The X Factor (New Zealand TV series)
The X Factor was a New Zealand television reality music competition, originating from the original UK series and based on the Australian The X Factor production format. The show began in 2013 and was open to anyone aged 14 and over. The winner was signed to Sony Music Entertainment New Zealand.
The contestants were split into the show's four traditional categories: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups. From the second series, bands were also able to enter in the group category.
The show was cancelled in 2017, with MediaWorks confirming that the format rights to the show had expired.
History
The X Factor was created by Simon Cowell in the United Kingdom and the New Zealand version is based on the original UK series. TV3 initially purchased the rights to produce a local version of The X Factor in 2010. In September 2012, TV3 finally confirmed that the first series would begin production in early 2013. Broadcast funding agency NZ On Air confirmed they would contribute $1.6 million to the first series as a minority investor, for the production of 30 episodes of 60 minutes duration each.Presenter and Judges
was the sole-host of both of the seasons of The X Factor.The judging panel for the first season was composed of New Zealand-born, UK-based singer-songwriter Daniel Bedingfield, All Saints member Melanie Blatt, New Zealand singer-songwriter Ruby Frost as well as Australian-born Maori and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker.
Upon the return of Season 2, Walker and Blatt returned as judges., and were joined originally by New Zealand-born singer Willy Moon and his wife, English singer Natalia Kills. However, Moon and Kills were sacked from their roles as judges after the two humiliated a contestant. They were replaced by Australian X Factor judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and kiwi drummer of Blindspott and I Am Giant, Shelton Woolright.
Season 1 (2013)
The first series was co-produced by MediaWorks and FremantleMedia Australia. The series' key sponsors were Ford New Zealand as broadcast sponsor, Samsung Electronics as technology partner with McDonald's and Coca-Cola as programme partners. The broadcast sponsor of the second series was McDonald's, with Mazda, Fruttare, 2degrees and VO5 as programme partners.The judging panel for season one consisted of Australian Idol winner Stan Walker, All Saints singer Melanie Blatt, Kiwi singer Ruby Frost and New Zealand-born singer/songwriter Daniel Bedingfield. The judges were accompanied by Dominic Bowden who hosted the series. The series premiered on 21 April 2013 and finished on 22 July 2013. For the judges retreat, judges were assigned or selected an assistant judge to assist their choices, as well as taking their contestants international. Bedingfield was assisted by singer/songwriter and sister Natasha Bedingfield and travelled to Rarotonga, Blatt was assisted by Rachel Stevens and travelled to Mahurangi, Frost was assisted by X Factor Australia judge, Guy Sebastian and travelled to Sydney and Walker was assisted by Hollie Smith and went to Queenstown. Jackie Thomas was announced as X Factor NZ winner for 2013, with Whenua Patuwai placing second and Benny Tipene coming in third place.
Season 2 (2015)
A second series of The X Factor was not included in TV3's 2014 line-up, however in August 2014 TV3 confirmed that a second series of the show would be made. Production began in November 2014 and the series will screen in 2015. NZ On Air will contribute $800,000 minority funding to the second series.The judging panel for the second season saw Husband and Wife Duo, Natalia Kills and Willy Moon join original judges Stan Walker and Melanie Blatt. Dominic Bowden returned to host season two. Again in season two, judges retreat went international with the help of celebrity guests. Blatt was assisted by Nicole Appleton and travelled to Pattaya. Walker was assisted by Ginny Blackmore and travelled to Bangkok. Moon was assisted by former New Zealand's Got Talent judge, Jason Kerrison and travelled to Karaka and Kills was assisted by former X Factor New Zealand contestant, Benny Tipene and travelled to Titirangi. On 15 March 2015 during the first live episode of The X Factor, Kills and Moon bullied and verbally attacked a contestant, Joe Irvine. The next day, several hours before that day's episode aired, it was announced that the two judges had been fired from the show. That nights episode saw only Walker and Blatt attend the panel. Kills and Moon were replaced by kiwi-born, I am Giant drummer - Shelton Woolwright and X Factor Australia judge, Natalie Bassingthwaighte. The series was won by Bassingthwaighte's contestant, Beau Monga. Nyssa Collins placed second and Brendon Thomas and the Vibes followed in third.
Cancellation
In March 2015, it was announced that NZ on Air would not provide any funding for future series, making a third series less likely.In October 2015, Mediaworks confirmed that it would not be producing a third series of The X Factor in 2016. Mediaworks would not say whether the series would return in 2017, however they did note that the series usually ran once every 2 years.
In 2017, MediaWorks confirmed that the format rights to the show had expired, thus revealing that plans for a third series had officially been cancelled.
Selection process
There are five stages to the competition:- Stage 1: Pre-auditions
- Stage 2: Judges' auditions
- Stage 3: Bootcamp - Six-Chair Challenge
- Stage 4: Judges' retreats
- Stage 5: Live shows
The live shows consist of two weekly live shows, the first featuring the contestants' performances and the second revealing the results of the public voting, culminating in one act being eliminated each week. In the initial live performance shows, each act performs one song in front of the judges and a studio audience. The acts usually sing over a pre-recorded backing track, and backup dancers are commonly featured as well as stage props. Acts occasionally accompany themselves on guitar or piano. Each week has a different theme; each act's song is chosen according to the theme. After each act has performed, the judges comment on their performance. Heated disagreements, usually involving judges defending their acts against criticism, are a regular feature of the show. Once all the acts have performed, the phone lines open and the viewing public vote on which act they want to keep in the competition.
The results are announced during the live results show the following day. The two acts that received the lowest number of votes perform again in the "final showdown", and the judges vote on which of the two to send home. If the judges vote is a tie, the showdown goes to deadlock and the act with the lowest number of votes is eliminated from the competition. The live results shows also feature a number of celebrity guest performers.
Series overview
Two series were broadcast, as summarised below.Contestant in Team "Daniel Bedingfield"
Contestant in Team "Ruby Frost"
Contestant in Team "Stan Walker"
Contestant in Team "Melanie Blatt"
Contestant in Team "Shelton Woolright"
Contestant in Team "Natalie Bassingthwaighte"
;Notes
- Judges' categories and their finalists
– Winning judge/category. Winners are in bold, eliminated contestants in small font.
| Series | Melanie Blatt | Stan Walker | Ruby Frost | Daniel Bedingfield |
| 1 | Groups Moorhouse Gap5 L.O.V.E | Over 25s Anna Wilson Maaka Fiso Taye Williams | Boys Whenua Patuwai Benny Tipene Tom Batchelor Fletcher Mills | Girls Jackie Thomas Cassie Henderson Eden Roberts |
| 2 | Melanie Blatt | Stan Walker | Natalie Bassingthwaighte | Shelton Woolright |
| 2 | Over 25s Steve Broad Joe Irvine Sarah Spicer | Girls Nyssa Collins Lili Bayliss Finlay Robertson | Boys Beau Monga Stevie Tonks Nofo Lameko | Groups Brendon Thomas and The Vibes Mae Valley Fare Thee Well Stuss |
''The X Factor'' discography
The discography of The X Factor consists of music releases from contestants of the show. While some contestants have been signed to record labels, others have released their music independently. Recordings of contestants' weekly performances from The X Factor live shows were released onto the iTunes Store in the second series, and a number of those performances charted on the NZ Singles Chart.Benny Tipene is the most successful act to emerge from The X Factor NZ; he was the only act to chart internationally.
Albums
Series 1 acts
Series 2 acts
Singles
Series 1 acts
Series 2 acts
Other singles
Charity singles
Other charted songs
Series 1 performances
Series 2 performances
Reception
- The first series enjoyed strong ratings with an average audience of 485,000, a significantly high audience number for TV3. The first series also had strong online engagement, with over 120,000 Facebook fans and up to 70,000 people actively discussing the show. Every episode trended on Twitter, with #xfactornz sometimes trending internationally. The show's site at tv3.co.nz has over 6.3 million page impressions, with over 886,000 streams of full episodes and over 844,000 streams of individual song performances. The grand final decider was watched by a cumulative audience of 1,326,000, with 553,976 votes cast to decide the winner. Overall 3,285,500 New Zealanders watched the first series at one point.
- The second series was significantly down in ratings from the first. An average of 343,280 people watched the premiere of the second series whilst over 467,000 people tuned in to watch the premiere of the first series; this is a 26% drop in viewers, however by the end of the first week viewership had increased by 10%. On average over 1.3 million people watched the first week of the series. The Grand Final Decided was watched by an average audience of 359,910, down 39% from the Grand Final of the first series. Overall the second series had an average viewership of 328,000, down 18%.
Ratings
| Series | Episodes | ' | Premiere ratings | Rank | ' Date | ' ' | Rank | ' Date | ' | Rank | Series Average |
| 1 | 28 | 21 April 2013 | 0.467 | #4 | 21 July 2013 | 0.453 | #2 | 22 July 2013 | 0.598 | #3 | 0.403 |
| 2 | 30 | 15 February 2015 | 0.343 | #5 | 17 May 2015 | 0.351 | #4 | 18 May 2015 | 0.359 | #6 | 0.328 |