Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

The X Factor (UK series 5)

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Presenter(s)
  
Dermot O'Leary (ITV1)

Mentor
  
Cheryl Cole

Air date
  
August 16, 2008

Song
  
Hallelujah

Genre(s)
  
R&B, pop, soul

Host
  
Dermot O'Leary (ITV1)

Presented by
  
Dermot O'Leary (ITV1)

Origin
  
Islington

The X Factor (UK series 5)

Broadcast from
  
16 August – 13 December 2008

Co-presenter(s)
  
Holly Willoughby (ITV2)

Judges
  
Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue, Cheryl, Louis Walsh

Broadcasters
  
ITV, ITV2 (The Xtra Factor)

Angry acts top 5 angriest contestants from the x factor uk


The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The fifth series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis, performed during the live stages of the show.

Contents

Burke's prize, as winner, was a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music (a subsidiary of Sony BMG). Her debut single, "Hallelujah", written by Leonard Cohen, was released for digital download at 00:01 on 14 December 2008, with the physical format following on 17 December. It was later announced that her single had become the fastest selling song of all time.

It was during auditions for the fifth series of the show that viewers were introduced to two teenagers: 15-year-old Jade Thirlwall, who in series eight would form one quarter of the winning act that year, Little Mix, and 14-year-old Liam Payne who would become a member of successful boy band One Direction, formed in series seven.

X factor s05e01 part 2


Judges, presenters and other personnel

In February 2008, it was reported that Sharon Osbourne would not return as a judge for series 5. On 6 June, six days before filming was due to begin at the London auditions, ITV announced Osbourne's departure from the show. Media speculation over the reasons for Osbourne's departure alluded to rising tensions between her and fellow judge Dannii Minogue, as well as disputes over pay. When interviewed by Chris Moyles on BBC Radio 1, Osbourne said that it was "the best four years of [her] life" but felt that it was "time to move on." She later revealed that Minogue was "99.9%" of her reason for leaving, citing that the atmosphere was causing too much stress. Osbourne admitted that when she informed the producers of her decision to resign, she hoped to be kept on instead of Minogue.

Much media coverage and speculation surrounded the question of who would replace Osbourne. Spice Girls singer Mel B revealed on 16 September 2008 in an interview for New! Magazine that she, among others, was approached by Cowell as a possible replacement. However, on 10 June 2008, four days after Osbourne's departure, ITV confirmed that Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole was the new judge and Osbourne's replacement for series 5. Minogue praised the new judge, saying: "She’s very knowledgeable about music and I think she’s going to bring a new side to the show." Cowell is reported by Minogue to feel that Cole's voiced opinions are something "which he loves".

Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main ITV show, choosing to leave other projects, including his ongoing role as the host of Big Brother's Little Brother, to concentrate on The X Factor. The Xtra Factor presenter Fearne Cotton left after series 4, having presented for only one series, to be replaced by Holly Willoughby. Brian Friedman returned as choreographer and performance coach (billed as "Creative Director"), along with Yvie Burnett as vocal coach.

Auditions

A reported "record-breaking" 182,000 applied for series 5, with filming for auditions in front of judges taking place in June/July 2008. Auditions were held in the cities of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, and Glasgow.

Due to her commitments with Australia's Got Talent, Minogue was absent from some of the auditions in Birmingham and Cardiff, but was not replaced.

Bootcamp

As in series 4, all four judges worked together at the bootcamp stage of the competition. This took place at indigO2 at The O2 in Greenwich, London on 4 August 2008, and was televised in two episodes on 27 and 28 September 2008. Contestants are said to have stayed in a nearby hotel in Blackheath.

During bootcamp, around 150 acts were whittled down to just 24 which advanced to the next round, six in each category. After completion of bootcamp, the judges were told the category that they were to mentor. Cowell was given the Boys, Walsh the Groups, Minogue the Over 25s and Cole took charge of the Girls.

Judges' houses

This round was filmed in late August/early September and was broadcast over two shows on 4 and 5 October. As in previous years, the judges welcomed the six acts from their selected category to their "homes". Each act had only one chance to impress their mentor who, along with a guest judge, had the task of selecting which three acts were to go through to the live shows and which three would be eliminated. For her guest judge, Minogue chose former Spice Girls member and successful solo artist Emma Bunton. Cole chose her fellow Girls Aloud member Kimberly Walsh, Cowell chose singer Sinitta and Walsh chose Shane Filan from Westlife.

Categories and finalists

Key:

     – Winner      – Runner-up      – Third place

Live shows

The live shows began on 11 October 2008, and continued through to the finale on 13 December 2008. An added twist for this series, confirmed on the first live show, was that acts in the bottom-two showdown sang a new song of their own choosing, rather than repeating the song they performed in the first part of the show (as was the case in previous series).

Musical guests

Leon Jackson performed on the first live show, promoting his second single "Don't Call This Love". Girls Aloud performed their new single, "The Promise", on the second show on 18 October. This became the first single from their fifth album Out of Control, as announced by Cole at the X Factor launch in August. Will Young performed his new song "Grace" on 1 November. Mariah Carey appeared on 8 November and performed her new single "I Stay in Love", plus a special version of "Hero" with 11 of the finalists (Diana Vickers was ill with laryngitis so could not perform). Leona Lewis appeared the week after and performed her new single "Run" from the deluxe edition of her album Spirit. Take That performed on 22 November show, as did series 4 third-place act Same Difference, who performed their debut single, and series 4 runner-up Rhydian Roberts, who sang a track from his debut album. On 29 November show, Britney Spears performed her new single "Womanizer".

Boyzone, Westlife and Beyoncé Knowles were guests on the final show where they duetted with the finalists, with Knowles performing "Listen" with Alexandra Burke. Knowles also performed "If I Were a Boy" from her album I Am... Sasha Fierce.

Results summary

Colour key

^1 Due to illness, Diana Vickers did not perform and was automatically put through to the next week.
^2 Minogue was not required to vote as there was already a majority.

Week 1 (11 October)

  • Theme: UK or US number-one singles
  • Musical guest: Leon Jackson ("Don't Call This Love")
  • Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Bad Lashes – gave no reason but described both acts as "shocking"
  • Minogue: Girlband – gave no reason
  • Cole: Girlband – gave no reason
  • Walsh: Bad Lashes – unable to pick between two of his own acts and chose Bad Lashes to take it to a deadlock
  • With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Bad Lashes were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

    Week 2 (18 October)

  • Theme: Michael Jackson
  • Musical guest: Girls Aloud ("The Promise")
  • Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Ruth Lorenzo – backed his own act, Girlband
  • Cole: Girlband – based on the final showdown performances
  • Minogue: Girlband – backed her own act, Ruth Lorenzo
  • Cowell: Ruth Lorenzo – decided to take it to deadlock as he wanted to give Girlband a second chance whereas he felt Lorenzo didn't "play to her strengths"
  • With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Girlband were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. During the show, a mistake was made in one of the overlays and Ruth's number was briefly displayed incorrectly, meaning any calls to that number would not have registered a vote. After the show, viewers complained that they had dialled this incorrect number and could not get through to vote for Ruth, but ITV insisted the issue should not have made any difference to the overall result.

    Week 3 (25 October)

  • Theme: Big band
  • Group performance: "Hero"
  • Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Daniel Evans – backed his own act, Scott Bruton
  • Minogue: Scott Bruton – backed her own act, Daniel Evans, though stated he sang the best in the sing off
  • Cole: Scott Bruton – said that she felt the "belief and passion" in Evans' performance
  • Walsh: Scott Bruton – commented that Evans "sang every word like he meant it"
  • Week 4 (1 November)

  • Theme: Disco
  • Musical guest: Will Young ("Grace")
  • Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Rachel Hylton – backed his own act, Austin Drage
  • Minogue: Austin Drage – backed her own act, Rachel Hylton
  • Cole: Austin Drage – stated she was prepared to give Hylton a "moment to shine"
  • Walsh: Austin Drage – said Hylton had more to give to the competition
  • Week 5 (8 November)

  • Theme: Mariah Carey
  • Musical guest: Mariah Carey ("I Stay in Love" / "Hero")
  • Due to illness, Diana Vickers did not perform and was automatically put through to the next week. She was due to perform fifth and would have sung "Always Be My Baby".

    Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Cowell: Laura White – gave no reason but commented that both acts "were not the worst singers of the night"
  • Minogue: Laura White – backed her own act, Ruth Lorenzo
  • Cole: Ruth Lorenzo – backed her own act, Laura White
  • Walsh: Laura White – commented that Lorenzo was more of a fighter
  • Week 6 (15 November)

  • Theme: British classics
  • Musical guest: Leona Lewis ("Run")
  • Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Daniel Evans – gave no reason but had consistently criticised Evans throughout the competition
  • Cole: Daniel Evans – stated that she had seen a spark back from Hylton this week
  • Cowell: Daniel Evans – gave no reason though commented that Hylton "threw it away" with her last performance and that he would have liked to see her perform with more passion
  • Minogue was not required to vote as there was already a majority
  • During the week, ITV were uncertain if Vickers would be able to perform due to her continued illness, and raised the question of whether she should be given another week off if she was still too sick to sing. It was, however, later confirmed that she would appear.

    Week 7 (22 November)

  • Theme: Take That
  • Guest Mentors: Gary Barlow & Mark Owen
  • Musical guests: Take That ("Greatest Day"), Same Difference ("We R One") and Rhydian ("The Impossible Dream")
  • Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Rachel Hylton – backed his own act, JLS
  • Cole: Rachel Hylton – said JLS would go further in the competition though stated that it had been the best Hylton had sung since the auditions
  • Minogue: JLS – backed her own act, Rachel Hylton
  • Cowell: Rachel Hylton – stated that this was Hylton's third time in the bottom two and that JLS shouldn't have been in the final showdown
  • JLS had previously been rehearsing to sing "Rule the World", with the approval of their mentor, Walsh. Contrary to this, Minogue, who had higher priority in the judges' song-selection rota, selected the song for her artist Hylton to sing. This led to an on-screen argument between Minogue and Walsh.

    Week 8 (29 November)

  • Themes: Britney Spears; American classics
  • Musical guests: Miley Cyrus ("7 Things") and Britney Spears ("Womanizer")
  • This week did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Ruth Lorenzo, was automatically eliminated.

    Week 9: Semi-final (6 December)

  • Themes: Mentor's choice; contestant's choice
  • Musical guest: Il Divo ("Amazing Grace")
  • The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Diana Vickers, was automatically eliminated.

    Week 10: Final (13 December)

  • Themes: Christmas songs; celebrity duets; song of the series; winner's single
  • Group performances: "I Have a Dream" (auditionees) and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (all finalists)
  • Musical guest: Beyoncé ("If I Were a Boy")
  • Voting details

    On the final The Xtra Factor broadcast of the series, shortly after the winner was announced on the main show, Holly Willoughby announced the contestants who received the most votes from the public for each of the 10 live shows. Also, itv.com published the official percentages of votes per week. Eoghan Quigg had the most with 6. See the results summary for details.

    The total number of votes cast for the entire series was 16,469,064.

    Ratings

    Viewing figures for series 5 were, at the time of airing, the highest ever for any X Factor series, about 20% up on the previous series. This, however, was beaten by the sixth series the following year.

    The first show of the series had the highest launch audience for any series, peaking at over 12 million viewers. The entire Auditions phase officially averaged 9.9m, a rise of 1.2m over the previous series.

    The Bootcamp episodes performed well in the ratings; although the Saturday episode was beaten for the first time by Strictly Come Dancing, the Sunday episode restored the balance. The Saturday Judges' houses episode had the highest audience since the opening show, and the Sunday episode had a lower rating but still exceeded that of Strictly Come Dancing. The entire bootcamp and judges' houses phase officially averaged 9.8m, a rise of 2.5m over the previous series.

    The live shows pulled in very strong audiences, often rating as the most watched programme of the week. The final was the second most watched television programme of 2008 with 14.06m viewers.

    Series 5 of The X Factor officially averaged 10.5m, at the time becoming the most watched British talent series of the 21st century.

    Heroes: Help for Heroes performance

    The twelve finalists together recorded a cover version of Mariah Carey's 1993 hit "Hero" in support of the Help for Heroes charity. The single was available for download from 25 October 2008, after the finalists performed the song live on that night's show. It was released in stores on 27 October, and Simon Cowell predicted it "will go straight to the top of the charts". In the first week of its release it went straight to number 1 and sold 313,244 copies, more than the rest of the top ten combined.

    References

    The X Factor (UK series 5) Wikipedia