The X Factor (Australian season 2)


The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a recording contract with record label Sony Music Australia. The second season premiered on the Seven Network on 30 August 2010 and ended on 22 November 2010. The winner was Altiyan Childs and his debut single "Somewhere in the World" was released after the final. Childs was mentored throughout by Ronan Keating, who won as mentor for the first time. The season was presented by Luke Jacobz, while spin-off show The Xtra Factor was hosted by Natalie Garonzi on 7Two. The show was originally to be hosted by actor Matthew Newton, however, he was forced to withdraw as host during production after an altercation with his former girlfriend Rachael Taylor and re-admitting himself to rehab. Guy Sebastian, Natalie Imbruglia, Keating and Kyle Sandilands who is the additional fourth judge joined the judging panel as replacements for former judges, Mark Holden, Kate Ceberano and John Reid.
The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp, judges' houses and live shows. Auditions took place throughout May and June 2010. After the auditions was bootcamp, where successful acts were split into four categories: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups. Each judge was given a category to mentor and had to decide on their twelve acts after day two, and their six acts after day two. Special guest judges, including Havana Brown, Rebecca Batties, Mark Plunkett and Rai Thistlethwayte were brought in to help the judges decide their acts. Following bootcamp, was the judges' houses stage, where each of the judges reduced their six acts to three, with help from more guest judges, including Kelly Rowland, Sir Richard Branson, Boyzone, Snoop Dogg and Usher. The live shows began on 19 September 2010.
The second season had sparked controversy, including Childs' disappearance from the show and claims of a clash between the Girls. The grand final decider was watched by 1.63 million people, making it the highest rated television episode of the series.

Background and development

On 16 May 2010, it was announced that the Seven Network would relaunch The X Factor with Guy Sebastian, Natalie Imbruglia, Ronan Keating and Kyle Sandilands confirmed as the four judges. The X Factor first screened on Network Ten in 2005, but was canceled after the first season due to poor ratings. Seven Network's head of programming, Tim Worner, said the "time was right" to relaunch the show, given Network Ten's decision to cancel Australian Idol. He explained: "We felt that there's no big light event shows around and that this is the best of them ... We've seen what Australia's Got Talent has done in heavy traffic and feel it's the right opportunity for the show."
On 30 May 2010, it was confirmed that actor Matthew Newton would be the host. However, on 22 August, it was revealed that Newton had to withdraw as the host of the show after an altercation in Rome with his now ex-girlfriend Rachael Taylor. Newton flew from Rome to Dublin, where he was to film segments for The X Factor with Keating. However, he was escorted back to Australia by a producer of the show after they decided he was in no state to film. He was then checked into Wentworthville's Northside West Clinic. On 23 August, it was announced that actor Luke Jacobz would take over as host and all original audition footage with Newton was removed with footage of Jacobz being shot instead. On 28 August 2010, it was announced that radio presenter Natalie Garonzi would host the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on 7Two.

Selection process

Auditions

Bootcamp

The bootcamp stage of the competition began on 25 June 2010 in the Big Top at Luna Park, Sydney. This stage of the competition was first broadcast on 5 and 6 September 2010. In this stage, each judge was first given a category to mentor and had to decide on their top twelve acts after day one and their top six acts after day two. Sandilands was given the Boys, Imbruglia was given the Girls, Keating had the Over 25s and Sebastian was given the Groups category.
During bootcamp, the judges were assisted by musical artists who helped them choose their twelve acts. Havana Brown assisted with the Boys, MTV Australia CEO Rebecca Batties assisted with the Girls, Keating's manager Mark Plunkett with the Over 25s and Rai Thistlethwayte for the Groups category.
The 24 successful acts were:
The final round of the selection process, the judges' houses, saw the judges reduce their six acts to three. Each judge took their six acts to exclusive locations around the world to experience the life of a superstar, introduce them to international artists and set the stage to inspire them to give the performance of a lifetime. Sandilands' Boys travelled to New York City, where they were assisted by Kelly Rowland. Imbruglia's Girls travelled to Necker Island to meet Richard Branson, while Keating's Over 25s visited his home town of Dublin, where they met up with his Boyzone bandmates. Sebastian's Groups travelled to Los Angeles, where he was assisted by rapper Snoop Dogg. While there, Sebastian had chosen Mahogany as one of his three acts, but was still unsure on who the other two acts should be. Sebastian and the groups then travelled to New York, where he was assisted by Usher.
JudgeCategoryLocationAssistantContestants eliminated
SandilandsBoysNew York CityKelly RowlandThomas TJ Alcaniz, Darcy Callus, George Walter
ImbrugliaGirlsNecker IslandRichard BransonAshlee Bellchambers, Samantha Clarke, Alice McDermott
KeatingOver 25sDublinBoyzoneMax Jahufer, Tony Munnings, Olivia Robins
SebastianGroupsLos Angeles and New York CityUsher
Snoop Dogg		Jahmakn It Funky, Lazy J & Big Guy, The Real Sisters

Finalists

Key:
ActAgeHometownCategory Result
Altiyan Childs35Mount Isa, QueenslandOver 25s Winner
Sally Chatfield20Lakes Entrance, VictoriaGirls Runner-up
Andrew Lawson17Northern Ireland/NoosaBoys 3rd place
Mahogany22–27SydneyGroups 4th place
Luke & Joel21 & 23Newcastle, New South WalesGroups 5th place
Hayley Teal19Adelaide, South AustraliaGirls 6th place
India-Rose Madderom20Sydney, New South WalesGirls 7th place
Mitchell Smith16Byron Bay, New South WalesBoys 8th place
Amanda Grafanakis27Hobart, TasmaniaOver 25s 9th place
Karizma18 & 24Ipswich, QueenslandGroups 10th place
James McNally31MelbourneOver 25s 11th place
Chris Doe17Mornington PeninsulaBoys 12th place

Live shows

Results summary

Act's colour key:
Notes

Week 1 (19/20 September)

;Judges' votes to eliminate:
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Doe was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 2 (26/27 September)

;Judges' votes to eliminate:
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. McNally was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 3 (3/4 October)

;Judges' votes to eliminate:
;Notes
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Smith was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 6 (24/25 October)

;Judges' votes to eliminate:
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Luke & Joel were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 9 (14/15 November)

ActCategory OrderFirst songOrderSecond songResult
Andrew LawsonBoys 1"Uptown Girl"5"Somethin' Stupid"Safe
MahoganyGroups 2"Heaven"6"The Way You Make Me Feel"Eliminated
Sally ChatfieldGirls 3"Just Like a Pill"7"Beautiful"Safe
Altiyan ChildsOver 25s 4"The Living Years"8"Blaze of Glory"Safe

;Notes
;21 November
ActCategory OrderAudition songOrderCelebrity duetOrderMentor's favouriteOrderWinner's singleResult
Andrew LawsonBoys 1"Fly Me to the Moon"4"You're Beautiful"7"Heartache Tonight"10"Somewhere in the World"Eliminated
Sally ChatfieldGirls 2"Hurt"5"Canned Heat"8"Don't Stop Me Now"11"Somewhere in the World"Safe
Altiyan ChildsOver 25s 3"Sex on Fire"6"Don't Change"9"Livin' on a Prayer"12"Somewhere in the World"Safe

;22 November
ActCategory OrderSongResult
Sally ChatfieldGirls 1"Decode"Runner-up
Altiyan ChildsOver 25s 2"Beautiful Day"Winner

Reception

Controversies

On 18 October 2010, following the live results show, contestant Altiyan Childs disappeared from The X Factor house for almost 24 hours, causing a serious concern for his mentor Keating, who took to Twitter to try to locate where Childs was. Childs later returned at 5 pm the next day. A program producer said that he had "taken some time out to be by himself and slept in a cave on Sydney's northern beaches overnight". On 21 October, Childs spoke with guest host Keating and Jackie O on radio station 2Day FM to set the record straight about his disappearance. He explained: "It kind of hit me randomly at about 2 am that I had to reconnect with part of my sadness, it’s my secret power it’s what drives me through the song and ignites that part of me, it’s got to do with sadness, I needed to go back to somewhere where I felt an intimate romantic thing with an ancient memory and it worked. Childs stayed in a cave on Sydney's Northern Beaches. As he awoke, Childs realised he was supposed to be practising with his mentor Keating. The cave was a special place for Childs and his former fiancee. Their five-year engagement ended in 2002, but the hurt remains and Childs has been celibate since. He explained: "I was broken, a piece of me was broken and I didn't think it was repairable. I'm not used to comfort and compliments because I have never been accepted before. I needed to know what to do with the contentedness and beauty of it all, and I needed that place to do it."
On 25 October 2010 it was revealed that a name-calling cat fight between the Under 25 Girls had occurred during a performance at the Snaparazzi at Riva in St Kilda on 22 October. Contestant India-Rose Madderom was reportedly yelling abuse at contestant Sally Chatfield after the two missed their cues while performing David Guetta's "When Love Takes Over". Chatfield then fired back at Madderom before dissolving in tears. The girls mentor Imbruglia stepped in and reportedly told Madderom "you can't act like this in public" and "you have to be professional."

Ratings

The premiere episode on 30 August 2010 achieved an audience of 1,186,000 and placed fifth overall for the night, being beaten by A Current Affair's interview with Patty and Bert Newton, the parents of former X Factor host Matthew Newton, about his exit from the show due to his alleged attack on his former girlfriend Rachel Taylor. However, the premiere episode topped its timeslot. The second episode rated higher than the first, peaking at number four with an audience share of 1,482,000. The ratings boost was credited to Seven's top rating show Packed to the Rafters, which topped the night's overall ratings. The first live performance show on 19 September 2010 archived an audience of 1,095,000 and placed eighth overall for the night. The live grand final decider show on 22 November 2010 reached an audience of 1,833,000 and topped the night's overall ratings.
; Colour key: