Broadcaster Seven Network | ||
 | ||
Broadcast from 20 August –
20 November 2012 Judges Ronan Keating
Guy Sebastian
Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Mel B Host(s) Luke Jacobz (The X Factor) Co-host(s) Johnny Ruffo (The X Stream) Origin Perth, Western Australia | ||
The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a Sony Music Australia recording contract and a new car. The fourth season premiered on the Seven Network on 20 August 2012 and ended on 20 November 2012. The winner was Samantha Jade and her winner's single "What You've Done to Me" was released after the final. Jade was mentored throughout by Guy Sebastian, who won as mentor for the second year in a row. The main live shows was presented by Luke Jacobz, while season three finalist Johnny Ruffo presented the digital live streaming show The X Stream. Ronan Keating, Guy Sebastian, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Mel B returned as judges.
Contents
- Auditions
- Super bootcamp
- Home visits
- Finalists
- Results summary
- Week 1 1718 September
- Week 2 2526 September
- Week 3 12 October
- Week 4 89 October
- Week 5 1516 October
- Week 6 2223 October
- Week 7 2930 October
- Week 8 56 November
- Week 9 Semi final 1213 November
- Week 10 Grand Final 1920 November
- Charity single
- Winners single
- The X Factor One Direction to Superstardom
- Contestants
- Ratings
- References
The competition was split into several stages: auditions, super bootcamp, home visits and live shows. Auditions in front of the show's producers took place throughout February and March 2012. The successful auditionees chosen by the producers were then invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience in May 2012. After the auditions was super bootcamp, where all four judges worked together and collectively chose 24 acts, including six from each of the four categories: Under 25 Boys (male soloists aged 14 to 24), Under 25 Girls (female soloists aged 14 to 24), Over 25s (soloists aged 25 and over) and Groups. Following super bootcamp was the home visits stage, where each of the judges reduced their six acts to three, with help from guest mentors Alicia Keys, Kesha, One Direction and Usher. The live shows began on 17 September 2012.
The fourth season sparked controversy when contestant Josh Brookes was disqualified from The X Factor for behaving "in an inappropriate manner" on social media. He was later replaced by Carmelo Munzone. The grand final decider was watched by 1.92 million people, making it the highest rated television episode of the season.
Auditions
Auditions in front of the show's producers began in February 2012 in seven cities: Hobart (Hotel Grand Chancellor, 18 February), Launceston (Hotel Grand Chancellor, 19 February), Albury (Albury Entertainment Centre, 22 February), Dubbo (RSL Club Resort, 24 February), Darwin (Crowne Plaza Hotel, 26 February), Cairns (Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina Cairns, 28 February), Brisbane (Suncorp Piazza, 3–4 March), Newcastle (Hunter Stadium, 7 March), Sydney (Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, 10–12 March), Perth (Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, 18 March), Adelaide (Adelaide Convention Centre, 20 March) and Melbourne (Flemington Racecourse, 24–26 March). Online auditions were also introduced into the season for the acts who missed out on auditioning in front of the producers. The successful auditionees chosen by the producers were then invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience. These auditions were held in three cities: Melbourne (Hisense Arena, 3–5 May), Gold Coast (Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, 11–12 May) and Sydney (Sydney Entertainment Centre, 17–19 May).
Super bootcamp
The super bootcamp stage of the competition saw all four judges working together, unlike in previous series where they disband to manage their own categories. It was filmed on 28, 29 and 30 May 2012. The first day saw the judges split the acts into four categories: Under 25 Boys, Under 25 Girls, Over 25s and Groups. Each category was given a list of four songs which they had to choose from to perform for the judges. At the end of the day, a third of the acts were sent home. On the second day, the remaining 74 acts were put into ensembles and were each given a song which they had to learn and perform for the judges. Each ensemble received vocal coaching from Gary Pinto and choreography practice from Squared Division. At the end of day, the judges sent 28 acts home. On the third day, the remaining 46 acts each individually performed one song to a live audience of one thousand. On the fourth day of super bootcamp, the judges narrowed down the acts to 24. Five from the Boys and six rejected soloists from the Girls categories were asked by the judges to form two groups, The Collective (boy band) and Black Ivory (girl band).
The 24 successful acts were:
Home visits
The final round of the selection process, the home visits, saw the remaining 24 acts travel to exclusive locations around the world to find out which judge would become their mentor. The Boys, Girls and Over 25s travelled to New York City, while the Groups visited London. Each judge reduced their six acts to three, with help from celebrity guest mentors. The Boys were assigned to Mel B and mentored by Usher, the Girls were assigned to Natalie Bassingthwaighte and mentored by Kesha, the Over 25s were assigned to Guy Sebastian and mentored by Alicia Keys, and the Groups were assigned to Ronan Keating and mentored by One Direction. During the first day of home visits, each act was given a private mentoring session with their mentor, ahead of their solo performance in front of their mentor and guest mentor the next day. After, the judges along with their guest mentors, narrowed down the contestants to three each.
Finalists
Key:
– Winner – Runner-up – Third place – DisqualifiedResults summary
Week 1 (17/18 September)
Week 2 (25/26 September)
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. What About Tonight received the fewest votes and were eliminated.
Week 3 (1/2 October)
Week 4 (8/9 October)
Week 5 (15/16 October)
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Angel Tupai received the fewest votes and was eliminated.
Week 6 (22/23 October)
Week 7 (29/30 October)
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Nathaniel Willemse received the fewest votes and was eliminated.
Week 8 (5/6 November)
Week 9: Semi-final (12/13 November)
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. The Collective received the most votes and were saved.
Week 10: Grand Final (19/20 November)
Charity single
The finalists recorded a cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" as a charity single in aid of Sony Foundation's You Can program which aims "to build specialised and age-appropriate youth cancer centres across Australia." The single was made available for download via the iTunes Store on 18 September 2012, after all twelve finalists performed the song on the first live results show that same day. It is the first time on X Factor Australia that finalists have released a charity single.
Winner's single
On 16 November 2012, the Herald Sun reported that the winner's singles for the top three finalists, Samantha Jade, The Collective and Jason Owen, were written by Australian songwriting and production duo DNA Songs. Jade's single was "What You've Done to Me", The Collective's single was "Surrender", and Owen's single was "Make It Last". Each finalist performed their song during the grand final performance show on 19 November. After Jade was announced as the winner, "What You've Done to Me" was released. It entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number one on 26 November. Two days after The X Factor ended, it was announced that The Collective and Owen both signed recording contracts with Sony Music Australia and would release "Surrender" and "Make It Last" as their debut singles.
The X Factor: One Direction to Superstardom
The X Factor: One Direction to Superstardom was a television special that aired on the Seven Network on 27 September 2012. The special followed the rise of One Direction, from their journey during the seventh series of The X Factor UK to becoming global superstars of today. It also featured One Direction's interview with X Factor Australia host Luke Jacobz. Aside from One Direction, the special included success stories of X Factor UK series three winner Leona Lewis, X Factor Australia season three winner Reece Mastin and finalist Johnny Ruffo, as well as the judges' opinions about the show and its "capacity to create global singing sensations." One Direction to Superstardom was watched by 691,000 viewers and was ranked fifteenth overall for the night.
Contestants
On 20 September 2012, the Seven Network issued a statement saying that contestant Josh Brookes was disqualified from The X Factor because he "behaved in an inappropriate manner" on social media. A Twitcam video that was later uploaded to YouTube displays Brookes and contestant Adil Memon asking teenage girls for "sneaky banana pics", a phrase used by teenagers that means naked images. The Seven Network stated, "After a careful review of the incident, FremantleMedia Australia, producers of the program, together with Channel Seven, made a joint decision to remove him from the competition". During the second live performance show on 25 September, Mel B announced that Carmelo Munzone, who was eliminated during the "home visits" stage, was Brookes' replacement in the show.
Ratings
The premiere episode of The X Factor, which was broadcast on 20 August 2012, topped the night's overall ratings with 1,598,000 viewers. The next five episodes of auditions also ranked first on their respective nights. The first live performance show on 17 September 2012 gained 1,588,000 viewers and topped the night's overall ratings. The announcement of the winner during the grand final decider show on 20 November 2012 was watched by 1,921,000 viewers, making it the highest rated episode of the fourth season.