The X Factor (British series 5)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April and May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis, performed during the live stages of the show.
Burke's prize, as winner, was a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her debut single, "Hallelujah", written by Leonard Cohen, was released for digital download on 14 December 2008, with the physical format following on 17 December. It was later announced that her single had become the fastest-selling X Factor single at that time.
It was during auditions for the fifth series of the show that viewers were introduced to two teenagers: 15-year-old Jade Thirlwall, who in series eight would form one quarter of the winning act that year, Little Mix, and 14-year-old Liam Payne, who would become a member of boy band One Direction, formed in the seventh series.
Judges, presenters and other personnel
In February 2008, it was reported that Sharon Osbourne would not return as a judge for series 5. On 6 June, six days before filming was due to begin at the London auditions, ITV announced Osbourne's departure from the show. Media speculation over the reasons for Osbourne's departure alluded to rising tensions between her and fellow judge Dannii Minogue, as well as disputes over pay. When interviewed by Chris Moyles on BBC Radio 1, Osbourne said that it was "the best four years of life" but felt that it was "time to move on."On 10 June 2008, after Osbourne's departure, ITV confirmed that Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole was the new judge and Osbourne's replacement for series 5. Minogue praised the new judge, saying, "She's very knowledgeable about music and I think she's going to bring a new side to the show." Cowell is reported by Minogue to feel that Cole's voiced opinions are something "which he loves".
Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main ITV show, choosing to leave other projects, including his ongoing role as the host of Big Brother's Little Brother, to concentrate on The X Factor. The Xtra Factor presenter Fearne Cotton left after series 4, having presented for only one series, to be replaced by Holly Willoughby. Brian Friedman returned as choreographer and performance coach, along with Yvie Burnett as vocal coach.
Selection process
Auditions
A reported "record-breaking" 182,000 applied for series 5, with filming for auditions in front of judges taking place in June/July 2008. Auditions were held in the cities of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, and Glasgow.Due to her commitments with Australia's Got Talent, Minogue was absent from some of the auditions in Birmingham and Cardiff but was not replaced.
Bootcamp
As in series 4, all four judges worked together at the bootcamp stage of the competition. This took place at indigO2 at The O2 in Greenwich, London on 4 August 2008, and was televised in two episodes on 27 and 28 September 2008. Contestants are said to have stayed in a nearby hotel in Blackheath.During bootcamp, around 150 acts were whittled down to 24 who advanced to the next round, six in each category. After completion of bootcamp, the judges were told the category that they were to mentor. Cowell was given the Boys, Walsh the Groups, Minogue the Over 25s, and Cole the Girls.
Judges' houses
This round was filmed in late August and early September and was broadcast over two shows on 4 and 5 October. As in previous years, the judges welcomed the six acts from their selected category to their "homes". Each act had one chance to impress their mentor who, along with a guest judge, had the task of selecting which three acts were to go through to the live shows and which three would be eliminated. For her guest judge, Minogue chose former Spice Girls member and Emma Bunton, Cole chose her fellow Girls Aloud member Kimberly Walsh, Cowell chose singer Sinitta, and Walsh chose Shane Filan from Westlife.| Judge | Category | Location | Assistant | Acts eliminated |
| Cole | Girls | Cannes | Kimberley Walsh | Annastasia Baker, Hannah Bradbeer, Amy Connelly |
| Cowell | Boys | Barbados | Sinitta | Mali-Michael McCalla, Liam Payne, Alan Turner |
| Minogue | Over 25s | Saint-Tropez | Emma Bunton | Suzie Furlonger, Louise Heatly, James Williams |
| Walsh | Groups | Castle Leslie, Ireland | Shane Filan | 4Instinct, Desire, Priority |
Finalists
Key:| Act | Age | Hometown | Category | Result |
| Alexandra Burke | 20 | London | Girls | Winner |
| JLS | 20–23 | Various | Groups | Runner-up |
| Eoghan Quigg | 16 | County Londonderry, Northern Ireland | Boys | 3rd place |
| Diana Vickers | 17 | Accrington | Girls | 4th place |
| Ruth Lorenzo | 26 | Murcia, Spain | Over 25s | 5th place |
| Rachel Hylton | 27 | London | Over 25s | 6th place |
| Daniel Evans | 39 | Leyton | Over 25s | 7th place |
| Laura White | 21 | Atherton | Girls | 8th place |
| Austin Drage | 22 | Grays | Boys | 9th place |
| Scott Bruton | 19 | Manchester | Boys | 10th place |
| Girlband | 18–22 | Various | Groups | 11th place |
| Bad Lashes | 19–24 | Various | Groups | 12th place |
Live shows
The live shows began on 11 October 2008 and continued through to the finale on 13 December 2008. An added twist for this series, confirmed on the first live show, was that acts in the bottom-two showdown sang a new song of their own choosing, rather than repeating the song they performed in the first part of the show.Musical guests
performed on the first live show, promoting his second single "Don't Call This Love". Girls Aloud performed their new single "The Promise" on the second show on 18 October. Will Young performed his new song "Grace" on 1 November. Mariah Carey appeared on 8 November and performed her new single "I Stay in Love", plus a special version of "Hero" with 11 of the finalists. Leona Lewis appeared the week after and performed her new single "Run". Take That performed on 22 November show, as did series 4 third-place act Same Difference, who performed their debut single, and series 4 runner-up Rhydian Roberts, who sang a track from his debut album. On 29 November show, Britney Spears performed her new single "Womanizer".Boyzone, Westlife, and Beyoncé were guests on the final show where they duetted with the finalists, with Knowles performing "Listen" with Alexandra Burke. Beyoncé also performed "If I Were a Boy".
Results summary
;Colour keyThe total number of votes cast for the entire series was 16,469,064.
Due to illness, Diana Vickers did not perform during week 5 and automatically advanced to week 6.
Minogue was not required to vote as there was already a majority.
Live show details
Week 1 (11 October)
- Theme: UK or US number-one singles
- Musical guest: Leon Jackson
- Cowell: Bad Lashes – gave no reason but described both acts as "shocking"; he later stated on The Xtra Factor that he felt Girlband had shown more emotion in their final showdown performance due to being shown in a earlier slot to be overlooked by the public.
- Cole: Girlband – gave no reason.
- Minogue: Girlband – gave no reason.
- Walsh: Bad Lashes – could not decide between two of his own acts so chose to take it to deadlock.
Week 2 (18 October)
- Theme: Michael Jackson
- Musical guest: Girls Aloud
- Walsh: Ruth Lorenzo – backed his own act, Girlband.
- Minogue: Girlband – backed her own act, Ruth Lorenzo
- Cole: Girlband – based on the final showdown performances.
- Cowell: Ruth Lorenzo – decided to take it to deadlock as he wanted to give Girlband a second chance whereas he felt Lorenzo did not "play to her strengths".
Week 3 (25 October)
- Theme: Big band
- Group performance: "Hero"
- Cowell: Daniel Evans – backed his own act, Scott Bruton.
- Cole: Scott Bruton – said that she felt the "belief and passion" in Evans' performance.
- Minogue: Scott Bruton – backed her own act, Daniel Evans, whom she stated sang the best in the sing off.
- Walsh: Scott Bruton – commented that Evans "sang every word like he meant it".
Week 4 (1 November)
- Theme: Disco
- Musical guest: Will Young
- Cowell: Rachel Hylton – backed his own act, Austin Drage.
- Cole: Austin Drage – stated she was prepared to give Hylton a "moment to shine".
- Minogue: Austin Drage – backed her own act, Rachel Hylton.
- Walsh: Austin Drage – said Hylton had more to give to the competition and was more of a "raw talent".
Week 5 (8 November)
- Theme: Mariah Carey
- Musical guest: Mariah Carey
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
- Cowell: Laura White – gave no reason but commented that both acts "were not the worst singers of the night".
- Cole: Ruth Lorenzo – backed her own act, Laura White.
- Minogue: Laura White – backed her own act, Ruth Lorenzo.
- Walsh: Laura White – commented that Lorenzo was "more of a fighter".
Week 6 (15 November)
- Theme: British classics
- Musical guest: Leona Lewis
- Walsh: Daniel Evans – gave no reason, but he stated on The Xtra Factor that he made his choice based on the premise that the show is a singing competition.
- Cole: Daniel Evans – stated that she had seen a spark back from Hylton this week.
- Cowell: Daniel Evans – gave no reason though commented that Hylton "threw it away" with her last performance and that he would have liked to see her perform with more passion; he later stated on The Xtra Factor that he wanted to save Hylton as she was one of his favorite acts in the competition.
- Minogue was not required to vote as there was already a majority; she stated she would have tried to take it to deadlock as both acts were in her category.
Week 7 (22 November)
- Theme: Take That
- Guest Mentors: Gary Barlow & Mark Owen
- Musical guests: Take That, Same Difference and Rhydian
- Walsh: Rachel Hylton – backed his own act, JLS.
- Minogue: JLS – backed her own act, Rachel Hylton.
- Cole: Rachel Hylton – said JLS would go further in the competition though stated that it had been the best Hylton had sung since the auditions.
- Cowell: Rachel Hylton – stated that this was Hylton's third time in the bottom two and that JLS should not have been in the final showdown.
Week 8: Quarter-Final (29 November)
- Themes: Britney Spears; American classics
- Musical guests: Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears
| Act | Category | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
| Ruth Lorenzo | Over 25s | 1 | "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" | 6 | "Always" | Eliminated |
| JLS | Groups | 2 | "...Baby One More Time" | 7 | "You Light Up My Life" | Safe |
| Alexandra Burke | Girls | 3 | "Toxic" | 8 | "Listen" | Safe |
| Eoghan Quigg | Boys | 4 | "Sometimes" | 9 | "We're All in This Together" | Safe |
| Diana Vickers | Girls | 5 | "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" | 10 | "Everybody Hurts" | Safe |
The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Ruth Lorenzo, was automatically eliminated.
Week 9: Semi-Final (6 December)
- Themes: Mentor's choice; contestant's choice
- Musical guest: Il Divo
| Act | Category | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
| Eoghan Quigg | Boys | 1 | "Year 3000" | 5 | "Does Your Mother Know" | Safe |
| Diana Vickers | Girls | 2 | "Girlfriend" | 6 | "White Flag" | Eliminated |
| Alexandra Burke | Girls | 3 | "Don't Stop the Music" | 7 | "Un-Break My Heart" | Safe |
| JLS | Groups | 4 | "Umbrella" | 8 | "I'm Already There" | Safe |
The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Diana Vickers, was automatically eliminated.
Week 10: Final (13 December)
- Themes: Christmas songs; celebrity duets; song of the series; winner's single
- Group performances: "I Have a Dream" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
- Musical guest: Beyoncé
Charity single
Reception
Ratings
Viewing figures for series 5 were, at the time of airing, the highest ever for any X Factor series, about 20% up on the previous series. This, however, was beaten by the sixth series the following year.The first show of the series had the highest launch audience for any series, peaking at over 12 million viewers. The entire Auditions phase officially averaged 9.9m, a rise of 1.2m over the previous series.
The Bootcamp episodes performed well in the ratings; although the Saturday episode was beaten for the first time by Strictly Come Dancing, the Sunday episode restored the balance. The Saturday Judges' houses episode had the highest audience since the opening show, and the Sunday episode had a lower rating but still exceeded that of Strictly Come Dancing. The entire bootcamp and judges' houses phase officially averaged 9.8m, a rise of 2.5m over the previous series.
The live shows pulled in very strong audiences, often rating as the most watched programme of the week. The final was the second most watched television programme of 2008 with 14.06m viewers.
Series 5 of The X Factor officially averaged 10.5m, at the time becoming the most watched British talent series of the 21st century.
| Episode | Air date | Official ITV1 rating | Weekly rank | Share |
| Auditions 1 | 16 August | 10.78 | 1 | 48.2% |
| Auditions 2 | 23 August | 10.10 | 1 | 45.4% |
| Auditions 3 | 30 August | 8.80 | 2 | 43.5% |
| Auditions 4 | 6 September | 9.57 | 1 | 42.8% |
| Auditions 5 | 13 September | 9.96 | 1 | 43.2% |
| Auditions 6 | 20 September | 10.01 | 1 | 41.7% |
| Bootcamp 1 | 27 September | 8.94 | 4 | 36.0% |
| Bootcamp 2 | 28 September | 9.47 | 1 | 38.1% |
| Judges' houses 1 | 4 October | 10.84 | 1 | 40.5% |
| Judges' houses 2 | 5 October | 10.11 | 3 | 42.7% |
| Live show 1 | 11 October | 11.09 | 1 | 44.1% |
| Results 1 | 11 October | 9.05 | 7 | 40.8% |
| Live show 2 | 18 October | 10.21 | 3 | 38.5% |
| Results 2 | 18 October | 9.13 | 9 | 39.7% |
| Live show 3 | 25 October | 10.37 | 2 | 39.7% |
| Results 3 | 25 October | 8.89 | 10 | 38.0% |
| Live show 4 | 1 November | 11.65 | 1 | 43.3% |
| Results 4 | 1 November | 9.72 | 6 | 37.6% |
| Live show 5 | 8 November | 10.72 | 2 | 42.6% |
| Results 5 | 8 November | 9.46 | 7 | 35.6% |
| Live show 6 | 15 November | 11.28 | 1 | 43.5% |
| Results 6 | 15 November | 10.62 | 2 | 42.9% |
| Live show 7 | 22 November | 11.77 | 1 | 43.2% |
| Results 7 | 22 November | 9.98 | 6 | 41.1% |
| Live show 8 | 29 November | 12.67 | 1 | 46.0% |
| Results 8 | 29 November | 11.41 | 2 | 50.0% |
| Semi-final | 6 December | 10.30 | 3 | 39.1% |
| Semi-final results | 6 December | 10.60 | 2 | 39.6% |
| Final performances | 13 December | 13.77 | 2 | 50.3% |
| Final results | 13 December | 14.06 | 1 | 54.4% |
| Series average | 2008 | 10.51 | 1 | 42.4% |