the audio performances from tonight’s The X Factor over at IdolBlogLive.com. If you missed a performance, or want to hear one again, go check out our sister site.

Tonight’s show opens with a video clip of the three remaining X Factor contestants talking about what being in the Finale means to them and how much they want to win the competition. They all say this is the night of their life.

Steve Jones has taken the stage to host The X Factor for what could be the next-to-last time if the rumors are to be believed. We’ll talk about that tonight on the Idol Radio Show and whether I think there is any credibility to those rumors.

The three contestants have taken the stage to a thunderous applause, followed by live shots of gatherings in each of the contestants’ hometown. They crowds there seem extremely huge, and they are all very excited. You would think they would be learning tonight who is going to win. And maybe their right. The performances could say it all.

First up tonight, as decided upon by the lots they drew earlier this week, is Josh Krajcik. No pre-performance video before the first set of songs, apparently, as Josh goes straight into his performance. It’s a slow song, of course, and it’s also a duet as Alanis Morissette joins him on stage. I’m not sure how I feel about duets as part of the actual Finale performance, as I can’t help but wonder if people voting might be voting for who the duet partner was and not for the contestant. Still, the performance isn’t all that good as Josh and Alanis can’t seem to keep in time together. Vocally, it is great. But their timing is way off. And it’s another one of Josh’s extremely slow songs, so I just don’t know how well it’s going to be taken.

Simon thinks that Josh was intimidated by Alanis being out on stage with him. Josh tries to put Simon in his place for that. Then we go to Josh’s hometown, where his grandmother gives him some encouragement in the middle of a throng of screaming Josh fans. I think I even saw Queen Angie in the crowd. Wouldn’t surprise me since she has been unable to say anything negative about the guy all season long.

Second tonight is Chris Rene. In introducing him, L.A. Reid says that yesterday marked Chris’ eighth-month being sober. Way to go, Chris. Unfortunately, it sounds like your song needs some sobriety. Chris is very off-key in several parts when he starts. He then introduces Avril Lavigne, and the song goes even more downhill as even Avril misses notes right and left. Maybe they can’t hear the band properly in their ear pieces? It is by far Chris’ worst performance of the season. Heck, even most of Astro Turkey’s crap was better than this. And if you know anything about how much I don’t like Astro Turkey, then you know that’s saying something.

Nicole and Paula sort-of point out that Chris did not do his best on that performance, while Simon and L.A. say that the song could be a hit on the radio tomorrow. I suppose there is a radio station out there that caters to tone-deaf people, so maybe they are right. A visit with Chris’ hometown follows, and the crowd there was very deafening. They would have to be to get through all the off-key notes Chris sang in that song.

Melanie Amaro takes the stage, and I’m really hoping she can salvage this whole duet thing. She is singing “I Believe I Can Fly.” And the beginning is not as good as Melanie normally does. She seems a little lost out there on stage, in fact. When she gets to the chorus, she seems to find her footing. She then introduces R. Kelly to the stage to sing with her, and the song dramatically improves as Kelly provides some much needed stabilization for Melanie. For her part, Melanie takes that stabilization and runs with it, turning what had been her worst performance of the season into a really good performance. Still, let’s put this whole “duet as a performance” thing to bed. Forever.

L.A. Reid thinks Melanie was overshadowed by R. Kelly, which I agree with, while Nicole says that song gave Melanie wings. Oh puh-lease! Simon fawns all over his girl, of course. Melanie’s hometown is going bonkers, of course. They really can’t help themselves. The first part of that song really bonked us all over the head with how bad it was.

I’m not sure what is going on right now on The X Factor stage, as a bunch of people dressed as robots march and dance out on stage, followed by clips of Michael Jackson singing. Josh, Chris, and Melanie all then come out on stage with the marching, dancing robots and sing along with whatever is being sung. I can’t tell because I can’t make out a single word being sung. It is so horribly, horribly bad.

Ummmmm, can anyone interpret what the heck just happened for me?

Here’s to hoping that tonight improves as Josh Krajcik takes the stage to sing his second song tonight. In the pre-performance video, we see Josh’s struggle to become a professional singer. We see a brief clip of his audition, and I have to admit that I had forgotten how much I liked him back then. He has lost me since then, which is a shame. Josh is playing the guitar tonight for his performance, acoustic as that since there are no other instruments playing. It’s another slow song (what do you expect from Josh?), but it is a good performance so far. Josh is on-key once again as he sings what sounds like “At Last.” And you know what? I agree. AT LAST Josh gives us a performance that displays his amazing vocals. That was an amazing performance and the perfect song choice for him.

Chris Rene takes the stage for his final competition performance. In the pre-performance video, we hear from his mom how she was scared that she was going to lose Chris for good before he got into rehab. The show also focuses on the promise Chris made to L.A. about staying clean, and how the music and lyrics have been flowing since he stopped doing drugs. I think Chris is singing “Young Homie,” a song he has done twice before on the show. This is a much better performance by Chris and shows why he could be a threat to win this competition. Chris has a charm and charisma that will serve him well going forward if he stays off the drug. Great rapping, great vocals. The judges all love him, and for once, I agree with them all.

Melanie Amaro has the pimp spot tonight as she takes the stage for her final competition performance. In her pre-performance video, we get a small reminder of how she blew our socks off at her audition, as well as Simon’s stupidity for cutting her during the Judges’ Home part of the show. For all the times I’ve said Melanie looks amazing dressed in black, I can now say she also looks amazing dressed in white. And her voice sounds just as good in white as well. Melanie is giving 500% for her final competition song, and it shows. As good as she has been all season long, this is by far her best. She did what a lot of other early favorites fail to do: step it up a notch! Can we just go ahead and give her the recording contract right now, please?

For as bad as the duets portion of the night was, the solo portion of the night was every bit the opposite. They all gave their best performances of the season, and I couldn’t be happier. While it’s clear that I want Melanie to win, I won’t be off-put if Chris or Josh manages to win instead. But it had better be Melanie. Because she deserves it. Because she sang circles around the other two. So it had better be Melanie. *glares at all the voters*

So what did you think of tonight’s performances? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

And don’t forget to join me for the Idol Radio Show tonight at 11 PM ET / 10 PM CT as I talk about tonight’s X Factor performances, American Idol news, and anything else in the entertainment industry that needs to be discussed. Simply click the “Listen Live” banner in the right column when the show starts.