The X Factor (New Zealand series 2)

The X Factor NZ
Series 2
Broadcast from	15 February 2015 (2015-02-15) – present
Judges	Natalie Bassingthwaite Melanie Blatt Stan Walker Shelton Woolright Natalia Kills (until live show 1) Willy Moon (until live show 1)
Presenter(s)	Dominic Bowden
Broadcaster	TV3
Finals venue	Vector Arena
Chronology
◀ 2015

The second season of the New Zealand television reality music competition The X Factor, based on the original UK series, premiered on TV3 in February 2015.^[1] Pre-auditions began in October 2014. As well as again being open to singers aged 14 and over, the second series is also open to bands. Bands must contain no more than five members and have at least two singers.^[2] The contestants were split into the show's four traditional categories: Boys, Girls, Over-25s and Groups.^[3]

The series premiered on Sunday 15 February,^[4] 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).^[5] As well as being broadcast on TV3, the full series is also streamed live on TV3's website. The live shows are simulcast on More FM.^[6]

The series is again hosted by Dominic Bowden.^[7] Both former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker returned to judge the second series.^[8] They were joined by new judges, married couple Willy Moon and Natalia Kills until the first live show, then The X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaite and I Am Giant drummer Shelton Woolright from the second live show.

The series is accompanied by spin-off show The Xtra Factor, which is hosted by Guy Williams, Sharyn Casey and Clint Roberts, and screens on Four immediately after The X Factor.^[9][10]

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 confirmed they would contribute $800,000 as a minority investor, for the production of 41 episodes of 60 minutes duration each.^[11]

The series' broadcast sponsor is McDonald's, with Mazda, Fruttare, 2degrees and VO5 as programme partners.^[12]

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.^[13]

Judges and host

In August 2014, Dominic Bowden was confirmed to return as the host of the second series.^[7]

In September, two of the judges from the first series, Stan Walker and Melanie Blatt, were confirmed to return as judges.^[8] 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.^[14]

In October the final two judges were confirmed as New Zealand-born singer Willy Moon and his wife, English singer Natalia Kills.^[15] On 15 March 2015, after Kills and Moon berated a contestant on air, a viral backlash ensued against the couple. Within 12 hours of the incident, overnight in New Zealand, more than 50,000 people signed a petition to get the couple sacked. Kills and Moon were then dropped before the live results show. For that night's episode (16 March), there were only two judges on the panel.^[16]

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.^[17]

Selection process

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.^[13][18] Bands were also able to pre-audition in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch or by uploading a performance video.^[2]

Audition city/town	Dates	Venue
Auckland Central	11–12 October 2014	AUT City Campus
Queenstown	14 October 2014	Performing Arts Centre
Dunedin	15 October 2014	Forsyth Barr Stadium
Christchurch	16–17 October 2014	New Zealand Institute of Sport
Nelson	19 October 2014	Nelson College
Wellington	21–22 October 2014	Westpac Stadium
Palmerston North	24 October 2014	Regent Theatre
Napier	26 October 2014	Napier Boys' High School
Rotorua	27 October 2014	Rotorua Arts Village
Tauranga/Mt Maunganui	28 October 2014	Club Mount
Hamilton	29 October 2014	Wintec
Whangarei	30 October 2014	Whangarei Athletics Club
South Auckland	1–2 November 2014	Alfriston College

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.^[19] 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.^[20]

Notable returning auditionees included three contestants who had competed in series one: 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 series one 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 ^[21] 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 appeared live as one of the "crowd favorites" at the Grand Final of series 3 of NZGT in December 2013.^[22]

• Auditions 1 (15 February 2015) Featured successful auditionees: Shayla Armstrong, Jazzy Axton, Brendon Thomas and the Vibes, Joe Irvine, Ralph Zambrano, Nofo Lameko, Beau Monga, Ellaphon Tauariki and Eb Skye.^[23]
• Auditions 2 (16 February 2015) Featured successful auditionees: Michelle Beck, Liam Fitzsimon Cooper, Finlay Robertson, Matt Sainsbury, Tux Severne, Sarah Spicer and Stevie Tonks.^[24]
• Auditions 3 (17 February 2015) Featured successful auditionees: Co-lab, Hannah Cosgrove, Dr3am, Fare Thee Well, Stuss and Urban Legacy.
• Auditions 4 (22 February 2015) Featured successful auditionees: Yolanda Bartram, Steve Broad, Teea Cecil, Nyssa Collins, Malakai Funaki, Archie Hill, Ria Hoeta, The Kicks, Mansweat, Anthony O'Hagan, Julie Rogers and Reiki Ruawai.
• Auditions 5 (23 February 2015) Featured successful auditionees: Ashy Batchelor, Lili Bayliss, Georgia Bishop, Abby Cristodoulou, Bethan Dunstone-Leith, Elae, Elijah and Leilani, Joseph Emanuel, Georgina Banfield, Hiki and Kerin, Llewellyn, Looking For Alaska, Kayla Mahon and Modulation.
• Auditions 6 (24 February 2015) Featured successful auditionees: Emma Amiri-Ghaemmaghamy, Talitha Blake, Shae Brider, Alfonso Fabras, Sally Faherty, Irene Folau, Kalsey Goodall, Micah Heath, Matthew Herd, Liam Jolly, Lydia Lewis, Johnny Searle and Izaia Tilialo.

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. Following The X Factor UK's rule, any contestant under 16 could not be swapped out if they were given a seat.^[25][26]

The 24 successful acts were:

• Boys: Micah Heath, Archie Hill, Nofo Lameko, Beau Monga, Reiki Ruawai, Stevie Tonks
• Girls: Jazzy Axton, Georgina Banfield, Lili Bayliss, Nyssa Collins, Sally Faherty, Finlay Robertson
• Over-25s: Talitha Blake, Steve Broad, Joseph Emanuel, Joe Irvine, Kayla Mahon, Sarah Spicer
• Groups: Brendon Thomas & the Vibes, Duel, Fare Thee Well, Modulation, Stuss, Urban Legacy

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 series one The X Factor contestant 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 Cristodoulou 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.^[27]

Key:

     – Wildcard winner

Summary of judges' retreats

Judge	Category	Location	Assistant[28]	Contestants eliminated	Wildcard
Blatt	Over-25s	Pattaya	Nicole Appleton	Talitha Blake, Kayla Mahon	Joseph Emanuel
Kills	Boys	Titirangi	Benny Tipene	Micah Heath, Reiki Ruawai	Archie Hill
Moon	Groups	Karaka	Jason Kerrison	Duel, Modulation, Urban Legacy	Mae Valley
Walker	Girls	Bangkok	Ginny Blackmore	Georgina Banfield, Sally Faherty	Jazzy Axton

Finalists

Key:

     – Eliminated

Category (mentor)[3]	Acts
Boys (Kills/Bassingthwaighte)	Nofo Lameko	Beau Monga	Stevie Tonks
Girls (Walker)	Lili Bayliss	Nyssa Collins	Finlay Robertson
Over-25s (Blatt)	Steve Broad	Joe Irvine	Sarah Spicer
Groups (Moon/Woolright)	Brendon Thomas and the Vibes	Fare Thee Well	Mae Valley	Stuss

Live shows

The live shows began on 15 March 2015.^[29] The shows are filmed at The X Factor NZ Studio in Favona, Auckland.^[30]

Results summary

Colour key

     – Contestant safe for that week

     – Contestant in the bottom two and had to perform in the final showdown

     – Contestant received the lowest number of public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown)

Weekly results per contestant

Contestant	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10
Stevie Tonks	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom two
Nyssa Collins	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom three	Safe	Safe
Beau Monga	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe
Brendon Thomas & The Vibes	Safe	Safe	Safe	9th	Safe	Safe	Safe
Steve Broad	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe
Lili Bayliss	12th	Safe	Bottom two	Safe	Safe	Bottom two	Bottom two	Eliminated (Week 7)
Mae Valley	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom two	Eliminated (Week 6)
Joe Irvine	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom three	Eliminated (Week 5)
Finlay Robertson	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	9th	Eliminated (Week 5)
Sarah Spicer	Safe	Safe	Safe	10th	Eliminated (Week 4)
Fare Thee Well	Safe	Bottom two	Bottom two	Eliminated (Week 3)
Nofo Lameko	Safe	Bottom two	Eliminated (Week 2)
Stuss	13th	Eliminated (Week 1)
Final showdown	Stuss	Fare Thee Well	Fare Thee Well	Sarah Spicer	Nyssa Collins	Mae Valley	Lili Bayliss		No bottom two/judges' vote; public votes alone decide who is eliminated
	Lili Bayliss	Nofo Lameko	Lili Bayliss	Brendon Thomas & The Vibes	Joe Irvine	Lili Bayliss	Stevie Tonks
Bassingthwaite's vote to eliminate	N/A	Fare Thee Well	Fare Thee Well	Sarah Spicer	Joe Irvine	Mae Valley	Lili Bayliss
Blatt's vote to eliminate	Lili Bayliss	Nofo Lameko	Fare Thee Well	Brendon Thomas & The Vibes	Nyssa Collins	Mae Valley	Lili Bayliss
Walker's vote to eliminate	Stuss	Nofo Lameko	Fare Thee Well	Brendon Thomas & The Vibes	Joe Irvine	Mae Valley	Stevie Tonks
Woolright's vote to eliminate	N/A	Nofo Lameko	Lili Bayliss	Sarah Spicer	Joe Irvine	Lili Bayliss	Lili Bayliss
Eliminated	Stuss 1 of 2 votes Deadlock	Nofo Lameko 3 of 4 votes Majority	Fare Thee Well 3 of 4 votes Majority	Sarah Spicer 2 of 4 votes Deadlock	Finlay Robertson Public vote to save Joe Irvine 3 of 4 votes Majority	Mae Valley 3 of 4 votes Majority	Lili Bayliss 3 of 4 votes Majority

Live show details

Week 1 (15/16 March)

• Theme: Judges' choices
• Musical guests: Savage & Timmy Trumpet ("Freaks"), Jackie Thomas ("Until the Last Goodbye")^[31][32]

Contestants' performances on the first live show

Act	Order	Song	Result
Nyssa Collins	1	"I Shot the Sheriff"/"Uptown Funk"	Safe
Beau Monga	2	"Make It Bun Dem"/"Jamming"	Safe
Fare Thee Well	3	"The Sound of Silence"	Safe
Sarah Spicer	4	"Wrecking Ball"	Safe
Stuss	5	"Girls"	Bottom two
Nofo Lameko	6	"Cry Me a River"	Safe
Lili Bayliss	7	"Rude"	Bottom two
Brendon Thomas and the Vibes	8	"Lonely Boy"	Safe
Stevie Tonks	9	"Young and Beautiful"	Safe
Mae Valley	10	"If I Die Young"	Safe
Steve Broad	11	"Drunk in Love"	Safe
Finlay Robertson	12	"Chandelier"	Safe
Joe Irvine	13	"Cry Me a River"	Safe
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song	Result
Stuss	1	"Shiver"	Eliminated
Lili Bayliss	2	"No Scrubs"	Safe

Judges' vote to eliminate

• Walker: Stuss – backed his own act, Lili Bayliss
• Blatt: Lili Bayliss – thought it was the only fair way, since Stuss had no mentor backing them at the time

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.

Notes

• Kills and Moon appeared on Sunday's live show, but were removed with immediate effect for Monday's show. Monday's show went ahead with only Blatt and Walker appearing on the panel with Walker looking after Kills's Boys and Blatt looking after Moon's Groups.
• Studio versions of the contestants performances were realesed on iTunes starting this week. A series first.
• On 23 March 2015, the performances of three acts entered the NZ Singles Chart. Stevie Tonk's performance of "Young and Beautiful" debuted at number 5, Mae Valley's performance of "If I Die Young" debuted at number 10, and Lili Bayliss' performance of "Rude" debuted at number 18.

Week 2 (22/23 March)

• Theme: Biggest records right now
• Musical guests: Ginny Blackmore ("Love Me Anyway"), Jamie McDell ("Back Of My Mind")^[33]

Contestants' performances on the second live show

Act	Order	Song	Result
Finlay Robertson	1	"FourFiveSeconds"	Safe
Stevie Tonks	2	"Like I Can"	Safe
Sarah Spicer	3	"Love Me like You Do"	Safe
Fare Thee Well	4	"Style"	Bottom two
Joe Irvine	5	"Take Me to Church"	Safe
Nofo Lameko	6	"Special"	Bottom two
Nyssa Collins	7	"Dear Future Husband"/"All About That Bass"	Safe
Beau Monga	8	"Happy"/"Drop It Like It's Hot"/"Beat It"	Safe
Mae Valley	9	"Up"	Safe
Steve Broad	10	"Jealous"	Safe
Brendon Thomas and the Vibes	11	"Budapest"	Safe
Lili Bayliss	12	"Earned It"	Safe
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song	Result
Fare Thee Well	1	"If I Ain't Got You"	Safe
Nofo Lameko	2	"Valerie"	Eliminated

Judges' vote to eliminate

• Woolright: Nofo Lameko – backed his own act, Fare Thee Well
• Bassingthwaighte: Fare Thee Well – backed her own act, Nofo Lameko
• Blatt: Nofo Lameko – had never felt a connection with Nofo
• Walker: Nofo Lameko – based on what he saw in the future for the performers

Notes

• On 30 March 2015, Brendon Thomas and the Vibes' performance of "Budapest" debuted at number 12 on the NZ Singles Chart. Their performamce of "Budapest" retained its spot at number 12 for a second week.

Week 3 (30/31 March)

• Theme: Songs of summer
• Musical guests: Jason Kerrison ("You Want Me As Me"), Ricky Martin ("Mr Put It Down"),^[34]

Contestants' performances on the third live show

Act	Order	Song	Result
Fare Thee Well	1	"In the Summertime"	Bottom two
Joe Irvine	2	"Summer of '69"	Safe
Beau Monga	3	"Señorita"	Safe
Lili Bayliss	4	"Only Girl (In the World)"	Bottom two
Mae Valley	5	"Somewhere in My Car"	Safe
Steve Broad	6	"Summertime Sadness"	Safe
Finlay Robertson	7	"Bang Bang"	Safe
Stevie Tonks	8	"Are You Gonna Be My Girl"	Safe
Nyssa Collins	9	"How Will I Know"	Safe
Brendon Thomas and The Vibes	10	"I'm Shakin'"	Safe
Sarah Spicer	11	"Summertime"	Safe
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song	Result
Fare Thee Well	1	"Hallelujah"	Eliminated
Lili Bayliss	2	"Naughty Girl"	Safe

Judges' vote to eliminate

• Walker: Fare Thee Well – backed his own act, Lili Bayliss
• Woolright: Lili Bayliss – backed his own act, Fare Thee Well
• Bassingthwaighte: Fare Thee Well – gave no reason
• Blatt: Fare Thee Well – thought Bayliss could hold a more sustainable career in the music industry

Notes

• This week's shows were moved to Monday and Tuesday nights to avoid the Sunday night show clashing with the final of the 2015 Cricket World Cup.^[35]
• On 3 April 2015, Nyssa Collins performance of "How Will I Know" debuted at number 19 on the NZ Singles Chart.

Week 4 (6/7 April)

• Theme: One-hit wonders
• Musical guests: Vince Harder ("Shot Me Down"), P-Money & Sid Diamond ("Truth Hurts")^[36]

Contestants' performances on the fourth live show

Act	Order	Song	Result
Sarah Spicer	1	"What's Up?"	Bottom two
Nyssa Collins	2	"A Thousand Miles"	Safe
Brendon Thomas and The Vibes	3	"My Sharona"	Bottom two
Finlay Robertson	4	"Somebody That I Used to Know"	Safe
Joe Irvine	5	"(I've Had) The Time of My Life"	Safe
Stevie Tonks	6	"Crazy"	Safe
Mae Valley	7	"Teenage Dirtbag"	Safe
Lili Bayliss	8	"Tainted Love"/"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"	Safe
Steve Broad	9	"Stay"	Safe
Beau Monga	10	"Freestyler"	Safe
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song	Result
Sarah Spicer	1	"At Last"	Eliminated
Brendon Thomas and The Vibes	2	"Power of Soul"	Safe

Judges' vote to eliminate

• Woolright: Sarah Spicer – backed his own act, Brendon Thomas and The Vibes
• Blatt: Brendon Thomas and The Vibes – backed her own act, Sarah Spicer
• Bassingthwaighte: Sarah Spicer – based her decision on who could sell more records
• Walker: Brendon Thomas and The Vibes – unable to decide and so voted in favour of a deadlock

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.

Notes

• On 13 April 2015, the performances of two acts entered the NZ Singles Chart. Stevie Tonk's performance of "Crazy" debuted at number 5 and Lili Bayliss' performance of "Tainted Love / Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" debuted at number 14. Tonks' performance of "Crazy" managed to stay on the charts for a second week but dropped to number 18.

Week 5 (12/13 April)

• Theme: Ed Sheeran vs. Taylor Swift
• Musical guests: Ed Sheeran ("Thinking Out Loud"), ("Bloodstream")^[37]
• Two acts were eliminated on the fifth live show. One is the act with the lowest amount of public votes and the other act is decided by the judges in the final showdown.

Contestants' performances on the fifth live show

Act	Order	Song	Result
Finlay Robertson	1	"Shake It Off"	Eliminated
Joe Irvine	2	"Lego House"	Bottom three
Beau Monga	3	"I Knew You Were Trouble"	Safe
Lili Bayliss	4	"The A Team"	Safe
Steve Broad	5	"Blank Space"	Safe
Mae Valley	6	"Sparks Fly"	Safe
Nyssa Collins	7	"Safe & Sound"	Bottom three
Stevie Tonks	8	"Give Me Love"	Safe
Brendon Thomas and The Vibes	9	"Make It Rain"	Safe
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song	Result
Nyssa Collins	1	"Slow Motion"	Safe
Joe Irvine	2	"Wake Me Up"	Eliminated

Judges' vote to eliminate

• Blatt: Nyssa Collins - backed her own act, Joe Irvine
• Walker: Joe Irvine - backed his own act, Nyssa Collins
• Woolright: Joe Irvine - based on their ability to sell records
• Bassingthwaighte: Joe Irvine - gave no reason

Notes

• For a series first a charity single consisting of the Top 12 was created to raise money for Ronald McDonald House. The single was a cover version of of Rachel Platten's "Fight Song". All money raised towards buying the single would go to Ronald McDonald House. The single's music video debuted on The Xtra Factor and was later released on iTunes which debuted at #2 soon climbing to #1
• After her elimination on The X Factor, Finlay announced on The Xtra Factor that her save me song would've been "Tragedy" by Christina Perri. She later sang a line of the song on the show.
• On 17 April 2015, the performances of three acts entered the NZ Singles Chart. Brendon Thomas and The Vibes' performance of "Make It Rain" debuted at number 13, Stevie Tonk's performance of "Give Me Love" debuted at number 14 and Mae Valley's performance of "Sparks Fly" debuted at number 20.

Week 6 (19/20 April)

• Theme: Celebrities' choice^[38]
• Musical guests: Stan Walker (Medley from album, "Truth and Soul")^[39]
• Group Performance (Top 13): "Fight Song"^[40]

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show

Act	Order	Song	Chosen by[38]	Result
Mae Valley	1	"Landslide"	Israel Dagg	Bottom two
Stevie Tonks	2	"Hold Back the River"	Jay-Jay Harvey	Safe
Nyssa Collins	3	"Superstition"	Awen Guttenbeil	Safe
Steve Broad	4	"Ghost"	Kylie Bax	Safe
Lili Bayliss	5	"That's Not My Name"	Dominic Harvey	Bottom two
Brendon Thomas and The Vibes	6	"Little Monster"	Jono and Ben	Safe
Beau Monga	7	"Gold Digger"	DJ Sir-Vere	Safe
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song		Result
Mae Valley	1	"Lay Me Down"		Eliminated
Lili Bayliss	2	"You're The One That I Want"		Safe

Judges' vote to eliminate

• Walker: Mae Valley - backed his own act, Lili Bayliss
• Woolright: Lili Bayliss - backed his own act, Mae Valley
• Blatt: Mae Valley - based on their ability to sell records
• Bassingthwaighte: Mae Valley - gave no reason

Notes

• This week's song choices were individually chosen for each act by a New Zealand celebrity.
• On 24 April 2015, the performances of two acts entered the NZ Singles Chart. Mae Valley's performance of "Landslide" debuted at number 17 and Beau Monga's performance of "Gold Digger" debuted at number 20.

Week 7 (26/27 April)

• Theme: Musical heroes^[41]
• Guest appearance: Demi Lovato
• Musical guests: Gin Wigmore ("New Rush"), Avalanche City ("Inside Out")

Contestants' performances on the seventh live show

Act	Order	Song	Musical Hero	Result
Stevie Tonks	1	"Billie Jean"	Michael Jackson	Bottom two
Lili Bayliss	2	"Back to Black"/"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"	Amy Winehouse	Bottom two
Beau Monga	3	"Goody Goody"	Frankie Lymon	Safe
Brendon Thomas and The Vibes	4	"Higher Ground"	Stevie Wonder	Safe
Nyssa Collins	5	"Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down"	Alicia Keys	Safe
Steve Broad	6	"Climax"	Usher	Safe
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song		Result
Lili Bayliss	1	"Blue Jeans"		Eliminated
Stevie Tonks	2	"Grenade"		Safe

Judges' vote to eliminate

• Bassingthwaighte: Lili Bayliss - backed her own act, Stevie Tonks
• Walker: Stevie Tonks - backed his own act, Lili Bayliss
• Woolright: Lili Bayliss - thought that Stevie had the better voice
• Blatt: Lili Bayliss - due to her being in the bottom two four times

Notes

• No songs from this week's performances appeared on New Zealand music charts.

Week 8 (3/4 May)

• Theme: Kiwi Artist Challenge^[42][43]
• Musical guests: Tori Kelly ("Nobody Love"),^[44] The Script

Contestants' performances on the eighth live show

Act	Order	Song	Mentored By[45]	Result
Beau Monga	TBA		Che Fu	TBA
Brendon Thomas and The Vibes	TBA		Hollie Smith	TBA
Nyssa Collins	TBA		Aaradhna	TBA
Steve Broad	TBA		De Jong	TBA
Stevie Tonks	TBA		Gin Wigmore	TBA
Final showdown details
Act	Order	Song		Result
TBA
TBA

Notes;

• Each act was paired and mentored by a local New Zealand singer. The Final 5 acts will be solely mentored by their given celebrity and will then be made to perform a song by that particular artist.^[46]

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.^[47] The final 13 acts performed the song live on the week six results show.^[40]

Reception

Critique and controversies

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.^[48][49] 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.^[50]

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.^[51] The incident was featured in the final audition episode, with the profanity bleeped out. Faherty was also heard using bleeped language backstage.^[52]

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.^[53] 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.^[54] Donna Travers, the mother of Brider's victim, told media she was "devastated" by Brider's X Factor appearance and felt "revictimised".^[55][56] Brider later told media that he regretted appearing on the series and had not thought through the impact of his appearance.^[57] TV3 announced that the first two bootcamp episodes would start with an apology to Travers and her family.^[58] 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.^[59]

Critique of contestant

During the first live show of The X Factor, Kills bullied and humiliated a contestant during the judges' comments, stating that there was "a doppelganger in our midst".^[60] Kills called out the contestant on his apparent copying of Kills' husband, Willy Moon's hairstyle and dress sense. Kills deemed the contestant a "laughing stock", overtly "cheesy" and "disgusting".^[61] Moon continued the assault, saying the contestant was "like Norman Bates dressing up in his mothers 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.^[62] The incident led to criticism from the show's sponsors, franchise owner and fellow judges.^[60]

A change.org petition asking TV3 to "Take Natalia Kills off XFactor", calling for the removal of only Natalia without mentioning her husband, had attracted 77,532 signatures.^[63]

Moon and Kills were both fired from the show the day after the incident and left Auckland for Los Angeles.^[64][65] 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".^[66] 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.^[67][68]

Ratings

• The premiere episode for the second series of The X Factor was watched by an average of audience of 418,280. This is a 11% drop from the first series premiere, which had an average audience of 467,340
• Overall over 1.3 million people watched the first week of the second series.^[69]

Colour key

     – Most viewed episode

     – Least viewed episode

Episode[29]	Original airdate	Timeslot	Viewers	TV3+1 Viewers	Total Viewers	Rank	Time-shifted viewers	Rank	Ref.
Auditions 1	2015-02-15 !15 February 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:35 pm	374,500	38,780	418,280	5	48,300	3	[70][71]
Auditions 2	2015-02-09 !16 February 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	364,750	23,190	387,940	4	21,050	11	[72][73]
Auditions 3	2015-02-10 !17 February 2015	Tuesday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	354,080	32,570	386,650	4	26,300	6	[74][75]
Auditions 4	2015-02-22 !22 February 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:35 pm	328,650	40,420	369,070	4	20,620	8	[76][77]
Auditions 5	2015-02-23 !23 February 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	335,100	38,050	373,150	4	12110	14	[78][79]
Auditions 6	2015-02-24 !24 February 2015	Tuesday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	368,300	47,880	416,180	3	22,300	9	[80][81]
Bootcamp 1	2015-03-01 !1 March 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:35 pm	282,610	65,400	348,010	5	21,930	10	[82][83]
Bootcamp 2	2015-03-02 !2 March 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	338,200	22,100	360,300	5	27,240	6	[84][85]
Bootcamp 3	2015-03-03 !3 March 2015	Tuesday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	356,180	22,620	378,800	6	24,690	7	[86][87]
Judges' retreats 1	2015-03-08 !8 March 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:35 pm	289,940	34,830	324,770	5	21,330	7	[88][89]
Judges' retreats 2	2015-03-09 !9 March 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	317,400	25,840	343,240	5	24,560	9	[90][91]
Judges' retreats 3	2015-03-10 !10 March 2015	Tuesday 7:30 – 8:35 pm	326,750	36,380	363,130	6	22,230	11	[92]
Live show 1	2015-03-15 !15 March 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 9:30 pm	305,900	33,490	339,390	6	31,930	4	[93][94]
Results 1	2015-03-16 !16 March 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	448,320	55,390	503,710	3	43,060	2	[95][96]
Live show 2	2015-03-22 !22 March 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 9:00 pm	324,870	32,890	357,760	3	21,180	8	[97][98]
Results 2	2015-03-23 !23 March 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	277,120	28,150	305,270	8	18,010	13	[99][100]
Live show 3	2015-03-30 !30 March 2015	Monday 7:30 – 9:30 pm	336,470	25,890	362,360	5	22,090	8	[101][102]
Results 3	2015-03-31 !31 March 2015	Tuesday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	376,300	33,380	409,680	9	29,130	4	[103]
Live show 4	2015-04-06 !06 April 2015	Monday 7:30 – 9:30 pm	261,450	25,470	286,920	7	N/A	N/A	[104]
Results 4	2015-04-07 !07 April 2015	Tuesday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	258,110	23,910	282,020	8	N/A	N/A	[104][105]
Live show 5	2015-04-13 !12 April 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:30 pm	376,640	31,550	408,190	6	21,540	9	[106]
Results 5	2015-04-14 !13 April 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	386,700	34,600	421,300	5	27,060	6	[107]
Live show 6	2015-04-20 !19 April 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:00 pm	301,170	29,850	331,020	6	18,950	12	[108]
Results 6	2015-04-21 !20 April 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	287,810	31,100	318,910	9	N/A	N/A	[109]
Live show 7	2015-04-26 !26 April 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:30 pm	285,170	29,800	314,970	5	TBA	TBA	[110]
Results 7	2015-04-27 !27 April 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	293,890	31,760	325,650	7	TBA	TBA	[111]
Live show 8	2015-05-03 !03 May 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:00 pm	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Results 8	2015-05-04 !04 May 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Live show 9	2015-05-10 !10 May 2015	Sunday 7:00 – 8:00 pm	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Results 9	2015-05-11 !11 May 2015	Monday 7:30 – 8:30 pm	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Live final	2015-05-17 !17 May 2015	Saturday 7:00 – 8:00 pm	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Final results	2015-05-18 !18 May 2015	Sunday 7:30 – 9:30 pm	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA	TBA
Series average	N/A		TBA						N/A

References

External links

• Official website
• The X Factor on Facebook

The X Factor (New Zealand) Series 1 2 Hosts Dominic Bowden The Xtra Factor Guy Williams Sharyn Casey Clint Roberts Judges Current Melanie Blatt Stan Walker Natalie Bassingthwaighte Shelton Woolright Past Ruby Frost Daniel Bedingfield Natalia Kills Willy Moon Winners Jackie Thomas Winners songs "It's Worth It" Finalists by series 1 2 Notable contestants Jackie Thomas Whenua Patuwai Benny Tipene Moorhouse Stevie Tonks Steve Broad Beau Monga Lili Bayliss