Broadcaster TV3 | Finals venue Vector Arena | |
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Broadcast from 15 February 2015 (2015-02-15) – 18 May 2015 (2015-05-18) Judges Melanie Blatt, Stan Walker, Natalie Bassingthwaite, Shelton Woolright, Natalia Kills (selection process), Willy Moon (selection process) Origin Manurewa, South Auckland | ||
The second and final series of the New Zealand television reality music competition The X Factor premiered on TV3 in February 2015. Pre-auditions began in October 2014. As well as again being open to singers aged 14 and over, the series was also open to bands, which had to contain no more than five members and have at least two singers. The contestants were split into the show's four traditional categories: Boys, Girls, Over-25s and Groups.
Contents
- Get a first look at the new series of the x factor
- Development
- Judges and host
- Pre auditions
- Judges auditions
- Bootcamp
- Judges retreats
- Finalists
- Live shows
- Results summary
- Week 1 1516 March
- Week 2 2223 March
- Week 3 3031 March
- Week 4 67 April
- Week 5 1213 April
- Week 6 1920 April
- Week 7 2627 April
- Week 8 34 May
- Week 9 Semifinal 1011 May
- 17 May
- 18 May
- Notes
- Charity single
- Producer interference
- Natalia Kills outburst
- Shae Brider
- Critique of contestant
- Ratings
- NZ Nielsen ratings
- References
The series premiered on Sunday 15 February, and screened three nights per week (Sunday–Tuesday) until March 15, when it returned to the regular schedule of two nights per week (Sunday–Monday). As well as being broadcast on TV3, the full series was also streamed live on TV3's website. The live shows were simulcast on More FM.
The series was again hosted by Dominic Bowden. Both former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker returned to judge the series. They were joined by new judges, married couple Willy Moon and Natalia Kills until the first live show, then former The X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaite and I Am Giant drummer Shelton Woolright from the second live show.
The series was accompanied by spin-off show The Xtra Factor, which was hosted by Guy Williams, Sharyn Casey, and Clint Roberts, and screened on Four immediately after The X Factor.
As of February 2016, five acts from series 2 have been signed to a certain music label. Beau Monga, Mae Valley, Brendon Thomas and The Vibes were signed to Sony Music New Zealand, Stevie Tonks was signed to Christian music label "Parachute" and Finlay Robertson had received a grant by NZ On Air to release a single titled "Control".
Get a first look at the new series of the x factor
Development
The X Factor was created by Simon Cowell in the United Kingdom and the New Zealand version is based on the original UK series. Broadcast funding agency NZ On Air contributed $800,000 as a minority investor, for the production of 41 episodes of 60 minutes duration each.
The series' broadcast sponsor is McDonald's, with Mazda, Fruttare, 2degrees and VO5 as programme partners.
The initial pre-audition tour of 13 towns and cities was held in October and early November 2014, with the judges' auditions round filmed in Auckland in late November and early December. The bootcamp round was filmed in mid-January 2015 in Auckland.
Judges and host
In September, two of the judges from the first series, Stan Walker and Melanie Blatt, were confirmed to return as judges. The other two judges from the first series, Daniel Bedingfield and Ruby Frost, were confirmed as not returning for the second series, with Frost wanting to focus on her music career. In October the final two judges were confirmed as New Zealand-born singer Willy Moon and his wife, English singer Natalia Kills. On 16 March 2015, only hours before the second live results show, Kills and Moon were sacked from the show after a public backlash ensued against the couple after they berated a contestant's appearance on air during the first live show the previous night (15 March). More than 50,000 people signed a petition to get the couple sacked. For the show on 16 March, there were only two judges on the panel. The X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaite and New Zealand-born I Am Giant drummer Shelton Woolright were named as the replacements of Moon and Kills respectively.
In August 2014, Dominic Bowden was confirmed to return as the host of the second series.
Pre-auditions
The first appeal for applicants was made on 24 August 2014, with the announcement of the application process and pre-audition tour details. Pre-auditions in front of the show's producers began on 11 October 2014 and travelled through 13 locations around New Zealand. This was a reduction from the 27 locations visited for the first series, with the second series focusing mainly on cities. Bands were also able to pre-audition in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch or by uploading a performance video.
Judges' auditions
The auditionees chosen by the producers were invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience. These auditions were filmed at SkyCity Theatre in Auckland from 26 November to 2 December 2014 and broadcast from 15 February. The successful contestants then progressed to the bootcamp round.
Notable returning auditionees included three contestants who had competed in the first series: Finlay Robertson, who made it to judges' retreats; Hannah Cosgrove, who reached the second day of bootcamp; and Kalsey Goodall and Nofo Lameko, who also made it to bootcamp. Stuss featured as Cassie Henderson's backing band in week eight of the first series' live shows. Steve Broad previously appeared on the second series of NZ Idol in 2005, where he placed third, and on Pop's Ultimate Star in 2007. Archie Hill and Rick Aslett were two separate acts that appeared on series three of New Zealand's Got Talent (series 3) at the audition stage in 2013. Richard Aslett also went on to appear live as one of the "crowd favorites" at the finale of series 3 of NZGT in December 2013.
Bootcamp
The bootcamp round was filmed at Vector Arena in Auckland in mid-January 2015 and broadcast from 1 to 3 March. In the first part of bootcamp, the 101 acts were divided into groups of eight and giving a song to sing. From here they were reduced down to a top 64 and were introduced to their category judge. In the six-seat challenge, the 12 acts in each category performed one song each for the judges and were allocated a seat or sent home. If all seats were filled, a swap had to take place with a previously seated contestant. Any contestant under 16 could not be swapped out if they were given a seat.
The 24 successful acts were:
Judges' retreats
The judges' retreats episodes were filmed over the month of February in locations in New Zealand and Thailand. Blatt mentored the Over-25s in Pattaya, Thailand, assisted by Nicole Appleton; Kills took the boys to Titirangi, assisted by contestant of the first series of The X Factor Benny Tipene; Moon has the Groups in Karaka, with musician and former New Zealand's Got Talent judge Jason Kerrison; and Walker took the girls to Bangkok, assisted by Ginny Blackmore. Moon created a new group, country duo Mae Valley, made up of Abby Christodoulou and Hannah Cosgrove who had previously been eliminated at bootcamp.
At the end of judges' retreats, it was announced that each judge could bring one further act back as a wildcard, with the public voting for which of the four wildcards would become the 13th finalist.
Key:
– Wildcard winnerFinalists
Key:
– Winner – Runner-up – Third place- ^ Originally Willy Moon mentored the Groups and Natalia Kills mentored the Boys until their dismassal as a judge from the show.
Live shows
The live shows began on 15 March 2015. The shows are filmed at The X Factor NZ Studio in Favona, Auckland. The finals will be held in Vector Arena, in Auckland.
Results summary
Week 1 (15/16 March)
With the acts in the bottom two receiving one vote each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Stuss was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
Week 2 (22/23 March)
Week 3 (30/31 March)
Week 4 (6/7 April)
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Sarah Spicer was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
Week 5 (12/13 April)
Week 6 (19/20 April)
Week 7 (26/27 April)
Week 8 (3/4 May)
Week 9: Semifinal (10/11 May)
17 May
18 May
Notes
Charity single
In April it was announced that the finalists had recorded a charity single, a cover of Rachel Platten's single "Fight Song". The charity single was released on 13 April is in aid of Ronald McDonald House Charities in New Zealand. The single debuted at number 13 on the Official New Zealand Singles Chart. The final 13 acts performed the song live on the week six results show.
Producer interference
In December 2014, vlogger Brad Fisher claimed that during a taping of the judges' auditions, he saw the show's producer giving the judges hand signals to guide them on which contestants to put through to bootcamp. However, judge Stan Walker denied the claims, saying that while the producers give the judges background information on the contestants, it was up to the judges to choose who goes through.
Natalia Kills outburst
During the filming of the final judges' auditions session in December 2014, while giving feedback to busker Sally Faherty, judge Natalia Kills used strong language, including profanity, to admonish audience members. Some members of the audience were shocked at the outburst and walked out. A TV3 spokeswoman said both the network and Kills apologised for the incident. The incident was featured in the final audition episode, with the profanity bleeped out. Faherty was also heard using bleeped language backstage.
Shae Brider
In the sixth audition show, singer Shae Brider auditioned and was put through to the bootcamp round. In the episode, Brider revealed that he had been involved in a 2004 murder in Wanganui and had served six years in prison for manslaughter. In reaction to criticism from the public and media, Mediaworks issued a statement saying that Brider's criminal record had been fully disclosed when he entered The X Factor and that the New Zealand justice system considers that Brider has paid his debt to society. Mediaworks also apologised for any distress the episode may have caused viewers. Donna Travers, the mother of Brider's victim, told media she was "devastated" by Brider's X Factor appearance and felt "revictimised". Brider later told media that he regretted appearing on the series and had not thought through the impact of his appearance. TV3 announced that the first two bootcamp episodes would start with an apology to Travers and her family. International The X Factor producers FremantleMedia Australia and Syco Entertainment discussed the situation with the show's producers, with a spokesperson for FreemantleMedia describing the inclusion of Brider on the show was "a very poor editorial decision" and that "a more rigid approval process" would ensure a similar situation would not happen in future.
Critique of contestant
During the first live show, Kills bullied and humiliated Joe Irvine during the judges' comments, stating that there was "a doppelganger in our midst". Kills called out Irvine on his apparent copying of her husband, Willy Moon's hairstyle and dress sense. Kills deemed the contestant a "laughing stock", overtly "cheesy" and "disgusting". Moon continued her rant, saying that Irvine was "like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother's clothing, it's just a little bit creepy". Viewer response to the comments was overwhelmingly negative, with some calling for Kills and Moon to be fired from the show mid-series, some calling them out on their hypocrisy about originality and others simply stating the comments to be disgusting themselves. A Facebook page demanding the two be fired was set up on 15 March 2015, and within twelve hours had amassed over 50,000 likes. The incident led to criticism from the show's sponsors, franchise owner and fellow judges.
A change.org petition asking TV3 to "Take Natalia Kills off XFactor", calling for the removal of only Kills without mentioning her husband, had attracted 77,532 signatures. Moon and Kills were both fired from the show the day after the incident and left Auckland for Los Angeles. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Kills made her first public comments on the controversy by wishing luck to Joe Irvine and those in her former category luck in the competition, dismissing the idea of a "manufactured conspiracy" and also stated that "there are many sides to this story". The following day both Kills and Moon made further comments via Twitter, with Kills explicitly apologising to Joe Irvine, while Moon wished him luck in the competition. Kills and Moon were replaced by former X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and New Zealand-born drummer Shelton Woolright respectively with immediate effect from the second live show, with the former going on to eventually mentor the winning act, Beau Monga.