The fourth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV between 18 August and 15 December 2007. The final 12 were declared on 7 October 2007.
Each of the four judges - Dannii Minogue, Sharon Osbourne, Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell - were allocated to one of four categories who they would mentor. The six contestants in each category performed at the judges house before the final three in each section were chosen to proceed to the live finals. The live shows began on 20 October 2007, with each of the contestants performing in front of a studio audience. Viewers voted for the act that they wanted to keep in the competition and, for the first six weeks, the two acts with the fewest votes were declared the bottom two. The judges had to decide which act they wanted to eliminate. In weeks 7 and 8, the act with lowest number of votes automatically left the competition. In the final, Same Difference left the competition after performing three songs, before Rhydian Roberts and Leon Jackson (both mentored by Minogue) performed the winners' single, "When You Believe". Jackson won the competition and earnt a £1 million recording contract.
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The Boys category was mentored by Dannii Minogue. Contestants in this category are males aged 14 to 25. The six candidates were Luke Harris, Charlie Finn, Dominic Harris, Leon Jackson, Rhydian Roberts and Andy Williams. Minogue chose:
Leon Jackson (born 30 December 1988, aged 18 at the time of the show) is from Whitburn, West Lothian, Scotland and was a retail sales assistant at the time of his appearance on the show. He auditioned in Glasgow having only started singing properly in August 2007. Jackson says that singing is the only thing that makes him happy. Before he made it through to the finals, Jackson had been planning to start an Architectural Technology course at Napier University.[1]
Jackson won The X Factor final on 15 December 2007 over runners-up Rhydian Roberts and Same Difference.[2]
Rhydian Roberts (born 14 February 1983, aged 24 at the time of the show) is a classically trained singer from Powys, Wales who auditioned in Cardiff. His voice type is baritone and he had vocal training for seven years prior to auditioning. He is a graduate of Birmingham City University (formerly the University of Central England in Birmingham)[3] and at school played trumpet and cornet. Roberts had appeared in singing competitions before — since the age of five he regularly competed in the annual Urdd Eisteddfod, and in 2007 won two first prizes.[4]
Roberts played rugby for his school, attends the gym daily[5] and worked as a personal trainer. He was once the strongest bench presser in Wales during his teens but gave up weight lifting for a career in music. During his time on the show there was controversy over the way in which producers edited footage to make him appear, what Roberts calls, a "pantomime villain".[6] He also received highly critical comments from judge, Sharon Osbourne.[1] As a Welsh speaker Roberts has recorded messages and interviews for Radio Cymru, recording an audio diary for the station's Dylan a Meinir Show, and has also appeared on S4C shows such as Wedi 7. Although he was the bookmaker's clear favourite to win, Roberts finished second in the competition.[2]
Andy Williams (born 8 October 1984, aged 23 at the time of the show) auditioned in Cardiff. At the time, he ran an asbestos removal company in his hometown of Newport. He auditioned for series 1 of The X Factor at the age of nineteen but was turned down.[1] He was eliminated in week four: 10 November.[7]
The Girls category was mentored by Sharon Osbourne. Contestants in this category are females aged 14 to 25. The six candidates were Alisha Bennett, Victoria Closs, Kimberley Howlett, Emily Nakanda, Kimberley Southwick and Stephanie Woods. Osbourne chose:
Alisha Bennett (born 31 December 1984, aged 23 at the time of the show) was the oldest of the X factor girls. She is from Wembley, London where she auditioned. Before entering The X Factor, she was educated at Mill Hill School and later worked as a receptionist at a fitness gym. She was inspired to audition after watching Leona Lewis win the show in 2006.[8] Bennett was in the bottom two on 20 October and 27 October but was saved by the judges both times. She was next in the bottom two on 17 November and was subsequently eliminated ahead of Hope, becoming the last of Osbourne's acts to go.[9]
Emily Nakanda (born 21 August 1992, aged 15 at the time of the show) was the youngest of the series 4 finalists. She was educated in The Compton School Technology College. She auditioned in London, gaining the inspiration to follow her dream of becoming a singer from a personal health issue.[8] Two weeks into the live shows, press reports emerged with video footage of Nakanda apparently attacking another teenage girl in a "happy slapping" attack. On 2 November, ITV announced that Nakanda had withdrawn from The X Factor due to the media attention the videos had brought, after apparently being told by Cowell that she would be forced out if she did not leave of her own accord.[10][11][12][13]
Kimberley Southwick (born 21 January 1988, aged 19 at the time of the show) is from Tamworth, Staffordshire. At the time of her appearance she worked as a barmaid in her parents' pub. She auditioned in Birmingham, singing "Show Me Heaven" by Maria McKee, which the judges preferred over her first song, "Redneck Woman" by Gretchen Wilson. She attended the Italia Conti Academy but left after a year because she was not comfortable there. She has also performed on Michael Barrymore's entertainment show, My Kind of People.[8] Southwick was the first to be eliminated on 20 October. Southwick had a small role in a season 6 episode of Shameless, broadcast on 10 February 2009, and is now a member of G*Mania.[14]
The Over-25s category was mentored by Louis Walsh. Contestants in this category are of either sex, aged 26 or over. There is no upper age limit. The six candidates were Daniel Boulle, Daniel DeBourg, Niki Evans, Icaro Taborda, Beverley Trotman and Zyta Zebihi. Walsh chose:
Daniel DeBourg (born 13 April 1976, aged 31 at the time of the show), from Chelmsford, is a songwriter and singer who has written songs for Jamelia and previously had a recording contract with Dreamworks. He released an album, Tell the World, in the United States in 2002, as well as a single, "I Need an Angel". He was influenced by the videos of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson to pursue dance by the age of four, and by the age of eleven he had been admitted to study at the exclusive Royal Ballet School. He has also worked with R. Kelly. He was the second to be eliminated on 27 October.[15]
Niki Evans (born 13 December 1972, aged 34 at the time of the show), from Polesworth, worked as a catering manager in a school. Auditioning in Birmingham, she applied for The X Factor after finding the application form in her recently deceased father's belongings. She had been in bands since the age of 12 and at 16 was signed to PWL but did not have chart success. She had also been on tour and sung backing vocals with Sonia who was signed to PWL at the time.[16] Evans was eliminated in the semi-final on December 8. In September 2008 she released a single called "Love Me No More".
Beverley Trotman (born 22 August 1969, aged 38 at the time of the show) was a primary school teacher who in her spare time sang in choirs, which she had done since the age of four. She auditioned in Birmingham and is a member of the award-winning Kingdom Choir who have performed as backing vocalists on both The X Factor and Grease Is the Word. Trotman currently lives in Luton with her husband and two children.[16] She was in the bottom two on 10 November but was saved by the judges. She was again in the bottom two on 24 November, being eliminated by public vote as the judges' votes were tied, creating the only deadlock of the series.[17] It was stated on Xtra Factor: One Year On that Trotman had signed a record contract, and that her debut album would be released in 2009. She will play Ms Sherman in the UK tour of the musical Fame in 2009.[18]
The Groups category was mentored by Simon Cowell. Acts in this category are duos or vocal groups. All members must be aged 14 or over. The six candidates were Futureproof, Ghostt, Hope, I Sette Cantanti, Same Difference and W4. Cowell chose:
Futureproof are a male vocal group consisting of Aaron Delahunty (aged 19 at the time of the show), Adam Chandler (21), Matthew Protheroe (17), Richard Wilkinson (23) and Sean Rumsey (20). They were formed from male singers who initially auditioned as soloists but did not make it past the bootcamp stage. However, believing that talent was lost, judge Louis Walsh decided to give them a lifeline and invited them to form a group. The group made it past bootcamp to the judges' homes round where they were told by mentor, Simon Cowell, that they were in the final twelve.[19] Futureproof were voted off on the third live show on 3 November.[20]
Hope are a five-piece (originally six) girl group consisting of Charlie Mole (aged 23 at the time of the show), Emily Biggs (17), Raquelle Gracie (20), Leah Lauder (20) and Phoebe Brown (16), who, like Futureproof, auditioned originally as soloists but did not make it past bootcamp. However, judge Louis Walsh suggested that they re-audition as a six-piece, with the group originally containing a sixth member, Sisi Jghalef.[19][21] After reaching the judges' homes stage and being told that they had made it through to the final twelve, it emerged that Jghalef had an outstanding criminal conviction. This went against the rules of the competition and the show's producers asked her to leave the group.[22] On 3 November, 17 November and 24 November they were in the bottom two but were saved by the judges on the first two occasions, and by the public vote on the other (due to the judges' votes reaching deadlock). Hope were eliminated on 1 December by public vote.[23]
Since leaving the show Hope have performed at various events around the UK including The Birmingham Clothes Show and have booked their first international date in Dubai. They have announced three tracks from their forthcoming debut album: "Hot", "This Is It" and "I Apologize", which features Pharrell Williams.
At some point between October and November 2008, Leah Lauder was removed from the Hope website and all traces of her existence in the band were deleted. There was no official announcement from the group about her disappearance; however, it has been rumoured that she left to become a solo artist, and she wished the band luck and is still in contact with some of them.
It was revealed on MTV UK Television's The Celebrity Agency that Hope went through a temporary split. This suggests that the band probably reformed without Leah Lauder, explaining her sudden disappearance from their website.
As of 28 April 2009 the band's official website was taken down and it is presumed that Hope is on hiatus.
Phoebe susbequently joined the group Girls Can't Catch, signed to Fascination Records, the same label as Girls Aloud and The Saturdays. However, the group disbanded after its two singles, "Keep Your Head Up" and "Echo" failed to meet expectations.
Emily joined the group Parade. Their debut single Louder hit the top 10, but the follow-up, "Perfume", stalled at #38. Parade's debut album is due for release in October 2011.
Raquelle now hosts the news/gossip web-series "Daily Dips" on Dipdive.
Same Difference are made up of siblings Sean and Sarah Smith. At the time of the show, Sean (born 24 September 1985) was an entertainer in his home town of Portsmouth while Sarah (born 4 November 1988) was a student. Sean left home at the age of 17 to perform on cruise ships and has appeared in a number of pantomimes. Together, they performed at a local retirement home.
Sarah left home at 16 to attend the Italia Conti Academy and has recently finished her diploma. Sarah has also worked as a model and acted in the show Genie in the House but claims that singing has always been her big passion. In her VT during the third live show she revealed that she was bullied at school for being overly interested in singing, and that in her head she pictured her tormentors telling her she wasn't good enough. A friend, Harriet Templer, said that she had been witness to the bullying and that these girls were yelling abuse and even attacked her. Same Difference were also known as the series' first most successful act in the group category as they came third.
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