Once you get past American Idol winners Scotty McCreery and Carrie Underwood, it's tough to find a country singer who has won an all-genre national TV singing contest.

Now you can add 37-year-old Missouri man Tate Stevens to the list: He won Simon Cowell-created The X Factor last week (Dec. 20). And Tate tells USA Today he's moving to Nashville next month and making a country album.

"I'm going to dance with the one that got me here. It's going to be country. It's going to be a lot of fun," Tate says. "I'm going to put some very fun tracks on there. I'm sure I'll do some old, tug-at-your-heart country ballads. I'm excited."

Tate says he'll go back and forth to Missouri while his son finishes high school, but he's definitely moving to Music City.

Simon says it's probably no accident that a country singer won on The X Factor because the show's producers went looking for country artists.

"We went out of our way to go into regions to encourage country singers this year, because I kept reading about people saying I don't like country music," Simon says. "So, I'm very happy that a country artist won the show and I think we're going to now attract more country artists for next year."

Will a country star replace departing judge/coach L.A. Reid on the show?

"You make a good point," Simon answered the reporter who asked him that question.