The X Factor (UK series 7)

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The X Factor
Series 7
Broadcast from21 August (2010-08-21) –
12 December 2010 (2010-12-12)
Judges
Presenter(s) Dermot O'Leary (ITV)
Co-presenter(s) Konnie Huq (ITV2)
Broadcaster
Finals venue The Fountain Studios
Winner
Matt Cardle
Matt Cardle, HMV Stockport (Cropped).jpg
Cardle in Stockport promoting the release of The Fire .
Origin Halstead, Essex, England
Song"When We Collide"
Genre(s) Pop
Mentor Dannii Minogue
Runner-up
Rebecca Ferguson
Chronology

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. [1] 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.

<i>The X Factor</i> (UK TV series) British reality television music competition

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 broadcasting on 4 September 2004 and ended on 2 December 2018 with 445 episodes broadcast over fifteen series. 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 (TV network) TV network in the United Kingdom

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.

Matt Cardle English singer

Matthew Sheridan Cardle is an English singer. Cardle was born in Southampton, England and grew up in Halstead, Essex, England. Cardle has been involved in music since his early teens and has been a member of two different bands; Darwyn and Seven Summers. Cardle rose to fame after winning the seventh series of The X Factor, and received a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music and later signed a deal with Columbia Records.

Contents

The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp, judges' houses and live shows. Auditions took place throughout June and July 2010, with Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole returning as judges. Minogue missed the auditions and bootcamp due to being on maternity leave, so Geri Halliwell, Natalie Imbruglia, Katy Perry, Pixie Lott and Nicole Scherzinger were brought in as guest judges. Cole missed the auditions in Manchester and bootcamp because she had malaria. Following bootcamp, successful acts were split into four categories: Boys (male soloists aged 16 to 27), Girls (female soloists aged 16 to 27), Over 28s (soloists aged 28 and over) and Groups. Minogue and Cole returned for the judges' houses stage, and each judge mentored eight acts through judges' houses. The live shows started on 9 October 2010. Four acts initially eliminated at judges' houses were brought back as wildcards, making this series the first to have 16 acts perform in the live shows.

Simon Cowell English reality television judge, television producer and music executive

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.

Dannii Minogue Australian pop singer, songwriter, actress

Dannii Minogue is an Australian singer-songwriter, actress, model, dancer, fashion designer, television presenter and talent competition judge. Minogue rose to prominence in the early 1980s for her roles in the Australian television talent show Young Talent Time and the soap opera Home and Away, before beginning her career as a pop singer in the early 1990s. Minogue achieved early success with hits such as "Love and Kisses", "This is It", "Jump to the Beat" and "Baby Love", though by the release of her second album, her popularity as a singer had declined, leading her to make a name for herself with award-winning performances in musicals with Grease and also in Notre Dame De Paris, as well as other acting credits in The Vagina Monologues and as Lady Macbeth. The late 1990s saw a brief return to music after Minogue reinvented herself as a dance artist with "All I Wanna Do", her first number one UK Club hit.

Louis Walsh Irish manager in the music industry

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

This was the first series of the show to be filmed in high definition, and was simulcast on ITV1 HD and STV HD. From October, The Xtra Factor was also shown in high definition, simulcast on the new channel ITV2 HD. [2] It was sponsored by TalkTalk in the United Kingdom and Domino's Pizza in Ireland.

High-definition television (HDTV) is a television system providing an image resolution that is of substantially higher resolution than that of standard-definition television. This can be either analog or digital. HDTV is the current standard video format used in most broadcasts: terrestrial broadcast television, cable television, satellite television, Blu-rays, and streaming video.

ITV HD

ITV HD is a British free-to-air high-definition television channel operated by ITV plc, the company which is contracted to provide 11 ITV services across the UK. ITV HD is available to view in England, Wales and the Scottish Borders on Freesat via channel 111, Freeview channel 103, Sky channel 176, Virgin Media channel 113 and in Switzerland on SwisscomTV.

TalkTalk Telecom Group plc is a company which provides pay television, telecommunications, Internet access, and mobile network services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 2003 as a subsidiary of Carphone Warehouse and was demerged as a standalone company in March 2010. Its headquarters are in London.

This series proved to be highly controversial, with many people complaining about the use of pitch correction software on the broadcast of contestants' auditions, the decision to form two groups out of rejected soloists at bootcamp, the rejection of popular contestant Gamu Nhengu at judges' houses, Cole abstaining to vote against one of her own acts she mentored in week 5 of the live shows and having a final showdown in the semi-final. Controversy also surrounded contestants Paul Coogan, who was axed over fears for his mental health, and Treyc Cohen, who was reported to already have a record deal when the live shows started. There were also accusations of fixing, which were denied by the show's producers. Despite the controversies, this series was the most watched series to date, with an average of 14.13 million viewers per episode. The final was watched by 17.71 million people, making it the highest rated television episode of 2010 in the UK.

Pitch correction Technique for calibrating the pitch of an audio recording to match musical notes

Pitch correction is an electronic effects unit or audio software that changes the intonation of an audio signal so that all pitches will be notes from the equally tempered system. Pitch correction devices do this without affecting other aspects of its sound. Pitch correction first detects the pitch of an audio signal, then calculates the desired change and modifies the audio signal accordingly. The widest use of pitch corrector devices is in Western popular music on vocal lines.

Judges, presenters and other personnel

Series 7 judges
Simon Cowell in December 2011.jpg
Simon Cowell
Cheryl Cole Cannes 2014.jpg
Cheryl Cole
Dannii Minogue arrives at the 58th Annual Logie Awards at Crown Palladium (26904220225) cropped.jpg
Dannii Minogue
Louis Walsh2009July.jpg
Louis Walsh

In February 2010, Dannii Minogue confirmed that she would not attend the auditions for series 7 due to being pregnant. [3] It was confirmed that guest judges would take Minogue's place alongside Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Cheryl Cole during the auditions. The guest judges were Geri Halliwell, Natalie Imbruglia, Katy Perry, Pixie Lott and Nicole Scherzinger. On 11 June, Minogue was confirmed by ITV to return for the judges' houses stage. [4] Cole missed the Manchester auditions and bootcamp due to having malaria, so Scherzinger returned as a guest judge for bootcamp. Cole then returned for the judges' houses stage. Dermot O'Leary returned for his fourth series as presenter of the main show on ITV, but Holly Willoughby did not return for her third series as presenter on The Xtra Factor on ITV2 and was replaced by Konnie Huq. Brian Friedman returned as creative director, while Ali Tennant and Savan Kotecha were hired as vocal coaches. However, Tennant's contract was ended before the live shows and was replaced by Yvie Burnett, who worked as vocal coach from series 2–6. Richard "Biff" Stannard began working as show song producer for Minogue's contestant, and Grace Woodward began working on the show as fashion director.

Cheryl (singer) English singer, songwriter and television personality

Cheryl Ann Tweedy is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's Popstars: The Rivals. While still in the group, she began a solo career in April 2009, and between then and 2014, she released four studio albums – 3 Words (2009), Messy Little Raindrops (2010), A Million Lights (2012) and Only Human (2014). Collectively, the albums included ten singles, five of which – "Fight for This Love, "Promise This", "Call My Name", "Crazy Stupid Love" and "I Don't Care" – reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart. Cheryl was the first British female solo artist to have five number-one singles in the UK, and she held the record for the British female solo artist with the most UK number-one singles until Jess Glynne overtook her in 2018.

Geri Halliwell British pop singer-songwriter, clothes designer, author and actress

Geraldine Estelle Horner is an English singer, songwriter, author, actress, fashion designer, model and television personality.

Natalie Imbruglia British-Australian singer and actress

Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian-British singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, she played Beth Brennan in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, she began a singing career with her successful hit cover of Ednaswap's song "Torn".

Selection process

Applications and auditions

United Kingdom adm location map.svg
Cities that auditions were held in.
Judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole during filming of the London auditions on 21 June 2010. Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell.jpg
Judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole during filming of the London auditions on 21 June 2010.

The first appeal for applicants for series 7 was broadcast during series 6 on 5 December 2009. Applicants for the seventh series were given the opportunity to apply by uploading a video audition to the Internet. [5] Auditions began in June 2010 in six cities: Glasgow (SECC, 9 June), Birmingham (LG Arena, 13–14 June), London (ExCeL London, 21–24 June), Dublin (Convention Centre Dublin, 28 June), Cardiff (International Arena, 2 July), and Manchester (Manchester Central, 9–11 July). Dublin returned as an audition city for the first time since the third series in 2006. [6]

<i>The X Factor</i> (UK series 6)

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.

ExCeL London Exhibitions and international convention centre in the London Borough of Newham

ExCeL is an exhibitions and international convention centre in Custom House area of Canning Town, East London. It is located on a 100-acre (0.40 km2) site on the northern quay of the Royal Victoria Dock in London Docklands, between Canary Wharf and London City Airport, and is located within the London Borough of Newham.

Convention Centre Dublin National convention centre situated in the Dublin Docklands

The Convention Centre Dublin is a convention centre in the Dublin Docklands, Ireland. The Convention centre overlooks the River Liffey at Spencer Dock. It was designed by the Irish-born American architect Kevin Roche. The CCD was shortlisted for the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards – Engineering Project of the Year 2010.

Halliwell was the first guest judge, and attended the Glasgow auditions. [7] Imbruglia was the second guest judge, appearing for the Birmingham auditions. [6] The guest judge slot was axed for the London auditions, [8] but continued with Perry judging in Dublin, [9] Lott in Cardiff and Scherzinger at the auditions in Manchester. [10] Cole was unable to attend the Manchester auditions because she had contracted malaria [11] and was not replaced for them.

The first episode, broadcast on 21 August 2010, featured auditions from Glasgow and London, [12] [13] while episode two, on 28 August, showcased Dublin's auditions and more from London. [14] More London auditions were shown on 4 September, along with those from Birmingham, [15] and Cardiff was featured in 11 September broadcast along with the final set of London auditions. [16] Finally, the Manchester auditions were shown in the 18 and 19 September episodes. [17] [18]

Summary of auditions
CityDate(s)VenueGuest judge(s)Permanent judges
Glasgow 9 June 2010 SECC Geri Halliwell Louis Walsh
Cheryl Cole
Simon Cowell
Birmingham 13–14 June 2010 LG Arena Natalie Imbruglia
London21–24 June 2010 ExCeL London None
Dublin 28 June 2010 Convention Centre Dublin Katy Perry
Cardiff 2 July 2010 International Arena Pixie Lott
Manchester 9–11 July 2010 Manchester Central Nicole Scherzinger Louis Walsh
Simon Cowell

Bootcamp

The bootcamp stage of the competition began on 22 July 2010 at Wembley Arena, London and was broadcast on 25–26 September. [19] Minogue continued her maternity leave and Cole did not attend because she was still in recovery. [20] As Cole and Minogue were absent, producers of the show decided to axe bootcamp's live audience. [21] The bootcamp stage was broadcast in two episodes on 25 and 26 September. The first day of bootcamp saw Cowell and Walsh split the 211 acts into their four categories: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups. They received vocal coaching and each category later performed one song: the Boys sang "Man in the Mirror", the Girls sang "If I Were a Boy", the Over 25s sang "Poker Face" and the Groups sang "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". At the end of the day, the number of acts was cut to 108. On the second day, acts were given dance lessons by creative director Brian Friedman but they were not judged on their performances. [22]

Scherzinger then returned as a guest judge on the third day, where each act performed one song from a list of 40. [22] On the fifth day, [23] Scherzinger suggested that the Over 25s category be changed to Over 28s, as the quality of older singers was high. The Boys and Girls categories then comprised singers aged 16 to 27, rather than 16 to 24. [24] [25] As the groups category was the weakest, five rejected soloists from the Boys category and four from the Girls category were asked to form two groups, One Direction and Belle Amie respectively. [23] [26] [27] After bootcamp, each judge was assigned a category: Cowell was given the Groups, Walsh had the Over 28s, Minogue was asked to look after the Boys and Cole was assigned the Girls. [26]

Judges' houses and wildcards

Minogue and Cole returned to the judging panel for the judges' houses stage of the competition, [6] where each judge mentored eight acts, increased from six in previous series. [24] [27] Each judge had help from a guest judge to choose their final acts. Original judge Sharon Osbourne returned to assist Walsh at Adare Manor in Adare, County Limerick, Ireland, [28] Cole was assisted by will.i.am in Coworth Park, Ascot, Berkshire, England, [29] [30] Cowell by Sinitta in Marbella, Spain, [31] and Natalie Imbruglia returned to assist Minogue in Melbourne, Australia. [32] Contestants spent a week at judges' houses and performed two songs for their respective judge. [33] Each judge and their guest eliminated five acts, leaving twelve remaining. The judges' houses stage was broadcast in two episodes on 2 and 3 October 2010.

Summary of judges' houses
JudgeCategoryLocationAssistantContestants eliminated [34] Wildcards
ColeGirls Coworth Park, Berkshire will.i.am Keri Arrindell, Annastasia Baker, Gamu Nhengu, Raquel ThomasTreyc Cohen
CowellGroups Marbella Sinitta Husstle, Princes and Rogues, The Reason, Twem Diva Fever
MinogueBoys Melbourne Natalie Imbruglia Karl Brown, Marlon McKenzie, Tom Richards, John WildingPaije Richardson
WalshOver 28s Adare Manor, County Limerick Sharon Osbourne Stephen Hunter, Yuli Minguel, Elesha Moses, Justin VanderhydeWagner

In the first live show on 9 October, Paije Richardson, Treyc Cohen, Wagner and Diva Fever were brought back as wildcards. [35]

Finalists

Key:

     – Winner
     – Runner-up
     – Third place
Playing card club A.svg Wildcard (Live shows)
ContestantAge(s)HometownCategory (Mentor)Result
Matt Cardle 27 Little Maplestead Boys (Minogue)Winner
Rebecca Ferguson (singer) 24 Liverpool Girls (Cole)Runner-up
One Direction 16-18VariousGroups (Cowell)3rd place
Cher Lloyd 17 Malvern Girls (Cole)4th place
Mary Byrne 51 Flag of Ireland.svg Ballyfermot, Ireland Over 28s (Walsh)5th place
Wagner Playing card club A.svg 53 Cradley, West Midlands Over 28s (Walsh)6th place
Katie Waissel 24 Harefield Girls (Cole)7th place
Paije Richardson Playing card club A.svg 20 Islington Boys (Minogue)8th place
Aiden Grimshaw 19 Blackpool Boys (Minogue)9th place
Treyc Cohen Playing card club A.svg 27 Stonydelph Girls (Cole)10th place
Belle Amie 17-23VariousGroups (Cowell)11th place
John Adeleye 30 Harlesden Over 28s (Walsh)12th place
Diva Fever Playing card club A.svg 21-26VariousGroups (Cowell)13th place
Storm Lee37 Edinburgh Over 28s (Walsh)14th place
F.Y.D.22-26VariousGroups (Cowell)15th place
Nicolo Festa21 Flag of Italy.svg Treviso, Italy Boys (Minogue)16th place

Live shows

Format

The Fountain Studios, where The X Factor and The Xtra Factor live shows took place The Fountain Studios.JPG
The Fountain Studios, where The X Factor and The Xtra Factor live shows took place

The live shows took place at The Fountain Studios in Wembley, north-west London. [36] They started on 9 October 2010, with contestants performing on the Saturday night shows and the results being announced on the Sunday night shows. As previously, each week had a different song theme. The two acts with the fewest public votes were in the bottom two and sang again in the "final showdown". The songs they performed in the bottom two were of their own choice and did not necessarily follow that week's theme. The four judges then each chose one act from the bottom two that they wanted to be eliminated from the show. If each act received an equal number of judges' votes, the result was deadlocked and the act with the fewest public votes was eliminated. The first live show was extended to two and a half hours to include a surprise twist, [37] namely that each judge was given a wildcard, allowing them to bring back one rejected act from judges' houses, thus bringing the number of finalists up from twelve to sixteen. [38] Owing to the addition of the wildcards, the first two results were double eliminations. The eighth result was also a double elimination. [39] In the case of a double elimination, instead of the bottom two, the bottom three were announced and the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The two remaining acts from the bottom three then performed in the final showdown. [40] [41] Starting from the eighth week of live shows, contestants performed two songs each on the Saturday night. [42]

At the start of each results show, the remaining finalists performed a song as a group. However, the song was pre-recorded and the contestants mimed, because of technical issues with mixing the number of microphones. [43] Starting this series, the contestants' live performances were made available to download from iTunes. [44] However, the songs are not eligible to chart to protect the integrity of the contest. [45] Viewers in Ireland were allowed vote again, having been unable to for four years. [46]

Each results show featured a number of guest performers. Joe McElderry and Usher performed on the first live results show, [35] and Diana Vickers and Katy Perry performed in the second week. [41] The third results show featured performances from judge Cole and Michael Bublé. [47] Rihanna, Bon Jovi and Jamiroquai performed in the fourth results show, [48] and Shayne Ward and Kylie Minogue performed in the fifth week. [49] Take That, Westlife and JLS all performed on the sixth results show, [50] and Olly Murs performed on the seventh. [51] Week eight featured performances from Justin Bieber, The Wanted and Nicole Scherzinger. [52] The cast of Glee performed on the semi-final on 5 December, [53] along with Alexandra Burke and The Black Eyed Peas. [54] Rihanna performed again in the first show of the final, and Christina Aguilera also performed. [55] Take That performed again in the second show of the final. [56]

The final took place on 11 and 12 December, with each episode lasting two hours. During the first show, the voting lines were frozen and the fourth placed contestant was eliminated. The votes carried over and the third placed contestant left on the second show following another freeze. The final two performed the potential winner's singles before the winner was announced. [57]

Results summary

Colour key
     –Contestant was in the bottom two/three and had to sing again in the final showdown
     –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 final showdown)
     –Contestant received the most public votes
Weekly results per contestant [58]
Contestant Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10
SaturdaySunday
First VoteSecond Vote
Matt Cardle2nd
15.14%		1st
24.39%		1st
23.97%		1st
20.60%		1st
33.41%		1st
23.16%		1st
18.44%		1st
31.95%		1st
35.84%		1st
39.92%		1st
39.83% 2 		Winner
44.61% 2
Rebecca Ferguson6th
6.51%		5th
7.99%		5th
8.46%		5th
9.79%		2nd
12.80%		2nd
18.24%		3rd
12.85%		2nd
13.98%		2nd
20.22%		2nd
25.71%		2nd
32.80% 2 		Runner-up
38.63% 2
One Direction4th
10.04%		3rd
9.84%		3rd
11.08%		4th
11.79%		3rd
12.13%		3rd
14.44%		4th
12.65%		4th
11.90%		3rd
17.38%		3rd
19.38%		3rd
20.72% 2 		Eliminated
(week 10)
Cher Lloyd3rd
10.31%		6th
7.17%		4th
9.12%		2nd
19.72%		5th
7.64%		5th
8.88%		8th
8.00%		3rd
13.19%		5th
11.57%		4th
15.83%		Eliminated
(week 10)
Mary Byrne1st
22.28%		2nd
18.55%		2nd
13.92%		3rd
11.98%		4th
12.02%		4th
10.66%		5th
11.97%		5th
11.29%		4th
14.99%		Eliminated
(week 9)
Wagner12th
1.91%		11th
2.47%		9th
4.50%		8th
4.77%		8th
4.21%		7th
6.30%		6th
9.90%		6th
10.48%		Eliminated
(week 8)
Katie Waissel15th
1.55%		8th
4.30%		8th
5.95%		10th
2.73%		10th
3.22%		8th
5.29%		2nd
16.82%		7th
7.21%		Eliminated
(week 8)
Paije Richardson7th
5.83%		9th
3.80%		7th
6.10%		7th
6.22%		7th
5.19%		6th
8.02%		7th
9.37%		Eliminated
(week 7)
Aiden Grimshaw5th
9.78%		4th
8.82%		6th
6.58%		6th
6.70%		6th
5.85%		9th
5.01%		Eliminated
(week 6)
Treyc Cohen8th
4.82%		10th
2.82%		12th
2.39%		9th
3.14%		9th
3.53%		Eliminated
(week 5)
Belle Amie11th
2.13%		13th
1.86%		10th
4.15%		11th
2.56%		Eliminated
(week 4)
John Adeleye9th
2.46%		7th
4.50%		11th
3.78%		Eliminated
(week 3)
Diva Fever10th
2.28%		12th
2.05%		Eliminated
(week 2)
Storm Lee13th
1.89%		14th
1.44%		Eliminated
(week 2)
F.Y.D.14th
1.71%		Eliminated
(week 1)
Nicolo Festa16th
1.51%		Eliminated
(week 1)
Final showdownF.Y.D.,
Waissel		Belle Amie,
Diva Fever		Adeleye,
Cohen		Belle Amie,
Waissel		Cohen,
Waissel		Grimshaw,
Waissel		Lloyd,
Richardson		Byrne,
Wagner		Byrne,
Lloyd		No final showdown or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Judges voted toEliminateSend Through
Walsh's voteF.Y.D.Diva FeverCohenWaisselCohenWaisselRichardsonWagnerByrne
Minogue's voteF.Y.D.Diva FeverAdeleyeBelle AmieWaisselWaisselLloydWagnerLloyd
Cole’s voteF.Y.D.Diva FeverAdeleyeBelle AmieNone (abstained)GrimshawRichardsonWagnerLloyd
Cowell's voteWaisselN/A 1 AdeleyeWaisselCohenGrimshawRichardsonN/A 1 Lloyd
EliminatedNicolo Festa
1.51%
to save		Storm Lee
1.44%
to save		John Adeleye
3 of 4 votes
Majority		Belle Amie
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock		Treyc Cohen
2 of 3 votes
Majority		Aiden Grimshaw
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock		Paije Richardson
3 of 4 votes
Majority		Katie Waissel
7.21%
to save		Mary Byrne
1 of 4 votes
Minority		Cher Lloyd
15.83%
to win		One Direction
20.72%
to win		Rebecca Ferguson
38.63%
to win
F.Y.D.
3 of 4 votes
Majority		Diva Fever
3 of 3 votes
Majority		Wagner
3 of 3 votes
Majority
Reference(s) [59] [60] [59] [61] [59] [62] [48] [59] [49] [59] [50] [59] [51] [59] [59] [39] [59] [63] [55] [59] [56] [59]

Live show details

Week 1 (9/10 October)

Contestants' performances on the first live show
ActOrderSong [67] [68] Result [60]
F.Y.D1"Billionaire"Bottom three
Matt Cardle2"When Love Takes Over"Safe
John Adeleye3"One Sweet Day"Safe
Rebecca Ferguson4"Teardrops"Safe
Storm Lee5"We Built This City"Safe
Belle Amie6"Airplanes"Safe
Cher Lloyd7"Just Be Good to Me"Safe
Diva Fever8"Sunny"Safe
Paije Richardson9"Killing Me Softly"Safe
Katie Waissel10"We Are the Champions"Bottom three
Mary Byrne11"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"Safe
Nicolo Festa12"Just Dance"Eliminated
One Direction13"Viva la Vida"Safe
Wagner14"She Bangs"/"Love Shack"Safe
Aiden Grimshaw15"Mad World"Safe
Treyc Cohen16"One"Safe
Final showdown details [69]
F.Y.D1"Don't Stop the Music"Eliminated
Katie Waissel2"Don't Let Me Down"Safe
  • Owing to the addition of four wildcard contestants, two acts were eliminated from the series' first results show. [35] The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and the act with the fewest public votes was then automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes. [60]
Judges' votes to eliminate [60]
  • Cowell: Katie Waissel – backed his own act, F.Y.D.
  • Cole: F.Y.D. – based on the final showdown performance, effectively backing her own act, Katie Waissel.
  • Minogue: F.Y.D. – based on the final showdown performance.
  • Walsh: F.Y.D. – stated that he had to choose the act with more potential, as well as "the right act".

Week 2 (16/17 October)

Contestants' performances on the second live show
ActOrderSong [70] Hero [70] Result [61]
Storm Lee1"Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen Eliminated
Treyc Cohen2"Purple Rain" Prince Safe
Paije Richardson3"If I Ain't Got You" Alicia Keys Safe
One Direction4"My Life Would Suck Without You" Kelly Clarkson Safe
Cher Lloyd5"It's the Hard Knock Life"/"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" Jay-Z Safe
John Adeleye6"A Song for You" Donny Hathaway Safe
Diva Fever7"Gotta Go Home" [73] / "Barbra Streisand" Boney M. [74] Bottom three
Rebecca Ferguson8"Feeling Good" Nina Simone Safe
Aiden Grimshaw9"Jealous Guy" John Lennon Safe
Wagner10"Help Yourself" Tom Jones Safe
Katie Waissel11"I'd Rather Go Blind" Etta James Safe
Belle Amie12"You Really Got Me" The Kinks Bottom three
Mary Byrne13"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" Dusty Springfield Safe
Matt Cardle14"Just the Way You Are" Bruno Mars Safe
Final showdown details [61]
Diva Fever1"I Will Survive"Eliminated
Belle Amie2"Big Girls Don't Cry"Safe
  • Owing to the addition of the wildcard contestants, two acts were eliminated from the series' second results show. The three acts with the fewest public votes were announced as the bottom three and then the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes. [41]
Judges' votes to eliminate [61]
  • Walsh: Diva Fever – thought Belle Amie would get better in the competition.
  • Minogue: Diva Fever – based on final showdown performances.
  • Cole: Diva Fever – gave no reason.
  • Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority; when asked how he would have voted, he refused to answer as both were his own acts.

Week 3 (23/24 October)

Contestants' performances on the third live show
ActOrderSong [76] Result [62]
Paije Richardson1"Ain't Nobody"Safe
John Adeleye2"Zoom"Bottom two
Rebecca Ferguson3"Why Don't You Do Right?"Safe
Cher Lloyd4"No Diggity"/"Shout"Safe
Matt Cardle5"...Baby One More Time"Safe
One Direction6"Nobody Knows"Safe
Treyc Cohen7"Whole Lotta Love"Bottom two
Mary Byrne8"I (Who Have Nothing)"Safe
Aiden Grimshaw9"Diamonds Are Forever"Safe
Belle Amie10"I'll Stand by You"Safe
Wagner11"Spice Up Your Life"/"Livin' la Vida Loca"Safe
Katie Waissel12"I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)"Safe
Final showdown details [62]
John Adeleye1"Because of You"Eliminated
Treyc Cohen2"One Night Only"Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate [77]
  • Walsh: Treyc Cohen – backed his own act, John Adeleye, whom he said had more potential.
  • Minogue: John Adeleye – based on the final showdown performances.
  • Cole: John Adeleye – backed her own act, Treyc Cohen.
  • Cowell: John Adeleye – based on final showdown performances and stated that Adeleye was not improving as much as Cohen.

Week 4 (30/31 October)

Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
ActOrderSong [79] Result [48]
Mary Byrne1"Could It Be Magic"Safe
Aiden Grimshaw2"Thriller"Safe
Belle Amie3"Venus"Bottom two
Rebecca Ferguson4"Wicked Game"Safe
Treyc Cohen5"Relight My Fire"Safe
Matt Cardle6"Bleeding Love"Safe
Wagner7"O Fortuna" / "Bat Out of Hell"Safe
Paije Richardson8"Back to Black"Safe
Katie Waissel9"Bewitched"Bottom two
One Direction10"Total Eclipse of the Heart"Safe
Cher Lloyd11"Stay"Safe
Final showdown details [48]
Belle Amie1"Breakaway"Eliminated
Katie Waissel2"Trust in Me"Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate [48]
  • Cowell: Katie Waissel – backed his own act, Belle Amie.
  • Cole: Belle Amie – gave no reason, though effectively backed her own act, Katie Waissel.
  • Minogue: Belle Amie – based on the final showdown performance.
  • Walsh: Katie Waissel – gave no reason.

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Belle Amie were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. [48]

Week 5 (6/7 November)

Contestants' performances on the fifth live show
ActOrderSong [80] Result [49]
Cher Lloyd1"Empire State of Mind (Part II)"/"Empire State of Mind"Safe
Mary Byrne2"There You'll Be"Safe
Katie Waissel3"Don't Speak"Bottom two
Aiden Grimshaw4"Nothing Compares 2 U"Safe
Paije Richardson5"I'm a Believer"/"Hey Ya!"Safe
Rebecca Ferguson6"Make You Feel My Love"Safe
Wagner7"Viva Las Vegas"/"The Wonder of You"Safe
Matt Cardle8"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"Safe
Treyc Cohen9"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"Bottom two
One Direction10"Kids in America"Safe
Final showdown details [49]
Katie Waissel1"Don't Give Up on Me"Safe
Treyc Cohen2"Un-Break My Heart"Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate [81]
  • Cowell: Treyc Cohen – based on who he would prefer to see again the following week.
  • Cole refused to vote off either of her acts; she asked to vote after Minogue and Walsh and send the result to deadlock if necessary, however, O'Leary then announced the result would be decided by a majority vote.
  • Minogue: Katie Waissel – gave no reason.
  • Walsh: Treyc Cohen – stated that he would follow his heart and save Katie Waissel.

Week 6 (13/14 November)

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
ActOrderSong [83] Result [50]
Paije Richardson1"Crocodile Rock"Safe
Aiden Grimshaw2"Rocket Man"Bottom two
Mary Byrne3"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"Safe
Katie Waissel4"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"Bottom two
Matt Cardle5"Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"Safe
Cher Lloyd6"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"/"Mockingbird"Safe
Wagner7"I'm Still Standing"/"Circle of Life"Safe
One Direction8"Something About the Way You Look Tonight"Safe
Rebecca Ferguson9"Candle in the Wind"Safe
Final showdown details [50]
Aiden Grimshaw1"Don't Dream It's Over"Eliminated
Katie Waissel2"Save Me from Myself"Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate [85]
  • Cowell: Aiden Grimshaw – gave no reason.
  • Cole: Aiden Grimshaw – backed her own act, Katie Waissel.
  • Minogue: Katie Waissel – gave no reason, though effectively backed her own act, Aiden Grimshaw.
  • Walsh: Katie Waissel – felt Grimshaw had more potential.

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Grimshaw was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. [50]

Week 7 (20/21 November)

Contestants' performances on the seventh live show
ActOrderSong [87] Result [51]
Matt Cardle1"Come Together"Safe
Cher Lloyd2"Imagine"Bottom two
One Direction3"All You Need Is Love"Safe
Rebecca Ferguson4"Yesterday"Safe
Mary Byrne5"Something"Safe
Paije Richardson6"Let It Be"Bottom two
Wagner7"Get Back"/"Hippy Hippy Shake"/"Hey Jude"Safe
Katie Waissel8"Help!"Safe
Final showdown details [51]
Paije Richardson1"Stop!"Eliminated
Cher Lloyd2"Stay"Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate [51]
  • Cowell: Paije Richardson – said he would want to back Lloyd whom he had continually supported.
  • Cole: Paije Richardson – backed her own act, Cher Lloyd.
  • Minogue: Cher Lloyd – backed her own act, Paije Richardson.
  • Walsh: Paije Richardson – gave no reason.

Week 8: Quarter-Final (27/28 November)

For the first time this series, each contestant performed two songs. [42]

Contestants' performances on the eighth live show
ActOrderFirst song [90] OrderSecond song [90] Result [39]
Wagner1"Creep"8"Addicted to Love"Bottom three
One Direction2"Summer of '69"9"You Are So Beautiful"Safe
Mary Byrne3"All I Want Is You"10"Brass in Pocket"Bottom three
Cher Lloyd4"Girlfriend"14"Walk This Way"Safe
Rebecca Ferguson5"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"11"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"Safe
Matt Cardle6"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"13"Nights in White Satin"Safe
Katie Waissel7"Sex on Fire"12"Everybody Hurts"Eliminated
Final showdown details [39]
Wagner1"Unforgettable"Eliminated
Mary Byrne2"This Is My Life"Safe
  • Two acts were eliminated from the series' eighth results show. [39] The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and then the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes.
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Wagner – based on the final showdown performances.
  • Minogue: Wagner – backed Byrne whom she thought was the better singer.
  • Cole: Wagner – gave no reason.
  • Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority, but said that he would have voted to eliminate Wagner as he wanted to return the show to being a talent competition.

Week 9: Semi-Final (4/5 December)

Contestants' performances on the ninth live show
ActOrderFirst song [91] OrderSecond song [91] Result [63]
Rebecca Ferguson1"Show Me Love"9"Amazing Grace"Safe
Mary Byrne2"Never Can Say Goodbye"7"The Way We Were"Bottom two
Matt Cardle3"You Got the Love"6"She's Always a Woman"Safe
Cher Lloyd4"Nothin' on You"8"Love the Way You Lie (Part II)"/"Love the Way You Lie"Bottom two
One Direction5"Only Girl (In the World)"10"Chasing Cars"Safe
Final showdown details [63]
Mary Byrne1"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"Eliminated
Cher Lloyd2"Everytime"Safe

For the first time in The X Factor history, the judges chose which act they wanted to see progress to the final.

Judges' votes to send through to the final [92]
  • Walsh: Mary Byrne – backed his own act, Mary Byrne.
  • Minogue: Cher Lloyd – thought Lloyd’s performance was emotional.
  • Cole: Cher Lloyd – backed her own act, Cher Lloyd.
  • Cowell: Cher Lloyd – gave no reason.

Week 10: Final (11/12 December)

11 December

Contestants' performances on the tenth live show
ActOrderFirst song [93] OrderSecond song (duet) [93] [94] Result [55]
Matt Cardle1"Here with Me"5"Unfaithful" (with Rihanna)Safe
Rebecca Ferguson2"Like a Star"6"Beautiful" (with Christina Aguilera)Safe
One Direction3"Your Song"7"She's the One" (with Robbie Williams)Safe
Cher Lloyd4"The Clapping Song"/"Get Ur Freak On"8"Where Is the Love?"/"I Gotta Feeling" (with will.i.am)Eliminated

12 December

Contestants' performances on the final live show
ActOrderFirst song [56] OrderSecond song [56] Result [56]
Matt Cardle1"Firework"4"When We Collide"Winner
One Direction2"Torn"N/A (already eliminated)Third place
Rebecca Ferguson3"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"5"Distant Dreamer"Runner-up

Charity single

The series 7 finalists recorded a cover of David Bowie's 1977 song "Heroes" as a charity single in aid of Help for Heroes, a charity which supports injured servicemen and women. The song was recorded in the week beginning 18 October 2010. [95] The video for the single was filmed on 2 November [96] at Three Mills Studios. [97] All sixteen finalists performed the song on 20 November's results show. [86] It was the third year in a row that finalists have released a charity record. The single entered both the Irish Singles Chart on 25 November 2010 and the UK Singles Chart on 28 November 2010 at number 1. [98] [99]

Winner's single

It was reported on 2 December 2010 by the Daily Mirror that the final five contestants, Mary Byrne, Matt Cardle, Cher Lloyd, One Direction and Rebecca Ferguson, would each record a different song, rather than the same song as in previous series, for their potential debut single. The change was made after Cowell reportedly increased the budget as he wanted songs to suit each act. [100] It was reported on 10 December that Cardle's song would be "Many of Horror", Lloyd's would be "Impossible", Ferguson's would be "Distant Dreamer" and One Direction's song would be "Forever Young". [101] Cardle and Ferguson performed their songs in the final as the last two remaining acts and upon Cardle's winning the contest, his version of "Many of Horror", renamed to "When We Collide", was released. [102] [103] It entered both the UK and Ireland Singles Charts at number 1. [104] [105]

Voting, revenue and sponsors

Over the course of the live shows, 15,488,019 votes were cast. Votes made via landline telephones or from the Red Button service cost 35 pence each, with calls made from mobile telephones expected to be more expensive. The votes brought in revenue of more than £5.4 million, though it was expected to be a lot higher because of the unknown cost of mobile phone votes. Proceeds were split between production company Syco, co-producer FremantleMedia, broadcaster ITV and phone vote operator Harvest Media. [106] Advertising slots during the final were sold for up to £250,000, which expected to bring in a further £25 million in advertising revenues, with the number of commercial breaks increased from five to six. [107]

For the second year in a row, The X Factor was sponsored by TalkTalk, as part of a three-year sponsorship deal thought to be worth £20 million, including sponsorship of the show, the 2011 live tour and rights to online clips. [108] TalkTalk enlisted series 6 contestants Jedward to launch its interactive initiative on 17 August 2010. Viewers were invited to record a video of themselves performing karaoke in front of a TalkTalk bright lights backdrop, and clips were screened as part of TalkTalk's sponsorship break bumpers. [109] In Ireland, where the series was broadcast on TV3, The X Factor was sponsored by Domino's Pizza. [110]

Reception

Ratings

The first episode on 21 August attracted 11.88 million viewers on ITV1, [111] the highest ever ratings for a series premiere of The X Factor. [112] It was watched by 46.5% of television viewers during its original broadcast. [112] The episode also received ratings of 568,000 on ITV1 HD. [113] The first live performance show on 9 October 2010 gained 12.62 million viewers, [111] attaining a 48.5% share of the audience during broadcast. [114] The final result on 12 December was the highest rated episode with 16.55 million viewers on ITV1, [111] a 51.5% audience share [115] and 1.16 million viewers on ITV1 HD. [113] It peaked at 19.4 million (18.14 million on ITV1 and 1.3 million on ITV1 HD) [115] and was the highest rated television episode of 2010 in the UK. [116] Official ratings concluded that the series averaged 14.13 million (including HD), making it the most watched series to date. The series dominated the weekly rankings, taking up the top position for the first four weeks, then the top two positions until the final. The first part of the final was beaten into fourth rank by two episodes of Coronation Street . [111]

EpisodeDateOfficial ITV1 rating [111]
(millions)		Weekly rank [111] Share (%)Official ITV1 HD rating [113]
(millions)		Total viewers
(millions)
Auditions 121 August11.88148.6 [112] 0.5712.45
Auditions 228 August10.81144.9 [117] 0.5511.36
Auditions 34 September11.69149.2 [118] 0.6412.33
Auditions 411 September11.78145.0 [119] 0.5612.34
Auditions 518 September11.65246.0 [120] 0.6812.33
Auditions 619 September12.15142.8 [121] 0.7112.86
Bootcamp 125 September12.07246.4 [122] 0.7112.78
Bootcamp 226 September13.26144.4 [123] 0.8214.08
Judges' houses 12 October12.68247.3 [124] 0.8213.50
Judges' houses 23 October14.51148.5 [125] 0.9015.41
Live show 19 October12.62248.5 [114] 0.9113.53
Results 110 October13.17146.3 [126] 0.9014.07
Live show 216 October12.14247.2 [127] 0.9713.11
Results 217 October13.42146.7 [128] 0.9014.32
Live show 323 October12.39247.5 [129] 0.9513.34
Results 324 October13.73147.7 [130] 0.9514.68
Live show 430 October12.69247.1 [131] 0.8113.50
Results 431 October13.74147.5 [132] 0.9314.67
Live show 56 November12.50247.7 [133] 1.1113.61
Results 57 November14.29149.7 [134] 1.0715.36
Live show 613 November13.61249.9 [135] 0.9914.60
Results 614 November14.69147.7 [136] 1.0615.75
Live show 720 November13.28248.7 [137] 1.1314.41
Results 721 November15.04150.0 [138] 1.0916.13
Live show 827 November13.57249.0 [139] 1.0914.66
Results 828 November14.42148.7 [140] 1.0515.47
Live show 94 December13.73248.4 [141] 1.2214.95
Results 95 December14.53148.6 [142] 0.9915.52
Final part 111 December13.94452.6 [143] 1.1715.11
Final part 212 December16.55154.9 [115] 1.1617.71
Series average201013.22N/A47.90.8514.13

Controversies and criticism

The seventh series of The X Factor sparked several heated controversies, with over 5,000 complaints registered with Ofcom throughout the series. A spokesperson told the Daily Mirror newspaper that ITV bosses were worried about the number of complaints as claims that the show had become "seedy and oversexed" and accusations of fixing would tarnish the image of the show and ITV. [144]

Contestants

On 25 August, it was announced that contestant Shirlena Johnson had been asked to leave the show because of concerns over her mental health. Producers said the medical report from her general practitioner, requested during bootcamp, arrived late. A spokesperson said, "The welfare of contestants is of paramount importance, and for this reason it has been agreed that Shirlena Johnson should not continue in the competition." [145] [146]

The decision to form two groups, Belle Amie and One Direction, from soloists at the end of the bootcamp stage was branded unfair by some of the other groups, as neither had entered the competition as groups. The controversy deepened after Cowell put through both Belle Amie and One Direction and picked just one of the original applicants. [147] Cowell defended the decision, saying that the existing groups were not good enough and other groups such as The Wanted and the Spice Girls were created similarly. [148]

More controversy erupted after the News of the World reported that after failing to qualify in 2009, Treyc Cohen signed a management deal with Artimis Music Management Ltd that landed her a recording contract in October that year with Birmingham-based Ajoupa Records and she released a single entitled "A Time to Be Heard". [149] The rules of The X Factor strictly forbid record deals while a contestant is on the show. According to the newspaper, The X Factor was attempting to release Cohen from her management deal and remove the single from sale. [149] Katie Waissel also had to be released from a contract in the United States after her audition. [150]

Judges' actions

Controversy was caused when Cole chose not to send popular contestant Gamu Nhengu through to the live shows. Nhengu was an early favourite to win and many viewers were angry that Katie Waissel and Cher Lloyd were put through despite failing to complete their performances at judges' houses. [151] Around 1,000 people complained to ITV and by 7 October, 220,000 had joined a Facebook page called "Gamu Should Have Got Through". [152] Cole reportedly became the target of death threats, [153] and took extra security precautions in her home as well as at The X Factor. [154] Bookmaker Paddy Power were forced to give odds on Nhengu winning the show after a large number of bets were placed, [155] and made her the favourite to win, but all punters had their losing bets refunded when Nhengu was not chosen as Cole's wildcard. [156] There was speculation that Cole was pressured by producers to axe Nhengu over issues with her visa, but Cole denied those claims, [157] saying it was entirely down to her "gut instinct" and that she believed Lloyd, Waissel and Rebecca Ferguson were the best singers in her category. [33] Later in her 2012 autobiography Cheryl: My Story, Cole confessed that she had chosen Waissel for the live shows because she was more entertaining, claiming ..."[Cowell] had spent the past two years drumming into me that we needed acts who would be 'good TV.'...she had the character and drive it took to withstand the pressure of the show, and so I put her through, even though she messed up when she sang in front of Cole and will.i.am." [158]

Hundreds of viewers complained when, in week 5 of the live shows, Cole abstained from voting against either of her acts who she mentored in the bottom two (Cohen and Waissel) and was not allowed to vote last in order to send the result to deadlock. A spokesperson for The X Factor explained: "A judge can abstain from placing a vote. After Cowell voted to send home Cohen, O'Leary then asked Cole to vote second instead of last as she mentored both acts. Cole clearly stated that she would not vote against Cohen or Waissel, therefore abstaining from voting. O'Leary went back to her to clarify that the result would be decided by a majority vote if she abstained. Cole responded that she was abstaining at that point but wanted O'Leary to ask Minogue and Walsh to cast their votes then ask Cole again where she would vote last and send the result to deadlock. Cole was unable to send the result to deadlock as deadlock requires a valid active vote." [159] O'Leary revealed that during the previous commercial break, when the bottom two was known to the producers, they realized that Cole might abstain and decided that if she did, the result would be decided by a majority vote. [159] After the series ended, voting statistics showed that Cohen received more votes than Waissel, meaning if Cole was allowed to send the result to deadlock, Cohen would have been saved and Waissel would’ve been eliminated. [160]

Accusations of fixing

After O'Leary's revelation that producers had rehearsed what would happen if Cole abstained in week 5, allegations were made that the result was rigged to save Waissel, given that her outlandish performances and growing unpopularity with the public resulted in better ratings and sensational press for the show. Cowell denied this claim, saying he would never want to defraud viewers and said the situation had "been blown out of proportion". [161] O'Leary defended himself and the show on Twitter, saying "We never know which way the judges are going to vote. Ever. The only thing I know is who's in the bottom two when I'm given the card. I don't know which judge to go to until I'm called and the judges, including [Cowell], don't know the vote or who we're coming to next. It's that simple." [161] The following week, Heat magazine printed a report claiming that Cowell was aware of the public votes before the judges cast their votes, and several other media reports contained rumours of the show being fixed. The X Factor's bosses instructed their lawyers to file a formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission against Heat, saying that the article was a lie, that very few people know the actual public voting results and conspiracy theories being printed in the media are "total and utter rubbish". [162] Heat printed an apology in their 1 January 2011 issue and accepted that Cowell was unaware of the public votes cast until after the final. [163]

There were accusations from viewers of fixing during the semi-final when O'Leary announced that only the public's votes would decide which contestants would move on to the final, but the next day this was changed and there was a final showdown. The show's official website also stated that the result would be decided by the public vote, and Walsh confirmed that on a radio show earlier in the week. [164] It was the first time in the show's history that the judges were given a vote in a semi-final. [165] Cowell (incorrectly) stated that "There has always been a sing-off when there are five people left in the competition. This is a lot of nonsense about nothing." [166] However, semi-finalist, Mary Byrne said she believed the result would be solely down to the public until the day of the semi-final performances in which she ended up in the final showdown against Cher Lloyd. She claimed that Cowell wanted Lloyd in the final because of Cowell constantly supporting Lloyd throughout the live shows. [166] Public supporters of Byrne also felt that their votes to get Byrne into the final were wasted and demanded refunds for their votes due to the result not being decided by the public vote. Viewers and news articles believed that the final showdown was put in place at the last minute only to prevent Byrne from having a place in the final and secure Lloyd’s place. Following Byrne's comments and the accusations by viewers and public supporters of Byrne, Cowell wrote an open letter to the viewers in the Daily Mirror , saying:

"It's always our sole intention to try and make the show as entertaining and hopefully exciting every week. Our main focus is to ensure that the contestants are given every opportunity to benefit from being on the show and show their talent. Throughout the series I have met with fans of the show on a regular basis and have listened and acted on their feedback. I believe they have enjoyed the changes in the show this year and I feel it's been a better series as it hasn't followed the same pattern as before. This year we decided to give four contestants a second chance and introduce them as wild card entrants on the first live show. And having 16 finalists rather than just 12 meant that we introduced both single and double eliminations. We decided for the first time some weeks ago to put four people into the final and this meant having five semi-finalists. We also felt it would be fairer that there would be a sing-off rather than automatic elimination as there were more contestants. I understand new decisions are seen as controversial by our viewers but it stops the show becoming boring. As the excitement heats up, debates begin but I do want to assure people that the show is definitely not fixed. The sing-off on Sunday was something that was always going to happen regardless of who was in the bottom two. The contestants all prepared their save-me songs on Monday last week. It was always going to be sad for whoever left. [...] I have always listened to and respected our viewers and have always believed viewers ultimately make the right decision. I hope the viewers trust the show that this is a fair competition." [167]

Voting statistics revealed that if there was not a final showdown or if Minogue or Cowell voted to send Byrne through to the final or if the result went to deadlock, Byrne would’ve advanced to the final and Lloyd would’ve been eliminated. [160]

Pitch-correction use

Following the first episode, viewers complained on social networking websites after it appeared that pitch correction (which has been seen as controversial in the music industry) was used to improve the quality of some singers' voices, [168] and forty-five viewers complained to Ofcom. [169] Series producers claimed post-production work was necessary on the show because of the number of microphones used during filming: "The judges make their decisions at the auditions stage based on what they hear on the day, live in the arena. The footage and sound is then edited and dubbed into a finished programme, to deliver the most entertaining experience possible for viewers. When it gets to the live shows, it will be all live." [170] It was reported on 26 August that Cowell had ordered a ban on pitch correction in future episodes, asking for them to be re-edited. [171] In October 2010, Ofcom ruled that viewers had not been "materially misled" as pitch correction was only used during auditions and not when viewers were paying to vote for the contestants. [169]

"Raunchy" final

In December 2010, it emerged that Ofcom were investigating the show after claims that viewers were being encouraged to purchase songs recorded by guest performers Michael Bublé and Diana Vickers. [172] Ofcom also received over 2,868 complaints [173] from viewers about "raunchy" dance routines from Rihanna and Christina Aguilera during the final. Although an ITV spokesperson denied the routines were inappropriate, [174] Cowell was warned by ITV to "cut the sleaze". [144] In April 2011, Ofcom ruled that there had been no breach of guidelines over the performances, and highlighted that "approximately 2,000" of the complaints were received after the routines were covered by the Daily Mail , and said the newspaper's report featured a number of stills that were "significantly more graphic and close-up" than material broadcast, and that were "taken from a different angle to the television cameras". [173]

Praise and awards

In its 7 December 2010 issue, Heat magazine said series 7 of The X Factor had been the best series to date, citing many of the controversies, plus events such as Lloyd singing on a spiral staircase, Wagner's "ludicrous" performances and Walsh likening Richardson to "a little Lenny Henry", as moments that helped make it "the most deliriously, thrilling, controversial and demented yet. [...] This was the year the biggest and best show on TV somehow got bigger and better." [175] Before the final, Digital Spy's reality television editor Alex Fletcher listed his five favourite moments from the series. His favourite moment was Nhengu's elimination, on which he said "No other show can make people so passionate, angry and feel like they really know the programme's stars. With only approximately 30 minutes of screentime, Gamu had managed to capture the hearts of millions. Whatever you think of Simon Cowell's programmes, you have to give them credit for achieving that." [176]

The series won in the Most Popular Talent Show category at the 16th National Television Awards in 2011, beating series 4 of Britain's Got Talent , series 6 of Dancing on Ice and series 8 of Strictly Come Dancing . [177] It was also nominated in the TV Reality Programme category at the 2011 TRIC awards, [178] the Entertainment Programme category at the 2011 British Academy Television Awards, [179] and the Best Talent Show category at the 2011 TV Choice Awards. [180]

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<i>The X Factor</i> (UK series 11) season of television series

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.

<i>The X Factor</i> (UK series 12) season of television series

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.

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fourteenth series began airing on ITV on 2 September 2017, presented by Dermot O'Leary. For the first time in seven years, the judging panel remained the same as the previous series, with Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh returning. This is the first series not to include companion show The Xtra Factor, after it was cancelled in January 2017. Its replacement is a programme called Xtra Bites presented by Becca Dudley on the ITV Hub. This is also the first series to be sponsored by Just Eat, with the show having being sponsored by TalkTalk since 2009, as well as the second time the show has premiered in September, rather than August, since the first series in 2004. Rak-Su won the competition on 3 December 2017 and they became the second group to win the competition and Simon Cowell became the winning mentor for the fourth time.

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