With an hour to think about it, Melanie Amaro has already tallied up her dream purchases with the $5 million she earned Thursday night after being named the The X Factor's first winner."Life will change a lot," she told. "The most I have ever had before was $200, if I was lucky."

The college freshman and piano teacher from Sunrise, Fla., plans to buy her mother a new house because, as she deadpans, "The one we live in now sucks."But the chicken is for her. "I can't live without it," she says. "It's my favorite food.Backstage, Amaro laughed as she recalled the moment she won and how she forgot the lyrics to her final song, "Listen."

"I couldn't remember any of the words," she says. "I was so overwhelmed; it was such a surprise to me."On Thursday, after 40 million votes were tabulated, Amaro, 19, defeated burrito slinger and second place finisher Josh Krajcik, 30, and third place finisher Chris Rene, 28, a former garbage man and recovering addict.

It's been a drama-filled first season of The X Factor, but in the end it came down to three: Melanie Amaro, Josh Krajcik and Chris Rene squared off in Wednesday's final round of competition for the grand prize – a $5 million recording contract.Simon Cowell said the trio represented the most talented group of finalists of any singing competition he's done. But after Wednesday's performances, the head judge stood firmly behind his mentee, early frontrunner Amaro, saying the 19-year-old deserved to win following her duet with R. Kelly on "I Believe I Can Fly" and rendition of Beyoncé's "Listen."

The singer, who was at one point sent home and then brought back to the competition, was speechless."Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" was all she could get out through tears before falling to her knees to pray."America, thank you for giving this girl an opportunity," Simon said on her behalf. "She is a star."After attempting to sing, host Steve Jones tried to get an emotional Melanie to say a few words."Thank you so much!" she said. "I don't know what to say. Thank you. God is good."

The top three singers – out of 100,000 who auditioned – performed for the final night of competition on Wednesday in Los Angeles, as season 1 of The X Factor nears its end.

Josh Krajcik, Chris Rene and Melanie Amaro performed first with a superstar duet partner, followed by their "$5 million song" on a night head judge Simon Cowell promised would be "the greatest final we've ever been in, in terms of talent."

The winner, who gets a $5 million recording contract and will star in a Pepsi commercial to air during the Super Bowl, will be announced Thursday night (8 p.m. ET) on Fox in a star-studded holiday show with performances by Ne-Yo, British The X Factor winner Leona Lewis, Justin Bieber and Pitbull.

As host of The X Factor, Steve Jones has been in the middle of the show's highly dramatic first season. And he intends to stay there, despite reports that the handsome Welsh TV star may not be asked back to host the show in the U.S.

According to a show , "No discussions have been had and no decisions will be made about any contracts until the New Year."In the meantime, "Steve is very happy with the outcome of this season," his reprentive says. "And he looks forward to being back and discovering more talent in the New Year."

The show's finalists – Melanie Amaro, Chris Rene and Josh Krajcik – return to The X Factor stage Wednesday (8 p.m. ET) on Fox to compete for the $5 million prize.