‘X Factor’ Finalist Chris Rene May Have an Epic Records Deal in His Future

With 'X Factor' winner Melanie Amaro freshly inking a deal with Epic, it looks like second runner-up Chris Rene may be headed there, as well. Since Rene's mentor L.A. Reid runs the label, it's a safe bet that Rene will be signing on the dotted line sooner than later and calling Epic Records his label home.

Sources shared the news with The Hollywood Reporter, but it's not just hot gossip. Rene's original track 'Young Homie,' which he performed on the show, has notched 11 million YouTube views. The singer, who won hearts with his emotional backstory that included overcoming drug addiction and life as a young father, is recording a new version with top producers, per Reid.

Also, other contestants stand to fare well. Runner-up Josh Krajcik and teen rapper Astro (who was also under Reid's tutelage on the show) are expected to sign deals under the Sony umbrella, too. What, no Jay-Z partnership for Astro? We were convinced that would happen. Perhaps it will. It's anyone's guess.

That said, a source told the publication that "the star power is there for a number of them -- they're relevant, contemporary recording artists with great chart and radio potential."

We couldn't agree more.

PopCrush looks forward to seeing where Rene, Krajcik and Astro land in the coming months. While contestants didn't need to "win" the show outright to sign record deals, none of the others will nab the type of payout that Amaro got as the big winner.