The top three finalists for Season 3 of the "X Factor USA" sang their hearts out for their very last performances last night. Alex and Sierra, Carlito Olivero and Jeff Gutt were stacked against each other for the very last time.

For the show's performance episode of the top three finalists, each competitor was given three chances to take the stage.

Carlito Olivero was first to go on stage with Shontelle's "Impossible." His performance was praised by judges - with Kelly Rowland telling the Latino that what he just did is half of what it takes to make it in the music scene. Simon Cowell was also all praises for Carlito.

The real-life couple, Alex and Sierra, performed "Give me Love" popularized by Ed Sheeran - a performance that had Simon relishing the time he's worked with them. The power couple also gathered praise from the all the other judges including Kelly who said that any label would take them in.

Next up was Jeff Gutt's rendition of Aerosmith's "Dream On." Judge Demi Lovato told him, "That was really really great." Kelly regarded the performance "amazing", while Simon tagged it "authentic."

The second round of performances were duets of the top three and other music artists. Carlito was paired off with Prince Royce, while Alex and Sierra were joined in by the show's home-grown Leona Lewis. John Rzeznick from the Goo Goo Dolls teamed up with Jeff for his share of the round.

Carlito and Prince sang "Stand By Me" which Kelly thought was a "really easy" song for the former. Nevertheless, Simon thought it was the "perfect collaboration" and went on to say that neither one overshadowed the other.

Alex and Sierra performed "Bleeding Love" alongside its original singer. The performance was well received by all judges except for Demi who thought that Leona Lewis outshined the real-life couple.

Jeff and Goo Goo Dolls lead singer John Rzeznick performed "Iris" causing Paulina to blurt out that the finalist truly does have "the X factor." The words "perfect collaboration" and "perfect song" were also on air courtesy of Simon.

The final leg of performances had the finalists singing previously performed songs such as "Maria Maria" for Carlito, "Say Something" for Alex and Sierra, and "Creep" for Jeff.

Carlito was first to perform Carlos Santana's song on stage with a jacket fit for the holiday season. The judges didn't seem to mind and Paulina even said that the Latino deserves the recording deal.

The couple of the competition blew Kelly away once again with their performance, while Jeff impressed all four judges.

The results episode will send another finalist home - leaving only two finalists vying for the title.

Related