The X Factor (UK series 3)
| The X Factor | |
|---|---|
| Series 3 | |
| Broadcast from | 19 August 2006 – 16 December 2006 |
| Judges |
Simon Cowell Sharon Osbourne Louis Walsh Paula Abdul (guest) |
| Presenter(s) | Kate Thornton (ITV1) |
| Co-presenter(s) | Ben Shephard (ITV2) |
| Broadcaster |
ITV ITV2 (The Xtra Factor) |
| Winner | |
| Leona Lewis | |
|
Lewis performing in 2009 | |
| Origin | Islington, London, England |
| Song | "A Moment Like This" |
| Genre(s) | Pop, R&B |
| Mentor | Simon Cowell |
| Runner-up | |
| Ray Quinn | |
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The third series was broadcast on ITV from 19 August 2006 until 16 December 2006. Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell all returned for their third series on the judging panel. Kate Thornton returned to present the main show on ITV, while Ben Shephard returned to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. After the semi-final on 9 December, Cowell became the winning judge even though the series had not yet finished, as two of his acts, Ray Quinn and Leona Lewis, became the two finalists. Lewis won the series on 16 December, with Quinn finishing as runner-up.
Instead of the earlier red and purple colour scheme, this year's theme was red and blue. A new-look website for the third series was launched on 11 August 2006. The final on 16 December brought in the show's then-highest ever audience, with 12.6 million people tuning in (a 56% audience share), and 8 million votes were cast, with Lewis receiving 60%.[1] Lewis released a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" as her winner's single, and it went on the become the Christmas number one on 24 December[2] despite only going on sale four days before on 20 December.[3] It was reported that 1 million copies of the winner's single were pre-ordered by stores and that it was downloaded 50,000 times within 30 minutes of being available online.[4] It ended as the United Kingdom's second best selling single of the year.[5] In January 2007, the single was awarded platinum status by the British Phonographic Industry.[6] According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 895,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of December 2012.[7]
Lewis emerged as the most successful contestant to appear on the X Factor having sold over 30 million records worldwide as well as being the only former contestant to be nominated for a Grammy.
This was the last series with only three judges (excluding times when a judge was absent).
Judges and personnel
Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all returned for their third series on the judging panel. Kate Thornton returned to present the main show on ITV, while Ben Shephard returned to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2.
This was both Thornton and Shephard's last series of The X Factor, as Thornton announced her departure on 8 March 2007 and was replaced for the fourth series by Dermot O'Leary. Shephard also quit the show after being passed over for promotion to main presenter. He was replaced by Fearne Cotton.
Selection process
Auditions
Auditions began on 7 June 2006. Simon Cowell said on ITV's This Morning "The next international boyband or girlband is what I want to see in this year's show". 100,000 people applied to audition, the most so far. Nearly 20,000 attended an open audition at Old Trafford, Manchester on 18 June 2006.
All three judges, Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, returned. Hints by Cowell and the surrounding media that a fourth full-time judge mentoring a fourth category of contestants might be added proved to be false. However, American Idol judge Paula Abdul did make an appearance as a guest judge at the London auditions, and further celebrity guests appeared during the live shows. Auditions were held in cities around the UK and Republic of Ireland – London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Leeds and Glasgow. Cowell had also stated that there could be a 14–24s category but during the audition process the category was named as 16–24s, as in the previous two series. Cowell was given the 16–24s, Osbourne had the Over 25s, and Walsh mentored the Groups. (Both rumoured changes – the lowering of the age limit and the addition of a fourth category – were actually implemented in series 4.)
Bootcamp
It was originally intended that 21 acts (seven for each judge) should remain by the conclusion of the bootcamp stage. However, Cowell decided that he had made a mistake with his seven by failing to include Ray Quinn, and asked the producers to allow one more contestant or act to go through. The other two judges were then allowed to increase their quota to eight as well, giving a total of 24 acts.
Judges' houses
In the "judges' houses" round this was cut down to 12 to go through to the live finals. Avenue were chosen to go through but were later disqualified, having misled the judges over an existing record contract with a manager who was no longer associated with the show. As a consequence of this disqualification, Eton Road were put through in their place.[8]
| Judge | Category | Location | Assistant | Contestants eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowell | 16–24s | Miami | Sinitta | Stacey Barnes, Carlo Muscutelli, Shaun Rogerson, Gemma Sampson |
| Osbourne | Over 25s | London | The Osbournes | Katie Angus, Jonathan Bremner, Lyn Fairbanks, Tigwa Savage |
| Walsh | Groups | Dublin | Shane Filan | Avenue, Brother's One, The Dolly Rockers, Pure Liberty |
Finalists
The following artists made it to the live shows.
Key:
- – Winner
- – Runner-up
- – Third place
| Category (mentor) | Acts | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16–24s (Cowell) | Nikitta Angus | Leona Lewis | Ashley McKenzie | Ray Quinn |
| Over 25s (Osbourne) | Robert Allen | Kerry McGregor | Ben Mills | Dionne Mitchell |
| Groups (Walsh) | 4Sure | Eton Road | The MacDonald Brothers | The Unconventionals |
Live shows
Results summary
- Colour key
| – | Contestant was in the bottom two/three and had to sing again in the final showdown |
| – | Contestant was in the bottom three but received the fewest votes and was immediately eliminated |
| – | Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown) |
| – | Contestant received the most public votes |
| Contestant | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leona Lewis | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner (week 10) |
| Ray Quinn | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up (week 10) |
| Ben Mills | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | 3rd | Eliminated (week 9) |
| The MacDonald Brothers | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 4th | Eliminated (week 8) | |
| Eton Road | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 7) | ||
| Robert Allen | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 6) | |||
| Nikitta Angus | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 5) | ||||
| Ashley McKenzie | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 4) | |||||
| Kerry McGregor | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Eliminated (week 3) | ||||||
| Dionne Mitchell | Bottom two | Safe | 10th | Eliminated (week 3) | ||||||
| 4Sure | Safe | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 2) | |||||||
| The Unconventionals | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 1) | ||||||||
| Final showdown | Mitchell, The Unconventionals |
4Sure, Allen |
McGregor, McKenzie |
Allen, McKenzie |
Angus, Quinn |
Allen, Eton Road |
Eton Road, Mills |
No final showdown or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone | ||
| Walsh's vote to eliminate | Mitchell | Allen | McGregor | McKenzie | Quinn | Allen | Mills | |||
| Osbourne's vote to eliminate | The Unconventionals | 4Sure | McKenzie | McKenzie | Angus | Eton Road | Eton Road | |||
| Cowell's vote to eliminate | The Unconventionals | 4Sure | McGregor | Allen | Angus | Allen | Eton Road | |||
| Eliminated | The Unconventionals 2 of 3 votes Majority |
4Sure 2 of 3 votes Majority |
Dionne Mitchell Public vote to save |
Ashley McKenzie 2 of 3 votes Majority |
Nikitta Angus 2 of 3 votes Majority |
Robert Allen 2 of 3 votes Majority |
Eton Road 2 of 3 votes Majority |
The MacDonald Brothers Public vote to save |
Ben Mills Public vote to save |
Ray Quinn Public vote to win |
| Kerry McGregor 2 of 3 votes Majority | ||||||||||
Live show details
Week 1 (14 October)
- Theme: Motown
- Musical guest: Lionel Richie ("I Call It Love")
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Allen | 1 | "All Night Long (All Night)" | Safe |
| Eton Road | 2 | "My Girl" | Safe |
| Nikitta Angus | 3 | "Heaven Must Have Sent You" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 4 | "The Tracks of My Tears" | Safe |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 5 | "Three Times a Lady" | Safe |
| Ray Quinn | 6 | "Ben" | Safe |
| Dionne Mitchell | 7 | "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" | Bottom two |
| The Unconventionals | 8 | "Dancing in the Street" | Eliminated |
| Ashley McKenzie | 9 | "Easy" | Safe |
| Kerry McGregor | 10 | "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" | Safe |
| 4Sure | 11 | "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" | Safe |
| Leona Lewis | 12 | "I'll Be There" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate
- Walsh: Dionne Mitchell – backed his own act, The Unconventionals
- Osbourne: The Unconventionals – backed her own act, Dionne Mitchell
- Cowell: The Unconventionals – stated that Mitchell had better vocals than The Unconventionals
Week 2 (21 October)
- Theme: Songs by Rod Stewart
- Musical guest: Rod Stewart ("It's a Heartache")
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leona Lewis | 1 | "The First Cut Is the Deepest" | Safe |
| Kerry McGregor | 2 | "I Don't Want to Talk About It" | Safe |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 3 | "Sailing" | Safe |
| Ashley McKenzie | 4 | "I'd Rather Go Blind" | Safe |
| Dionne Mitchell | 5 | "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" | Safe |
| 4Sure | 6 | "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" | Eliminated |
| Nikitta Angus | 7 | "Bring It On Home to Me" | Safe |
| Robert Allen | 8 | "Try a Little Tenderness" | Bottom two |
| Eton Road | 9 | "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" | Safe |
| Ray Quinn | 10 | "What a Wonderful World" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 11 | "Maggie May" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate
- Walsh: Robert Allen – backed his own act, 4Sure
- Osbourne: 4Sure – backed her own act, Robert Allen
- Cowell: 4Sure – stated that Allen had taken the panel's advice and improved his vocals
Week 3 (28 October)
- Theme: Big band
- Musical guest: Tony Bennett ("The Best Is Yet to Come" / "For Once in My Life")
Cowell appeared on GMTV on the morning of Wednesday 25 October and said that "something big is going to happen this week that none of the contestants know about – a change that will shake some of them up."[9] It was revealed on the show that this surprise was to be a double elimination.
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Quinn | 1 | "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" | Safe |
| Dionne Mitchell | 2 | "For Once in My Life" | Eliminated |
| Nikitta Angus | 3 | "Sway" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 4 | "Smile" | Safe |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 5 | "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" | Safe |
| Leona Lewis | 6 | "Summertime" | Safe |
| Kerry McGregor | 7 | "They Can't Take That Away from Me" | Eliminated |
| Ashley McKenzie | 8 | "Moondance" | Bottom three |
| Robert Allen | 9 | "Mr. Bojangles" | Safe |
| Eton Road | 10 | "Mack the Knife" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate
- Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – backed her own act, Kerry McGregor
- Cowell: Kerry McGregor – backed his own act, Ashley McKenzie
- Walsh: Kerry McGregor – stated that McGregor had reached the limit of her abilities, whereas McKenzie still had potential to improve
Week 4 (4 November)
- Theme: Songs by ABBA
- Musical guest: Björn Ulvaeus & The Cast of Mamma Mia! ("Mamma Mia!" / "Dancing Queen")
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nikitta Angus | 1 | "Dancing Queen" | Safe |
| Eton Road | 2 | "Does Your Mother Know" | Safe |
| Robert Allen | 3 | "Take a Chance on Me" | Bottom two |
| Leona Lewis | 4 | "Chiquitita" | Safe |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 5 | "Fernando" | Safe |
| Ray Quinn | 6 | "Waterloo" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 7 | "SOS" | Safe |
| Ashley McKenzie | 8 | "The Winner Takes It All" | Eliminated |
- Judges' votes to eliminate
- Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – backed her own act, Robert Allen
- Cowell: Robert Allen – backed his own act, Ashley McKenzie
- Walsh: Ashley McKenzie – stated that Allen delivered a more polished performance on the night
Week 5 (11 November)
- Theme: Love songs
- Musical guest: Julio Iglesias ("I Want to Know What Love Is")
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Mills | 1 | "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" | Safe |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 2 | "She's the One" | Safe |
| Ray Quinn | 3 | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | Bottom two |
| Nikitta Angus | 4 | "Last Dance" | Eliminated |
| Eton Road | 5 | "From Me to You" | Safe |
| Leona Lewis | 6 | "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" | Safe |
| Robert Allen | 7 | "Always and Forever" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate
- Osbourne: Nikitta Angus – gave no reason
- Walsh: Ray Quinn – stated that Quinn didn't have a strong enough voice to be a recording artist
- Cowell: Nikitta Angus – gave no reason but stated that neither act deserved to be in the bottom two
Week 6 (18 November)
- Theme: Number ones
- Musical guests: Westlife and Delta Goodrem ("All Out of Love")
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Quinn | 1 | "Livin' la Vida Loca" | Safe |
| Robert Allen | 2 | "You Are Not Alone" | Eliminated |
| Eton Road | 3 | "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" | Bottom two |
| Leona Lewis | 4 | "Bridge over Troubled Water" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 5 | "With a Little Help from My Friends" | Safe |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 6 | "Love Is All Around" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate
- Osbourne: Eton Road – backed her own act, Robert Allen
- Walsh: Robert Allen – backed his own act, Eton Road
- Cowell: Robert Allen – stated that Eton Road could progress further in the competition than Allen
Week 7 (25 November)
- Theme: Songs from the movies
- Musical guest: Il Divo ("Desde El Día Que Te Fuiste (Without You)")
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leona Lewis | 1 | "Lady Marmalade" | 6 | "I Will Always Love You" | Safe |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 2 | "When You Say Nothing at All" | 7 | "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 3 | "Live and Let Die" | 8 | "Your Song" | Bottom two |
| Eton Road | 4 | "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" | 9 | "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" | Eliminated |
| Ray Quinn | 5 | "The Way You Look Tonight" | 10 | "Jailhouse Rock" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate
- Walsh: Ben Mills – backed his own act, Eton Road
- Osbourne: Eton Road – backed her own act, Ben Mills
- Cowell: Eton Road – stated that Mills was more talented than Eton Road
Week 8 (2 December)
- Themes: Songs by Barry Manilow; contestant's choice
- Musical guest: Barry Manilow ("Everybody Loves Somebody")
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The MacDonald Brothers | 1 | "Can't Smile Without You" | 5 | "Shang-a-lang" | Eliminated |
| Ray Quinn | 2 | "Mandy" | 6 | "My Way" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 3 | "I Made It Through the Rain" | 7 | "Somebody to Love" | Safe |
| Leona Lewis | 4 | "Could It Be Magic" | 8 | "Without You" | Safe |
This week did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, The MacDonald Brothers, were automatically eliminated.
Week 9: Semi-final (9 December)
- Theme: "Songs to get you into the final" (no specific theme)[10]
- Musical guest: Gloria Estefan ("Anything for You" / "Can't Stay Away from You" / "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You")
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Quinn | 1 | "Smile" | 4 | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | Safe |
| Leona Lewis | 2 | "I Have Nothing" | 5 | "Over the Rainbow" | Safe |
| Ben Mills | 3 | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" | 6 | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | Eliminated |
The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Ben Mills, was automatically eliminated.
Week 10: Final (16 December)
- Themes: Favourite performance ("song of the series"); celebrity duets; audition songs; winner's single
- Group performances: "Earth Song" (auditionees) and "That's What Friends Are For" (all finalists)
- Musical guests: Take That ("Patience") and Shaun Rogerson ("Right Here Waiting")
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song (duet) | Order | Third song | Order | Fourth song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Quinn | 1 | "My Way" | 3 | "That's Life" (with Westlife) | 5 | "Fly Me to the Moon" | 7 | "A Moment Like This" | Runner-up |
| Leona Lewis | 2 | "I Will Always Love You" | 4 | "A Million Love Songs" (with Take That) | 6 | "All by Myself" | 8 | "A Moment Like This" | Winner |
Winner's single
Winner Leona Lewis's debut single was "A Moment Like This", and was released on 20 December 2006.[11] Contestant Ben Mills reportedly claimed that the contest had been fixed for Lewis to win, as the winner's song was more suited to a female vocal.[12] This rumour subsequently proved to be unfounded[13] and show bosses said that they had made arrangements for the song to fit any singer's voice.[14]
Reception
Ratings
| Episode | Air date | Official ITV1 rating[15] | Weekly rank[15] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions 1 | 19 August | 7.45 | 7 |
| Auditions 2 | 26 August | 7.36 | 10 |
| Auditions 3 | 2 September | 9.08 | 5 |
| Auditions 4 | 9 September | 7.96 | 7 |
| Auditions 5 | 16 September | 7.53 | 8 |
| Auditions 6 | 23 September | 9.17 | 6 |
| Bootcamp 1 | 30 September | 6.39 | 16 |
| Bootcamp 2 | 8.76 | 7 | |
| Judges' houses 1 | 7 October | 6.77 | 14 |
| Judges' houses 2 | 8.95 | 6 | |
| Live show 1 | 14 October | 7.52 | 12 |
| Results 1 | 7.38 | 13 | |
| Live show 2 | 21 October | 7.54 | 14 |
| Results 2 | 7.70 | 13 | |
| Live show 3 | 28 October | 7.10 | 14 |
| Results 3 | 7.52 | 12 | |
| Live show 4 | 4 November | 7.30 | 14 |
| Results 4 | 7.91 | 13 | |
| Live show 5 | 11 November | 9.83 | 6 |
| Results 5 | 8.24 | 12 | |
| Live show 6 | 18 November | 9.22 | 7 |
| Results 6 | 8.80 | 9 | |
| Live show 7 | 25 November | 8.46 | 11 |
| Results 7 | 8.69 | 9 | |
| Live show 8 | 2 December | 9.31 | 8 |
| Results 8 | 8.24 | 13 | |
| Live show 9 | 9 December | 8.39 | 7 |
| Results 9 | 8.25 | 10 | |
| Live final | 16 December | 10.52 | 4 |
| Live final results | 10.78 | 3 |
References
- ↑ "X Factor winner dreaming of Christmas number one". Evening Standard (Daily Mail and General Trust). 17 December 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ Taylor, Chris (24 December 2006). "X Factor's Leona Lewis Christmas Number One". EntertainmentWise. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ "X Factor's Leona has festive No 1". BBC News. 25 December 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ Blackburn, Jen (17 December 2006). "Leona breaks world record". The Sun (News UK). Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ "Top 40 Singles of 2006". BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Leona Lewis – A Moment Like This". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ Lane, Dan (20 December 2012). "The Top 10 biggest selling X Factor debut singles and albums revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ McGarry, Lisa (9 October 2006). "X Factor Rule Breaking….Again!". UnrealityTV. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ "Prepare for X Factor with a Surprise Twist This Weekend". The X Factor Blog. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
- ↑ "This week's theme is"
- ↑ "HMV.co.uk singles: A Moment Like This (2006)"
- ↑ Newton, Victoria (24 November 2006). "Ben: X Factor rigged for Leona". The Sun (London). Retrieved 4 November 2006.
- ↑ "The Ben interview". The X Factor. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 20 December 2006.
- ↑ "X-Factor winner to record Kelly Clarkson ballad". 24dash.com. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2006.
- 1 2 "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB.
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