The X Factor UK (Series 4) | |
---|---|
Series | 4 |
Broadcast from | 18 August 2007 – 15 December 2007 |
Judges | Louis Walsh Sharon Osbourne Dannii Minogue Simon Cowell Brian Friedman (London auditions) |
Presenters | Dermot O'Leary Fearne Cotton |
Network | ITV ITV2 |
Number of finalists | 12 |
Winner | Leon Jackson |
Runner-up | Rhydian Roberts |
Notable returnees | Andy Williams (1) |
Ratings | 8.57 millions |
Chronology | |
Previous | Series 3 |
Next | Series 5 |
Series 4 of The X Factor premiered on August 18, 2007 and ended on 15 December 2007 on ITV.
It was won by 18-year old Scottish soul/jazz singer Leon Jackson who was part of the Boys category mentored by Dannii Minogue.
This series was watched by an average of 8.57 million viewers - an increase of 300,000 viewers from the previous series.
Production[]
Dermot O'Leary presented for the first time, replacing Kate Thornton, who had been presenting the show since 2004. Fearne Cotton replaced Ben Shephard as presenter on the spin-off show The Xtra Factor.
The original judging panel consisted of Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, Brian Friedman and Dannii Minogue. Friedman left the panel and was replaced by former judge Louis Walsh. However, Friedman took the position as the creative director during the live shows.
Judges[]
Louis Walsh | Sharon Osbourne | Dannii Minogue | Simon Cowell |
Twists/Changes[]
Fourth Permanent Judge Introduction: This is the first series to feature four permanent judges instead of three.
Audition Vote Majority Change: Due to the introduction of a fourth judge, an act was required to receive three yes votes to advance to boot camp instead of two.
Age Limit: The minimum age was lowered to 14 for the first time.
Bootcamp: Instead of judge being allocated to a category after auditions, all four judges are working together in bootcamp. The judges were later allocated to a category at the end of the bootcamp round.
Category Changes: Due to the addition of a fourth judge, the categories were divided into Over 25s, Boys, Girls, and Groups, with the Boys and Girls categories replacing the 16-24s category.
Judges' Houses: In a change to previous series, the judges' houses round was broadcast over a whole weekend.
Live Shows: In a change to the previous series, the Top 3 finalists duetted with celebrity performers.
Deadlock: With four permanent judges from this series onwards, in the result show where the judges' votes were tied at two elimination votes for each act in the bottom two, the result goes to deadlock where the act finishing last in the public vote is eliminated.
Act Withdrawal During The Live Shows: During the live shows, one act withdrew from the competition.
Finalists[]
Act | Category | Finish | Elimination | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kimberley Southwick 19, Tamworth, Staffordshire |
Girls | 12th week one |
Majority vote | |
Daniel DeBourg 31, Chelmsford |
Over 25s | 11th week two |
Majority vote | |
Emily Nakanda 14, London |
Girls | 10th week three |
Withdrew | |
Futureproof 17-23, various places |
Groups | 9th week three |
Majority vote | |
X Factor 2008 Live Tour | ||||
Andy Williams 23, Newport |
Boys | 8th week four |
Majority vote | |
Alisha Bennett 22, Wembley, London |
Girls | 7th week five |
Majority vote | |
Beverley Trotman 38, Luton |
Over 25s | 6th week six |
Deadlock | |
Hope 16-23, various places |
Groups | 5th quarter-final |
Fewest public votes | |
Niki Evans 34, Polesworth |
Over 25s | 4th semi-final |
Fewest public votes | |
Same Difference 19-22, Portsmouth |
Groups | 3rd final |
Fewest public votes | |
Rhydian Roberts 24, Powys |
Boys | Runner-up final |
Fewest public votes | |
Leon Jackson 18, Whitburn, West Lothian |
Boys | Winner final |
Most public votes |
Selection process[]
Auditions[]
See: List of The X Factor UK auditionees (series 4)
Notable returnees included Mollie King as part of the girl group Fallen Angelz. She previously auditioned for the show in Series 2 and was criticized for her outfit by Sharon Osbourne. She would later go on to find fame as a member of English/Irish girl group The Saturdays
Bootcamp[]
See: Bootcamp (UK series 4).
Judges' Houses[]
See: Judges' Houses (UK series 4)
Judge | Category | Location | Guest mentor(s) | Contestants eliminated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cowell | Groups | Marbella | Sinitta | Ghostt, I Sette Cantanti, W4 |
Minogue | Boys | Ibiza | Terry Ronald | Luke Bayer, Charlie Finn, Dominic Harris |
Osbourne | Girls | Los Angeles | Nicole Scherzinger | Victoria Closs, Kimberley Howlett, Stephanie Woods |
Walsh | Over 25s | Dublin | Kian Egan | Daniel Boulle, Icaro Taborda, Zyta Zebihi |
Live Shows[]
Results Summary[]
Live show details[]
Week 1 (20 October)[]
- Theme: Number ones
- Musical guest: Leona Lewis ("Bleeding Love")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | Song | Result[1] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kimberley Southwick | Girls (Osbourne) | 1 | "It's Raining Men" | Eliminated |
Andy Williams | Boys (Minogue) | 2 | "I Don't Want to Talk About It" | Safe |
Futureproof | Groups (Cowell) | 3 | "She's the One" | Safe |
Beverley Trotman | Over 25s (Walsh) | 4 | "I Will Survive" | Safe |
Emily Nakanda | Girls (Osbourne) | 5 | "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" | Safe |
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 6 | "Can't Buy Me Love" | Safe |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 7 | "Tragedy" | Safe |
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 8 | "Nothing Compares 2 U" | Safe |
Alisha Bennett | Girls (Osbourne) | 9 | "Dreams" | Bottom two |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 10 | "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" | Safe |
Daniel DeBourg | Over 25s (Walsh) | 11 | "Heaven" | Safe |
Hope | Groups (Cowell) | 12 | "Umbrella" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate[1]
- Osbourne abstained from voting as both acts were in her category. In fact, she refused to sit at the judging panel during the final showdown performances.
- Cowell: Kimberley Southwick – based on the premise that the show is a singing competition.
- Minogue: Alisha Bennett – gave no reason.
- Walsh: Kimberley Southwick – stated that Bennett had the "talent factor" and had much more to give to the competition.
Week 2 (27 October)[]
- Theme: Film themes
- Musical guest: Celine Dion ("Taking Chances")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | Song | Film | Result[2] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hope | Groups (Cowell) | 1 | "Lady Marmalade" | Moulin Rouge! | Safe |
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 2 | "Home" | The Wedding Date | Safe |
Beverley Trotman | Over 25s (Walsh) | 3 | "I Have Nothing" | The Bodyguard | Safe |
Alisha Bennett | Girls (Osbourne) | 4 | "I Say a Little Prayer" | My Best Friend's Wedding | Bottom two |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 5 | "Breaking Free" | High School Musical | Safe |
Daniel DeBourg | Over 25s (Walsh) | 6 | "Build Me Up Buttercup" | There's Something About Mary | Eliminated |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 7 | "The Phantom of the Opera" | The Phantom of the Opera | Safe |
Emily Nakanda | Girls (Osbourne) | 8 | "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" | Crossroads | Safe |
Futureproof | Groups (Cowell) | 9 | "If You Don't Know Me by Now" | My Girl | Safe |
Andy Williams | Boys (Minogue) | 10 | "Stayin' Alive" | Saturday Night Fever | Safe |
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 11 | "My Heart Will Go On" | Titanic | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate[2]
- Walsh: Alisha Bennett – backed his own act, Daniel DeBourg.
- Osbourne: Daniel DeBourg – backed her own act, Alisha Bennett.
- Minogue: Daniel DeBourg – gave no reason.
- Cowell: Daniel DeBourg – stated that Bennett had more potential to improve.
Week 3 (3 November)[]
- Theme: Big band
- Musical guest: Boyz II Men ("It's The Same Old Song" / "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" / "End of the Road")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | Song | Result[3] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 1 | "Fly Me to the Moon" | Safe |
Futureproof | Groups (Cowell) | 2 | "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" | Eliminated |
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 3 | "All That Jazz" | Safe |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 4 | "Get the Party Started" | Safe |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 5 | "Reach" | Safe |
Alisha Bennett | Girls (Osbourne) | 6 | "Valerie" | Safe |
Hope | Groups (Cowell) | 7 | "Hanky Panky" | Bottom two |
Andy Williams | Boys (Minogue) | 8 | "This Guy's in Love with You" | Safe |
Beverley Trotman | Over 25s (Walsh) | 9 | "Feeling Good" | Safe |
During week two, it was announced that Emily Nakanda had withdrawn from the competition due to a "happy slapping" video involving her that had emerged. She was not replaced and the elimination went ahead as normal.[4]
- Judges' votes to eliminate[3]
- Walsh: Futureproof – stated that Hope's performance on the night was "slick and energetic" and Futureproof's was "sloppy".
- Osbourne: Futureproof – stated that she loved Hope.
- Minogue: Hope – stated that neither act had performed well this week, but that Futureproof had delivered better performances in the previous two weeks.
- Cowell: Futureproof – stated that Hope had greater long-term potential.
Week 4 (10 November)[]
- Theme: 21st century classics
- Musical guest: Shayne Ward ("Breathless")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | Song | Year | Result[5] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 1 | "Because of You" | 2005 | Safe |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 2 | "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" | 2006 | Safe |
Andy Williams | Boys (Minogue) | 3 | "Chasing Cars" | 2006 | Eliminated |
Beverley Trotman | Over 25s (Walsh) | 4 | "You're Beautiful" | 2005 | Bottom two |
Hope | Groups (Cowell) | 5 | "Back to Black | 2007 | Safe |
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 6 | "Dancing in the Moonlight" | 2000 | Safe |
Alisha Bennett | Girls (Osbourne) | 7 | "Put Your Records On" | 2006 | Safe |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 8 | "You Raise Me Up" | 2002 | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate[5]
- Walsh: Andy Williams – backed his own act, Beverley Trotman.
- Osbourne: Andy Williams – gave no reason.
- Minogue: Beverley Trotman – backed her own act, Andy Williams.
- Cowell: Andy Williams – stated that he believed the public would prefer to see Trotman saved.
Week 5 (17 November)[]
- Theme: Disco
- Musical guest: Girls Aloud ("Call the Shots")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | Song | Result[6] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 1 | "Relight My Fire" | Safe |
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 2 | "Hot Stuff" | Safe |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 3 | "Go West" | Safe |
Hope | Groups (Cowell) | 4 | "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)"/"Hung Up" | Bottom two |
Beverley Trotman | Over 25s (Walsh) | 5 | "I'm Every Woman" | Safe |
Alisha Bennett | Girls (Osbourne) | 6 | "Young Hearts Run Free" | Eliminated |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 7 | "Blame It on the Boogie" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate[6]
- Cowell: Alisha Bennett – backed his own act, Hope.
- Minogue: Alisha Bennett – gave no reason.
- Osbourne: Hope – backed her own act, Alisha Bennett.
- Walsh: Alisha Bennett – gave no reason but stated that neither act deserved to be in the bottom two.
Week 6 (24 November)[]
- Theme: Love songs
- Musical guest: Westlife ("I'm Already There")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | Song | Result[7] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Beverley Trotman | Over 25s (Walsh) | 1 | "Without You" | Eliminated |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 2 | "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" | Safe |
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 3 | "The Power of Love" | Safe |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 4 | "Somewhere" | Safe |
Hope | Groups (Cowell) | 5 | "Hurt" | Bottom two |
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 6 | "You Don't Know Me" | Safe |
- Judges' votes to eliminate[7]
- Walsh: Hope – backed his own act, Beverley Trotman.
- Cowell: Beverley Trotman – backed his own act, Hope.
- Minogue: Hope – stated that Trotman was more consistent.
- Osbourne: Beverley Trotman – stated "I'm doing this for a reason, and you'll realise the reason when I say it. I'm sending home Beverley", implying that she wanted to send the result to deadlock.
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Trotman was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
Week 7: Quarter-Final (1 December)[]
- Theme: British classics
- Musical guest: Duran Duran ("Notorious")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result[8] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 1 | "Somebody to Love" | 10 | "I Vow to Thee, My Country"/"World in Union" | Safe |
Hope | Groups (Cowell) | 2 | "2 Become 1" | 6 | "We Will Rock You" | Eliminated |
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 3 | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" | 9 | "Fields of Gold" | Safe |
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 4 | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | 7 | "The Long and Winding Road" | Safe |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 5 | "Any Dream Will Do" | 8 | "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" | Safe |
The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Hope, were automatically eliminated.[8]
Week 8: Semi-Final (8 December)[]
- Themes: Mentor's choice; contestant's choice
- Musical guest: Michael Bublé ("Lost")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result[9] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Niki Evans | Over 25s (Walsh) | 1 | "Songbird" | 5 | "One Moment in Time" | Eliminated |
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 2 | "The Very Thought of You" | 6 | "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" | Safe |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 3 | "Bridge over Troubled Water" | 7 | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | Safe |
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 4 | "Chain Reaction" | 8 | "Never Had a Dream Come True" | Safe |
The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Niki Evans, was automatically eliminated.[9]
Week 9: Final (15 December)[]
- Themes: Christmas songs; celebrity duets; song of the series; winner's single
- Group performance: "One Moment in Time" (auditionees)
- Musical guest: Kylie Minogue ("Wow")
Act | Category (Mentor) | Order | First song[10] | Order | Second song (duet)[10] | Order | Third song[10] | Order | Fourth song[11] | Result[11] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Same Difference | Groups (Cowell) | 1 | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | 4 | "Any Dream Will Do" (with Jason Donovan) | 7 | "Breaking Free" | N/A | N/A (already eliminated) | 3rd place |
Leon Jackson | Boys (Minogue) | 2 | "White Christmas" | 5 | "Better the Devil You Know" (with Kylie Minogue) | 8 | "You Don't Know Me" | 10 | "When You Believe" | Winner |
Rhydian Roberts | Boys (Minogue) | 3 | "O Holy Night" | 6 | "You Raise Me Up" (with Katherine Jenkins) | 9 | "Somewhere" | 11 | "When You Believe" | Runner-up |
Ratings[]
Template:UK4ratings
Controversies[]
Osbourne's walkout[]
During the results of the first live show on 20 October, Osbourne walked away from the panel after it was revealed that both the bottom two acts came from her category. This left the three remaining judges, Cowell, Minogue and Walsh, to decide which of the bottom two would be sent home. When O'Leary asked Osbourne for her vote, she claimed to have left the show, saying, "I'm out—gone".
It later emerged that Osbourne was dissatisfied with the last-minute rescheduling of the programme from 17:45 to 17:30, claiming that fewer people saw the performance of her act, Kimberley Southwick, as she was first on stage. After a considerable amount of media coverage, including Paul O'Grady apparently convincing Osbourne live on his chat show to return to The X Factor, Osbourne's spokesman confirmed on 23 October that she would return to the show. A newspaper source explained that leaving prematurely would have been breach of contract and the legal repercussions would have made it in Osbourne's interests to return to the panel.
Alleged feuds and alliances[]
During the filming of The X Factor, there was much media speculation about rumoured feuds between the judges, most notably between Osbourne and Minogue. One report emerged of a backstage argument just 15 minutes before they were due to go live on television. On one show, Minogue criticised contestant Niki Evans's tuning, which prompted Niki's mentor, Louis Walsh, to suggest live on television that Minogue herself could not sing. Minogue then reportedly missed part of the results show as she was crying.
In an interview published on 2 December 2007, Minogue stated "As for Sharon, you don't click with everybody. But it's her choice not to be friends. Apparently she's envious because I'm younger and prettier.", and in another that she felt "younger and prettier" compared with the other judges.
During Osbourne's appearance on The Graham Norton Show, she stated, in reference to Minogue, "She knows she's there because of her looks, not because of her contribution to the music industry." In a press conference held on 12 December 2007, when asked why she had been publicly talking about Minogue, Osbourne said "It's an even playing field, Dannii speaks about me, I speak about her." Minogue said in turn "I've looked up to Sharon and Louis for years and I wanted to be part of that gang. But when they're slating you, you think: 'Please don't, I really like you.'" Cowell admitted that Osbourne did not feel comfortable about having a new judge and that Osbourne and Minogue would never be "the best of buddies," adding that if Osbourne wanted to leave the show, he would let her. It was also reported that Cowell was forced to sit the judges down, asking them to maintain a civil relationship with each other behind the scenes. The apparent flirting between Cowell and Minogue also generated comment in the popular media.
Impartiality[]
Series 4 presented a change in the panellists' judging style. Simon Cowell said at the ITV Autumn Launch: "We tried to be bit more impartial as judges, and that, you'll see a lot more of on X Factor. There's still competition within the judges but our job essentially is to find a star." This ethic was put into practice with the judges working together at the bootcamp. During the live shows, the acts were no longer introduced with their mentors at the start of the show. Only the judges were introduced, after which the individual performances began.
Standard of talent[]
At ITV's Autumn launch on 12 July 2007, Cowell discussed the upcoming series. He said that in previous years the programme had been more like a "popularity contest" than a talent show. When asked about the standard of talent, Cowell said: "It's in a different league this year... we're going to have the best 12 [finalists] we've ever seen". This came with comments that the series 4 auditions had gone "brilliantly".
Series 4 also saw more emphasis placed on the international standing of The X Factor, with Cowell calling it "the biggest show in Europe" with around 150,000 auditioning for the series. Referring to the impact that the international success of Series 3 winner Leona Lewis had had on the show, Dannii Minogue said at the Sheffield auditions: "I think that Leona has completely upped the ante now on this show, and there's no turning back. We're looking for an international standard of acts that can sell millions of albums". In response to the expectation of a raised standard of talent on the show, producers tried with series 4 to assemble what O'Leary called an "international panel of judges"; this was particularly the case with the original judging lineup that included Friedman. There were also more international contestants in series 4, with two acts from the United States, numerous acts from Japan and a Brazilian act auditioning.
Nevertheless, Cowell said before the first live show that "I think we could be heading for a train wreck," referring to the fact that the public did not believe any of the final 12 this year were as good as Lewis, But he added, "But if you take Leona out of the equation, they weren't that good last year. As a whole, we've probably got the most talented 12 we've had. We just haven't had the chance to showcase them properly yet."
Alleged voting irregularities[]
It was reported that Ofcom received at least 1,900 complaints from would-be voters for eventual runner-up Rhydian Roberts, saying that despite calling numerous times they were unable to get through to vote for Roberts. The programme said the high number of calls meant some people were greeted by engaged tones. Roberts, who refused to attend the wrap party afterwards, had been the odds-on favourite to win and bookmakers described Leon Jackson's victory as "the biggest shock in reality show history". ITV denied the allegations, commenting that "As all numbers go through to the same lines and vote platform it is impossible for there to be any bias in favour or against a particular contestant." They confirmed that Jackson performed strongly throughout the series and won on the night of the final by around 10% of the popular vote. A subsequent Ofcom investigation found that Roberts had not been unfairly disadvantaged.
Team Rankings[]
1.Boys (mentored by Dannii Minogue)
2.Groups (mentored by Simon Cowell)
3.Over 25s (mentored by Louis Walsh)
4.Girls (mentored by Sharon Osbourne)
Trivia[]
- This was the second series in a row where the winning mentor had two acts as the winner and runner-up.
- This was the first series to have the result going to deadlock.
- This is the third consecutive series where only one judge had all of their acts on The X Factor Live Tour.
- This is the first series where only one judge sent the result to deadlock.
- This is the first series where the result went to deadlock only once.
- This was the first series to have an act to withdraw from the competition during the live shows.
- This was the first series to have a Double Bill weekend during the judges houses stage.
- This is the only series where a judge lost their last act in Week 5.
- This is the first series where a female judge emerged as the winning mentor.
- Despite not making the live shows, Luke Bayer and Dom Hartley Harris have gone on to appear in West End Shows such as ”Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” and “Hamilton”. Both have received great reviews from theatre critics. In July 2021, it was announced that Harris and Bayer would both star in The Hope Mill Theatre production of Rent during August 2021.
- In terms of talent of the final 12, this series is often regarded as one of the weakest series by The X Factor fandom, who believe none of the acts would have made a great winner, not even Rhydian Roberts who was arguably the most talented of the 12, although many saw him more as a theatre star than a pop star.
The X Factor UK |
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1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • The X Factor: Battle of the Stars • The X Factor: Celebrity • The X Factor: All Stars • The X Factor: The Band |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Template:Cite news
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