Superstar | |
---|---|
Genre | Reality |
Created by | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
Presented by | Amanda Holden |
Judges | Andrew Lloyd Webber Melanie Chisholm Jason Donovan Dawn French David Grindrod |
Composer(s) | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Peter Davey |
Production location(s) | Various cities (auditions) Osea Island (Superstar Island) The Fountain Studios (live shows) |
Running time | 60–90 minutes (inc. adverts) |
Production company(s) | ITV Studios |
Release | |
Original network | ITV |
Picture format | 16:9 (HDTV) |
Original release | 7 July – 25 July 2012 |
Chronology | |
Followed by | Let it Shine |
Related shows | How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria? (2006) Any Dream Will Do (2007) I'd Do Anything (2008) Over the Rainbow (2010) |
External links | |
Website |
Superstar is a UK talent search, looking for the lead role in the production Jesus Christ Superstar . The series started on 7 July 2012 on ITV and was presented by Amanda Holden.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started as a rock opera concept album before its Broadway debut in 1971. The musical is mostly sung-through, with little spoken dialogue. The story is loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the last week of Jesus's life, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion. It depicts political and interpersonal struggles between Judas Iscariot and Jesus that are not present in the Bible.
ITV is a British free-to-air television channel. Previously a network of separate regional television channels, ITV currently operates in England, Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
Amanda Louise Holden is an English television presenter and talent competition judge, actress, singer, writer, and media personality. She has judged on the TV talent show competition Britain's Got Talent since the show began in 2007 on ITV. Holden played the role of Sarah Trevanion in Wild at Heart (2006–2008) and the title role in Thoroughly Modern Millie, for which she was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award. More recently she has presented various television shows for ITV including Superstar (2012), This Morning and Give a Pet a Home (2015).
In the final, on 25 July 2012, 31-year-old Ben Forster was chosen as Jesus to perform the role in the UK arena tour starting in September 2012. [1]
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Forster is a British actor and singer. He won ITV's Superstar competition in 2012. As a result, Forster played the lead role of Jesus in the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in its 2012 arena tour. Forster returned to the role at the end of May to tour Australia through 2013.
Role | Team |
---|---|
Presenter | Amanda Holden (Replaced Graham Norton) |
The Panel | Andrew Lloyd Webber |
Jason Donovan (Replaced John Partridge) | |
Dawn French (Replaced Sheila Hancock) | |
Melanie Chisholm (Replaced Charlotte Church) | |
Casting Team | David Grindrod Will Burton |
Vocal Coach | Yvie Burnett |
The Nationwide auditions began in March 2012 visiting London, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff. The judges are Andrew Lloyd Webber, Melanie Chisholm, Jason Donovan and David Grindrod. Host Amanda Holden was on hand for the auditionees. [2]
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, as well as the largest city within the European Union. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. It is on the east coast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, at the mouth of the River Liffey, and is bordered on the south by the Wicklow Mountains. It has an urban area population of 1,173,179, while the population of the Dublin Region, as of 2016, was 1,347,359, and the population of the Greater Dublin Area was 1,904,806.
Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast of Ireland. It is the largest city in Northern Ireland and second-largest on the island of Ireland, after Dublin. It had a population of 333,871 as of 2015.
Grindrod judged the nationwide auditions and was joined by Donovan and Chisholm at the 'Callback' round held at the O2 Academy in Brixton, London. Over 100 contestants were invited to the 'Callback' round in London. Lloyd Webber watched all the performances from a balcony at the side of the stage.
A balcony is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor.
The final 41 contestants are invited to 'Superstar Island' (Osea Island in Essex) for a week of training. Jonathan Ansell is a notable contestant who failed to pass this stage of the show. [3]
Osea Island, formerly also Osey, is an inhabited island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex, East England. It is approximately 380 acres (1.5 km2) in size and is connected to the north bank of the river by a causeway, covered at high water. The population of the Island is included in the civil parish of Heybridge.
Essex is a county in the south-east of England, north-east of London. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and London to the south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, the only city in the county. For government statistical purposes Essex is placed in the East of England region.
Jonathan Mark Ansell is an English singer, best known as the high tenor of the vocal group G4.
The final 30 contestants were invited to Lloyd Webber's villa in Majorca. After 10 were eliminated on arrival, the remaining contestants performed again in front of Lloyd Webber.
The next day, the contestants travelled back to Great Britain via coach (with the journey taking 25 hours) and performed a final time in front of the panel, with an accompanying band onstage, for a place in the live shows.
The Live show stages of the search were judged by Melanie Chisholm, Jason Donovan, Dawn French and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The live shows were broadcast live from Fountain Studios in Wembley and took place over nine nights (excluding Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 July). The final was held on 25 July 2012.
The contestants perform on the first live show with the results of the public vote announced during the following night's show. The two contestants with the lowest votes competed in the Sing-Off to stay in the competition. After the performance, Lloyd Webber then decided which potential Jesus to keep in the contest. The saved Jesuses could be seen on the "Stairway to Heaven". The eliminated Jesus(es) then "walks into the light" and leaves the stage.
Finalist | Age* | From | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Afnan Iftikhar | 23 | North Shields | Eliminated 1st on Night 1 |
Dirk Johnson | 24 | Scotland | Eliminated 2nd on Night 2 |
Tim Prottey-Jones | 32 | Birmingham | Eliminated 3rd on Night 4 |
Niall Sheehy | 31 | County Wicklow | Eliminated 4th on Night 5 |
Jon Moses | 28 | Newcastle upon Tyne | Eliminated 5th on Night 6 |
Jeff Anderson | 21 | Belfast | Eliminated 6th on Night 6 |
Nathan James | 23 | Reading | Eliminated 7th on Night 7 |
David Hunter | 27 | Warrington | Eliminated 8th on Night 8 |
Roger Wright [4] | 41 | London | Eliminated 9th on Night 9 |
Rory Taylor | 24 | Wirral | Runner-up |
Ben Forster | 31 | Sunderland | Winner |
* at time of competition
– | Contestant was in the bottom two and who was saved after the sing off |
– | Contestant was eliminated after the sing off |
– | Contestant who received the most public votes |
Contestant | Night 1 | Night 2 | Night 3 | Night 5 | Night 6 | Night 7 | Night 8 | Final | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Night 3 | Night 4 | ||||||||||
Ben Forster | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner (night 9) | ||
Rory Taylor | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Runner-up (night 9) | ||
Roger Wright | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Bottom two | Safe | Eliminated (night 9) | ||
David Hunter | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 8) | ||
Nathan James | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 7) | |||
Jeff Anderson | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 6) | ||||
Jon Moses | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 6) | ||||
Niall Sheehy | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 5) | |||||
Tim Prottey-Jones | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 4) | ||||||
Dirk Johnson | Bottom two | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 2) | ||||||||
Afnan Iftikhar | Eliminated | Eliminated (night 1) | |||||||||
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 2) |
---|---|---|---|
David Hunter | 1 | "Forget You" | Safe |
Dirk Johnson | 2 | "Make You Feel My Love" | Bottom two |
Nathan James | 3 | "Sign Your Name" | Safe |
Ben Forster | 4 | "Somebody That I Used to Know" | Safe |
Niall Sheehy | 5 | "Stay" | Safe |
Tim Prottey-Jones | 6 | "Stone Cold Sober" | Safe |
Roger Wright | 7 | "A Whiter Shade of Pale" | Safe |
Jon Moses | 8 | "Since U Been Gone" | Safe |
Afnan Iftikhar | 9 | "Next to Me" | Eliminated |
Jeff Anderson | 10 | "Red" | Safe |
Rory Taylor | 11 | "Are You Gonna Go My Way" | Safe |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 3) |
---|---|---|---|
Ben Forster | 1 | "She Said" | Safe |
Tim Prottey-Jones | 2 | "The First Cut Is the Deepest" | Bottom two |
Rory Taylor | 3 | "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" | Safe |
Nathan James | 4 | "Dedication to My Ex" | Safe |
Roger Wright | 5 | "Part of Me" | Safe |
Dirk Johnson | 6 | "Titanium" | Eliminated |
Jeff Anderson | 7 | "Mr Brightside" | Safe |
Niall Sheehy | 8 | "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" | Safe |
Jon Moses | 9 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Safe |
David Hunter | 10 | "Nothing's Real But Love" | Safe |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 4) |
---|---|---|---|
Roger Wright | 1 | "More Than Words" | Safe |
Nathan James | 2 | "To Be With You" | Safe |
Rory Taylor | 3 | "Dakota" | Safe |
Jon Moses | 4 | "I Want To Know What Love Is" | Safe |
David Hunter | 5 | "You've Got The Love" | Bottom two |
Ben Forster | 6 | "Everybody Hurts" | Safe |
Tim Prottey-Jones | 7 | "Time Is Running Out" | Eliminated |
Jeff Anderson | 8 | "How You Remind Me" | Safe |
Niall Sheehy | 9 | "Dirty Diana" | Safe |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result (Night 5) |
---|---|---|---|
Niall Sheehy | 1 | "One" | Safe |
Rory Taylor | 2 | "Roxanne" | Safe |
David Hunter | 3 | "One Day Like This" | Bottom two |
Ben Forster | 4 | "This Love" | Safe |
Jon Moses | 5 | "I Won't Let You Go" | Safe |
Nathan James | 6 | "How to Save a Life" | Safe |
Roger Wright | 7 | "Here I Go Again" | Safe |
Tim Prottey-Jones | 8 | "Dream On" | Eliminated (Night 4) |
Jeff Anderson | 9 | "Kiss from a Rose" | Safe |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Jeff Anderson | 1 | "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" | Safe |
David Hunter | 2 | "Nothing Compares 2 U" | Safe |
Rory Taylor | 3 | "Fix You" | Bottom two |
Nathan James | 4 | "Ain't No Sunshine" | Safe |
Ben Forster | 5 | "Fast Car" | Safe |
Niall Sheehy | 6 | "Wherever You Will Go" | Eliminated |
Jon Moses | 7 | "Feel" | Safe |
Roger Wright | 8 | "Rolling in the Deep" | Safe |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Jon Moses | 1 | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | Eliminated |
Jeff Anderson | 2 | "Whole Lotta Love" | Eliminated |
Roger Wright | 3 | "Feeling Good" | Bottom three |
Ben Forster | 4 | "Cold As Ice" | Safe |
Rory Taylor | 5 | "Silenced by the Night" | Safe |
David Hunter | 6 | "Apologize" | Safe |
Nathan James | 7 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | Safe |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Nathan James | 1 | "Born This Way" | Eliminated |
Roger Wright | 2 | "Handbags and Gladrags" | Bottom two |
David Hunter | 3 | "Too Close" | Safe |
Rory Taylor | 4 | "Under Pressure" | Safe |
Ben Forster | 5 | "It Must Have Been Love" | Safe |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Rory Taylor | 1 | "In the Air Tonight" | Bottom two |
Ben Forster | 2 | "Run" | Safe |
Roger Wright | 3 | "Hard to Handle" | Safe |
David Hunter | 4 | "I Try" | Eliminated |
Contestant | Order | Song (artist) | Result |
---|---|---|---|
Ben Forster | 1 | "Who Wants to Live Forever" | Winner |
Rory Taylor | 2 | "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" | Runner-up |
Roger Wright | 3 | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | Eliminated |
The tour traveled across the country from 21 September until 21 October 2012 and toured in the following venues: London O2 Arena, Glasgow SECC, Newcastle Metro Radio Arena, Manchester Arena, Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, National Indoor Arena Birmingham, Belfast Odyssey, The O2 Dublin, Echo Arena Liverpool, Nottingham Capital FM and Motorpoint Arena Sheffield. [6] Joining Forster was comedian Tim Minchin as Judas Iscariot, Melanie Chisholm as Mary Magdalene, BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles as King Herod, Alexander Hanson as Pontius Pilate, Pete Gallagher as Caiaphas, Gerard Bentall as Annas, Michael Pickering as Peter, and Giovanni Spano as Simon Zealotes.
The tour resumed in March 2013 in Australia with Forster, Minchin, and Chisholm reprising their respective roles. Australian TV personality Andrew O'Keefe played the role of King Herod for the Australian leg of the tour, with New Zealand born Jon Stevens (who played Judas in the 1992 Australian arena tour and the 1994 theatre production) playing Pilate. [7] Superstar runner-up Rory Taylor appeared as Simon Zealotes.
The North American tour was to commence on 9 June starting in New Orleans, with stops including Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and more before ending in Philadelphia on 17 August. This leg of the tour was to feature Forster reprising his role as Jesus, Brandon Boyd of rock band Incubus as Judas, Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams as Mary Magdalene, former 'N Sync singer JC Chasez as Pilate, and former Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd lead singer John Lydon as King Herod. [8] On 30 May 2014, the tour was canceled, mostly due to poor ticket sales. [9]
Official ratings are supplied by the UK Programme Ratings website, BARB. [10]
Episode | Air date | Timeslot | Overnight ratings (millions) | Official ratings (millions) | Weekly rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Auditions | 7 July | 19:25 | 3.04 [11] | 3.03 | #18 |
Superstar Island | 8 July | 20:00 | 3.11 [12] | 3.16 | #16 |
The Final 30 | 14 July | 20:00 | 2.89 [13] | 2.95 | #29 |
Live show 1 | 15 July | 20:00 | 3.08 [14] | 2.99 | #27 |
Live show 2 | 16 July | 21:00 | 2.83 [15] | 2.81 | #26 |
Live show 3 | 17 July | 21:00 | 2.37 [16] | Under 2.66 | Outside Top 30 |
Live show 4 | 18 July | 21:00 | 2.69 [17] | 2.67 | #29 |
Live show 5 | 19 July | 21:00 | 2.90 [18] | 2.83 | #25 |
Live show 6 | 20 July | 21:00 | 2.64 [19] | 2.66 | #30 |
Live show 7 | 23 July | 21:00 | 2.59 [20] | 2.49 | #22 |
Semi-final | 24 July | 21:00 | 2.54 [21] | 2.54 | #21 |
Final | 25 July | 21:00 | 3.17 [22] | 3.11 | #13 |
Series average | 2012 | N/A | 2.82 | 2.82 | N/A |
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. Several of his songs have been widely recorded and were hits outside of their parent musicals, notably "The Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You" from The Phantom of the Opera, "I Don't Know How to Love Him" from Jesus Christ Superstar, "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita, "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and "Memory" from Cats. In 2001 The New York Times referred to him as "the most commercially successful composer in history". Ranked the "fifth most powerful person in British culture" by The Daily Telegraph in 2008, the lyricist Don Black stated "Andrew more or less single-handedly reinvented the musical."
Melanie Jayne Chisholm, professionally known as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer, songwriter, activist, entrepreneur, actress and television personality. She is one of the five members of the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. Since 1996, Chisholm has sold more than 105 million records, including 85 million copies with the group, and 20 million solo albums, singles and collaborations, and has earned over 325 worldwide certifications, including 40 silver, gold and platinum certifications as a solo artist.
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? is a British reality television talent show that documented the search for an undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2006 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian stage production of The Sound of Music.
Any Dream Will Do, is a 2007 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a West End revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Benjamin James Ellis is an English stage and script actor who starred in the role of Link Larkin in the West End production of the musical Hairspray from its opening in October 2007 until July 2009.
The X Factor is a British reality television music competition to find new singing talent. The contestants are aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September until December. The show is produced by Fremantle's Thames and Cowell's production company Syco Entertainment. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the UK and simulcast on Virgin Media One in Ireland. "X Factor" refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality. The series consists of auditions, bootcamp, judges' houses, several weeks of live shows, semi-finals and the final. The series had a spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor, which aired directly after the main show on ITV2. This lasted for the first thirteen series, when it was cancelled by ITV in January 2017. It is replaced by an online spin-off show Xtra Bites exclusively on the ITV Hub. The first three series were presented by Kate Thornton, since series four, with the exception of series twelve, the show has been presented by Dermot O'Leary. The twelfth series was presented by Caroline Flack and Olly Murs
I'd Do Anything was a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom and broadcast on BBC One. It premièred on 15 March 2008. The show searched for a new, unknown lead to play Nancy and three young performers who will take it in turns to play Oliver in a West End revival of the British musical Oliver!.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April and May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis, performed during the live stages of the show.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The sixth series started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back series. The show was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Holly Willoughby on ITV2. McElderry's winner's single was a cover version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb". Public auditions by aspiring singers began in June 2009 and were held in five cities across the UK. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cole returned as judges. This season was the first to be sponsored by TalkTalk after they took over the sponsorship from The Carphone Warehouse. For the first time, auditions were held in front of a live audience. Following initial auditions, the "bootcamp" stage took place in August 2009, where the number of contestants was narrowed down to 24. The 24 contestants were split into their categories, Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups, and given a judge to mentor them at the "judges' houses" stage and throughout the finals.
Over the Rainbow is a British television talent series that aired on BBC One from 26 March to 22 May 2010. It documented the search for a new, undiscovered musical theatre performer to play the role of Dorothy Gale in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 2011 stage production of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and a dog to play Toto for a one-off performance. Produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, the series was presented by Graham Norton. It followed previous collaborations between the BBC and Lloyd Webber to find new musical theatre performers: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, Any Dream Will Do and I'd Do Anything. The series was named after the song "Over the Rainbow" and was also aired by TV3 in Ireland. Norton Went On Hiatus in 2012 for Superstar same went for the BBC. Following a public telephone vote, 18-year-old Danielle Hope was crowned the winner of the series and was chosen to play Dorothy. Miniature Schnauzer Dangerous Dave was chosen to play Toto.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The seventh series started on ITV on 21 August 2010 and ended on 12 December 2010. The winner was Matt Cardle. Cardle was mentored throughout the show by Dannii Minogue as mentor. After the victory, he released his debut single "When We Collide". A total of 15,448,019 votes were cast throughout the series. It was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Konnie Huq on ITV2, who took over from Holly Willoughby.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eighth series commenced airing on ITV on 20 August 2011 and ended on 11 December 2011. The winner was Little Mix, a four-piece girl group known earlier in the series as Rhythmix, consisting of members Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, and Jade Thirlwall. They became the first act in the groups category to win in the UK show's history with new judge Tulisa emerging as their winning mentor. Dermot O'Leary presented the main show on ITV, while Caroline Flack and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs co-presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, replacing Konnie Huq from the previous year. Louis Walsh returned to the judging panel and was joined by Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa. Barlow, Rowland and Tulisa joined the panel as replacements for former judges, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole. Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke served as a guest judge for week 4 of the live shows due to Rowland having a throat infection.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series began airing on ITV on 18 August 2012 and ended on 9 December 2012. Dermot O'Leary returned as presenter of the main show on ITV, whilst Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa returned as judges. Nicole Scherzinger was confirmed as the fourth permanent judge after Geri Halliwell, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Mel B, Anastacia and Scherzinger herself stood in as guest judges for the vacant position left by Kelly Rowland. After the show of 8 December, two of Scherzinger's acts, James Arthur and Jahméne Douglas, became the top two, meaning that Scherzinger was guaranteed to win. Arthur was announced as the winner on 9 December, and released a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible" as his winner's song. As of 2016, it is the most successful winner's single in the show's history.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The tenth series began airing on ITV on 31 August, and finished on 15 December 2013. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV and Caroline Flack was back to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, along with comedian Matt Richardson, who replaced Olly Murs. Flack also presented backstage segments during the live shows. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger returned as judges for their respective tenth, third and second series, with Sharon Osbourne returning to replace Tulisa after five series away. This was Barlow's final series as a judge. Osbourne and Scherzinger also departed the series, but reprised their roles as judges with Walsh again in series 13 and series 14.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eleventh series began airing on ITV on 30 August 2014 and finished on 14 December 2014. Dermot O'Leary presented his eighth series of the main show on ITV and Sarah-Jane Crawford presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, replacing Caroline Flack and Matt Richardson. Louis Walsh was the only judge from series 10 to return and was joined by former judges Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Simon Cowell, and new judge Mel B. Sharon Osbourne, Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger left after series 10. Former judge Tulisa returned as a guest judge for the final on 13 December due to Mel B being ill. The series also saw the lower age limit decreased from 16 to 14, as it was in series 4 and 5. This was Walsh's final series as a judge before returning in series 13. It was also the only series in which Mel B was a main judge. It was O'Leary's final series as presenter on the main show, as he announced on 27 March 2015 that he was leaving to pursue other projects, before returning in series 13. On 11 May, Crawford also confirmed via Twitter that she would leave her position as The Xtra Factor presenter.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The twelfth series began airing on ITV on 29 August 2015 and ended on 13 December 2015. The judges were Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, who returned for their respective ninth and fifth series as judges, series 9 guest judge and former The Voice UK coach Rita Ora, and BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, with Grimshaw and Ora replacing Louis Walsh, the only judge who had been on the show from its inception in 2004, and Mel B. It was presented by Caroline Flack and Olly Murs, who had both previously co-presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2 and replaced Dermot O'Leary, who left after eight series. Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom presented The Xtra Factor, replacing Sarah-Jane Crawford. Louisa Johnson was announced as the winner on 13 December 2015, making Ora the winning mentor.
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The thirteenth series began airing on ITV on Saturday 27 August 2016 and ended on Sunday 11 December 2016. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV for the ninth time, after having quit the previous year. Simon Cowell was the only judge from the 12th series to return; Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all returned, replacing Rita Ora, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Nick Grimshaw. Matt Edmondson and Rylan Clark-Neal replaced Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom as hosts of The Xtra Factor, which was rebranded as The Xtra Factor Live and was broadcast live twice every week, with Roman Kemp making appearances as a digital presenter and social media reporter. Matt Terry was announced the winner on 11 December 2016, making Scherzinger the winning mentor for the second time. Saara Aalto came second.