The X Factor (British series 9)


The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The ninth series began airing on ITV on 18 August 2012 and ended on 9 December 2012. Dermot O'Leary returned as presenter of the main show on ITV, whilst Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Tulisa returned as judges. Nicole Scherzinger was confirmed as the fourth permanent judge after Geri Halliwell, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Mel B, Anastacia and Scherzinger herself stood in as guest judges for the vacant position left by Kelly Rowland. After the show of 8 December, two of Scherzinger's acts, James Arthur and Jahméne Douglas, became the top two, meaning that Scherzinger was guaranteed to win. Arthur was announced as the winner on 9 December, and released a cover of Shontelle's "Impossible" as his winner's song. As of 2016, it is the most successful winner's single in the show's history.
Auditions for the series took place between 23 May and 25 June 2012, in Liverpool, London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle and Cardiff. Bootcamp took place in Liverpool for three days, between 19 and 22 July. Barlow mentored the over 28s, Scherzinger had the boys, Tulisa mentored the girls and Walsh had the groups. They selected their final three acts during judges' houses, which took place in Boughton House in Northamptonshire, Dubai, Saint Lucia and Las Vegas. The 12 finalists were joined by a 13th wildcard, voted for by the public after each judge picked one of their rejected to return. The live shows started on 6 October. The final was held at Manchester Central.
The trailer for the series, entitled "Whose Time Is Now?", premiered on 30 July, featuring former contestants Lewis, Alexandra Burke, JLS, Murs, One Direction and Little Mix talking about their time on The X Factor and how it had changed their lives. It was criticised by former winner Shayne Ward because he was not included. The series was beset by several controversial issues throughout its run. In the auditions, these included Zoe Alexander, who swore at judges and assaulted a member of staff; Alison Brunton, whose audition was believed to have "caused unnecessary distress or anxiety" to her children; and Lorna Bliss, who gave Walsh a lap dance. The live shows were controversial for the eliminations of Carolynne Poole and Ella Henderson, the fact that the voting lines opened before the contestants had performed, and also comments made by the judges—Tulisa using the term "MILF", Barlow insulting Tulisa's breath, and Scherzinger saying "effing". This series' launch was the lowest rated since 2006, and the show was often beaten in the ratings by other programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing, Downton Abbey and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. The final received the lowest ratings of an X Factor final since 2005, until the following year's series final attracted worse ratings.
Within four-and-a-half months of the final, six of the series' finalists—Arthur, Douglas, Henderson, Christopher Maloney, Union J and Lucy Spraggan—had been signed to record labels.

Judges, presenters and other personnel

On 17 April 2012, Gary Barlow was confirmed to be returning to the judging panel, and on 3 May it was announced that Louis Walsh would also return for his ninth year as a judge. Tulisa was also confirmed to be returning, but Kelly Rowland did not return due to other commitments. However, Rowland was relocated to America where she would become a judge for the 2013 series of the American show. Individuals rumoured to be permanently replacing Rowland included Alesha Dixon, and Rochelle Wiseman and Frankie Sandford. Former judges Sharon Osbourne, Dannii Minogue, and Cheryl Cole, as well as Katy Perry and Rihanna, were said to have turned down the role. As a fourth permanent judge was not confirmed in time for the start of the auditions, guest judging roles were brought in. They were filled by Halliwell, series 3 winner Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Nicole Scherzinger, Mel B and Anastacia. Scherzinger was announced as the fourth permanent judge on 15 June 2012, filling the fourth chair from the Newcastle auditions onwards.
Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV for his sixth series, while Caroline Flack and Olly Murs returned to co-present companion show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, but Murs was absent for the auditions, bootcamp and judges' houses as he was on tour with One Direction in America. In Murs' absence, Flack was joined by guest presenters such as Jedward, JLS and Westlife. Brian Burke returned as creative director, but Elizabeth Honan did not. Brian Friedman, who left as creative director on the show after series 7 in 2010, returned this year, but left after the third live show to launch the live shows of the U.S. version. Also, Natalya Nair, head of make-up, did not have her contract renewed. Yvie Burnett and Annabel Williams gave vocal coaching during the live shows. This was the final series for Tulisa as a main judge; she left after this series, but reappeared in 2014 to assist Walsh in choosing his groups during judges' houses in series 11, then once more as a guest judge during the final.

Selection process

Applications and auditions

This series, for the first time, applicants were able to audition online via Facebook. The show's producers also sent a "mobile audition van" to 18 locations throughout the UK and Ireland to audition singers who could not make the arena auditions. The mobile auditions began in Plymouth and ended 18 days later in Brighton. The van visited a different location every day except when it spent two days in Dublin on 28 and 29 April. The other towns and cities it visited were Aberystwyth, Bangor, Blackpool, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Middlesbrough, Wakefield, Derby, Norwich, Colchester, Southend-on-Sea and Chatham. Producers also had researchers invite certain people to audition, who had not applied to audition. There were several rule changes in relation to the auditions: acts with current management deals were allowed to audition for the first time, in a bid to " the net and it up so that everybody gets an opportunity." Also, singers could perform their own compositions and play instruments.
The judges' auditions—originally supposed to start in Cardiff on 15 May 2012 but postponed due to delays in signing up a new permanent fourth judge—began on 23 May in Liverpool and continued from 26–30 May in London. From 5–7 June, auditions moved to Manchester, and on 11 June, they took place in Glasgow. Further auditions took place on 18 June in Newcastle and concluded on 25 June in Cardiff.
Halliwell was the first guest judge, attending the Liverpool auditions. Guest judges in London were Lewis, Ora, and Scherzinger. Mel B filled the guest judging role in Manchester and Anastacia judged in Glasgow. On 13 June, Scherzinger was announced to be returning as a guest judge for the Newcastle auditions, before being announced as the new permanent fourth judge two days later.
The first episode of auditions was broadcast on 18 August 2012, and featured auditions from London, Cardiff and Manchester. The second episode featured auditions from London, Manchester and Newcastle. More Manchester auditions, along with those from Glasgow, were shown on 1 September, while The Xtra Factor additionally included auditions from Newcastle. The episode broadcast on 8 September included auditions from Liverpool and more from Manchester, with the corresponding episode of The Xtra Factor featured auditions from London. 9 September episode showcased auditions from London, and The Xtra Factor featured more auditions from London. On 15 September, auditions from London, Manchester and Glasgow were shown. The final episode of auditions was shown on 16 September, and included more of London, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester.
Notable auditionees included Lucy Spraggan, whose self-released single "Last Night", which she performed at her audition, entered the UK Singles Chart at number 11 following the episode broadcast; Britt Love from the band Mini Viva; glamour model and television personality Bianca Gascoigne; TV presenter, stage actor and former Popstars and Pop Idol contestant Hayley Evetts; Big Brother 9 housemate Stephanie McMichael and singer and former housemate Nathan Fagan-Gayle. Returning auditionees included Joe Cox, Jade Richards, Melanie McCabe and Carolynne Poole, who all reached judges' houses in series 8.
DateCityVenueGuest judgePermanent judges
23 May 2012LiverpoolEcho ArenaGeri HalliwellLouis Walsh
Tulisa
Gary Barlow
26 May 2012LondonThe O2 ArenaLeona LewisLouis Walsh
Tulisa
Gary Barlow
28 May 2012LondonThe O2 ArenaRita OraLouis Walsh
Tulisa
Gary Barlow
29 May 2012LondonThe O2 ArenaRita Ora
Leona Lewis 		Louis Walsh
Tulisa
Gary Barlow
30 May 2012LondonThe O2 ArenaNicole ScherzingerLouis Walsh
Tulisa
Gary Barlow
5–7 June 2012ManchesterEventCityMel BLouis Walsh
Tulisa
Gary Barlow
11 June 2012GlasgowSECCAnastaciaLouis Walsh
Tulisa
Gary Barlow
18 June 2012NewcastleMetro Radio Arena-Louis Walsh
Tulisa
Nicole Scherzinger
Gary Barlow
25 June 2012CardiffMotorpoint Arena Cardiff-Louis Walsh
Tulisa
Nicole Scherzinger
Gary Barlow

Bootcamp

Bootcamp was held outside London for the first time in the show's history, due to London hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics. It took place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool over three days, starting on Thursday 19 July, and was broadcast on 22 and 23 September. Simon Cowell promised that this bootcamp would be "the toughest yet". The age ranges of the categories were changed for this series during bootcamp; the over 25s became the over 28s, so the boys and girls categories contain contestants aged 16–27, rather than 16–24. It was reported that the reason for this was because the series 8 finalists were considered too young, and contestants in their late 20s did not make it into the over 25s category because of "quirky older" contestants. Also, Scherzinger and Barlow swapped seats, meaning that there was two female judges in the 1st and 3rd seats, and two males judges in the 2nd and 4th seats. Most other The X Factor shows started to do this.
211 acts reached bootcamp. On the first day, judges reviewed the audition tapes and sent home 60 acts before they had a chance to sing. The remaining contestants were then put into groups and they took part in a sing-off. Contestants had a choice of the following songs to perform: "Stronger ", "Respect", "Moves like Jagger", "Are You Gonna Go My Way", "Crazy in Love", "Next to Me", "She Said", "Use Somebody" and "How to Save a Life". After each performance, the judges decided which acts to keep and which to eliminate. The number of acts was reduced to 70: 21 girls, 22 boys, 12 over 28s and 15 groups. The following day, the remaining acts each performed one song for the judges in front of a live audience, and the day after, the judges decided which acts to put through to judges' houses. They could not decide between groups Triple J and GMD3, so had them each perform again before making a final decision. GMD3 were eventually chosen as the final group through to judges' houses and Triple J were sent home.

Judges' houses and wildcards

The judges received news of their categories from Cowell via telephone, seen during the second bootcamp episode on 23 September. Scherzinger mentored the Boys in Dubai, assisted by R&B star Ne-Yo; Tulisa took the Girls to Saint Lucia with Tinie Tempah, Barlow had the Over 28s in Northamptonshire, and Walsh had the Groups in Las Vegas and original judge Sharon Osbourne returned as his assistant. Barlow was reportedly originally planning to go to Majorca, but changed to Boughton House in Northamptonshire so that he could be close to his wife after the death of their baby. Barlow was rumoured to be joined by Robbie Williams, but was instead joined by former judge Cheryl Cole. Her arrival was surrounded in secrecy; contestants had their phones removed and Cole was hidden under a tablecloth, so that contestants could not see her sitting next to Barlow.
Rough Copy were originally put through to judges' houses, but were withdrawn from the contest after getting through bootcamp because group member Kazeem "Kaz" Ajobo had a visa application which was being considered by the UK Border Agency. There had been fears that if he travelled abroad during the judges' houses stage, the Nigerian-born 23-year-old from South London may struggle to re-enter the UK. They were replaced by Times Red and Union J. The judges' houses round was broadcast on 29 and 30 September 2012.
Key:
JudgeCategoryLocationAssistantActs eliminatedWildcards
BarlowGirlsBoughton House, NorthamptonshireCheryl ColeNicola Marie, Brad ShackletonChristopher Maloney
ScherzingerGroupsDubaiNe-YoNathan Fagan-Gayle, Jake QuickendenAdam Burridge
TulisaBoysSaint LuciaTinie TempahJade Collins, Leanne RobinsonAmy Mottram
WalshOversLas VegasSharon OsbourneDuke, Mitsotu, Poisonous TwinTimes Red

At the end of judges' houses, it was announced that each judge could bring back one further act back as a wildcard. The public then voted for which of the four wildcards would become the thirteenth finalist. This left one judge with an extra act. Scherzinger chose Adam Burridge, Tulisa chose Amy Mottram, Barlow chose Christopher Maloney and Walsh chose Times Red. Maloney was revealed as the winner on the first live show on 6 October 2012. When the voting statistics were announced at the end of the series, Maloney was revealed to have received 63.5% of the vote to return, while Mottram received 17.8%, Times Red received 12.5% and Burridge received 6.2%.

Finalists

The finalists were announced during the episode broadcast on 30 September 2012. The winner of the wildcard vote was revealed on the first live show on 6 October 2012 as Christopher Maloney. The group GMD3 decided to change their name before the live shows, with viewers able to suggest names, and on 5 October, the day before the first live show, they announced their new name, District3.
Key:
ActAgeHometownCategory Result
James Arthur24Saltburn-by-the-SeaBoys Winner
Jahméne21SwindonBoys Runner-up
Christopher Maloney 34LiverpoolOver 28s 3rd place
Union J19–24VariousGroups 4th place
Rylan Clark24CorringhamBoys 5th place
Ella Henderson16GrimsbyGirls 6th place
District318–19VariousGroups 7th place
Kye Sones30HammersmithOver 28s 8th place
Lucy Spraggan21BuxtonGirls 9th place
Jade Ellis25CharltonGirls 10th place
MK120–25HackneyGroups 11th place
Melanie Masson44CathcartOver 28s 12th place
Carolynne Poole32HuddersfieldOver 28s 13th place

Live shows

The live shows started on 6 October 2012. Each week, the contestants perform on Saturday, with the voting lines opening before the performances for the first time in the history of the show. The results are announced on Sunday, with the bottom two contestants being announced and then judges choosing which of the two to eliminate after the contestants perform another song of their choice. If the judges' votes are tied, the vote goes to deadlock and the act with the fewest viewer votes is eliminated. As with previous series, each live show has a different theme. The results show features a group performance by the remaining contestants and guest live performances. The live final took place in Manchester on 8 and 9 December, at Manchester Central. It is the first time the final has been hosted outside London. On 26 August, it was reported that contestants will be able to perform their own material during the live shows, after original songs proved to be popular with the crowds during the audition stages.
Each results show featured musical performances from at least two artists, while occasionally, artists performed on the main performances show. Leona Lewis and Ne-Yo performed on the first results show, while series 7 runner-up Rebecca Ferguson and Taylor Swift appeared on the second. The third results show featured Labrinth with Emeli Sandé and series 5 runners-up JLS. fun. and Robbie Williams performed the following week, and Rita Ora and No Doubt both performed in the fifth week. The sixth week included performances from series 7 contestants One Direction, Ed Sheeran and series 8 winners Little Mix. Alicia Keys and The Xtra Factor presenter and series 6 runner-up Olly Murs performed during the seventh live result show, while Rihanna and Bruno Mars performed on the eighth. The semi-final results show featured performances from Pink and judge Tulisa, who was due to perform the previous week, but due to the delay of the release of her new single, postponed her performance. The live final featured performances from Kylie Minogue, Ora and Kelly Clarkson, and the final three performed duets with their mentors, with Only Boys Aloud appearing during Douglas and Scherzinger's, while the final results show featured performances from One Direction, Sandé and Rihanna.

Results summary

;Colour key

Week 1 (6/7 October)

The result of the wildcard vote was revealed before the performances, with Christopher Maloney announced as the winner.
;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. Poole was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes; upon this revelation, Barlow immediately stormed off the stage.

Week 2 (13/14 October)

;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. Masson was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 3 (20/21 October)

;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. MK1 were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 4 (27/28 October)

Lucy Spraggan did not perform as she was not well and automatically advanced to the following week. It was the second time this happened in the show's history, with Diana Vickers being the first in series 5.
;Judges' votes to eliminate
On 3 November 2012, it was announced that Spraggan withdrew from the competition due to illness. She was not replaced and the elimination went ahead as normal.
;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. Sones was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 6 (10/11 November)

;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. Henderson was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 8: Quarter-Final (24/25 November)

For the first time this series, each contestant performed two songs.
;Judges' votes to eliminate
ActCategory OrderFirst songOrderSecond songResult
Christopher MaloneyOver 28s 1"You Raise Me Up"6"Haven't Met You Yet"Safe
Jahméne DouglasBoys 2"I Look to You"5"At Last"Safe
Union JGroups 3"Beneath Your Beautiful"7"I'm Already There"Eliminated
James ArthurBoys 4"One"8"The Power of Love"Safe

The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Union J, were automatically eliminated. After their elimination, Union J reprised their week 5 performance of "Love Story".

Week 10: Final (8/9 December)

The final, held at Manchester Central, consisted of two two-hour episodes on 8 and 9 December.
;8 December
ActCategory OrderFirst songOrderSecond song Result
Jahméne DouglasBoys 1"Move On Up"4"The Greatest Love of All" Safe
Christopher MaloneyOver 28s 2"Flashdance... What a Feeling"5"Rule the World" Eliminated
James ArthurBoys 3"Feeling Good"6"Make You Feel My Love" Safe

;9 December
ActCategory OrderFirst songOrderSecond songResult
Jahméne DouglasBoys 1"Angels"3"Let It Be"Runner-up
James ArthurBoys 2"Let's Get It On"4"Impossible"Winner

Winner's single

On 31 October 2012, it was reported that there would not be a charity single released by the finalists this year, as there was in the previous four years, and that the winner's single may be released for charity to give it a greater chance of reaching number one. This was confirmed by Simon Cowell on 28 November, who announced that the single would be released on 9 December and that 100% of the profits would go to children's charity Together for Short Lives. The winners' songs were revealed on 8 December 2012, with Arthur to release "Impossible" as his debut single. If he had won, Douglas would have released "Let It Be", while Christopher Maloney's winner's song would have been "The Reason", and Union J's would have been "Skyscraper".

Reception

Ratings

This series' launch was the lowest-rated launch episode of the show since series 3, seen by 8.09 million viewers according to overnight figures, a 39.4% share of the total viewing audience at the time, on ITV1 between 8 pm and 9.15 pm and 616,000 on ITV1+1. It peaked with 9.2 million in the last half-hour. The average figure of 8.1 million was down 2.7 million from the previous year. The following week, the ratings increased to an average of 8.4 million, but by the fourth episode, the ratings had dropped to an overnight average of 7.7 million, 2.9 million fewer than the previous year. The fifth episode was the first broadcast on a Sunday, and ratings were still down from the previous year, though The X Factor was the most watched programme on any channel on both days. The following week, Strictly Come Dancing was launched on BBC One, and although the shows did not directly clash, The X Factor had more viewers based on average overnight figures, though Strictly Come Dancing had a higher peak rating of 9.8 million compared to The X Factor 9.5 million. The next day, The X Factor also received more viewers than the first episode in the third series of Downton Abbey. The two bootcamp episodes performed similarly to the previous week, though the Sunday night episode received 400,000 fewer viewers than the previous week. The episode in which the final 12 contestants were revealed was watched by an overnight average of 9.46 million viewers, and was beaten by Downton Abbey for the first time.
When the live shows started, Strictly Come Dancing also started its live shows, and beat The X Factor in the ratings, according to overnight figures. The first live results show was more successful, with overnight ratings of 9.42 million, peaking at 11 million, though it was still beaten by Downton Abbey. The X Factor second live show, on 13 October, received the same ratings as the previous week, and was again beaten by Strictly Come Dancing, reported as "its most convincing victory over The X Factor in six years". The next week, Strictly Come Dancing lead on The X Factor increased, with The X Factor peak rating of 9.3 million being less than Strictly Come Dancing average rating of 9.91 million. The next day, The X Factor was beaten by Strictly Come Dancing for the first time on a Sunday, as well as Downton Abbey, though The X Factor had a higher peak rating than Strictly Come Dancing. By the fifth live show, ratings had dropped to an average of 7.6 million, the fifth Saturday in a row where The X Factor was beaten in the ratings by Strictly Come Dancing. It was reported that the ratings were the lowest for a fifth live show of The X Factor since series 1 in 2004. While Strictly Come Dancing continued to beat The X Factor on Saturday nights, The X Factor always beat it on Sundays, but continued to be beaten by Downton Abbey, based on overnight figures.
By the sixth live show, Strictly Come Dancing was more than 2 million viewers ahead of The X Factor, and the launch of the twelfth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!. While 8.8 million watched the sixth live results show, 10.3 million tuned in to watch I'm a Celebrity..., meaning that it beat The X Factor in the ratings battle for the first time since 2006. The seventh live show saw I'm a Celebrity... beat The X Factor again, with Strictly Come Dancing again being the most watched Saturday night programme, but the controversial live results show the following night, which saw Ella Henderson eliminated after ending up in the bottom two with James Arthur, produced 9.44 million for The X Factor. I'm a Celebrity... was again the highest rated show of the Sunday night, while Strictly Come Dancing just came up on top of The X Factor by a margin of less than 500,000, though The X Factors peak of nearly 11 million was higher than Strictly Come Dancing peak of 10.4 million. The final result received the lowest viewing figures for a final in seven years. It was beaten by Strictly Come Dancing, which was two weeks away from its final, getting 2 million more viewers than The X Factor 10.04 million.

Controversies

Trailer

On 30 July 2012, the trailer for the series premiered. Entitled "Whose Time Is Now?", it features six former The X Factor contestants—winners Lewis, Alexandra Burke and Little Mix, and runners-up JLS, Murs and One Direction—talking about their time on the show and how it changed their lives. Male winners Steve Brookstein, Shayne Ward, Leon Jackson, Joe McElderry and Matt Cardle were not included. Ward blasted this, calling the show "pathetic" for leaving him out and saying it was like he was "being erased slowly from their history." McElderry, who won in 2009, said "I'm just gonna keep doing my thing", which many fans believed to be prompted by the trailer. McElderry later admitted that he was not angry about not being included in the trailer. In an interview with the Daily Star Sunday, he said: "I'm not on Simon 's label so I wouldn't expect him to promote me. If they want to erase the fact I won X Factor or try to hide it, I don't care. Personally I am proud I came from The X Factor. If doesn't feel the same then you'll have to ask him why."

Auditions

During the first auditions episode, broadcast on 18 August, one of the auditionees in Cardiff, Zoe Alexander, a Pink tribute singer, tried to "smash" equipment after arguing with the judges about her claim that she was told to sing a Pink song after she sang "So What". Barlow asked her to sing a second song, which was "Next to Me" by Emeli Sandé. After being criticised and given a "no", Alexander threw down her microphone as she left the stage. Her father brought her back to the stage to pick up her microphone where she swore at the judges. She then stormed backstage, hit a camera operator, continued swearing and, when the cameras were turned off, hit a female producer of the show. Alexander was later cautioned by the police. She later claimed that her voice had been Auto-Tuned for the broadcast. Executive producer Richard Holloway said that every auditionee had a choice of five songs, adding: "All the contestants that go in front of the judges, they're all spoken to by the production team as they have to get all the tracks to play so the conversation takes place between them and us about what they want to sing and they go through their choices and the final decision about what they are going to sing when they walk on the stage is theirs, 100% theirs." Alexander complained to Ofcom; her complaint was not upheld.
Ofcom received 35 complaints about Alison Brunton's audition, in which she performed "The Edge of Glory", from people concerned about the impact on her two children, aged 14 and 16, who were watching from backstage. The broadcasting code states that under-18s must not be "caused unnecessary distress or anxiety by their involvement in programmes". O'Leary asked the children if they would be teased at school, to which Brunton's son said, "I'm never going to hear the end of this," though smiling at the time. An ITV spokeswoman said: "The X Factor does not include child contestants but takes the welfare of any children featured in the show very seriously. It is a well-established format and contestants regularly bring along their family to support them, as Alison did. Footage of family members is only used when appropriate consent has been obtained." Ofcom also received 34 complaints about the audition of Lorna Bliss, a Britney Spears impersonator who wore a body stocking, saying the programme may have broken guidelines on taste and decency. Bliss gave Walsh a lapdance and chased Barlow through the studio during her performance. The spokeswoman stated: "Lorna's performance and its editing was carefully considered by the producers and ITV. We do not believe her routine exceeded generally accepted standards or the expectations of the vast majority of the audience."

Lucy Spraggan

In week 4, Lucy Spraggan, who had previously been one of the favourites to win, was given a bye week automatically advanced to the following week due to illness. Some viewers felt it was unfair that she had been given "special treatment", especially as she had been on a string of "boozy nights" with fellow contestant Rylan Clark. Additionally, Jade Ellis, who was sent home that week, sang for survival despite a sore throat. A show source insisted that Spraggan had been in a far worse condition that any of the other contestants. The following week, Spraggan withdrew from the show.

Christopher Maloney's absence from the Sunday final

Maloney was allegedly excluded from the final group performance at the start of the live final results show on 9 December, due to being late for rehearsals, the fact that he "smelt of alcohol" and a fight that occurred between him and Carolynne Poole, during which he reportedly called her a "cunt". A spokesperson for The X Factor said: "Chris decided he no longer wanted to be part of the X Factor Final and has gone back to Liverpool." Writing on Twitter, Poole hinted at the dismay backstage, saying The X Factor "can also create monsters". Maloney responded by saying Poole was "disgraceful" and would "do anything to get a headline". He later tweeted the show and Barlow, saying, " can't believe all the bulls*** yet again! his is a witch hunt for . he show is over", and claimed: "I am being bullied! ig time." Maloney claimed he missed the group performance due to illness. MK1 & Lucy Spraggan were also not included in the final performance.

Judges' comments

During the second live show on 13 October, O'Leary apologised after Tulisa used the term MILF, referring to Melanie Masson's performance.
After Maloney's performance during the fourth live show on 27 October, Barlow insulted Tulisa. Before his insult, she criticised Barlow, Maloney's mentor by saying, "Gary I have to ask you, how many of these eighties classics are you going to let him keep destroying honestly?". Without Barlow responding at that point, Tulisa further explained her frustration, "Every week he's getting the same critique of all of the judges it's always an issue. Why not change it up for him?". She continued, "I feel bad having to say the same thing to you each week. I don't think it's fair. You do the same thing over and over again with him it's not working". After Tulisa made her statement Barlow replied, "Tulisa, I don't know what's offended me more—what you've said or the fag ash breath." Tulisa responded to his insult by saying, "Just a note for Gary, seriously. Just a note for Gary, lay off the red wine because I can really smell that as well." Barlow later apologised for his comment, and agreed that he had previously enjoyed the smell of cigarettes as he is a former smoker.
The seventh results show on 18 November attracted controversy when Scherzinger introduced Arthur for his survival performance by saying, "This is James effing Arthur!". As "effing" is an alternative way of saying the explicit word "fucking" and the show was broadcast before the watershed, Scherzinger later apologised on the following episode of The Xtra Factor: "I'm so sorry. You spend every day with these people, you spend so much time with them. Ella was the last female in the competition. I was passionate about her as well as James Arthur, who is one of the greatest human talents ever. I'm so sorry for my effing."

Voting

In the first live show, the voting lines opened before the contestants had performed, the first time this had happened in the history of the show. This was branded "money grabbing" by some viewers, and it was reported that the change to the rules could have affected the voting results, as the acts who performed first would get a "head start" in the votes. The two acts in the bottom two, Clark and Poole, had performed 9th and 12th respectively out of 13 acts. The acts performing 11th and 13th, Ella Henderson and Jahméne Douglas, were already among the favourites to win. ITV defended the change, stating it would allow viewers "to interact immediately with their favourite acts".
On 7 October, the first results show sparked major controversy when Poole was eliminated over Clark in the final showdown. First Scherzinger voted against Poole, then Barlow and Tulisa voted against Clark, leaving Walsh with the casting vote. His vote either meant that if he would vote against Clark, Clark would be eliminated or if he voted against Poole, the result would go to deadlock, where the public vote would decide the result. Walsh appeared to change his mind while he was deliberating. When O'Leary asked him who he wanted to send home, Walsh deliberated for some time, before stating, "I'm going to go with Carolynne, I want to keep Carolynne.". O'Leary then asked him to clarify if his statement meant he was sending home Clark, to which Walsh responded by saying he wanted to save both Clark and Poole. O'Leary then reiterated that he needed Walsh to say who he was sending home. Walsh finally made his decision by saying, "I want to take it to deadlock!" which meant he voted against Poole. After Walsh sent the result to deadlock, O'Leary revealed that Poole had received the fewest public votes and she was voted out. Straight after hearing O'Leary's revelation, Barlow, Poole's mentor, slammed his pen on the judges desk, then angrily stood up from his chair, stormed off stage, out of the studio and into his dressing room saying "this is a joke". Additionally, he refused to get up on stage to console Poole which normally happens when a judge loses their own act at the end of a result show. Barlow did return to the studio and consoled Poole on stage but not until a few seconds after The Xtra Factor started broadcasting. During Poole's final showdown performance, the public was also outraged when Holloway was seen approaching Walsh and whispering into his ear. This sparked rumours that Holloway told Walsh not to eliminate Clark, and that Walsh may have been unsure whether to vote based on his own feelings or follow Holloway's instructions. On the episode of The Xtra Factor that followed, Barlow stated that he thought it was "disgusting" that a talented singer had been voted out over a "joke act" who had "little talent". Several celebrities also vented their fury about the result on Twitter: Barlow's Take That bandmate Howard Donald said: "Joke decision on xfactor tonight kids. Based on the singing the wrong person was dropped from a great height. That's xfactor for you!", whilst Coleen Nolan stated: "I'm horrified!! What a joke and a total fix!!" Ofcom and ITV received more than 2,500 complaints over the events, and Ofcom said they may launch an inquiry. Holloway said in a statement: "We regularly chat to the judges during the show, they don't wear earpieces like Dermot so we have to speak to them on anything from timings to running order changes. On Sunday I was telling Louis the order the judges would vote in. We don't tell judges how to vote."
On 6 November, it emerged that Maloney had been voting for himself throughout the live shows, something which he openly admitted. Maloney stated: "I have voted for myself a few times. So has everyone else—I doubt my calls have made much of a difference... If I had more credit on my phone I'd vote more." A member of production crew stated he had seen Maloney "dialling and redialling his own number over and over again." A member of production said, "You can't outlaw this sort of behaviour but it leaves a very sour taste. It's against the spirit of the show." During the VT before Maloney's performance in the live show following the reports, Maloney denied that he had been voting for himself.
The seventh results show on 18 November attracted controversy when Henderson and Arthur received fewer public votes than any other act, especially Clark and Maloney, because both Henderson and Arthur had been favourites to reach the final. The judges scalded the decision made by the public when it came to deciding that night's elimination, in which Henderson was eliminated after the result went to deadlock. Simon Cowell, the creator of the show, expressed his shock over the result on Twitter, whilst bookmakers Ladbrokes announced that odds for both Maloney to win outright and for the show to be axed by ITV were slashed.

Performances

Part of Clark's performance during the second live show was cut from repeats on ITV1+1 and recaps on ITV2, and the entire performance was removed from itv.com and YouTube for legal reasons, believed to be because he renamed the song "Gangnam Style" to "Rylan Style". An edited version of the performance was later put back on itv.com and YouTube.
After his performance of LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" on the third live show on 20 October, Arthur was accused of plagiarism. His rendition was very similar to that of YouTube star only1Noah, which was uploaded on 9 May 2012 and has since gathered over 19 million views. However, Arthur later tweeted: "Btw doesn't everyone know I was putting a spin on Noah's version? It had 13.something million hits! Was I supposed to state the obvious?"

Excessive promotion

In January 2013, Ofcom ruled that The X Factor had breached broadcasting rules by excessively promoting the hotel where the finalists stayed, saying it was mentioned in eight out of the 13 pre-recorded introduction videos for the finalists, including shots of them arriving featuring close-up shots of the hotel's sign. Ofcom found "the overall number of references to be excessive" and "therefore judged that there was insufficient editorial justification for the repeated references to the hotel during the programme." They concluded that "the cumulative effect of these references resulted in the programme as a whole giving undue prominence to the hotel."