List of ''The X Factor'' finalists (UK series 5)
The fifth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV. The series began on 16 August 2008 and finished on 13 December 2008 with a grand finale. After the audition process, 12 finalists were selected and split into four categories. Each category was mentored by one of the show's judges. Simon Cowell mentored the Boys, Cheryl Cole mentored the Girls, Dannii Minogue mentored the Over 25s and Louis Walsh mentored the Groups. In the final, Alexandra Burke was declared the winner, JLS were the runners-up and Eoghan Quigg finished in third place.
After winning the show, Alexandra Burke released her debut single "Hallelujah", and in October 2009, she released her debut album Overcome. Despite finishing second, JLS signed a record deal with Epic Records and released their debut album JLS in November 2009 and their second album Outta This World a year later. They are currently writing their third album. Eoghan Quigg was signed to RCA Records, however, after poor sales he was dropped from the label. Ruth Lorenzo has been signed to EMI Records and is set to release her debut album in 2011. Diana Vickers was signed to RCA Records and released her debut album Songs From The Tainted Cherry Tree in May 2010, which reached number 1, as did her debut single, Once. Her follow-up singles achieved similar success and she is currently writing songs for her second album, due for a summer 2011 release.
Series 5 has been the most successful UK X Factor years, with Alexandra Burke, JLS, Diana Vickers, Ruth Lorenzo and Laura White all having careers after the show and becoming some of the most notable X Factor contestants of all time.
Boys
Contestants in this category were males aged between 16 and 24.
Austin Drage
Austin Leigh Drage (born 29 June 1986[1]) is a singer from Grays, Thurrock. Drage first started singing when he was very young and, whilst still at school, took part in musical theatre and amateur dramatics. Having signed up with an agent, Drage made acting appearances in the 2000 movie Snatch as well as a number of TV shows including The Bill and Casualty. After a spell in boy band 5Boyz, who supported Girls Aloud and Blazing Squad and took part in the Soccer 6 competitions, he auditioned and won a place in E4's gender-swap reality show Boys will be Girls, aired in 2006. Drage has also been lead singer in a glam rock band called The Gunners. Simon Cowell commented that Drage is "just what this competition needs".
On the first live show, Drage sang "Every Breath You Take" and got positive comments from the judges, with Simon Cowell stating that he believed that the public had seen only 60% of Austin's ability. He was eliminated on the fourth live show on 1 November 2008 after being in the bottom two with Rachel Hylton. In the sing-off he performed "Don't Stop Me Now" and then "Leave Right Now". Cowell, voted to keep him, but the other judges - Cheryl Cole, Hylton's mentor, Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh – voted in Hylton's favour. However it was revealed that Drage had received more votes than Hylton. So had it gone to deadlock, Drage would've been saved.
He has since appeared on many TV programmes and turned on Stevenage town Christmas lights on 20 November 2008 where he performed fifteen songs, three of which he had performed on the live shows.
Drage made a brief appearance at Butlin's Holiday Park in Skegness on New Year's Eve 2008 to sing two solo songs and a duet with Simon Cowell.
He recently appeared as an X Factor expert on Five's magazine show Live from Studio Five.
Since then Drage has appeared in multiple magazines either naked or skantily clothed. He appeared in Attitude magazine's naked edition 2009 and Now magazine's Sexy Santa edition. Drage also made appearances and performed in Maspalomas Pride 2010.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "End of the Road" - Boyz II Men | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Valerie - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” - Elton John | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “She's Out of My Life” - Michael Jackson | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "Every Breath You Take" - The Police | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (9th) |
Live show 2 | “Billie Jean” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (5th) |
Live show 3 | “Mack the Knife” - Bobby Darin | Big band | Safe (8th) |
Live show 4 | "Wishing on a Star" - Rose Royce | Disco | Bottom two (8th) |
"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" - The Shirelles | Sing-Off | Eliminated (Ninth place) |
Eoghan Quigg
Eoghan Karl Christopher Quigg (pronounced "Owen", born 12 July 1992[2]) is from County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. He has two younger brothers, and a baby sister, born during Quigg's participation on the show. He was the youngest contestant out of the 12.
In the first live show he sang "Imagine". In week two he sang "Ben". Week three's song choice was "L-O-V-E". In week four he sang "Could It Be Magic". Following Scott's elimination in week three and Austin's in week four, he was Simon's only remaining act in the competition.
He then in week five sang "Anytime You Need A Friend". Week six saw Eoghan sing "One More Try". In week seven he sang "Never Forget". During Britney Spears week, he sang "Sometimes" and, for his second song, "We're All in This Together". These performances carried him through to the semi-finals of the competition.
In the semi-final Quigg's first song was "Year 3000". He got excellent praise for this song. His second song of the evening was "Does Your Mother Know". Louis Walsh, Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole all enjoyed the song, but Dannii Minogue thought that the song choice "tended towards cheesy". He achieved third place overall.
On the last edition of spin-off show The Xtra Factor, presenter Holly Willoughby announced that out of the finalists Quigg had placed first in viewers' votes in six episodes of the series, while Alexandra Burke had won two (including the final), and Diana Vickers and JLS had each won one. Quigg was, along with finalists Burke, JLS and fourth-placed Diana Vickers, signed to Simon Cowell's label Syco after the series ended.[3] Cowell withdrew his offer and Quigg was instead signed to RCA Records.[4]
In 2014, he was one of the candidates to represent Ireland in Eurovision 2014, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "Home - Michael Bublé | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Chasing Cars” - Snow Patrol | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “You've Got a Friend” - Carole King | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Father and Son” - Boyzone | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "Imagine" - John Lennon | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (1st) |
Live show 2 | “Ben” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (1st) |
Live show 3 | “L-O-V-E” - Nat King Cole | Big band | Safe (1st) |
Live show 4 | "Could It Be Magic" - Take That | Disco | Safe (1st) |
Live show 5 | "Anytime You Need a Friend" - Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Safe (1st) |
Live show 6 | "One More Try" - George Michael | British classics | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 7 | "Never Forget" - Take That | Take That | Safe (1st) |
Live show 8 | "Sometimes" - Britney Spears | Britney Spears | Safe (3rd) |
"We're All in This Together" - High School Musical Cast | American classics | ||
Semi-final | "Year 3000" - Busted | Mentor's choice | Safe (3rd) |
“Does Your Mother Know” - ABBA | Contestant's choice | ||
Final | "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" - Wizzard | Christmas song | Eliminated (Third place) |
“Picture of You” - (with Boyzone) | Celebrity duet | ||
"We're All in This Together" - High School Musical Cast | Song of the series |
Scott Bruton
Scott Paul Bruton (born 14 December 1988[5]) is a former Pontins Bluecoat from Manchester. Bruton initially wanted to be an actor but decided on a career in music after taking part in karaoke. In the first live show Bruton received harsh criticism for his performance of "Yeh Yeh". His mentor Simon Cowell accepted responsibility for the bad song choice. In week 3, on 25 October, he sang "That's Life" but was eliminated after a bottom-two showdown against Daniel Evans. Cheryl Cole, Evans' mentor Dannii Minogue and Louis Walsh voted in Daniel's favour. Bruton's mentor, Simon Cowell, voted to keep him in the competition.
He is currently playing the role of Bobby in Dreamboats and Petticoats.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "You'll Never Walk Alone" - Frank Sinatra | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Lost” - Michael Bublé | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Hallelujah” - Jeff Buckley | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “I Can't Make You Love Me” - Bonnie Raitt | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "Yeh, Yeh" - Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 2 | “She's Out of My Life” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (9th) |
Live show 3 | “That's Life” - Marion Montgomery | Big band | Bottom two (10th) |
“I Can't Make You Love Me” – Bonnie Raitt | Sing-Off | Eliminated (Tenth place) |
Girls
Contestants in this category were females aged between 16 and 24. The eventual winner, Alexandra Burke, came from this category.
Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewan Burke (born 25 August 1988[6]) is a singer from London. In 2005 Burke auditioned for The X Factor and got through to the "Judges' Houses" stage. However, her then mentor Louis Walsh decided she was too young and did not put her through to the live shows. Burke is the daughter of ex-Soul II Soul singer Melissa Bell.
On the first live show, Burke performed "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", in which she was compared to Whitney Houston. For the second live show, Burke covered "I'll Be There" for which she was again criticised by Simon Cowell, who called her a copycat. In week three, Big Band week, Burke performed "Candyman" for which she received her first standing ovation. For the disco-themed fourth live show, Burke performed "On the Radio". During Mariah Carey week 5, Burke and the other finalists met for an individual masterclass. Mariah Carey complimented Burke on her voice. Burke performed "Without You" and received a standing ovation from the judges. Walsh, Dannii Minogue, Cheryl Cole and Cowell all gave her positive comments following her performance; Cowell commented that "by any standard, that was just outstanding". Following the show Burke's performance was praised by Mariah Carey who commented that her rendition of "Without You" was "absolutely amazing".
In weeks 6 and 7, Burke received positive comments from the judging panel for her performances of "You Are So Beautiful" and "Relight My Fire". The quarter-final was Burke's best week so far, seeing her replace Diana Vickers as the bookies' favourite after performing "Toxic" and "Listen", for which she received yet another standing ovation. In the semi-final, Burke performed "Don't Stop The Music" and again received positive comments, with Louis Walsh calling her "the English Beyoncé" and Cowell commenting "...We may be seeing the birth of a star here [...] you've got it all, that was a great performance". Diana Vickers was eliminated in the semi-final, meaning Burke was the last remaining girl and Cole's last hope of winning The X Factor.
In the final show, Burke's Christmas song was "Silent Night". For her duet, Burke sang with Beyoncé, performing "Listen" for the third time in the series (previous performances were in the "Judges' Houses" round and the eighth live show). Burke's favourite performance was "You Are So Beautiful". Burke was the eventual winner of the competition, over JLS in the final two.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "Saving All My Love for You" - Whitney Houston | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - Roberta Flack | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Hero” - Mariah Carey | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Listen” - Beyoncé | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" - Whitney Houston | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (6th) |
Live show 2 | “I'll Be There” - The Jackson 5 | Michael Jackson | Safe (7th) |
Live show 3 | “Candyman” - Christina Aguilera | Big band | Safe (6th) |
Live show 4 | "On the Radio" - Donna Summer | Disco | Safe (6th) |
Live show 5 | "Without You" - Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 6 | "You Are So Beautiful" - Joe Cocker | British classics | Safe (4th) |
Live show 7 | "Relight My Fire" - Take That | Take That | Safe (4th) |
Live show 8 | "Toxic" - Britney Spears | Britney Spears | Safe (1st) |
"Listen" - Beyoncé | American classics | ||
Semi-final | "Don't Stop the Music" - Rihanna | Mentor's choice | Safe (2nd) |
“Un-Break My Heart” - Toni Braxton | Contestant's choice | ||
Final | "Silent Night" - Celine Dion | Christmas song | Winner |
“Listen” - (with Beyoncé) | Celebrity duet | ||
"You Are So Beautiful" - Joe Cocker | Song of the series | ||
"Hallelujah" | Winners single |
Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers (born 30 July 1991) is from Accrington, Lancashire. She had taken singing lessons and participated in local competitions, but had never sung professionally.
Vickers began her X Factor journey by singing "The Blower's Daughter" at audition. She went on to sing "Chasing Cars" at the first stage of bootcamp and "Hallelujah" at the second stage, receiving positive reviews from all four judges. In the sing-offs for the three final places in Cheryl Cole's group, Vickers sang "Nothing Compares To You" and "Carry You Home". After the first song, Cole noticed Vickers' disappointment, thinking this could be her downfall. However, she chose Vickers for her final three.
On her first live show Vickers sang "With or Without You". On the second live show she covered "Man in the Mirror", for which she received praise with Dannii Minogue describing it as "box fresh" and Simon Cowell remarking she is "the one to beat". The following week she performed "Smile" which again received much praise, and the judges were even more impressed with her version of "Call Me".
In week five, Vickers was excused from performing due to a severe case of laryngitis. She had wanted to perform "Always Be My Baby" up until a few hours before the show, but her doctor advised her not to, saying she could do permanent damage to her vocal cords. This was the first time the producers had excused any act from performing. She was said to be devastated not to meet Mariah Carey, who guested on that week's show. However, on The Xtra Factor show afterwards, footage was shown of Diana at a bonfire night party earlier that week, screaming and cheering with the other contestants. This created some speculation as to the legitimacy of her illness. However, Vickers released a statement to contest the claim: "I felt under the weather all last week but didn't want to miss out on the fireworks display. On Thursday I saw the doctor and was given antibiotics and the following day was diagnosed with laryngitis by a Harley Street specialist. Up until Saturday afternoon, I was still hoping and praying that I would be well enough to perform but the producers spoke to the doctor who made it clear that I could risk long-term damage to my voice. I was absolutely devastated to be told I couldn’t perform on Saturday night and disappointed not to be able to meet Mariah Carey. I am due to see the doctor again on Friday so fingers crossed I will be able to take part in this Saturday's show".
Vickers returned in week 6 and performed "Yellow", prompting Cowell to remark that he believed she was still unwell because she had so many "off-notes". In week seven she sang "Patience" commenting that she felt 100% once again and hoped to deliver her best performance to date. During the show, guest Gary Barlow offered to sign her if Cowell didn't, to which Cowell responded "We will not be accepting Gary Barlow's kind offer for a recording contract. Leona has done fine with me, thank you Gary".
In the quarter-final, she performed "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", which received a muted reaction from the judges, with Simon Cowell telling her it was the first week where she was in danger. She returned for the second half of the show with a version of "Everybody Hurts", which kept her in the competition at the expense of Ruth Lorenzo. In the semi-final, Vickers performed "Girlfriend" as her first song and received excellent comments from Louis Walsh, Minogue, Cole and Cowell. Cole said "she had got that sparkle back". She followed this with "White Flag" but was subsequently voted out of the competition, to the shock and upset of her fellow semi-finalists Eoghan Quigg.
It was originally announced that Vickers would be signed up by Sony BMG under the Syco label but this plan was later dropped.[3] Vickers has since been signed to the RCA label.[7]
Vickers made her professional acting debut in the title role of a new West End production of Jim Cartwright's The Rise and Fall of Little Voice in the autumn of 2009.[8] Vickers' debut single, "Once", was released on 19 April 2010 and went straight to number 1 in the UK charts and her album, Songs from the Tainted Cherry Tree, was released on 3 May 2010, also debuting at number 1. Her follow-up singles "The Boy Who Murdered Love" and "My Wicked Heart" also achieved chart success and on the second live results show of series 7 of The X Factor, Vickers performed "My Wicked Heart" live. Vickers has been writing material for her second album since mid 2010, the album expected to be released in summer 2012.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "The Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Chasing Cars” - Snow Patrol | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Hallelujah” - Jeff Buckley | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Nothing Compares 2 U” - Sinéad O'Connor | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "With or Without You" - U2 | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (4th) |
Live show 2 | “Man in the Mirror” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 3 | “Smile” - Charlie Chaplin | Big band | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 4 | "Call Me" - Blondie | Disco | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 5 | N/A | Mariah Carey | Didn't perform, Given bye |
Live show 6 | "Yellow" - Coldplay | British classics | Safe (1st) |
Live show 7 | "Patience" - Take That | Take That | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 8 | "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" - Britney Spears | Britney Spears | Safe (4th) |
"Everybody Hurts" - R.E.M. | American classics | ||
Semi-final | "Girlfriend" - Avril Lavigne | Mentor's choice | Eliminated (Fourth place) |
“White Flag” - Dido | Contestant's choice |
Laura White
Laura Jane White (born 30 August 1987[9]), is a student from Atherton, Wigan. She had been singing and playing the piano since she was a young girl. Despite never having had a professional singing lesson, White began singing in jazz bars at the age of 15. She attended Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley, the same school as actors Anthony Quinlan, Leah Hackett and Oliver Lee, and went on to study creative writing at The University of Bolton.
On the first live show, White was the final act to take the stage, performing "Fallin'." White was the only act to receive a standing ovation from the judging panel for her dramatic and original rendition of the song. She received high praise from the judges, especially Simon Cowell, who said: "... that was outstanding. You have something very, very special. This is why I still like doing this show, in this country, so that you can discover people like you. You have a fantastic future, potentially, ahead of you young lady."
White progressed through to the next live show, Michael Jackson week, taking on "You Are Not Alone" with her powerhouse vocals, again distinguished by her jazzy and groovy style. In Big Band week, she displayed a more mature and soulful side with her performance of "God Bless the Child", for which she received another standing ovation. Judge Louis Walsh praised White's performance as "world class" and "better than Diana Ross's" version. The final word was from judge Cowell, who claimed "by any standard that I've ever heard, that was incredible." In the fourth live show, Disco week, she delivered her version of "Somebody Else's Guy." Judge Dannii Minogue commented, "You shouldn't be able to do that at your age... That was a really hard song... you made it effortless." In her final performance on the show, she was again praised by the judges. Despite those accolades and being one of the favourites to win the competition, Laura was voted off the show in week five, after a performance in which she accompanied herself on the piano (or mimed an accompaniment).[10] Her elimination caused some controversy.[11] However it was revealed that White received more votes than Lorenzo meaning that if the vote had gone to deadlock, White would've been saved.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "Somebody Else's Guy" - Jocelyn Brown | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - Roberta Flack | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Back to Black” - Amy Winehouse | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Cry Me a River” - Justin Timberlake | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "Fallin'" - Alicia Keys | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 2 | “You Are Not Alone” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (4th) |
Live show 3 | “God Bless the Child” - Billie Holiday | Big band | Safe (7th) |
Live show 4 | "Somebody Else's Guy" - Jocelyn Brown | Disco | Safe (7th) |
Live show 5 | "Endless Love" - Mariah Carey feat. Luther Vandross | Mariah Carey | Bottom two (6th) |
"Over the Rainbow" - Judy Garland | Sing-Off | Eliminated (Eighth place) |
Over 25s
Contestants in this category were aged 25 or over.
Daniel Evans
Daniel James Evans (born 30 November 1969),[12] the oldest of the 12 finalists, is a former pool cleaner from Leyton, London. He had never gotten around to applying for The X Factor although he had the papers to do so, so this was the first year that he had actually auditioned. Evans decided to participate this year following the death of his wife after she gave birth to his daughter. Throughout the live finals, he repeatedly received criticism from both Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh. He was in the bottom two with Scott Bruton in week three but won through to the next round by virtue of a passionate performance of "To Where You Are" in memory of his wife. Along with Ruth Lorenzo, he did not appear when the finalists sang "Hero" in week three because of a technical problem. In week five a campaign started by Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles urging his listeners to vote for Evans seemed to have saved his skin. Evans was voted out despite having more public votes in the sixth round, after a sing-off with Rachel Hylton. Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell all voted for Hylton, and with that his departure from the competition was confirmed. However it was shown that Evans had received more votes than Hylton and had it gone to deadlock, Evans would've been saved. Daniel later released his debut download-only single "Open Arms". In March 2010 he also released a fully independent, critically acclaimed and emotional easy listening album called No Easy Way which is available from iTunes, Google play and most download stores. Despite its positive reviews it failed to chart in the UK due to lack of publicity. With no support from the industry whatsoever (Daniel was quoted as saying "radio stations would not play an X-Factor contestant that was not signed to a major label") and no publicity or distribution the album has been a surprisingly good performer in Asia. He has also released several self-produced EPs, most of which are available free from his website.[13] Daniel has been quoted as saying the reason for this unusual approach is that it's "not about the money, its all about the music".
Evans is now singing swing, soul and pop music for mainly corporate clients in Spain where he lives with his daughter. He is also writing and producing music for other artists. He has also built up a catalogue of acoustic style covers of well known pop songs on his YouTube channel,[14] and performs many of these in his live shows.
He is also a patron for the children's cancer charity Niamh's Next Step[15] and re-released the song "I'm Already there"[16] from his debut album No Easy Way, with added vocals from gospel group the Love Soul Choir. All proceeds go directly to the charity.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "Sometimes When We Touch" - Dan Hill | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” - Roberta Flack | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Without You” - Mariah Carey | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” - Phil Collins | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (5th) |
Live show 2 | “One Day in Your Life” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (6th) |
Live show 3 | “The Lady Is a Tramp” - Frank Sinatra | Big band | Bottom two (9th) |
"To Where You Are" - Josh Groban | Sing-Off | Safe (Majority vote) | |
Live show 4 | "Don't Leave Me This Way" - Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes | Disco | Safe (4th) |
Live show 5 | "Open Arms" - Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 6 | "It's Not Unusual" - Tom Jones | British classics | Bottom two (6th) |
"Bridge over Troubled Water" - Simon & Garfunkel | Sing-Off | Eliminated (Seventh place) |
Rachel Hylton
Rachel Shavon Hylton (born 26 November 1981[17]) is a mother-of-five from London. She had the first of her five children at the age of 13. Problems with drugs led to a spell in prison and eventually three of her children were taken into care. Hylton was hoping to win The X Factor to make a better life for herself and her two youngest children, whom she still looks after. Hylton after her first audition was hugely tipped as a contender this year following her pitch perfect performance of "You Know I'm No Good".
In weeks one and two, she received harsh criticism from many of the show's judges, but in week three, Simon Cowell described her rendition of 'Feeling Good' as 'the best performance of the night.' Week four Hylton was in the bottom two with Austin Drage after a disco themed show, in which her performance was described by Louis Walsh as 'very average.' Only Drage's mentor, Simon Cowell, chose to save him, whilst the remaining judges saved Hylton in the competition, progressing her to week five. However it was revealed that Drage received more votes than Hylton. So had it gone to deadlock, Drage would've been saved. During the week five show Hylton performed "Against All Odds" and survived the public vote, progressing to week six. In week six Hylton was once again in the bottom two with Daniel Evans but was saved by Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell. However once again, Hylton had the fewest public votes meaning that if the vote had gone to deadlock, Evans would've been saved. In week seven Hylton was in the bottom two for a third time, this time with JLS. Despite drawing praise from the judges for her sing-off performance, she was voted out by a majority of the judges because they believed JLS would progress further in the competition. In interviews after her departure from the competition, Rachel claimed she was judged on her past not her vocal ability in which has always been praised by all four judges.
Hylton revealed to Digital Spy that she had been offered a recording contract, but, like the other contestants, could not sign it until her contract with The X Factor expired. Hylton was also rumoured to have been working with US singer John Legend and his record label but this later turned out to be false. On 4 May 2009, she appeared alongside US stars Mary Mary, CeCe Winans and Kirk Franklin at the Oraclez Gospel Festival at Wembley Arena.
Since this, Hylton has gone on to launch a charity single "Only the Good Die Young" with other celebrities such as Darren Day.
In 2011 Hylton revealed on her Facebook page that she will be releasing her debut single and album in the year. Her single will be released in the summer, with her album following later.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "You Know I'm No Good" - Amy Winehouse | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Chasing Cars” - Snow Patrol | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Amazing Grace” - Aretha Franklin | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Beautiful - Christina Aguilera | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "With Every Heartbeat" - Robyn feat. Kleerup | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (8th) |
Live show 2 | “Dirty Diana” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (8th) |
Live show 3 | “Feeling Good” - Nina Simone | Big band | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 4 | "Lost in Music" - Sister Sledge | Disco | Bottom two (9th) |
"No More Drama" - Mary J. Blige | Sing-Off | Safe (Majority vote) | |
Live show 5 | "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" - Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Safe (5th) |
Live show 6 | "You Know I'm No Good" - Amy Winehouse | British classics | Bottom two (7th) |
"One" - U2 | Sing-Off | Safe (Majority vote) | |
Live show 7 | "Rule the World" - Take That | Take That | Bottom two (6th) |
"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" - Jennifer Holiday | Sing-Off | Eliminated (Sixth place) |
Ruth Lorenzo
Ruth Lorenzo Pascual (born 10 November 1982[18]) originally from Murcia, South East Spain, now living in Ashtead, Surrey, was working a PR Consultant at the time of the show. In week two, Lorenzo was in the bottom two with Girlband. Her choice of sing-off song was "Purple Rain". Lorenzo's mentor Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole voted to save Lorenzo, with Girlband's mentor Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell voting to save Girlband. The result went to deadlock, and Lorenzo was saved. It was announced after the show that the telephone number that appeared on screen for fans to call and vote to keep her in the competition had a digit missing. Many people complained saying that when they called to vote for Lorenzo the number had a "busy" tone and their votes did not count. Lorenzo was in the bottom two again in week five, this time with Laura White. Her rendition of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" made her survive by three votes to one, with White eliminated from the competition. However, White received more votes than Lorenzo, meaning that if the vote had gone to deadlock, White would've been saved. The following week, Lorenzo sang "Angels" and got through to the next week. In week 7 she sang "Love Ain't Here Anymore" which thoroughly impressed the judges, especially Cowell, who described it as 'sensational'.
Lorenzo, who became Minogue's last remaining act, was eliminated by public vote on 29 November, despite receiving excellent feedback from the judges for her performances of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Always". With Lorenzo's departure, Minogue had lost all three of her acts in successive shows.
According to a report in The Sun newspaper, Lorenzo was offered several record contracts shortly after leaving the show.[19] She released her debut single and album in 2011, with the single "Burn" released in August 2011 and the album released shortly afterwards. She had been writing for two years as an independent artist and is finally becoming close to finishing her first studio album. It was reported in April 2009 that Lorenzo had signed a £1.5 million recording contract with EMI.
In 2014, she represented Spain in Eurovision 2014, in Copenhagen, Denmark finishing in 10th place. On 27 October, she released her debut album, Planeta Azul.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" - Aretha Franklin | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Lost” - Michael Bublé | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” - Elton John | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “True Colors - Cyndi Lauper | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "Take My Breath Away" - Berlin | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (10th) |
Live show 2 | “I Just Can't Stop Loving You” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Bottom two (10th) |
“Purple Rain” - Prince & The Revolution | Sing-Off | Safe (Deadlock) | |
Live show 3 | “Summertime” - Billie Holiday | Big band | Safe (5th) |
Live show 4 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" - Barbra Streisand & Donna Summer | Disco | Safe (5th) |
Live show 5 | "My All" - Mariah Carey | Mariah Carey | Bottom two (7th) |
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" - Bob Dylan | Sing-Off | Safe (Majority vote) | |
Live show 6 | "Angels" - Robbie Williams | British classics | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 7 | "Love Ain't Here Anymore" - Take That | Take That | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 8 | "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" - Britney Spears | Britney Spears | Eliminated (Fifth place) |
"Always" - Bon Jovi | American classics |
Groups
Acts in this category are vocal duos or groups. Contestants had to be aged 16 or over and thus eligible to enter the show.
Bad Lashes
Bad Lashes are a four-piece girl band from North East England, made up of Emily McNamee (born 30 June 1989) from Newcastle upon Tyne, Sophie Wilson (born 21 November 1984) from Hartlepool, Samantha Bennett (born 26 April 1987) from Durham, and Stacey Lincoln (born 24 October 1987),[20] also from Durham. In the first live show, they received mixed reviews from the judges, attracting praise from Cheryl Cole, but harsh criticism from Simon Cowell, who compared watching their performance to 'eating water.' They were the first act to be eliminated in the live shows when, on 11 October, they found themselves in the bottom two with other girl group Girlband: the judges' votes were split at 2–2, so the result of the public vote was revealed and Bad Lashes were announced to have polled the least votes from the viewers and were sent home. In the judges' vote, Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue voted in their favour, with Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh voting against them.
Bad Lashes have since released their cover version of "Wonderwall" in November 2009 as a single.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "Crazy" - Gnarls Barkley | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Chasing Cars” - Snow Patrol | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Back to Black” - Amy Winehouse | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Wonderwall” - Oasis | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "It Must Have Been Love" - Roxette | UK or US number-one singles | Bottom two (12th) |
“Wonderwall” - Oasis | Sing-off | Eliminated (Twelfth place) |
Girlband
Girlband were a four-piece girl band from South-West England. The group comprised sisters Tita Lau and Phoebe Jay Lau (born 2 June 1990), along with their friends Marisa Billitteri (born 20 May 1989) and Layla Manoochehri (born 1 May 1986).[21] In the first live show, they received harsh comments from Simon Cowell, who called them a 'Girls Aloud bunch of rejects.' They were placed in the bottom two by the public vote and the decision was given to the judges, whose votes were split, with Cheryl Cole and Dannii Minogue voting against them, and Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh opting to save them. The result was then referred to the public vote and Girlband survived, having polled higher than other bottom two act Bad Lashes. They were in the bottom two again in the second show, and the judges' votes were once again split. With the result referred to the public vote, Girl band were revealed to have polled the lowest and were duly eliminated. They split up days after their elimination.[22] They briefly reunited for the charity single "Hero".
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "Stop!" - Sam Brown | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Apologize” - OneRepublic | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “I'll Stand by You” - Girls Aloud | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “Valerie - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "Venus" - Bananarama | UK or US number-one singles | Bottom two (11th) |
“That's What Friends Are For” - Dionne Warwick | Sing-off | Safe (Deadlock) | |
Live show 2 | “Heal the World” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Bottom two (11th) |
“I Don't Want to Miss a Thing” - Aerosmith | Sing-off | Eliminated (Eleventh place) |
JLS
JLS (Jack the Lad Swing) were a four-piece boy band[23] consisting of Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes, Jonathan "JB" Gill and Oritse Williams.[24] Aston previously played "Cookie" in CITV's Fun Song Factory and Marvin used to be in the group VS, which was created by Simon Webbe of Blue.
Following Bad Lashes' elimination in week one and Girlband's in week two, they were Louis Walsh's last remaining act in the competition. In week seven JLS were in the bottom two along with Rachel Hylton. However, they survived thanks to the votes from Walsh, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell. In week 8 JLS performed "...Baby One More Time". They received negative comments from the judges, with Simon Cowell saying "At the moment you're out". After their second performance, You Light Up My Life however, Cowell commented that they were "back in the race". In week 9, JLS performed "Umbrella" and received positive comments from the judges. Walsh said "All I can say is, I'm so proud of you". Their second song was "I'm Already There" and Walsh had tears in his eyes.
JLS made it to the final show, becoming the fourth group to do so, the others being G4 in the series 1, Journey South in the series 2 and Same Difference in series 4. After surviving the first public vote of the night, in which Eoghan Quigg was voted off, they were able to perform their own version of the winner's song, "Hallelujah", which the other remaining finalist Alexandra Burke also performed. The public voted for the second time that night and JLS ended up coming second.[3]
All the judges said that JLS were the best band that had ever been on the show,[25] and it was widely predicted that they would be offered a contract by a record company shortly after the show's end. It was announced on 20 January 2009, just one month after the final, that JLS had signed with record company Epic Records.[26]
JLS released four albums JLS (2009), Outta This World (2010), Jukebox (2011) and Evolution (2012) and had five number-one singles – "Beat Again", "Everybody in Love", "The Club Is Alive", "Love You More" and "She Makes Me Wanna". In April 2013, they made the shock announcement that they would be splitting up.[27] They released one more album, Goodbye - The Greatest Hits, in November 2013 before officially disbanding the following month.
The X Factor performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Show | Song choice | Theme | Result |
Audition | "If I Ever Fall in Love" - Shai | N/A | Through to bootcamp |
Bootcamp (Part 1) | “Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell | Through to the next day of bootcamp | |
Bootcamp (Part 2) | “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” - Elton John | Through to judges' houses | |
Judges' houses | “No Air” - Jordin Sparks feat. Chris Brown | Through to live shows | |
Live show 1 | "I'll Make Love to You" - Boyz II Men | UK or US number-one singles | Safe (7th) |
Live show 2 | “The Way You Make Me Feel” - Michael Jackson | Michael Jackson | Safe (3rd) |
Live show 3 | “Ain't That a Kick in the Head?” - Dean Martin | Big band | Safe (4th) |
Live show 4 | "Working My Way Back to You"/ "Forgive Me Girl" - The Four Seasons | Disco | Safe (2nd) |
Live show 5 | "One Sweet Day" - Mariah Carey feat. Boyz II Men | Mariah Carey | Safe (4th) |
Live show 6 | "I Want to Hold Your Hand"/ "Twist and Shout/ Hey Jude" - The Beatles | British classics | Safe (5th) |
Live show 7 | "A Million Love Songs" - Take That | Take That | Bottom two (5th) |
"Stand be Me"/ "Beautiful Girls" - Ben E. King/ Sean Kingston | Sing-off | Safe (Majority vote) | |
Live show 8 | "...Baby One More Time" - Britney Spears | Britney Spears | Safe (2nd) |
"You Light Up My Life" - Debby Boone | American classics | ||
Semi-final | "Umbrella" - Rihanna | Mentor's choice | Safe (1st) |
“I'm Already There” - Lonestar | Contestant's choice | ||
Final | "Last Christmas" - Wham! | Christmas song | Runner-up |
“Flying Without Wings” - (with Westlife) | Celebrity duet | ||
“I'm Already There” - Lonestar | Song of the series | ||
"Hallelujah" | Winners single |
References
- ↑ http://www.russellgrant.com/articles/xfactor2008.phpid=M2&mcosp=2043001989376143872
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- 1 2 3 Boshoff, Alison (15 December 2008). "The Cash Factor: Don't be fooled, the real winner is Simon Cowell". Daily Mail. London.
- ↑ "Eog and JLS Quigg off the mark". The Sun. London. 16 January 2009.
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "Vickers, Quigg sign to RCA – X Factor News – Reality TV". Digital Spy. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "Vickers' article on Broadwayworld". www.broadwayworld.com.
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "Laura White is voted off X Factor". BBC News. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
- ↑ "X Factor fans of reject Laura White urge Ofcom to investigate voting process". Daily Mail. DMG Media. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ http://www.danielevansofficial.com
- ↑ Daniel James Evans - YouTube channel
- ↑ Niamh's Next Step
- ↑ "I'm Already there"
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ X Factor Ruth's bagged record offers, The Sun, 9 December 2008
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "Where are they now? What happened to the 57 X Factor finalists?". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- ↑ "Peterborough Evening Telegraph". Peterboroughtoday.co.uk. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ "X-Factor Horoscopes". Russell Grant. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ Motherwell, Beth (11 December 2013). "Goodbye JLS! Here are their best bits!". nativemonster.com. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ↑ "X Factor's JLS sign record deal". BBC News. BBC Online. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
- ↑ Sherdian, Emily (24 April 2013). "JLS shock fans by announcing split after five years". Daily Mail. DMG Media. Retrieved 25 January 2014.