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The X Factor (British TV series) series 6

The X Factor
Series 6
McElderry performing at The Sage Gateshead on 25 February 2012
Hosted byDermot O'Leary (ITV)
Holly Willoughby (ITV2)
Judges
WinnerJoe McElderry
Winning mentorCheryl Cole
Runner-upOlly Murs
Release
Original network
Original release22 August (2009-08-22) –
13 December 2009 (2009-12-13)
Series chronology
← Previous
Series 5
Next →
Series 7
List of episodes

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.[1] 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.[2] 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".[3] 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.

During "judges' houses", the 24 acts were reduced to twelve, with one act being eliminated each week by a combination of public vote and judges' decision until a winner was found. The live shows started on 10 October 2009. The acts performed every Saturday night with the results announced on Sundays. This was change of format from previous series in which the results were announced later on the Saturday evening. This series was sponsored by TalkTalk.

Judges, Presenters and Other Personnel

Judges and Presenter(s) for The X Factor Series 6

During series 5, it was rumoured that Dannii Minogue would not return as a judge for series 6.[4] Spice Girls singer Victoria Beckham was reported as a replacement for Minogue.[5] In June 2009, however, it was confirmed that Minogue, Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh would all return as judges for series 6.[4] Walsh missed the first results show due to Boyzone member Stephen Gateley's sudden death and missed the second week due to attending Gateley's funeral.

Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Holly Willoughby returned as presenter on The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Brian Friedman returned to the show as creative director and Yvie Burnett returned as vocal coach.

Selection process

Auditions

Cities that auditions were held in.

Auditions were held during June and July 2009 across five cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow.[6][7][8] In a change to previous series, auditions were held in front of a live audience due to the success of a similar system on Britain's Got Talent.[9][10] However, Glaswegian auditionees had already been judged using the old format, meaning that they had to apply again, as their initial audition was void.[11]

Summary of judges' auditions
City Date(s) Venue
London 22–25 June 2009 ExCeL Centre
Birmingham 29–30 June 2009 ICC
Manchester 3–5 July 2009 Manchester Central
Cardiff 9 July 2009 International Arena
Glasgow 12 July 2009 Braehead Arena

Bootcamp

As with the auditions, the "Bootcamp" selection stage was filmed in front of a live audience. Filming took place on 1 August at the HMV Hammersmith Apollo.[12] Approximately 200 acts attended bootcamp. They were initially split into groups of three, and judges gave instant decisions on who would leave based on the group performances, bringing the number of acts down to 100. The judges then cut the number of acts down to 50. Following a further set of auditions, the number of contestants was narrowed to 24. Originally, the group Trucolorz were chosen by the judges for the top 24 but were disqualified due to one of the group's members being too young for the show, and they were replaced by Harmony Hood.[13]

The contestants were then split into the usual four categories before the judges discovered which category they would mentor for the rest of the competition. The Boys (16–24) were mentored by Cole, Minogue had the Girls (16–24), Cowell mentored the Over 25s, and Walsh took charge of the Groups.

Judges' houses

Each judge had help from a guest judge during the "Judges' houses" stage. Will Young assisted Cole in Marrakech, Morocco, Minogue had help from her sister Kylie Minogue in Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai,[14] Boyzone singer Ronan Keating helped Walsh near Lake Como in Italy, and Cowell had help from Sinitta in Los Angeles.[15] At Judges' Houses, each act sang for their respective judge, and each judge and their guest eliminated three acts, leaving 12 acts to perform in the live shows.

Judges Houses Performances
  • Acts in bold advanced

Boys:

Groups:

Over 25s:

Girls:

Summary of judges' houses
Judge Category Location Assistant Acts Eliminated
Cole Boys Marrakech Will Young Ethan Boroian, Daniel Fox, Duane Lamonte
Cowell Over 25s Los Angeles Sinitta Treyc Cohen, Nicole Lawrence, Daniel Pearce
Minogue Girls Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai Kylie Minogue Nicole Jackson, Stacey McClean, Despina Pilavakis
Walsh Groups Lake Como, Italy Ronan Keating De-Tour, Harmony Hood, Project A

Acts

Key:

  – Winner
  – Runner-Up
Act Age(s) Hometown Category (mentor) Result
Joe McElderry 18 South Shields Boys (Cole) Winner
Olly Murs 25 Witham Over 25s (Cowell) Runner-Up
Stacey Solomon 20 Dagenham Girls (Minogue) 3rd Place
Danyl Johnson 27 Arborfield Over 25s (Cowell) 4th Place
Lloyd Daniels 16 Treharris Boys (Cole) 5th Place
John & Edward 18 Dublin, Ireland Groups (Walsh) 6th Place
Jamie Archer 34 Putney Over 25s (Cowell) 7th Place
Lucie Jones 18 Pentyrch Girls (Minogue) 8th Place
Rachel Adedeji East London 9th Place
Miss Frank 21–25 Various Groups (Walsh) 10th Place
Rikki Loney 22 Glasgow Boys (Cole) 11th Place
Kandy Rain 22–25 Various Groups (Walsh) 12th Place

Live shows

The live shows began on 10 October 2009, and continued through to the finale on 12 December 2009. Starting with this series, the results shows were on Sunday nights instead of Saturdays as they were for the first five series. In another change to the format of previous years, the remaining finalists performed a song as a group at the start of each results show. As previously, each week had a different song theme. Beginning with week 8 of the live shows, with five acts remaining, each contestant would sing two songs. Up to week 8, the two acts with the fewest public votes were in the bottom two and would sing 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 vote went to deadlock and the act with the fewest public votes was eliminated. From week 8 onwards, there was no bottom two and the act with the fewest votes was eliminated.

Musical guests

During each results show, either one or two guest artists would perform. Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke and Robbie Williams performed on the first live results show,[16][17] with Whitney Houston[18] and judge Cole on the second. Michael Bublé and Westlife appeared on the third week,[19] and Bon Jovi and JLS performed in week 4.[20] Leona Lewis and The Black Eyed Peas performed for week 5,[21] while week 6 featured a performance from Shakira.[22] Susan Boyle appeared on the show for week 7 along with Mariah Carey.[17][23] Rihanna and Alicia Keys performed in week 8[24] with Janet Jackson and Lady Gaga appearing in week 9.[25] Guests in the final were Robbie Williams, Michael Bublé and George Michael (Saturday show) and Burke, JLS, Lewis, George Michael and Paul McCartney (Sunday show). In some weeks, the guest performers also mentored the acts in the run-up to that week's live show.

The choice of musical guests on The X Factor live shows had a significant impact on the UK Singles Chart. Of the seven singles that made number one from 18 October to 19 December, six of them had done so after having been performed on an X Factor live show the previous weekend. They were, in order: "Bad Boys" by Alexandra Burke, "Fight for This Love" by Cole, "Everybody in Love" by JLS, "Meet Me Halfway" by the Black Eyed Peas, "You Are Not Alone" by the finalists and "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. This impact was noted by several commentators. After "Bad Romance" became the sixth song to reach Number One off the back of a performance on The X Factor, James Masterton of Yahoo! Music called the show "a guarantor of Number One hits".[26] Gennaro Castaldo of HMV remarked: "In an age when there are very few truly mass-audience platforms left, the X Factor has become pivotal for those labels and artists seeking to reach a family-based audience."[27] Paul Williams, editor of Music Week, explained: "The impact of the programme's incredible numbers on music sales is all too evident, with the top end of the singles and albums charts week after week since the current season began heavily dominated by whoever has been on the show."[28]

Results summary

Colour key

  Act in Boys

  Act in Girls

  Act in Over 25s

  Act in Groups

  – Act was in the bottom two and had to sing again in the final showdown
  – Act received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown)
  – Act received the most public votes
Weekly results per act[29]
Act Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Quarter-Final Semi-Final Final
Saturday Vote Sunday Vote
Joe McElderry 3rd
12.7%
4th
13.3%
2nd
12.9%
3rd
10.2%
2nd
17.2%
2nd
16.0%
1st
34.2%
1st
37.1%
1st
42.2%
1st
52.2%
Winner
61.3%
Olly Murs 7th
6.2%
5th
10.6%
7th
8.6%
2nd
13.4%
3rd
12.9%
5th
10.3%
6th
9.8%
3rd
18.7%
2nd
19.6%
2nd
27.7%
Runner-Up
38.7%
Stacey Solomon 2nd
12.9%
1st
15.4%
5th
10.7%
5th
8.1%
5th
10.8%
1st
25.5%
2nd
17.7%
2nd
20.1%
3rd
19.4%
3rd
20.1%
Eliminated
(final)
Danyl Johnson 1st
27.1%
7th
6.5%
9th
7.6%
1st
36.2%
1st
19.6%
3rd
15.5%
3rd
15.5%
4th
12.5%
4th
18.8%
Eliminated
(semi-final)
Lloyd Daniels 6th
6.4%
2nd
15.0%
8th
8.0%
8th
5.5%
4th
12.0%
6th
9.7%
4th
12.1%
5th
11.6%
Eliminated
(quarter-final)
John & Edward 8th
4.5%
8th
5.6%
6th
9.2%
6th
6.6%
7th
9.2%
4th
14.6%
5th
10.7%
Eliminated
(week 7)
Jamie Archer 5th
8.9%
3rd
14.4%
4th
11.2%
4th
8.7%
6th
9.5%
7th
8.4%
Eliminated
(week 6)
Lucie Jones 4th
10.5%
6th
8.1%
3rd
11.3%
7th
6.4%
8th
8.8%
Eliminated
(week 5)
Rachel Adedeji 11th
2.3%
10th
3.7%
1st
15.4%
9th
4.9%
Eliminated
(week 4)
Miss Frank 9th
4.0%
9th
3.9%
10th
5.1%
Eliminated
(week 3)
Rikki Loney 10th
3.0%
11th
3.5%
Eliminated
(week 2)
Kandy Rain 12th
1.5%
Eliminated
(week 1)
Final Showdown Adedeji,
Kandy Rain
Adedeji,
Loney
Johnson,
Miss Frank
Adedeji,
Daniels
John & Edward,
Jones
Archer,
Daniels
John & Edward,
Murs
No final showdown or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Walsh's vote to eliminate (Groups) Adedeji1 2 Johnson Daniels Jones Archer Murs
Minogue's vote to eliminate (Girls) Kandy Rain Loney Miss Frank Daniels John & Edward Daniels John & Edward
Cole's vote to eliminate (Boys) Kandy Rain Adedeji Johnson Adedeji John & Edward Archer John & Edward
Cowell's vote to eliminate (Over 25s) Adedeji Loney Miss Frank Adedeji Jones Daniels John & Edward
Eliminated Kandy Rain
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock
Rikki Loney
2 of 3 votes
Majority
Miss Frank
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock
Rachel Adedeji
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock
Lucie Jones
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock
Jamie Archer
2 of 4 votes
Deadlock
John & Edward
3 of 4 votes
Majority
Lloyd Daniels
11.6%
to save
Danyl Johnson
18.8%
to save
Stacey Solomon
20.1%
to save
Olly Murs
38.7%
to win
Reference(s) [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39]
  • ^1 On behalf of Walsh's absence, an automatic vote was cast against Rachel Adedeji, based on the usual assumption that he would vote to save his act who he mentored, Kandy Rain if he were present which typically occurs when a judge has their own act who they mentor in the final showdown.[40]
  • ^2 Walsh did not vote due to his absence, but confirmed on the following The Xtra Factor via phone call that he would have voted to eliminate Rikki Loney.[31]

Live show details

Week 1 (10/11 October)

Acts' performances on the first live show
Act Category (mentor) Order Song[41] Musical Hero Result[40]
Rachel Adedeji Girls (Minogue) 1 "Let Me Entertain You" Robbie Williams Bottom Two
Kandy Rain Groups (Walsh) 2 "Addicted to Love" Tina Turner
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 3 "She's the One" Robbie Williams Safe
Rikki Loney Boys (Cole) 4 "Back to Black" Amy Winehouse
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 5 "The Scientist" Coldplay
Miss Frank Groups (Walsh) 6 "Who's Lovin' You" The Jackson 5
Jamie Archer Over 25s (Cowell) 7 "Get It On" T. Rex
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 8 "Cry Me a River" Justin Timberlake
Lucie Jones Girls (Minogue) 9 "Footprints in the Sand" Leona Lewis
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 10 "Rock DJ" Robbie Williams
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 11 "No Regrets"
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 12 "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Jennifer Hudson Safe (Highest Votes)
Final showdown details
Rachel Adedeji Girls (Minogue) 1 "Nobody Knows" Saved
Kandy Rain Groups (Walsh) 2 "Fighter" Eliminated

Walsh was absent from the Sunday night results show due to the sudden death of Boyzone singer and close friend Stephen Gately, whom he managed.[42] Due to this, the show did not take its usual format; there were no lights and neither O'Leary nor the three other judges made an entrance. Instead, the show commenced with O'Leary already on stage and the judges already sitting at their desk. Both O'Leary and Cowell addressed the viewers and audience regarding Gately's death and Walsh's absence.[40] Following this, the show went on as normal with Minogue, Cowell and Cole present as judges.

Judges' votes to eliminate[40]
  • Walsh: Rachel Adedeji – despite his absence, an automatic vote was cast to save Kandy Rain based on the usual assumption that he would have voted to save his own act.
  • Minogue: Kandy Rain – backed her own act, Rachel Adedeji.
  • Cole: Kandy Rain – gave no reason.
  • Cowell: Rachel Adedeji – said that Kandy Rain had not been given a "fair crack" in the competition and was interested in seeing them for a second week.[40]

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Kandy Rain were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 2 (17/18 October)

Walsh was absent from both shows this weekend, again due to Stephen Gately's death. The funeral took place on 17 October and Walsh paid his respects. This statement was released: "Due to recent tragic events, Louis Walsh will not be appearing on either the Saturday or Sunday live The X Factor shows this weekend as he is attending Stephen Gately's funeral. Louis has been in close contact with his acts throughout the week, although his opinions will not be represented in the show this weekend."[44]

Acts' performances on the second live show
Act Category (mentor) Order Song[43] Diva Result[31]
Lucie Jones Girls (Minogue) 1 "How Will I Know" Whitney Houston Safe
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 2 "A Fool in Love" Tina Turner
Miss Frank Groups (Walsh) 3 "All the Man That I Need" Whitney Houston
Rachel Adedeji Girls (Minogue) 4 "If I Were a Boy" Beyoncé Bottom Two
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 5 "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" Whitney Houston Safe
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 6 "I Didn't Know My Own Strength"
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 7 "Bleeding Love" Leona Lewis
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 8 "Oops!... I Did It Again" Britney Spears
Rikki Loney Boys (Cole) 9 "Respect" Aretha Franklin Bottom Two
Jamie Archer Over 25s (Cowell) 10 "Hurt" Christina Aguilera Safe
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 11 "At Last" Etta James Safe (Highest Votes)
Final showdown details
Rachel Adedeji Girls (Minogue) 1 "With or Without You" Saved
Rikki Loney Boys (Cole) 2 "Flying Without Wings" Eliminated

For the first time in the show's history, a contestant sang a cover version of a new song that had not yet even been sung live by the original recording artist.[45] Cowell's decision for Danyl Johnson to sing "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" garnered a disapproving reception from Houston, with Cowell saying that Johnson "didn't exactly get rave reviews [from Houston and Davis] in that room [for the masterclass]."[45][46]

Judges' votes to eliminate[31]
  • Minogue: Rikki Loney – gave no reason but effectively backed her own act, Rachel Adedeji.
  • Cole: Rachel Adedeji – backed her own act, Rikki Loney.
  • Cowell: Rikki Loney – based his choice on their last performances.
  • Walsh was not present for the results show, but according to a phone call on The Xtra Factor, he would have voted to eliminate Loney.

Week 3 (24/25 October)

Acts' performances on the third live show
Act Category (mentor) Order Song[47] Big Band Artist Result[32]
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 1 "Bewitched" Peggy Lee Safe
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 2 "Fly Me to the Moon" Frank Sinatra
Miss Frank Groups (Walsh) 3 "That's Life" Marion Montgomery Bottom Two
Rachel Adedeji Girls (Minogue) 4 "Proud Mary" Tina Turner Safe (Highest Votes)
Jamie Archer Over 25s (Cowell) 5 "Angel of Harlem" U2 Safe
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 6 "When You Wish upon a Star" Cliff Edwards
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 7 "Feeling Good" Nina Simone Bottom Two
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 8 "Sway" Dean Martin Safe
Lucie Jones Girls (Minogue) 9 "My Funny Valentine" Mitzi Green
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 10 "She Bangs" Ricky Martin
Final showdown details
Miss Frank Groups (Walsh) 1 "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" Eliminated
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 2 "With a Little Help from My Friends" Saved
Judges' votes to eliminate[32]
  • Walsh: Danyl Johnson – backed his own act, Miss Frank.
  • Cowell: Miss Frank – backed his own act, Danyl Johnson.
  • Minogue: Miss Frank – based on the final showdown performance.
  • Cole: Danyl Johnson – felt confused by the public vote and sent the result to deadlock.

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Miss Frank were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 4 (31 October/1 November)

Acts' performances on the fourth live show
Act Category (mentor) Order Song[48] Rock Artist Result[33]
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 1 "Don't Stop Believin'" Journey Safe
Lucie Jones Girls (Minogue) 2 "Sweet Child o' Mine" Guns N' Roses
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 3 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Aerosmith Safe (Highest Votes)
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 4 "I Kissed a Girl" Katy Perry Bottom Two
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 5 "Somewhere Only We Know" Keane Safe
Jamie Archer Over 25s (Cowell) 6 "Rocks" Primal Scream
Rachel Adedeji Girls (Minogue) 7 "One" U2 Bottom Two
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 8 "We Will Rock You" Queen Safe
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 9 "Come Together" The Beatles
Final showdown details
Rachel Adedeji Girls (Minogue) 1 "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" Eliminated
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 2 "You Are So Beautiful" Saved
Judges' votes to eliminate[33]
  • Minogue: Lloyd Daniels – backed her own act, Rachel Adedeji.
  • Walsh: Lloyd Daniels – called Adedeji an "amazing singer".
  • Cole: Rachel Adedeji – backed her own act, Lloyd Daniels.
  • Cowell: Rachel Adedeji – could not decide so chose to take the vote to deadlock; said Adedeji sang better than Daniels, but took Daniels' sore throat into account and thought the public were not accepting Adedeji after her third time in the showdown in four weeks.

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

Week 5 (7/8 November)

Acts' performances on the fifth live show
Act Category (mentor) Order Song[49] Film Result[34]
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 1 "Son of a Preacher Man" Pulp Fiction Safe
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 2 "Twist and Shout" Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 3 "Stand by Me"/"Beautiful Girls" Stand by Me
Jamie Archer Over 25s (Cowell) 4 "Crying" Gummo
Lucie Jones Girls (Minogue) 5 "This Is Me" Camp Rock Bottom Two
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 6 "Purple Rain" Purple Rain Safe (Highest Votes)
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 7 "Ghostbusters" Ghostbusters Bottom Two
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 8 "Circle of Life" The Lion King Safe
Final showdown details
Lucie Jones Girls (Minogue) 1 "One Moment in Time" Eliminated
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 2 "Rock DJ" Saved
Judges' votes to eliminate[34]
  • Walsh: Lucie Jones – backed his own act, John & Edward.
  • Minogue: John & Edward – gave no reason but effectively backed her own act, Lucie Jones.
  • Cole: John & Edward – gave no reason.
  • Cowell: Lucie Jones – stated that although neither act could win, he was more interested in seeing John and Edward again and that there was "a ceiling" for Jones.

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

Week 6 (14/15 November)

Acts' performances on the sixth live show
Act Category (mentor) Order Song[51] Result[35]
Jamie Archer Over 25s (Cowell) 1 "Radio Ga Ga" Bottom Two
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 2 "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 3 "Don't Stop Me Now" Safe
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 4 "Somebody to Love"
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 5 "Under Pressure"/"Ice Ice Baby"
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 6 "Who Wants to Live Forever" Safe (Highest Votes)
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 7 "We Are the Champions" Safe
Final showdown details
Jamie Archer Over 25s (Cowell) 1 "The Show Must Go On" Eliminated
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 2 "Last Request" Saved
Judges' votes to eliminate[35]
  • Cowell: Lloyd Daniels – gave no reason but effectively backed his own act, Jamie Archer.
  • Cole: Jamie Archer – backed her own act, Lloyd Daniels.
  • Walsh: Jamie Archer – believed Daniels would go further in the competition.
  • Minogue: Lloyd Daniels – thought Archer sang better in the final showdown.

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

Week 7 (21/22 November)

Acts' performances on the seventh live show
Act Category (mentor) Order Song[53] Artist Result
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 1 "Faith" George Michael Safe
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 2 "I Can't Make You Love Me" cover by George Michael
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 3 "I'm Your Man"/"Wham Rap!" Wham! Bottom Two
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 4 "Careless Whisper" George Michael/Wham! Safe
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 5 "Fastlove" George Michael Bottom Two
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 6 "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" George Michael and Elton John Safe (Highest Votes)
Final showdown details
John & Edward Groups (Walsh) 1 "No Matter What" Eliminated
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 2 "Wonderful Tonight" Saved
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: John & Edward – backed his own act, Olly Murs.
  • Cole: John & Edward – gave no reason, despite saying that she would be sad if John & Edward leave the competition.
  • Walsh: Olly Murs – backed his own act, John & Edward; though expressed surprise that Murs was in the bottom two.
  • Minogue: John & Edward – based on the premise that the show is a "singing competition".

However, voting statistics revealed that John & Edward received more votes than Murs which meant that if Minogue sent the result to deadlock, John & Edward would have advanced to the quarter-final and Murs would have been eliminated.

Week 8: Quarter-Final (28/29 November)

Acts' performances in the quarter-final
Act Category (mentor) Order Take That song[55] Order Elton John song[55] Result
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 1 "Relight My Fire" 7 "Your Song" Safe
Lloyd Daniels Boys (Cole) 2 "A Million Love Songs" 6 "I'm Still Standing" Eliminated
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 3 "Love Ain't Here Anymore" 8 "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" Safe
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 4 "Could It Be Magic" 9 "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" Safe (Highest Votes)
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 5 "Rule the World" 10 "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" Safe

The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Lloyd Daniels, was automatically eliminated. After his elimination, Daniels reprised his quarter-final performance of "A Million Love Songs" as his exit song.

Week 9: Semi-Final (5/6 December)

Acts' performances in the semi-final
Act Category (mentor) Order Michael Jackson Song[56] Order Mentor's Choice[56] Result
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 1 "Can You Feel It" 5 "We Can Work It Out" Safe
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 2 "She's Out of My Life" 6 "Open Arms" Safe (Highest Votes)
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 3 "The Way You Make Me Feel" 7 "Somewhere" Safe
Danyl Johnson Over 25s (Cowell) 4 "Man in the Mirror" 8 "I Have Nothing" Eliminated

The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Danyl Johnson, was automatically eliminated. After his elimination, Johnson reprised his semi-final performance of "Man in the Mirror" as his exit song.

Week 10: Final (12/13 December)

12 December

Acts' performances on the Saturday Final
Act Category (mentor) Order First song[57] Order Second song [57] Duet Partner Order Third song[57] Result
Stacey Solomon Girls (Minogue) 1 "What a Wonderful World" 4 "Feeling Good" Michael Bublé 7 "Who Wants to Live Forever" Eliminated
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 2 "Superstition" 5 "Angels" Robbie Williams 8 "A Fool in Love" Safe
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 3 "Dance with My Father" 6 "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" George Michael 9 "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" Safe (Highest Votes)

The show also featured Jeff Brazier reporting from Solomon's home town of Dagenham, Michael Underwood in Colchester for Murs and Kimberley Walsh in McElderry's home town of South Shields.

13 December

Acts' performances on the Sunday Final
Act Category (mentor) Order First song[58] Order Second song Result
Olly Murs Over 25s (Cowell) 1 "Twist and Shout" 3 "The Climb" Runner-Up
Joe McElderry Boys (Cole) 2 "Don't Stop Believin'" 4 "The Climb" Winner

Sponsors

This series of The X Factor was sponsored by TalkTalk and featured break bumpers pioneered by CHI & Partners, showing light graffiti set against night-time backdrops across the United Kingdom.[59] Part of the deal, which applied to ITV, ITV2 and the programme's website, saw TalkTalk customers having the chance to design the break bumpers and download exclusive content.[59] In the Republic of Ireland, the series was sponsored by Domino's Pizza.

Reception

Ratings

The first episode, which was broadcast on 22 August and showed the first set of auditions, attracted 9.9 million viewers; 47.9% of the viewing audience and the largest number of viewers within its timeslot.[60] One week later, 9.75 million people viewed the second episode; a 47.1% share of the TV audience.[61] The third episode averaged 11.76 million viewers and a 51.9% audience share.[62] Episode four attracted 10.26 million viewers.[63] The fifth episode, which was scheduled directly against Strictly Come Dancing drew in about 9.27 million viewers, compared to 7.72 for Strictly.[64] The X Factor reached a record high number of viewers for the second and third results shows on 18 and 25 October, scoring 14.8 million viewers each.[65][66] This was beaten on 8 November when the fifth results show peaked at 16.6 million people.[67]

The final episode peaked with 19.1 million viewers when Joe McElderry was announced as the winner.[68]

Episode Air date Official ITV rating[69] Weekly rank[69] Share
Auditions 1 22 August 11.00 1 47.9%[60]
Auditions 2 29 August 10.81 1 47.1%[61]
Auditions 3 5 September 12.84 1 51.9%[62]
Auditions 4 12 September 11.31 1 51.7%[63]
Auditions 5 19 September 10.57 2 38.0%[64]
Auditions 6 20 September 11.37 1 41.4%[70]
Bootcamp 1 26 September 10.39 2 36.6%[71]
Bootcamp 2 27 September 11.86 1 42.5%[72][73]
Judges' houses 1 3 October 11.46 2 38.9%[74]
Judges' houses 2 4 October 13.35 1 44.9%[75]
Live show 1 10 October 12.64 2 43.8%[76][77]
Results show 1 11 October 13.82 1 46.4%[78]
Live show 2 17 October 12.07 2 42.1%[65]
Results show 2 18 October 13.89 1 46.7%[65]
Live show 3 24 October 12.80 2 44.1%[79]
Results show 3 25 October 14.02 1 47.9%[66]
Live show 4 31 October 11.74 2 42.3%[80]
Results show 4 1 November 14.52 1 47.8%[81]
Live show 5 7 November 13.05 2 46.9%[79]
Results show 5 8 November 15.00 1 49.4%[67][82]
Live show 6 14 November 13.45 2 45.1%[83]
Results show 6 15 November 15.02 1 47.9%[84]
Live show 7 21 November 14.03 2 48.6%[85]
Results show 7 22 November 14.51 1 46.5%[86]
Live show 8 28 November 13.46 2 47.8%[87]
Results show 8 29 November 14.34 1 45.9%[88]
Live semi-final 5 December 13.40 2 49.5%[89]
Live semi-final results 6 December 13.55 1 46.2%[90]
Final 12 December 13.34 2 48.0%[91]
Winner announces 13 December 16.28 1 53.2%[92]
Series average 2009 13.00 45.9%

Controversies

Bootcamp

On 2 August 2009, The People reported that some bootcamp contestants felt they had been poorly treated by the show's producers; one compared the experience with that of a concentration camp and another claimed that those competing were only allowed to use the toilet twice a day.[93] However, a spokesperson for the programme denied the claims, saying "Yes, it was long hours but they knew what they were signing up for. The hopefuls got breakfast at the hotel and decent food throughout the day".

Audition format

This season's audition format, in which the auditions were held in front of a studio audience, was criticised by fans, by Cole and by certain former contestants. These included Alexandra Burke, who branded it "too intimidating", and the members of JLS who stated it detracted from the intimacy of the auditions.[94]

Recycled contestants

The show was criticised in September 2009 for "recycling" contestants, as three singers from the final 24 acts had already been in pop bands, two had auditioned for The X Factor in previous years and one had appeared on Britain's Got Talent.[95]

Danyl Johnson

Controversy began after the first live show on 10 October, after Minogue commented on press reports regarding Danyl Johnson's sexuality, sparking an online backlash.[96] Minogue released a statement on her comments:

"I want to clear up exactly what happened on last night's X Factor show and post my sincere apologies to anyone who took offense [sic]. I made a comment about Danyl changing the lyrics of his song. It was meant to be a humorous moment about the fact he has an opportunity to have fun with his song. An openly bi-sexual singing a song that is lyrically a 'girl's song'. Danyl and I were joking about the very same thing in rehearsals on Friday, so it carried on to the show. I'd like to apologise to anyone that was offended by my comments, it was never my intention. I spoke to Danyl straight after the show last night and he wasn't offended or upset by my comments, and knew exactly what I was saying."[97]

Minogue also apologised on the live results show on 11 October, saying Danyl was not upset by her comments.[98] It has since been reported that Ofcom received around 4000 complaints from viewers over the comment.[99]

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