The X Factor (UK series 9)

Judges, presenters and other personnel

On 17 April 2012, Gary Barlow was confirmed to be returning to the judging panel, and on 3 May it was announced that Louis Walsh would also return for his ninth year as a judge. Tulisa was also confirmed to be returning, but Kelly Rowland did not return due to other commitments. Individuals rumoured to be permanently replacing Rowland included Geri Halliwell, Alesha Dixon, and Rochelle Wiseman and Frankie Sandford. Former judges Sharon Osbourne, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl, as well as Katy Perry and Rihanna, were said to have turned down the role. As a fourth permanent judge was not found in time for the start of the auditions, guest judging roles were brought in. They were filled by Halliwell, series 3 winner Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Nicole Scherzinger, Mel B and Anastacia. Scherzinger was announced as the fourth judge on 15 June 2012, filling the fourth seat from the Newcastle auditions onwards.

Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV for his sixth series, while Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present companion show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, but Murs was absent for the auditions, bootcamp and judges' houses as he was on tour with One Direction in America. In Murs' absence, Flack was joined by guest presenters such as Jedward, JLS and Westlife. Brian Burke returned as creative director, but Elizabeth Honan did not. Brian Friedman, who left as creative director on the show after series 7 in 2010, returned this year, but left after the third live show to launch the live shows of the U.S. version. Also, Natalya Nair, head of make-up, did not have her contract renewed. Yvie Burnett and Annabel Williams gave vocal coaching during the live shows.

Applications and auditions

This series, for the first time, applicants were able to audition online via Facebook. The show's producers also sent a "mobile audition van" to 18 locations throughout the UK and Ireland in order to audition singers who could not make the arena auditions. The mobile auditions began in Plymouth and ended 18 days later in Brighton. The van visited a different location every day except when it spent two days in Dublin on 28 and 29 April. The other towns and cities it visited were Aberystwyth, Bangor, Blackpool, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Middlesbrough, Wakefield, Derby, Norwich, Colchester, Southend-on-Sea and Chatham. Producers also had researchers invite certain people to audition, who had not applied to audition. There were several rule changes in relation to the auditions: acts with current management deals were allowed to audition for the first time, in a bid to "[broaden] the net and [open] it up so that everybody gets an opportunity." Also, singers could perform their own compositions and play instruments.

The judges' auditions—originally supposed to start in Cardiff on 15 May 2012 but postponed due to delays in signing up a new permanent fourth judge—began on 23 May in Liverpool (Echo Arena) and continued from 26–30 May in London (The O2). From 5–7 June, auditions moved to Manchester (EventCity), and on 11 June, they took place in Glasgow (SECC). Further auditions took place on 18 June in Newcastle (Metro Radio Arena) and concluded on 25 June in Cardiff (Motorpoint Arena Cardiff).

Halliwell was the first guest judge, attending the Liverpool auditions. Guest judges in London were Lewis on 26 May and the second session of 29 May, Ora on 28 May and the first session of 29 May, and Scherzinger on 30 May. Mel B filled the guest judging role in Manchester and Anastacia judged in Glasgow. On 13 June, Scherzinger was announced to be returning as a guest judge for the Newcastle auditions, before being announced as the new permanent fourth judge two days later.

The first episode of auditions was broadcast on 18 August 2012, and featured auditions from London (with Scherzinger), Cardiff and Manchester. The second episode featured auditions from London (with Ora), Manchester and Newcastle. More Manchester auditions, along with those from Glasgow, were shown on 1 September, while The Xtra Factor additionally included auditions from Newcastle. The episode broadcast on 8 September included auditions from Liverpool and more from Manchester, with the corresponding episode of The Xtra Factor featured auditions from London (with Scherzinger). The 9 September episode showcased auditions from London (with Lewis and Scherzinger), and The Xtra Factor featured more auditions from London (with Lewis and Scherzinger). On 15 September, auditions from London (with Ora and Lewis), Manchester and Glasgow were shown. The final episode of auditions was shown on 16 September, and included more of London (with Ora), Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester.

Notable auditionees included Lucy Spraggan, whose self-released single "Last Night", which she performed at her audition, entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11 following the episode broadcast; Britt Love from the band Mini Viva; glamour model and television personality Bianca Gascoigne; TV presenter, stage actor and former Popstars and Pop Idol contestant Hayley Evetts; Big Brother 9 housemate Stephanie McMichael (in the group Poisonous Twin) and singer and former Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack housemate Nathan Fagan-Gayle. Returning auditionees included Joe Cox, Jade Richards, Melanie McCabe and Carolynne Poole, who all reached judges' houses in series 8.

Bootcamp

Bootcamp was held outside London for the first time in the show's history, due to London hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics. It took place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool over three days, starting on Thursday 19 July, and was broadcast on 22 and 23 September. Simon Cowell promised that this bootcamp would be "the toughest yet". The age ranges of the categories were changed for this series during bootcamp; the over 25s became the over 28s (as in series 7), so the boys and girls categories contain contestants aged 16–27, rather than 16-24. It was reported that the reason for this was because the series 8 finalists were considered too young, and contestants in their late 20s did not make it into the over 25s category because of "quirky older" contestants.

211 acts reached bootcamp. On the first day, judges reviewed the audition tapes and sent home 60 acts before they had a chance to sing. The remaining contestants were then put into groups and they took part in a sing-off. Contestants had a choice of the following songs to perform: "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", "Respect", "Moves like Jagger", "Are You Gonna Go My Way", "Crazy in Love", "Next to Me", "She Said", "Use Somebody" and "How to Save a Life". After each performance, the judges decided which acts to keep and which to eliminate. The number of acts was reduced to 70: 21 girls, 22 boys, 12 over 28s and 15 groups. The following day, the remaining acts each performed one song for the judges in front of a live audience, and the day after, the judges decided which acts to put through to judges' houses. They could not decide between groups Triple J and GMD3, so had them each perform again before making a final decision. GMD3 were eventually chosen as the final group through to judges' houses and Triple J were sent home.

Judges' houses and wildcards

The judges received news of their categories from Cowell via telephone, seen during the second bootcamp episode on 23 September. Scherzinger mentored the Boys in Dubai, assisted by R&B star Ne-Yo; Tulisa took the Girls to Saint Lucia with Tinie Tempah, Barlow had the Over 28s in Northamptonshire, and Walsh had the Groups in Las Vegas and original judge Sharon Osbourne returned as his assistant. Barlow was reportedly originally planning to go to Majorca, but changed to Boughton House in Northamptonshire so that he could be close to his wife after the death of their baby. Barlow was rumoured to be joined by Robbie Williams, but was instead joined by former judge Cheryl. Her arrival was surrounded in secrecy; contestants had their phones removed and Cole was hidden under a tablecloth, so that contestants could not see her sitting next to Barlow.

Rough Copy were originally put through to judges' houses, but were withdrawn from the contest after getting through bootcamp because group member Kazeem "Kaz" Ajobo had a visa application which was being considered by the UK Border Agency. There had been fears that if he travelled abroad during the judges' houses stage, the Nigerian-born 23-year-old from South London may struggle to re-enter the UK. They were replaced by Times Red and Union J (originally Triple J). The judges' houses round was broadcast on 29 and 30 September 2012.

Key:

     – Wildcard winner

At the end of judges' houses, it was announced that each judge could bring back one further act back as a wildcard. The public then voted for which of the four wildcards would become the thirteenth finalist. This left one judge with an extra act. Scherzinger chose Adam Burridge, Tulisa chose Amy Mottram, Barlow chose Christopher Maloney and Walsh chose Times Red. Maloney was revealed as the winner on the first live show on 6 October 2012. When the voting statistics were announced at the end of the series, Maloney was revealed to have received 63.5% of the vote to return, while Mottram received 17.8%, Times Red received 12.5% and Burridge received 6.2%.

Finalists

The finalists were announced during the episode broadcast on 30 September 2012. The winner of the wildcard vote was revealed on the first live show on 6 October 2012 as Christopher Maloney. The group GMD3 decided to change their name before the live shows, with viewers able to suggest names, and on 5 October, the day before the first live show, they announced their new name, District3.

Key:

     – Winner      – Runner-up      – Third place      – Withdrew

Live shows

The live shows started on 6 October 2012. Each week, the contestants perform on Saturday, with the voting lines opening before the performances for the first time in the history of the show. The results are announced on Sunday, with the bottom two contestants being announced and then judges choosing which of the two to eliminate after the contestants perform another song of their choice (the final showdown). If the judges' votes are tied, the vote goes to deadlock and the contestant with the fewest viewer votes is eliminated. As with previous series, each live show has a different theme. The results show features a group performance by the remaining contestants and guest live performances. The live final took place in Manchester on 8 and 9 December, at Manchester Central. It is the first time the final has been hosted outside London. On 26 August, it was reported that contestants will be able to perform their own material during the live shows, after original songs proved to be popular with the crowds during the audition stages.

Each results show featured musical performances from at least two artists, while occasionally, artists performed on the main performances show. Leona Lewis and Ne-Yo performed on the first results show, while series 7 runner-up Rebecca Ferguson and Taylor Swift appeared on the second. The third results show featured Labrinth with Emeli Sandé and series 5 runners-up JLS. fun. and Robbie Williams performed the following week, and Rita Ora and No Doubt both performed in the fifth week. The sixth week included performances from series 7 contestants One Direction, Ed Sheeran and series 8 winners Little Mix. Alicia Keys and The Xtra Factor presenter and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs performed during the seventh live result show, while Rihanna and Bruno Mars performed on the eighth. The semi-final results show featured performances from Pink and judge Tulisa, who was due to perform the previous week, but due to the delay of the release of her new single, postponed her performance. The live final featured performances from Kylie Minogue, Ora and Kelly Clarkson, and the final three performed duets with their mentors, with Only Boys Aloud appearing during Douglas and Scherzinger's, while the final results show featured performances from One Direction, Sandé and Rihanna.

Results summary

Colour key

^1 At the end of judges' houses, it was announced that each judge could bring back one further act back as a wildcard. One of the four wildcards chosen by the judges who were eliminated during the judges' houses (Adam Burridge, Christopher Maloney, Amy Mottram and Times Red) returned to the competition following a public vote. The winner of the vote was announced as Christopher Maloney with 63.5%.

^2 Spraggan was given a bye in week four as she was too ill to perform.

^3 Because Walsh refused to vote, a majority of two out of three votes would have seen an act eliminated. Therefore, Tulisa was not required to vote as there was already a majority. However, she stated that she would have voted to eliminate Union J.

^4 The voting percentages in week 10 for Sunday round do not add up to 100%, owing to the freezing of votes. Christopher Maloney received 7.4% of the final vote.

Week 1 (6/7 October)

Theme: Songs inspired by the Olympic Games (billed as "heroes night")

Special guests: Olympians Laura Trott, Lizzie Armitstead, Danielle King, Joanna Rowsell, Nicola Adams, Luke Campbell, Jade Jones, Tom James, Pete Reed, Alex Gregory and Charlotte Dujardin appeared as guests in the audience, and One Direction made a brief guest appearance on Saturday's show, being interviewed by O'Leary after the first performance and giving advice to the contestants.

Group performance: "Read All About It (Pt. III)"

Musical guests: Leona Lewis ("Trouble") and Ne-Yo ("Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)")

The result of the wildcard vote was revealed before the performances, with Christopher Maloney announced as the winner.

Judges' votes to eliminate

Scherzinger: Carolynne Poole – backed her own act, Rylan Clark, stating that she "believe[s] in him"

Barlow: Rylan Clark – backed his own act, Carolynne Poole, stating that the decision was "easy"

Tulisa: Rylan Clark – stated that she loved Rylan "with all her heart" but made her decision based on the vocal performance in the final showdown

Walsh: Carolynne Poole – said that he loved both acts, and said he wanted to "keep Carolynne", but when O'Leary asked him if that meant he was sending home Clark, he said he wanted to save them both and then chose to take the vote to deadlock. It took him 2 minutes to make a decision as it was very tough.

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Poole was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes; upon this announcement, Barlow immediately walked off the stage.

Week 2 (13/14 October)

Theme: "Love and heartbreak"

Group performance: "Somebody That I Used to Know"

Musical guests: Rebecca Ferguson ("Backtrack") and Taylor Swift ("We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together")

Judges' votes to eliminate

Walsh: Melanie Masson – backed his own act, District3

Tulisa: Melanie Masson – stated her heart lay with District3

Barlow: District3 – backed his own act, Melanie Masson

Scherzinger: District3 – felt Masson wanted it more

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

Week 3 (20/21 October)

Theme: Club classics

Group performance: "Ain't Nobody"

Musical guests: Labrinth featuring Emeli Sandé ("Beneath Your Beautiful") and JLS ("Hottest Girl in the World")

Judges' votes to eliminate

Walsh: Kye Sones – backed his own act, MK1

Barlow: MK1 – backed his own act, Kye Sones

Scherzinger: MK1 – based on performance in the final showdown

Tulisa: Kye Sones – felt she had a better connection with MK1 due to their similarity to her own band N-Dubz

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. MK1 were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 4 (27/28 October)

Theme: Halloween

Guest mentor: Robbie Williams gave advice to some contestants during rehearsals

Group performance: "Without You"

Musical guests: Fun. ("We Are Young") and Robbie Williams ("Candy")

^1 Lucy Spraggan did not perform as she was unwell and automatically proceeded to the following week. It was the second time this happened in the show's history, with Diana Vickers being the first in series 5.

Judges' votes to eliminate

Walsh: Jade Ellis – backed his own act, Union J

Tulisa: Union J – backed her own act, Jade Ellis

Scherzinger: Jade Ellis – thought that Union J had been better performers overall

Barlow: Jade Ellis – wondered if she had the desire to succeed in the competition, and stated he was excited about where Union J could go in the future

Week 5 (3/4 November)

Theme: Number-ones

Guest mentors: Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal from No Doubt gave advice to some contestants during rehearsals

Group performance: "Good Time"

Musical guests: Rita Ora ("Shine Ya Light") and No Doubt ("Looking Hot")

On 3 November 2012, it was announced that Spraggan withdrew from the competition due to illness. She was not replaced and the elimination went ahead as normal.

Judges' votes to eliminate

Scherzinger: Kye Sones – backed her own act, Rylan Clark

Barlow: Rylan Clark – backed his own act, Kye Sones, and stated that he was better in the final showdown

Walsh: Rylan Clark – stated he was doing "the right thing"

Tulisa: Kye Sones – stated she looked forward to seeing Clark more

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

Week 6 (10/11 November)

Theme: Best of British

Group performance: "Beautiful Day"

Musical guests:

Saturday: One Direction ("Little Things")

Sunday: Little Mix ("DNA") and Ed Sheeran ("Give Me Love")

Judges' votes to eliminate

Walsh abstained from voting as both acts were in his category

Barlow: District3 – based on the final showdown performance stating that it was the worse they had perform

Scherzinger: District3 – felt that Union J were more mature and had more chance of long-term success

Tulisa was not required to vote since there was already a majority, but confirmed she would have eliminated Union J

Week 7 (17/18 November)

Theme: Guilty pleasures

Group performance: "Young"

Musical guests: Olly Murs ("Troublemaker") and Alicia Keys ("Girl on Fire")

Judges' votes to eliminate

Tulisa: James Arthur – gave no reason but said it was obvious and effectively backed her own act, Ella Henderson, though she was confused by the public vote

Scherzinger: Ella Henderson – backed her own act, James Arthur

Walsh: James Arthur – gave no specific reason, though said that Arthur was a "ready-made" recording artist and Henderson had more potential

Barlow: Ella Henderson – said he had backed Arthur from the start

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

Week 8 (24/25 November)

Themes: Songs by ABBA; Motown songs

Group performance: "Viva la Vida"

Musical guests: Bruno Mars ("Locked Out of Heaven") and Rihanna ("Diamonds")

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

Judges' votes to eliminate

Scherzinger: Union J – backed her own act, Rylan Clark

Walsh: Rylan Clark – based on the final showdown performances, effectively backing his own act, Union J

Barlow: Rylan Clark – gave no specific reason, but despite their feud Clark was praised for "the best vocals so far" and for his resilience, entertainment factor and tolerance

Tulisa: Rylan Clark – felt Union J had more potential to sell records

Week 9: Semi-final (1/2 December)

Themes: Songs for someone special (billed as "songs for you"); "songs to get you to the final" (no theme)

Group performance: "Merry Christmas Baby" (with Rod Stewart)

Musical guests: Tulisa ("Sight of You") and Pink ("Try")

The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Union J, were automatically eliminated. After their elimination, Union J reprised their week 5 performance of "Love Story".

Week 10: Final (8/9 December)

The final, held at Manchester Central, consisted of two two-hour episodes on 8 and 9 December.

8 December

Themes: No theme; mentor duets

Group performance: "Gangnam Style" / "Payphone" / "Titanium" / "Spectrum (Say My Name)" / "Read All About It, Pt. III" (all finalists except MK1)

Musical guests: Kelly Clarkson ("Breakaway"), Rita Ora ("R.I.P." / "How We Do (Party)") and Kylie Minogue ("Can't Get You Out of My Head")

9 December

Themes: Favourite performance ("song of the series"); winner's single

Group performance: "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" / "All I Want for Christmas Is You"/ "Last Christmas" / "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (all finalists except Christopher Maloney, MK1 and Lucy Spraggan)

Musical guests: One Direction ("Kiss You"), Emeli Sandé ("Clown") and Rihanna ("Stay" / "We Found Love")

Winner's single

On 31 October 2012, it was reported that there would not be a charity single released by the finalists this year, as there was in the previous four years, and that the winner's single may be released for charity to give it a greater chance of reaching number one. This was confirmed by Simon Cowell on 28 November, who announced that the single would be released on 9 December and that 100% of the profits would go to children's charity Together for Short Lives. The winners' songs were revealed on 8 December 2012, with Arthur to release "Impossible" as his debut single. If he had won, Douglas would have released "Let It Be", while Christopher Maloney's winner's song would have been "The Reason", and Union J's would have been "Skyscraper".

Ratings

This series' launch was the lowest-rated launch episode of the show since series 3, seen by 8.09 million viewers according to overnight figures, a 39.4% share of the total viewing audience at the time, on ITV1 between 8pm and 9.15pm and 616,000 (2.9%) on ITV1+1. It peaked with 9.2 million in the last half hour. The average figure of 8.1 million was down 2.7 million from the previous year. The following week, the ratings increased to an average of 8.4 million, but by the fourth episode, the ratings had dropped to an overnight average of 7.7 million, 2.9 million fewer than the previous year. The fifth episode was the first broadcast on a Sunday, and ratings were still down from the previous year, though The X Factor was the most watched programme on any channel on both days. The following week, Strictly Come Dancing was launched on BBC One, and although the shows did not directly clash, The X Factor had more viewers based on average ovenight figures, though Strictly Come Dancing had a higher peak rating of 9.8 million compared to The X Factor's 9.5 million. The next day, The X Factor also received more viewers than the first episode in the third series of Downton Abbey. The two bootcamp episodes performed similarly to the previous week, though the Sunday night episode received 400,000 fewer viewers than the previous week. The episode in which the final 12 contestants were revealed was watched by an overnight average of 9.46 million viewers, and was beaten by Downton Abbey for the first time.

When the live shows started, Strictly Come Dancing also started its live shows, and beat The X Factor in the ratings, according to overnight figures. The first live results show was more successful, with overnight ratings of 9.42 million, peaking at 11 million, though it was still beaten by Downton Abbey. The X Factor's second live show, on 13 October, received the same ratings as the previous week, and was again beaten by Strictly Come Dancing, reported as "its most convincing victory over The X Factor in six years". The next week, Strictly Come Dancing's lead on The X Factor increased, with The X Factor's peak rating of 9.3 million being less than Strictly Come Dancing's average rating of 9.91 million. The next day, The X Factor was beaten by Strictly Come Dancing for the first time on a Sunday, as well as Downton Abbey, though The X Factor had a higher peak rating than Strictly Come Dancing. By the fifth live show, ratings had dropped to an average of 7.6 million, the fifth Saturday in a row where The X Factor was beaten in the ratings by Strictly Come Dancing. It was reported that the ratings were the lowest for a fifth live show of The X Factor since series 1 in 2004. The live show received a peak viewing audience of 8.6 million, being 800,000 fewer than the previous week and 2.4 million fewer on the previous year's week five peak of 11 million, while Strictly Come Dancing pulled in its biggest lead on The X Factor in six years. While Strictly Come Dancing continued to beat The X Factor on Saturday nights, The X Factor always beat it on Sundays, but continued to be beaten by Downton Abbey, based on overnight figures.

By the sixth live show, Strictly Come Dancing was more than 2 million viewers ahead of The X Factor, and the launch of the twelfth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. While 8.8 million watched the sixth live results show, 10.3 million tuned in to watch I'm a Celebrity..., meaning that it beat The X Factor in the ratings battle for the first time since 2006. The seventh live show saw I'm a Celebrity... beat The X Factor again, with Strictly Come Dancing again being the most watched Saturday night programme, but the controversial live results show the following night, which saw Ella Henderson eliminated after ending up in the bottom two with James Arthur, produced 9.44 million for The X Factor. I'm a Celebrity... was again the highest rated show of the Sunday night, while Strictly Come Dancing just came up on top of The X Factor by a margin of less than 500,000, though The X Factor's peak of nearly 11 million was higher than Strictly Come Dancing's peak of 10.4 million. The final result received the lowest viewing figures for a final in seven years. It was beaten by Strictly Come Dancing, which was two weeks away from its final, getting 2 million more viewers than The X Factor's 10.04 million.

¹ The rank for the ITV1 broadcast, compared with all channels for that week, from Monday to Sunday. ² The ITV+1 rating for the Live Results show that was broadcast on 7 October 2012 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 0.28 million viewers. ³ The ITV+1 rating for the Live Results show that was broadcast on 14 October 2012 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 0.30 million viewers. ⁴ The ITV+1 rating for the Live Results show that was broadcast on 11 November 2012 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 0.28 million viewers. ⁵ The ITV+1 rating for the Live show and Live Results show that was broadcast on 17 and 18 November 2012 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 0.26 million viewers. ⁶ The ITV+1 rating for the Live show and Live Results show that was broadcast on 24 and 25 November 2012 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 0.25 million viewers. ⁷ The ITV+1 rating for the Live show that was broadcast on 1 December 2012 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 0.29 million viewers. ⁸ The ITV+1 rating for the Live Results show that was broadcast on 9 December 2012 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 0.18 million viewers.

Trailer

On 30 July 2012, the trailer for the series premiered. Entitled "Whose Time Is Now?", it features six former The X Factor contestants—winners Lewis, Alexandra Burke and Little Mix, and runners-up JLS, Murs and One Direction—talking about their time on the show and how it changed their lives. Male winners Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward, Leon Jackson, Joe McElderry and Matt Cardle were not included. Ward blasted this, calling the show "pathetic" for leaving him out and saying it was like he was "being erased slowly from their history." McElderry, who won in 2009, said "I'm just gonna keep doing my thing", which many fans believed to be prompted by the trailer. McElderry later admitted that he was not angry about not being included in the trailer. In an interview with the Daily Star Sunday, he said: "I'm not on Simon Cowell's label so I wouldn't expect him to promote me. If they want to erase the fact I won The X Factor or try to hide it, I don't care. Personally I am proud I came from The X Factor. If Cowell doesn't feel the same then you'll have to ask him why."

Auditions

During the first auditions episode, broadcast on 18 August, one of the auditionees in Cardiff, Zoe Alexander, a Pink tribute singer, tried to "smash" equipment after arguing with the judges about her claim that she was told to sing a Pink song after she sang "So What". Barlow asked her to sing a second song, which was "Next to Me" by Emeli Sandé. After being criticised and given a "no", Alexander threw down her microphone as she left the stage. Her father brought her back to the stage where she swore at the judges. She then stormed backstage, hit a camera operator, continued swearing and, when the cameras were turned off, hit a female producer of the show. Alexander was later cautioned by the police. She later claimed that her voice had been Auto-Tuned for the broadcast. Executive producer Richard Holloway said that every auditionee had a choice of five songs, adding: "All the contestants that go in front of the judges, they're all spoken to by the production team as they have to get all the tracks to play so the conversation takes place between them and us about what they want to sing and they go through their choices and the final decision about what they are going to sing when they walk on the stage is theirs, 100% theirs." Alexander complained to Ofcom; her complaint was not upheld.

Ofcom received 35 complaints about Alison Brunton's audition, in which she performed "The Edge of Glory", from people concerned about the impact on her two children, aged 14 and 16, who were watching from backstage. The broadcasting code states that under-18s must not be "caused unnecessary distress or anxiety by their involvement in programmes". O'Leary asked the children if they would be teased at school, to which Brunton's son said, "I'm never going to hear the end of this," though smiling at the time. An ITV spokeswoman said: "The X Factor does not include child contestants but takes the welfare of any children featured in the show very seriously. It is a well-established format and contestants regularly bring along their family to support them, as Alison did. Footage of family members is only used when appropriate consent has been obtained." Ofcom also received 34 complaints about the audition of Lorna Bliss, a Britney Spears impersonator who wore a body stocking, saying the programme may have broken guidelines on taste and decency. Bliss gave Walsh a lapdance and chased Barlow through the studio during her performance. The spokeswoman stated: "Lorna's performance and its editing was carefully considered by the producers and ITV. We do not believe her routine exceeded generally accepted standards or the expectations of the vast majority of the audience."

Lucy Spraggan

In week 4, Lucy Spraggan, who had previously been one of the favourites to win, was given a bye through to the following week due to illness. Some viewers felt it was unfair that she had been given "special treatment", especially as she had been on a string of "boozy nights" with fellow contestant Rylan Clark. Additionally, Jade Ellis, who was sent home that week, sang for survival despite a sore throat. A show source insisted that Spraggan had been in a far worse condition that any of the other contestants. The following week, Spraggan withdrew from the show.

Christopher Maloney's The X Factor Final absence

Maloney was allegedly excluded from the final group performance at the start of the live final results show on 9 December, due to being late for rehearsals, the fact that he "smelt of alcohol" and a fight that occurred between him and Carolynne Poole, during which he reportedly called her a "c**t". A spokesperson for The X Factor said: "Chris decided he no longer wanted to be part of the X Factor Final and has gone back to Liverpool." Writing on Twitter, Poole hinted at the dismay backstage, saying The X Factor "can also create monsters". Maloney responded by saying Poole was "disgraceful" and would "do anything to get a headline". He later tweeted the show and Barlow, saying, "I can't believe all the b******t yet again! This is a witch hunt for definite. The show is over", and claimed: "I am being bullied! Big time." Maloney claimed he missed the group performance due to illness.

Judges' comments

During the second live show on 13 October, O'Leary apologised after Tulisa used the term MILF, referring to Melanie Masson's performance. The apology was criticised as Tulisa's comments came at the end of the episode at 10.30pm, 90 minutes after the 9pm watershed, and she had not actually sworn.

After Maloney's performance during the fourth live show on 27 October, Barlow insulted Tulisa. She had criticised Barlow, Maloney's mentor, for "doing the same thing over and over again with him", to which Barlow replied, "Tulisa, I don't know what's offended me more—what you've said or the fag ash breath." Tulisa responded by telling Barlow to "lay off the red wine because I can really smell that as well." Barlow later apologised for his comment, and agreed that he had previous enjoyed the smell of cigarettes as he is a former smoker.

The seventh results show on 18 November attracted controversy when Scherzinger introduced Arthur by saying "This is James effing Arthur!". As "effing" is an alternative way of saying the explicit word "f*****g" and the show was broadcast before the watershed, Scherzinger later apologised on the following episode of The Xtra Factor: "I'm so sorry. You spend every day with these people, you spend so much time with them. Ella was the last female in the competition. I was passionate about her as well as James Arthur, who is one of the greatest human talents ever. I'm so sorry for my effing."

Voting

In the first live show, the voting lines opened before the contestants had performed, the first time this had happened in the history of the show. This was branded "money grabbing" by some viewers, and it was reported that the change to the rules could have affected the voting results, as the acts who performed first would get a "head start" in the votes. The two acts in the bottom two, Clark and Poole, had performed 9th and 12th respectively out of 13 acts. The acts performing 11th and 13th, Ella Henderson and Jahméne Douglas, were already among the favourites to win. ITV defended the change, stating it would allow viewers "to interact immediately with their favourite acts".

On 7 October, the first results show sparked major controversy when Poole was eliminated over Clark in the final showdown. With Scherzinger having voted against Poole and Barlow and Tulisa having voted against Clark, Walsh had the casting vote, but he appeared to change his mind while making his decision. When O'Leary asked him who he wanted to send home, Walsh deliberated for some time, before stating that he wanted to "keep Carolynne". O'Leary then asked if that meant he was sending home Clark, to which Walsh said he wanted to save both Clark and Poole. O'Leary then reiterated that he needed Walsh to say who he was sending home, and then Walsh announced that he wanted to take the vote to deadlock. O'Leary then announced that Poole had received the fewest public votes and she was eliminated; after hearing this, Barlow, Poole's mentor, stood up and walked off stage, saying "this is a joke". During Poole's final showdown performance, members of the public were also outraged when Holloway was seen approaching Walsh and speaking to him. This sparked rumours that Holloway told Walsh not to send Clark home, and that Walsh may have been unsure whether to go with his own feelings or follow Holloway's instructions. On the episode of The Xtra Factor that followed, Barlow stated that he thought it was "disgusting" that a talented singer had been eliminated over a "joke act" that had "little talent". Several celebrities also vented their fury about the result on Twitter: Barlow's Take That bandmate Howard Donald said: "Joke decision on xfactor tonight kids. Based on the singing the wrong person was dropped from a great height. That's xfactor for you!", whilst Coleen Nolan stated: "I'm horrified!! What a joke and a total fix!!" Ofcom and ITV received more than 2,500 complaints over the events, and Ofcom said they may launch an inquiry. Holloway said in a statement: "We regularly chat to the judges during the show, they don't wear earpieces like Dermot so we have to speak to them on anything from timings to running order changes. On Sunday I was telling Louis the order the judges would vote in. We don't tell judges how to vote."

On 6 November, it emerged that Maloney had been voting for himself throughout the live shows, something which he openly admitted. This raised anger with fellow over 28s contestant Kye Sones, who was eliminated the week before. Sones called Maloney "very tactical" and said "he must have an expensive phone bill". Maloney stated: "I have voted for myself a few times. So has everyone else—I doubt my calls have made much of a difference... If I had more credit on my phone I'd vote more." A member of production crew stated he had seen Maloney "dialling and redialling his own number over and over again." A member of production said, "You can't outlaw this sort of behaviour but it leaves a very sour taste. It's against the spirit of the show." During the VT before Maloney's performance in the live show following the reports, Maloney denied that he had been voting for himself.

The seventh results show on 18 November attracted controversy when Henderson and Arthur received fewer votes from the public than any other act, especially Clark and Maloney, because both Henderson and Arthur had been favourites to reach the final. The judges scalded the decision made by the public when it came to deciding that night's elimination, in which Henderson was eliminated when the result went to deadlock. Cowell expressed his shock over the result on Twitter, whilst bookmakers Ladbrokes announced that odds for both Maloney to win outright and for the show to be axed by ITV were slashed.

Performances

Part of Clark's performance during the second live show was cut from repeats on ITV1+1 and recaps on ITV2, and the entire performance was removed from itv.com and YouTube for legal reasons, believed to be because he renamed the song "Gangnam Style" to "Rylan Style". An edited version of the performance was later put back on itv.com and YouTube.

After his performance of LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" on the third live show on 20 October, Arthur was accused of plagiarism. His rendition was very similar to that of YouTube star only1Noah, which was uploaded on 9 May 2012 and has since gathered over 19 million views. However, Arthur later tweeted: "Btw doesn't everyone know I was putting a spin on Noah's version? It had 13.something million hits! Was I supposed to state the obvious?"

Excessive promotion

In January 2013, Ofcom ruled that The X Factor had breached broadcasting rules by excessively promoting the hotel where the finalists stayed, saying it was mentioned in eight out of the 13 pre-recorded introduction videos for the finalists, including shots of them arriving featuring close-up shots of the hotel's sign. Ofcom found "the overall number of references to be excessive" and "therefore judged that there was insufficient editorial justification for the repeated references to the hotel during the programme." They concluded that "the cumulative effect of these references resulted in the programme as a whole giving undue prominence to the hotel."