The X Factor (UK series 15)

The X Factor
Series 15
Broadcast from	1 September –; 2 December 2018
Judges	Simon Cowell ; Louis Tomlinson ; Ayda Field ; Robbie Williams ; Nile Rodgers (guest);
Presenter(s)	Dermot O'Leary (ITV)
Co-presenter(s)	Becca Dudley (ITV Hub); Tinea Taylor (ITV Hub); Stacey Solomon (Live final);
Broadcaster	ITV ; ITV Hub (Xtra Bites);
Finals venue	The SSE Arena, Wembley
Winner
	Dalton Harris
Origin	Clarendon, Jamaica
Song	"The Power of Love"
Mentor	Louis Tomlinson
Runner-up
	Scarlett Lee
Chronology
	◀ ; 2018; ▶ ;

Last updated June 01, 2019

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifteenth series began airing on ITV on 1 September 2018, presented by Dermot O'Leary. Simon Cowell returned alongside new judges Louis Tomlinson, Ayda Field (credited as Ayda Williams) and Robbie Williams who replace departing judges Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Nile Rodgers filled in for Williams while he was away on his tour for weeks 3–5 of the live shows. On 2 December, Jamaican-born singer Dalton Harris won the series making him the first foreign contender to win the UK show.^[1]^[2] This was the only series that featured Field, Williams, and Tomlinson as judges.

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

ITV is a British free-to-air television network with its headquarters in London, it was launched in 1955 as Independent Television under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to BBC Television, that was established in 1932. ITV is also the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, its legal name has been Channel 3, to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time, namely BBC 1, BBC 2 and Channel 4. In part, the number 3 was assigned because television sets would usually be tuned so that the regional ITV station would be on the third button, with the other stations being allocated to the number within their name.

Sean Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr., better known as Dermot O'Leary, is a British-Irish television presenter for ITV and a radio presenter for BBC Radio 2.

Judges and presenters

Series 15 Judges

On 6 June 2018, it was announced that Sharon Osbourne would return to judge the fifteenth series, but only for the live shows, due to her ongoing work commitments in the United States. The next day, long-serving judge Louis Walsh announced that after thirteen years on the show, he would leave to focus on other projects.^[3] Earlier in the year, it was reported that Nicole Scherzinger would not return as a judge for the fifteenth series.^[4] On 30 September 2018, Osbourne announced her decision to no longer appear as a judge during the live shows, stating that she had "seen the new judges finding their rhythm and are doing brilliantly".^[5] This was clarified during an interview with Jane Moore for The Sun , where Osbourne confirmed she was originally hired as a full-time judge on the panel, fired, then rehired, and ultimately declined a reduced role on the show.^[6]

Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English media personality, businesswoman, television host, talent competition judge, music manager, live promoter, and author. She is the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and first came into public prominence after appearing on The Osbournes, a reality television show that followed her family's daily life. Osbourne later became a talent show judge on television shows such as the British and original version of The X Factor, from 2004 to 2007, returning in 2013, and again from 2016 to 2017. She also was a judge on America's Got Talent from 2007 until 2012.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Michael Louis Vincent Walsh is an Irish entertainment manager and former judge on British television talent show The X Factor.

Simon Cowell confirmed his return as head judge and Dermot O'Leary’s return as presenter. After much speculation, it was announced on 16 July 2018 that Ayda Field (credited as Ayda Williams), Louis Tomlinson and Robbie Williams would join Cowell on the series' judging panel.^[7]

Simon Phillip Cowell is an English television music and talent show judge, A&R executive, businessman, talent manager, television producer, critic and entrepreneur. He has judged on the British TV talent competition series Pop Idol, The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent, and the American TV talent competition shows American Idol, The X Factor and America's Got Talent. Cowell is the principal, founder and chief executive of the British entertainment company Syco.

Ayda Field is an American film and television actress.

Louis William Tomlinson is an English singer, songwriter and television personality. He was a member of the boy band One Direction and began his career as an actor, appearing in ITV drama film If I Had You and the BBC drama Waterloo Road. In 2010, he became a member of One Direction after being eliminated as a solo contestant on the British music competition series The X Factor.

On 30 July 2018, a promo for the series—featuring judges Cowell, Field and Williams—aired during a Love Island commercial break on ITV2.^[8]

Love Island is a British dating reality show. It is a revival of the earlier celebrity series of the same name, which aired for two series in 2005 and 2006 on ITV. The series is presented by Caroline Flack, and is narrated by Iain Stirling. The series launched on 7 June 2015 live on ITV2. Unlike the original series, the contestants are members of the public rather than celebrities.

ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998 and is available digitally via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial (Freeview) platforms. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a claim now held by its sister service ITV3 both of which are freely available to a majority of households.

On 23 August 2018, it was announced that Xtra Bites would return after a first series, presented by Becca Dudley again, and she would be joined by a co-host named Tinea Taylor.^[9]

On 2 November 2018, it was revealed that Nile Rodgers would fill in for Williams on the panel during some of the live shows, due to Williams' touring commitments. Rodgers sat alongside Williams on 3 November, before fully substituting for him on 4, 10, 11 & 17 November. In a statement, Rodgers stated: "I had such a great time with Louis at the Judge's House in Ibiza a couple of weeks ago that when the opportunity came to step in for Robbie I could not say ('no')", "From Chic and Sister Sledge to Duran Duran and Daft Punk, I've had great experiences with Groups in my career, so I look forward to giving them as much support as I can while Rob is away!". Williams returned to the panel on 24 November.^[10]

Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. is an American record producer, songwriter, musician, composer, arranger and guitarist. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have cumulatively sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide. He is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a three-time Grammy Award-winner, and the chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Known for his "chucking" guitar style, Rolling Stone wrote in 2014 that "the full scope of Nile Rodgers' career is still hard to fathom."

The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour was the twelfth concert tour by British recording artist Robbie Williams, to support his album The Heavy Entertainment Show. The tour began in England and travelled throughout Europe in Summer 2017, extending in 2018 to Oceania and later that year to South America.

Ibiza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of Spain. It is 150 kilometres from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. Its largest settlements are Ibiza Town, Santa Eulària des Riu, and Sant Antoni de Portmany. Its highest point, called Sa Talaiassa, is 475 metres above sea level.

Selection process

Auditions

Auditions for performers took place only at London's SSE Arena, Wembley, on 18–20, 22–24 and 26–28 July 2018.

Deliberations

Instead of the traditional bootcamp stages, a deliberation stage (similar to that employed by Britain's Got Talent ) was introduced to cut down the number of performers at the six-chair challenge. This took place on 30 July 2018 at the Tobacco Dock in London.^{[ citation needed ]} It was broadcast on a single episode on 23 September 2018 after the final auditions show.

After the "deliberation" and "reveal" stages, but before the start of the "six-chair challenge", the judges found out the categories they are mentoring: Cowell mentored the "Girls", Field mentored the "Overs", Williams mentored the "Groups", and Tomlinson mentored the "Boys".^[11]

Six Chair Challenge

The Six Chair Challenge took place over the course of three days, from 1–3 August 2018, at the SSE Arena in Wembley.^{[ citation needed ]} A new twist was added with the introduction of a golden button, similar to Britain's Got Talent 's Golden Buzzer. When this was pressed, the act in question was guaranteed a 'Safe Seat', and would go straight through to Judges' Houses. The Six Chair Challenge was aired over 3 episodes starting on 29 September 2018 and finished on 6 October 2018.^[12]

Judges' Houses

It was announced by O'Leary during an appearance on This Morning that the Judges' Houses would be filmed in late September 2018, and that three of the judges' houses would be in Los Angeles (Cowell, Field and Williams); Tomlinson's houses would be hosted in Ibiza. Cowell judged from Malibu, while Field and Williams each judged their categories separately from their home in Beverley Hills. The guest judges were announced to be: Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis in assisting Field, David Walliams with Williams, and Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Diane Warren, Babyface, Lewis and Sinitta to assist Cowell, who hosted a house party consisting of various singers, songwriters and record producers for the Girls to perform in front of. Liam Payne and Nile Rodgers were announced to assist Tomlinson.^[13]

Maria Laroco was not able to secure the correct visa in time to travel to Malibu with the remaining Girls for this stage of the competition. Unlike similar instances where the affected contestants withdrew from the competition, Laroco sang to Cowell via video link from a London studio.

16 finalists were put through to the live shows at this stage, four from each category. This last-minute change was lobbied by Cowell who was unable to narrow his Girls down to just three; the other judges were then allowed one more act each for their own categories as well.

Summary of Judges' Houses
Judge	Category	Location	Assistants	Contestants eliminated
Cowell	Girls	Malibu	Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Diane Warren, Babyface, Michelle Visage, Adam Lambert, Leona Lewis, Sinitta, Paul Anka, Tricky Stewart and Dallas Austin.	Georgia Burgess, Maria Laroco
Field	Over 28s	Beverly Hills	Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis	Ricky John, Louise Setara
Tomlinson	Boys	Ibiza	Liam Payne and Nile Rodgers	J-Sol, Thomas Pound
Williams	Groups	Beverly Hills	David Walliams	Panda and Burgandy, Sweet Sense

Finalists

Key:

– Winner

– Runner-up

– Third place

- Golden X/Safe Seat (Six-chair challenge)

Contestant	Age(s)	Hometown	Category (Mentor)	Result
Dalton Harris	24	Clarendon, Jamaica	Boys (Tomlinson)	Winner
Scarlett Lee	21	Surrey	Girls (Cowell)	Runner-up
Anthony Russell	28	Bootle	Boys (Tomlinson)	3rd place
Acacia & Aaliyah	15 & 14	Leyland	Groups (Williams)	4th place
Brendan Murray	21	Tuam, Ireland	Boys (Tomlinson)	5th place
Danny Tetley	36	Wigan	Over 28s (Field)	6th place
Shan Ako	25	Croydon	Girls (Cowell)	7th place
Bella Penfold	19	Essex	Girls (Cowell)	8th place
Giovanni Spano	33	West London	Over 28s (Field)	9th place
Misunderstood	25 & 27	London	Groups (Williams)	10th place
Molly Scott	16	County Durham	Girls (Cowell)	11th place
United Vibe	17–20	Various	Groups (Williams)	12th place
LMA Choir	19–40	Liverpool	Groups (Williams)	13th place
Janice Robinson	50	Galveston, United States	Over 28s (Field)	14th place
Armstrong Martins	23	Lagos, Nigeria/London	Boys (Tomlinson)	15th place
Olatunji Yearwood	32	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Over 28s (Field)	16th place

Live shows

The finalists were announced after each category performed at Judges' Houses. There will be 16 finalists (4 from each category) this year. The Live Shows will be broadcast for 7 weeks from 20 October to 2 December.^[14]^[15] This year the live shows reverts to the previous format of all performances on the Saturday night and the results show on the Sunday night.^[16] However, there are 16 finalists and a reduced number of live shows, so almost all of the live result shows had double eliminations.^[17]^[18]

Nile Rodgers temporarily replaced Williams on the panel, due to touring commitments. Rodgers appeared in Williams's place from 4–18 November.^[10]

For the first time since 2008, there was no elimination on the Saturday (1 December 2018). Instead, all 3 finalists progressed the Sunday (2 December 2018) live final results show.^[19]

Musical guests

Keala Settle and Rak-Su, the winners of the previous series, performed on the first live results show. Little Mix and Kylie Minogue performed on the second live results show. James Arthur and Jonas Blue, Liam Payne and Lennon Stella performed on the third live results show. Michael Bublé, Olly Murs and Lady Leshurr performed on the fourth live results show. Cheryl and Tom Walker performed on the fifth live results show. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus appeared on the sixth live show (Andersson doing a Masterclass with the semi-finalists and Ulvaeus appearing on the judging panel alongside Williams, Field, Tomlinson and Cowell to judge the performances). Zara Larsson performed on the sixth live results show. The live final featured performances from Robbie Williams (with the final 10 finalists), James Arthur, Anne-Marie and George Ezra. Pinkfong, Ellie Goulding, Nile Rodgers and Chic (with Acacia & Aaliyah and Misunderstood) and Take That (with Robbie Williams) performed on the live final results show.^[20]

Final venue

Unlike the previous series where the live final was held at The ExCeL Center in London, instead this year's final was held at the normal venue which is The SSE Arena, Wembley in London.^[21]

Winners single

The winners single will be the winning contestant's duet from the Sunday (2 December 2018) result show with all proceeds going to the children's charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase. It is the eighth year running that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has waived any VAT on The X Factor's winners single.^[22] The winner was announced to be Dalton Harris who performed a duet with James Arthur on "The Power of Love".

Results summary

Colour key

–	Contestant was in the bottom two/three and had to perform again in the sing-off
–	Contestant was in the bottom three but received the fewest votes and was immediately eliminated
–	Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no sing-off)
–	Contestant received the most public votes

Weekly results per contestant^[23]
Contestant	Week 1	Week 2		Week 3	Week 4		Week 5		Week 6		Week 7
Contestant	Week 1	First Vote	Second Vote	Week 3	First Vote	Second Vote	First Vote	Second Vote	Saturday	Sunday	Week 7
Dalton Harris	3rd 9.3%	1st 15.5%	2nd 15.2%	1st 15.9%	2nd 17.3%	2nd 17.8%	1st 23.8%	1st 22.8%	1st 26.9%	1st 31.4%	Winner 41.3%
Scarlett Lee	6th 7.4%	5th 6.8%	4th 7.2%	3rd 9.5%	4th 8.9%	4th 9.3%	5th 9.4%	4th 11.3%	2nd 19.1%	3rd 22.3%	Runner-up 31.3%
Anthony Russell	1st 11.5%	2nd 15.4%	1st 15.6%	2nd 14.8%	1st 18.6%	1st 18.8%	2nd 19.0%	2nd 19.9%	3rd 18.9%	2nd 23.5%	3rd 27.4%
Acacia & Aaliyah	9th 6.2%	6th 6.6%	7th 6.8%	10th 6.5%	9th 7.0%	8th 8.0%	6th 8.9%	6th 9.8%	4th 12.3%	4th 14.7%	Eliminated (week 6)
Brendan Murray	10th 4.9%	12th 4.7%	12th 4.8%	9th 6.6%	5th 8.6%	5th 8.8%	4th 9.5%	5th 10.5%	5th 11.9%	Eliminated (week 6)
Danny Tetley	8th 6.8%	7th 6.3%	6th 6.8%	7th 7.2%	7th 7.8%	7th 8.1%	3rd 12.8%	3rd 12.6%	6th 10.9%	Eliminated (week 6)
Shan Ako	2nd 10.0%	3rd 7.9%	3rd 7.9%	4th 9.2%	3rd 9.6%	3rd 9.8%	7th 8.5%	7th 8.9%	Eliminated (week 5)
Bella Penfold	4th 8.5%	9th 5.3%	9th 5.6%	6th 7.2%	6th 8.1%	6th 8.5%	8th 8.1%	Eliminated (week 5)
Giovanni Spano	13th 3.4%	10th 4.9%	10th 5.0%	5th 7.8%	8th 7.2%	9th 7.3%	Eliminated (week 4)
Misunderstood	5th 8.0%	4th 6.8%	5th 7.2%	8th 7.0%	10th 6.9%	Eliminated (week 4)
Molly Scott	7th 7.2%	8th 5.6%	8th 5.9%	11th 4.5%	Eliminated (week 3)
United Vibe	12th 4.5%	11th 4.9%	11th 4.8%	12th 3.8%	Eliminated (week 3)
LMA Choir	11th 4.8%	13th 4.7%	13th 4.5%	Eliminated (week 2)
Janice Robinson	14th 3.2%	14th 4.6%	Eliminated (week 2)
Armstrong Martins	15th 2.4%	Eliminated (week 1)
Olatunji Yearwood	16th 1.9%	Eliminated (week 1)

Sing-off	Robinson, Martins	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	LMA Choir, Murray	Acacia & Aaliyah, Scott	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	Acacia & Aaliyah, Spano	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	Acacia & Aaliyah, Ako	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	Acacia & Aaliyah, Lee	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Judges voted to	Eliminate		Eliminate			Eliminate		Eliminate		Send Through
Williams' vote	Martins		Murray	N/A		N/A		N/A		Acacia & Aaliyah
Rodgers' vote	N/A		N/A	Scott		Spano		Ako		N/A
Field's vote	Martins		LMA Choir	Scott		Acacia & Aaliyah		Ako		Lee
Tomlinson's vote	Robinson		LMA Choir	Scott		Spano		Acacia & Aaliyah		Lee
Cowell's vote	Martins		Murray	Acacia & Aaliyah		Spano		Acacia & Aaliyah		Lee
Eliminated	Olatunji Yearwood 1.9% to save	Janice Robinson 4.6% to save	LMA Choir 2 of 4 votes Deadlock	United Vibe 3.8% to save	Misunderstood 6.9% to save	Giovanni Spano 3 of 4 votes Majority	Bella Penfold 8.1% to save	Shan Ako 2 of 4 votes Deadlock	Danny Tetley 10.9% to save	Acacia & Aaliyah 1 of 4 votes Minority	Anthony Russell 28.4% to win
Eliminated	Armstrong Martins 3 of 4 votes Majority	Janice Robinson 4.6% to save	LMA Choir 2 of 4 votes Deadlock	Molly Scott 3 of 4 votes Majority	Misunderstood 6.9% to save	Giovanni Spano 3 of 4 votes Majority	Bella Penfold 8.1% to save	Shan Ako 2 of 4 votes Deadlock	Brendan Murray 11.9% to save	Acacia & Aaliyah 1 of 4 votes Minority	Scarlett Lee 31.3% to win

Live show details

Week 1 (20/21 October)

Theme: This is Me
Musical guests: Keala Settle ("This Is Me") and Rak-Su ("I Want You to Freak")^[24]

This week's results show featured a double elimination. The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three, and the act out of the three with the fewest public votes was then automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes.

Contestants' performances on the first live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song^[25]	Result
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	1	"Chewing Gum" (original song)	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"Issues"	Safe
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	3	"Hero"	Safe
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	4	"Fake Love"	Safe
Janice Robinson	Over 28s (Field)	5	"Clarity"	Bottom three
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	6	"Break Free"	Safe
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	7	"Beneath Your Beautiful"	Safe
Armstrong Martins	Boys (Tomlinson)	8	"Story of My Life"	Bottom three
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	9	"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"	Safe
United Vibe	Groups (Williams)	10	"Slow Hands"	Safe
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	11	"Imagine"	Safe
Olatunji Yearwood	Over 28s (Field)	12	"Jiggle It" (original song)	Eliminated
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	13	"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"	Safe
LMA Choir	Groups (Williams)	14	"Circle of Life"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	15	"Finesse"	Safe
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	16	"Life On Mars?"	Safe
Sing-off details
Janice Robinson	Over 28s (Field)	1	"The Climb"	Saved
Armstrong Martins	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"True Colors"	Eliminated

Judges' votes to eliminate

Field: Armstrong Martins – backed her own act, Janice Robinson, saying she deserves to be in the competition.
Tomlinson: Janice Robinson – backed his own act, Armstrong Martins.
Williams: Armstrong Martins – gave no reason.
Cowell: Armstrong Martins – said that despite Martins being more interesting, Robinson was the better singer.

Week 2 (27/28 October)

Theme: Guilty Pleasures
Musical guests: Little Mix ("Woman Like Me")^[26] and Kylie Minogue ("A Lifetime to Repair")

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were frozen on Sunday at 7:30pm, 30 minutes before the results show, and Janice Robinson was eliminated after the special guest performance from Little Mix after receiving the fewest votes. Lines then reopened and the two acts with the next fewest votes then performed in the sing-off.

Contestants' performances on the second live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song^[27]	Result
LMA Choir	Groups (Williams)	1	"Proud Mary"	Bottom three
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	2	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"	Safe
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	3	"Crazy for You"	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	4	"Believe"	Bottom three
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	5	"Close to You"	Safe
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	6	"Little Do You Know"	Safe
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	7	"I Have Nothing"	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	8	"Always On My Mind"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	9	"All My Life"/"Shutdown"	Safe
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	10	"...Baby One More Time"	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	11	"I Want to Know What Love Is"	Safe
United Vibe	Groups (Williams)	12	"Party in the U.S.A."	Safe
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	13	"Diamonds Are Forever"/"Diamonds from Sierra Leone"	Safe
Janice Robinson	Over 28s (Field)	14	"Show Me Love"	Eliminated
Sing-off details
LMA Choir	Groups (Williams)	1	"A Change Is Gonna Come"	Eliminated
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"High and Dry"	Saved

Judges' votes to eliminate

Williams: Brendan Murray – backed his own act, LMA Choir.
Tomlinson: LMA Choir – backed his own act, Brendan Murray.
Cowell: Brendan Murray – gave no reason.
Field: LMA Choir – could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock.

With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. LMA Choir were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 3 (3/4 November)

Theme: Fright Night
Musical guests: James Arthur ("Empty Space")^[28] and Jonas Blue, Liam Payne & Lennon Stella ("Polaroid")^[29]

The live show was pre-recorded during Saturday afternoon to allow Williams to be present before flying to South America for touring commitments. Nile Rodgers appeared as a guest judge, filling in for Williams during the third results show and the fourth & fifth live shows and results shows.

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were originally scheduled to be frozen on Sunday at 7:30pm, 60 minutes before the results show, the act receiving the fewest votes leaving the competition at the beginning of the show before lines would reopen and the two acts with the next fewest votes would then perform in the sing-off. However, due to a technical issue that affected the sound during Danny Tetley and Anthony Russell's performances, Saturday’s public vote was cancelled and lines instead opened in the results show on Sunday.^[30] At the start of the live results show, all of the performances were shown in full before the public vote opened for 14 minutes.^[31]

Contestants' performances on the third live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song^[32]	Result
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	1	"Toxic"	Bottom three
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"Creep"	Safe
United Vibe	Groups (Williams)	3	"Bleeding Love"	Eliminated
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	4	"The Sound of Silence"	Safe
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	5	"Who Wants to Live Forever"	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	6	"Demons"	Safe
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	7	"Thriller"	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	8	"I Put a Spell on You"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	9	"Jump"	Bottom three
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	10	"In My Blood"	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	11	"Youngblood"	Safe
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	12	"Live and Let Die"	Safe
Sing-off details
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	1	"Big for Your Boots"	Saved
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	2	"Human"	Eliminated

Judges' votes to eliminate

Rodgers: Molly Scott – based on the sing-off performances, effectively backing Williams' own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
Cowell: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed his own act, Molly Scott.
Field: Molly Scott – based on the sing-off performances.
Tomlinson: Molly Scott – said both acts have potential but he was not sure Scott was "quite there yet".

Week 4 (10/11 November)

Theme: "Movies" (songs from films)^[33]
Musical guests: Michael Bublé ("When I Fall in Love") and Olly Murs featuring Lady Leshurr ("Moves")^[34]

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were frozen on Sunday at 7:30pm, 60 minutes before the results show, and Misunderstood were eliminated after the special guest performance from Bublé after receiving the fewest votes. Lines then reopened and the two acts with the next fewest votes then performed in the sing-off.

Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song^[33]	Movie	Result
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	1	"The Greatest Show"	The Greatest Showman	Bottom three
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"California Dreamin'"	San Andreas	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	3	"I'll Never Love Again"	A Star is Born	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	4	"Everybody Hurts"	Bewitched	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	5	"Survivor"	Tomb Raider	Bottom three
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	6	"A Million Dreams"	The Greatest Showman	Safe
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	7	"Maniac"	Flashdance	Eliminated
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	8	"My Heart Will Go On"	Titanic	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	9	"Eye of the Tiger"	Rocky III	Safe
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	10	"Never Enough"	The Greatest Showman	Safe
Sing-off details
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	1	"Let Me Entertain You"		Eliminated
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	2	"All My Life"/ "Shutdown"		Saved

Judges' votes to eliminate

Rodgers: Giovanni Spano – backed Williams' own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
Field: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed her own act, Giovanni Spano, saying he brought fun and vital entertainment to the competition.
Tomlinson: Giovanni Spano – believed Acacia & Aaliyah had a future as recording artists while Spano had more of a future in musical theatre.
Cowell: Giovanni Spano – gave no specific reason but praised both acts' sing-off performances.

Week 5: Quarter-Final (17/18 November)

Theme: Big Band
Musical guests: Tom Walker ("Leave a Light On") and Cheryl ("Love Made Me Do It")^[35]

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were frozen on Sunday at 7:30pm, 30 minutes before the results show, and Bella Penfold was eliminated immediately at the beginning of the show. Once that occurred, lines reopened for a few more minutes and the two acts with the next fewest votes performed in the sing off.

During the results show, Cowell originally told the acts that the final six would go on The X Factor Live Tour in 2019. After the elimination of Shan Ako, Cowell stated that he would allow both her and Penfold to join the final six on tour as well. His statement meant that the final eight would perform on the tour rather than the final six.

Contestants' performances on the fifth live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song^[36]	Result
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	1	"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"Say Something"	Safe
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	3	"Summertime"	Bottom three
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	4	"Beyond the Sea"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	5	"Act Our Age" (original song)	Bottom three
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	6	"Strong"	Eliminated
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	7	"Listen"	Safe
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	8	"My Way"	Safe
Sing-off details
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	1	"Rise Up"	Eliminated
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	2	"Bang Bang"	Saved

Judges' votes to eliminate

Cowell: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed his own act, Shan Ako.
Rodgers: Shan Ako – backed Williams' own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
Tomlinson: Acacia & Aaliyah – based on "vocal ability" without being led by his emotions.
Field: Shan Ako – praised both acts' sing-off performances but could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock.

With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Shan Ako was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 6: Semi-Final (24/25 November)

24 November

Theme: Get Me to the Final (Part I) & Mamma Mia^[37]

This week's semi-final featured a triple elimination. During Saturday's show, the lines froze where the two acts with the fewest votes were immediately eliminated. They then re-opened and closed during Sunday's results show ahead of the final sing-off of the series.

In addition, following all of the act's first performance during Saturday's show, each act performed a segment from an ABBA song where Björn Ulvaeus joined the judging panel for the performances.

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	First song	Order	Second song	Result
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"Run"	11	"I Have a Dream"	Eliminated
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	2	"This Is My Life"	12	"Thank You for the Music"	Eliminated
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	3	"Feeling Good"	7	"SOS"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	4	"Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2"/"I Win"	10	"Money, Money, Money"	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	5	"Livin' on a Prayer"	8	"The Name of the Game"	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	6	"This Is Me"	9	"The Winner Takes It All"	Safe

25 November

Theme: Get Me to the Final (Part II)
Musical guests: Zara Larsson ^[37] ("Ruin My Life")

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song	Result
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"Clown"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	2	"Big for Your Boots"/"Shutdown"	Bottom two
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	3	"Don't Look Back in Anger"	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	4	"I Didn't Know My Own Strength"	Bottom two
Sing-off details
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	1	"Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2"/"I Win"	Eliminated
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	2	"This Is Me"	Saved

Judges' votes to send through to the final

Cowell: Scarlett Lee – based on the sing-off performances, and said he would have made the same choice even if Scarlett Lee was not his own act; he said without her, the final would not be the same.
Williams: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed his own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
Field: Scarlett Lee – based on the sing-off performances.
Tomlinson: Scarlett Lee – based on the vocals only in the sing-off performances.

Week 7: Final (1/2 December)

1 December^[20]

Theme: No theme; Celebrity duets
Group Performance: "Let Me Entertain You"/"Rock DJ"/"Freedom" (Final 10 with Robbie Williams)
Musical guests: James Arthur & Anne-Marie ("Rewrite the Stars") and George Ezra ("Shotgun")

Contestants' performances on the seventh live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	First song	Order	Second song
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"Let It Be"	4	"Leave a Light On" with Tom Walker
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"A Song for You"	5	"Beneath Your Beautiful" with Emeli Sandé
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	3	"Your Song"	6	"Angels" with Robbie Williams

2 December^[20]

Theme: Winners duets
Musical guests: Pinkfong ("Baby Shark"), Ellie Goulding ("Close To Me"), Nile Rodgers & Chic ("Le Freak"/'Till The World Falls"/"We Are Family"/"I Want Your Love"/"Do You Wanna Party"/"Good Times"/"Rapper's Delight" with Acacia & Aaliyah and Misunderstood) and Take That ("Shine"/"Everything Changes" with Robbie Williams)

Contestants' performances on the final live show
Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song	Results
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"I Predict a Riot" with Kaiser Chiefs	Third place
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	2	"One More Sleep" with Leona Lewis	Runner-up
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	3	"The Power of Love" with James Arthur	Winner

Reception

Ratings

As of September 2018, all official ratings include those who watched on demand via the ITV Hub.

Episode	Air date	Official rating (millions)^[38]^,1	Weekly rank^[38]^,2
Auditions 1	1 September	7.59	1
Auditions 2	2 September	6.43	8
Auditions 3	8 September	6.57	9
Auditions 4	9 September	6.38	13
Auditions 5	15 September	7.08	7
Auditions 6	16 September	6.08	15
Auditions 7	22 September	6.59	11
Auditions 8	23 September	6.34	15
Six-chair challenge 1	29 September	6.27	15
Six-chair challenge 2	30 September	6.38	12
Six-chair challenge 3	6 October	6.38	11
Judges Houses 1	7 October	6.19	13
Judges Houses 2	13 October	6.88	11
Judges Houses 3	14 October	6.26	14
Live show 1	20 October	5.55	15
Live results 1	21 October	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 2	27 October	5.29	15
Live results 2	28 October	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 3	3 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live results 3	4 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 4	10 November	5.03	15
Live results 4	11 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 5	17 November	4.99	15
Live results 5	18 November	5.42	13
Live show 6	24 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live results 6	25 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live final 1	1 December	N/A	Outside top 15
Live final 2	2 December	N/A	Outside top 15

^1 The ratings over a 28-day period, including the broadcasts on ITV and streaming through ITV Hub using BARB's four-screen dashboard system (includes viewers watching on tablets/smartphones).

^2 The ITV rank for the programme compared to other ITV broadcasts for the week.

Controversies

Accusations of transphobia

During the audition stage, 20-year-old transgender man Felix Shepherd impressed the judges with his rendition of "All I Want" by Kodaline, and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Before singing, Williams asked him about his background; Shepherd said he was there to prove to people that he was "more than just a transgender guy." Williams responded by asking him: "So when you were born, what was your name?", thus misgendering him. Although many fans of the show were supportive of the representation, many were outraged by Williams' question, though Shepherd stated that he was not offended by Williams.^[39]^[40]

Sharon Osbourne

On 5 September 2018, whilst on Howard Stern's radio show, Osbourne accused Cowell of underpaying her for the new series. She used some offensive language to criticise Cowell and the show's auditionees, which led to a backlash from fans who suggested that Osbourne should be replaced.^[41] Osbourne subsequently announced her decision to not participate during the live shows.^[5] Various sources reported that Osbourne had been fired over the interview and Stern stated that he believed she had been tipped off to keep quiet. Osbourne later refuted Stern's allegations and stated that her comments were only made in jest and were not to be taken literally, but that they were misappropriated by other people including The X Factor’s production company due to Stern wanting to give Cowell a bad reputation by using his radio show. She added that although the company wanted to fire her, Cowell was not upset with the comments and wanted her to remain on the show, but that it was ultimately her decision to step down out of fear of awkwardness between her and fellow judges Williams and Field, with whom she is close friends, though she did not rule out a return to the show in the future.

Sound problems

During the third week of live shows, sound issues caused the judges, O'Leary and contestants to sound distorted. As the show was not live, O'Leary did not address the sound problems until the following night's live results show, but at the end of the programme, another message said: "Due to a technical issue, tonight's vote has been cancelled. It will open in tomorrow night's show." During the results show all the performances of the night were replayed before the lines opened to make the vote as fair possible for the contestants.^[30]

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References

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↑ "Dalton Harris 'still buzzing' after X Factor win". RTE News. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
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↑ https://twitter.com/TheXFactor/status/1053678766130688000?s=19
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1 2 @TheXFactor (3 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: We apologise for the technical issue that affected the sound on part of tonight's episode of The X Factor. We are investigating why this happened. We can confirm Saturday's public vote has been cancelled and will instead open in Sunday's show at 8.30pm on ITV" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 November 2018– via Twitter.
↑ @TheXFactor (4 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: Tune in tonight at 8.30pm on @itv & @wearestv to see all of last night's #XFactor performances from our 12 amazing contestants, in full, before the new public vote opens. #decisiontime" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 November 2018– via Twitter.
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External links

The X Factor at itv.com
The X Factor at stv.tv

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[1] "Dalton Harris wins The X Factor 2018". Radio Times. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.

[2] "Dalton Harris 'still buzzing' after X Factor win". RTE News. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.

[3] Lee, Ben (7 June 2018). "Louis Walsh quits The X Factor, after 13 years". Digital Spy . United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 June 2018.

[4] Daly, Helen (7 June 2018). "X Factor 2018 judges: Sharon Osbourne lands new deal". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2018.

[Billboard_1-5] 1 2 Lenniger, Shea (2 October 2018). "Sharon Osbourne Says Goodbye to UK X Factor". Billboard . United States: Eldridge Industries . Retrieved 3 October 2018.

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[7] "New X Factor judges (finally) confirmed". BBC News . United Kingdom. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.

[8] "X Factor 2018: Judges star in new Love Island themed teaser". Mail Online. Retrieved 31 July 2018.

[9] "The Just Eat Xtra Bites is back for series 2 with a new host; Tinea Taylor joins Becca Dudley!!!". www.itv.com. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.

[auto-10] 1 2 Harp, Justin (2 November 2018). "The X Factor gets music legend to replace Robbie Williams while he's on tour". Digital Spy . United Kingdom. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

[11] "X Factor 2018 judges' categories REVEALED – spoilers!". TellyMix. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.

[12] "X Factor introduces brand new twist to the six chair challenge". TellyMix. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.

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[15] "The X Factor Episode 28".

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[17] Spencer, Samuel (28 October 2018). "The X Factor 2018 live shows: How many live shows are there?".

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[25] ttps://twitter.com/TheXFactor/status/1053678766130688000?s=19

[Little_Mix_Performance-26] @LittleMix (24 October 2018). "@LittleMix: We're coming back to @TheXFactor! 💃🏽 Can't wait to be back on that stage performing #WomanLikeMe this Sunday night! Tune in on @ITV ♥️ X the girls" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 October 2018– via Twitter.

[27] ttps://twitter.com/TheXFactor/status/1056142636480892928

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[Week_3_Vote_Cancel-30] 1 2 @TheXFactor (3 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: We apologise for the technical issue that affected the sound on part of tonight's episode of The X Factor. We are investigating why this happened. We can confirm Saturday's public vote has been cancelled and will instead open in Sunday's show at 8.30pm on ITV" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 November 2018– via Twitter.

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The X Factor
Series 15
Broadcast from	1 September (2018-09-01) – 2 December 2018 (2018-12-02)
Judges	Simon Cowell Louis Tomlinson Ayda Field Robbie Williams Nile Rodgers (guest)
Presenter(s)	Dermot O'Leary (ITV)
Co-presenter(s)	Becca Dudley (ITV Hub) Tinea Taylor (ITV Hub) Stacey Solomon (Live final)
Broadcaster	ITV ITV Hub (Xtra Bites)
Finals venue	The SSE Arena, Wembley
Winner
Dalton Harris
Origin	Clarendon, Jamaica
Song	"The Power of Love"
Mentor	Louis Tomlinson

Runner-up
Scarlett Lee
Chronology
◀ 2018 ▶