The first season of the American version of the music competition show The X Factor began airing on Fox on September 21, 2011. Based on the UK format, the competition consists of auditions, in front of producers and then the judges with a live audience; boot camp; judges' houses and then the live finals. Auditions for the show began in March 2011 and concluded in June 2011. The show was hosted by Welsh TV presenter Steve Jones, while the original judging panel consisted of Cowell, Cheryl Cole, Paula Abdul and L.A. Reid. Cole later departed from the show after just two audition rounds and was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger, who originally co-hosted with Jones. An early preview of The X Factor aired during the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 12, 2011. Another preview was shown following NFL on Fox on September 11. The show was simultaneously broadcast in Canada on CTV or CTV Two, depending on schedule. Season one's finale aired on December 22, 2011, resulting in Melanie Amaro as the winner, and Simon Cowell as the winning mentor. Judges and hosts At the time of announcing the USA show of The X Factor, Cowell was the only confirmed judge. He later said that he was taking the choices of whom to join him on the show very seriously, saying, "It's pointless hiring judges who don't know anything about the music business. I'll probably go and find someone who did what I did for a living. I was an A&R guy for 20 years." Eventually, Grammy Award-winning record executive, songwriter, and record producer L.A. Reid, The X Factor UK judge Cheryl Cole, and Cowell's former American Idol colleague Paula Abdul Numerous people were speculated to host the series, including High School Musical star Corbin Bleu and The X Factor UK host Dermot O'Leary. On May 8, 2011, Nicole Scherzinger and Welsh presenter Steve Jones were announced as co-hosts of the show. On May 26, 2011, it was reported that Cole had been dropped from the show and was set to be replaced by Scherzinger. Reports varied over whether she was fired because American audiences had trouble understanding her accent, because of a lack of chemistry between her and Abdul, because Cole is unknown to American audiences, because Cole was confused with Sheryl Crow by American audiences, or that she had stepped down herself due to homesickness. Cole's