The X Factor (British series 3)

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The X Factor
Series 3
Leonalewis.jpg
Lewis performing in 2009
Hosted byKate Thornton (ITV)
Judges
WinnerLeona Lewis
Winning mentorSimon Cowell
Runner-upRay Quinn
Release
Original network
Original release19 August (2006-08-19) –
16 December 2006 (2006-12-16)
Series chronology
← Previous
Series 2
Next →
Series 4
List of episodes

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The third series was broadcast on ITV from 19 August 2006 until 16 December 2006. Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell all returned for their third series on the judging panel. Kate Thornton returned to present the main show on ITV, while Ben Shephard returned to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. After the semi-final on 9 December, Cowell became the winning judge even though the series had not yet finished, as two of his acts, Ray Quinn and Leona Lewis, became the two finalists. Lewis won the series on 16 December, with Quinn finishing as runner-up.

Instead of the earlier red and purple colour scheme, this year's theme was red and blue. A new-look website for the third series was launched on 11 August 2006. The final on 16 December brought in the show's then-highest ever audience, with 12.6 million people tuning in (a 56% audience share), and 8 million votes were cast, with Lewis receiving 60%.[1] Lewis released a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" as her winner's single, and it went on the become the Christmas number one on 24 December[2] despite only going on sale four days before on 20 December.[3] It ended as the United Kingdom's second best selling single of the year.[4] In January 2007, the single was awarded platinum status by the British Phonographic Industry.[5] According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 895,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of December 2012.[6]

Lewis emerged as the most successful contestant to appear on the X Factor having sold over 30 million records worldwide as well as being the only former contestant to be nominated for a Grammy.

This was the last series presented by Kate Thornton and the last time Ben Shephard presented The Xtra Factor. It was also the last series with only three judges (excluding times when a judge was absent).

Judges and presenters[edit]

Series 3 judges
Simon Cowell
Sharon Osbourne
Louis Walsh

Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all returned for their third series on the judging panel. Kate Thornton returned to present the main show on ITV, while Ben Shephard returned to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2.

This was both Thornton and Shephard's last series of The X Factor, as Thornton announced her departure on 8 March 2007 and was replaced for the fourth series by Dermot O'Leary. Shephard also quit the show after being passed over for promotion to main presenter. He was replaced by Fearne Cotton. This is the final series to feature just three judges on the panel; from series 4, it was increased for four.

Selection process[edit]

Auditions[edit]

class=notpageimage|
Cities that auditions were held in.

Auditions began on 7 June 2006. Simon Cowell said on ITV's This Morning "The next international boyband or girlband is what I want to see in this year's show". 100,000 people applied to audition, the most so far. Nearly 20,000 attended an open audition at Old Trafford, Manchester on 18 June 2006.

All three judges, Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, returned. Hints by Cowell and the surrounding media that a fourth full-time judge mentoring a fourth category of contestants might be added proved to be false. However, American Idol judge Paula Abdul did make an appearance as a guest judge at the London auditions, and further celebrity guests appeared during the live shows. Auditions were held in cities around the UK and Republic of Ireland – London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Leeds and Glasgow. Cowell had also stated that there could be a 14–24s category but during the audition process the category was named as 16–24s, as in the previous two series. Cowell was given the 16–24s, Osbourne had the Over 25s, and Walsh mentored the Groups. (Both rumoured changes – the lowering of the age limit and the addition of a fourth category – were actually implemented in series 4.)

Bootcamp[edit]

It was originally intended that 21 acts (seven for each judge) should remain by the conclusion of the bootcamp stage. However, Cowell decided that he had made a mistake with his seven by failing to include Ray Quinn, and asked the producers to allow one more contestant or act to go through. The other two judges were then allowed to increase their quota to eight as well, giving a total of 24 acts.

Judges' houses[edit]

In the "judges' houses" round this was cut down to 12 to go through to the live finals. Avenue were chosen to go through but were later disqualified, having misled the judges over an existing record contract with a manager who was no longer associated with the show. As a consequence of this disqualification, Eton Road were put through in their place.[7]

Judges Houses Performances
  • Contestant highlighted in bold advanced

Over 25s:

Groups:

16-24s:

Summary of judges' houses
Judge Category Location Assistant Acts Eliminated
Cowell 16–24s Miami Sinitta Stacey Barnes, Carlo Muscutelli, Shaun Rogerson, Gemma Sampson
Osbourne Over 25s London The Osbournes Katie Angus, Jonathan Bremner, Lyn Fairbanks, Tiwa Savage
Walsh Groups Dublin Shane Filan Avenue, Brother's One, Dolly Rockers, Pure Liberty

Acts [edit]

Key:

  – Winner
  – Runner-Up
Act Age(s) Hometown Category (Mentor) Result
Leona Lewis 21 North London 16-24s (Cowell) Winner
Ray Quinn 18 Liverpool 16-24s (Cowell) Runner-up
Ben Mills 26 Chatham Over 25s (Osbourne) 3rd place
The MacDonald Brothers 20 Ayrshire Groups (Walsh) 4th place
Eton Road* 17-20 Various 5th place
Robert Allen 27 Essex Over 25s (Osbourne) 6th place
Nikitta Angus 18 Glasgow 16-24s (Cowell) 7th place
Ashley McKenzie 20 Croydon 8th place
Kerry McGregor 32 West Lothian Over 25s (Osbourne) 9th place
Dionne Mitchell 26 London 10th place
4Sure 23-38 Various Groups (Walsh) 11th place
The Unconventionals 25-41 12th place
  • Avenue was originally chosen to go through, but were disqualified from the competition. Eton Road took their place at the live shows.

Live shows[edit]

Results summary[edit]

Colour key

  16-24s

  Over 25s

  Groups

  – Act was in the bottom two/three and had to sing again in the final showdown
  – Act was in the bottom three but received the fewest votes and was immediately eliminated
  – Act received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown)
  – Act won the competition
Weekly results per act
Act Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Quarter-Final Semi-Final Final
Leona Lewis Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner
Ray Quinn Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom Two Safe Safe Safe Safe Runner-Up
Ben Mills Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom Two Safe 3rd Eliminated
(semi-final)
The MacDonald Brothers Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 4th Eliminated
(quarter-final)
Eton Road Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom Two Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 7)
Robert Allen Safe Bottom Two Safe Bottom Two Safe Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 6)
Nikitta Angus Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 5)
Ashley McKenzie Safe Safe Bottom Two Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 4)
Kerry McGregor Safe Safe Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 3)
Dionne Mitchell Bottom Two Safe 10th
4Sure Safe Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 2)
The Unconventionals Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 1)
Final Showdown Mitchell, The Unconventionals 4Sure, Allen McGregor, McKenzie Allen, McKenzie Angus, Quinn Allen, Eton Road Eton Road, Mills No final showdown or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Walsh's vote to eliminate (Groups) Mitchell Allen McGregor McKenzie Quinn Allen Mills
Osbourne's vote to eliminate (Over 25s) The Unconventionals 4Sure McKenzie McKenzie Angus Eton Road Eton Road
Cowell's vote to eliminate (16-24s) The Unconventionals 4Sure McGregor Allen Angus Allen Eton Road
Eliminated The Unconventionals
2 of 3 votes
Majority 		4Sure
2 of 3 votes
Majority 		Dionne Mitchell
Public vote
to save 		Ashley McKenzie

2 of 3 votes

Majority

Nikitta Angus
2 of 3 votes
Majority 		Robert Allen
2 of 3 votes
Majority 		Eton Road
2 of 3 votes
Majority 		The MacDonald Brothers
Public vote
to save 		Ben Mills
Public vote
to save 		Ray Quinn
Public vote
to win
Kerry McGregor
2 of 3 votes
Majority

Live show details[edit]

Week 1 (14 October)[edit]

Acts' performances on the first live show
Act Order Song Motown Artist Result
Robert Allen 1 "All Night Long (All Night)" Lionel Richie Safe
Eton Road 2 "My Girl" The Temptations
Nikitta Angus 3 "Heaven Must Have Sent You" The Elgins
Ben Mills 4 "The Tracks of My Tears" The Miracles
The MacDonald Brothers 5 "Three Times a Lady" Commodores
Ray Quinn 6 "Ben" Michael Jackson
Dionne Mitchell 7 "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" The Supremes Bottom Two
The Unconventionals 8 "Dancing in the Street" Martha and the Vandellas Eliminated
Ashley McKenzie 9 "Easy" Commodores Safe
Kerry McGregor 10 "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" Stevie Wonder
4Sure 11 "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" Jimmy Ruffin
Leona Lewis 12 "I'll Be There" Jackson 5
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Dionne Mitchell – backed his own act, The Unconventionals.
  • Osbourne: The Unconventionals – backed her own act, Dionne Mitchell.
  • Cowell: The Unconventionals – stated that Mitchell had better vocals than The Unconventionals.

Week 2 (21 October)[edit]

Acts' performances on the second live show
Act Order Song Result
Leona Lewis 1 "The First Cut Is the Deepest" Safe
Kerry McGregor 2 "I Don't Want to Talk About It"
The MacDonald Brothers 3 "Sailing"
Ashley McKenzie 4 "I'd Rather Go Blind"
Dionne Mitchell 5 "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)"
4Sure 6 "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" Eliminated
Nikitta Angus 7 "Bring It On Home to Me" Safe
Robert Allen 8 "Try a Little Tenderness" Bottom Two
Eton Road 9 "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" Safe
Ray Quinn 10 "What a Wonderful World"
Ben Mills 11 "Maggie May"
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Robert Allen – backed his own act, 4Sure.
  • Osbourne: 4Sure – backed her own act, Robert Allen.
  • Cowell: 4Sure – stated that Allen had taken the panel's advice and improved his vocals.

Week 3 (28 October)[edit]

Cowell appeared on GMTV on the morning of Wednesday 25 October and said that "something big is going to happen this week that none of the contestants know about – a change that will shake some of them up."[8] It was revealed on the show that this surprise was to be a double elimination. The three acts with the fewest public votes were announced as the bottom three and then the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown and faced the judges' votes.

Acts' performances on the third live show
Act Order Song Big Band Artist Result
Ray Quinn 1 "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" Dean Martin Safe
Dionne Mitchell 2 "For Once in My Life" Tony Bennett Eliminated (Fewest Public Votes)
Nikitta Angus 3 "Sway" Michael Bublé Safe
Ben Mills 4 "Smile" Charlie Chaplin
The MacDonald Brothers 5 "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" Andy Williams
Leona Lewis 6 "Summertime" George Gershwin
Kerry McGregor 7 "They Can't Take That Away from Me" Ella Fitzgerald Eliminated (Judges' Votes)
Ashley McKenzie 8 "Moondance" Van Morrison Bottom Three
Robert Allen 9 "Mr. Bojangles" Sammy Davis Jr. Safe
Eton Road 10 "Mack the Knife" Robbie Williams
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – backed her own act, Kerry McGregor.
  • Cowell: Kerry McGregor – backed his own act, Ashley McKenzie.
  • Walsh: Kerry McGregor – stated that McGregor had reached the limit of her abilities, whereas McKenzie still had potential to improve.

Week 4 (4 November)[edit]

Acts' performances on the fourth live show
Act Order Song Result
Nikitta Angus 1 "Dancing Queen" Safe
Eton Road 2 "Does Your Mother Know"
Robert Allen 3 "Take a Chance on Me" Bottom Two
Leona Lewis 4 "Chiquitita" Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 5 "Fernando"
Ray Quinn 6 "Waterloo"
Ben Mills 7 "SOS"
Ashley McKenzie 8 "The Winner Takes It All" Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – backed her own act, Robert Allen.
  • Cowell: Robert Allen – backed his own act, Ashley McKenzie.
  • Walsh: Ashley McKenzie – stated that Allen delivered a more polished performance on the night.

Week 5 (11 November)[edit]

Acts' performances on the fifth live show
Act Order Song Result
Ben Mills 1 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 2 "She's the One"
Ray Quinn 3 "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" Bottom Two
Nikitta Angus 4 "Last Dance" Eliminated
Eton Road 5 "From Me to You" Safe
Leona Lewis 6 "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"
Robert Allen 7 "Always and Forever"
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Osbourne: Nikitta Angus – gave no reason.
  • Walsh: Ray Quinn – stated that Quinn did not have a strong enough voice to be a recording artist.
  • Cowell: Nikitta Angus – gave no reason but stated that neither act deserved to be in the bottom two.

Week 6 (18 November)[edit]

Acts' performances on the sixth live show
Act Order Song Result
Ray Quinn 1 "Livin' la Vida Loca" Safe
Robert Allen 2 "You Are Not Alone" Eliminated
Eton Road 3 "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" Bottom Two
Leona Lewis 4 "Bridge over Troubled Water" Safe
Ben Mills 5 "With a Little Help from My Friends"
The MacDonald Brothers 6 "Love Is All Around"
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Osbourne: Eton Road – backed her own act, Robert Allen.
  • Walsh: Robert Allen – backed his own act, Eton Road.
  • Cowell: Robert Allen – stated that Eton Road could progress further in the competition than Allen.

Week 7 (25 November)[edit]

  • Theme: Songs from the movies
  • Musical guest: Il Divo ("Desde El Día Que Te Fuiste (Without You)")
  • Best bits song: "Never Forget"
Acts' performances on the seventh live show
Act Order First song Film Order Second song Film Result
Leona Lewis 1 "Lady Marmalade" Moulin Rouge! 6 "I Will Always Love You" The Bodyguard Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 2 "When You Say Nothing at All" Notting Hill 7 "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" Benny & Joon
Ben Mills 3 "Live and Let Die" Live and Let Die 8 "Your Song" Moulin Rouge! Bottom Two
Eton Road 4 "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" The Blues Brothers 9 "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" The Lion King Eliminated
Ray Quinn 5 "The Way You Look Tonight" Swing Time 10 "Jailhouse Rock" Jailhouse Rock Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate
  • Walsh: Ben Mills – backed his own act, Eton Road.
  • Osbourne: Eton Road – backed her own act, Ben Mills.
  • Cowell: Eton Road – stated that Mills was more talented than Eton Road.

Week 8: Quarter-Final (2 December)[edit]

Acts' performances in the quarter-final
Act Order First song Order Second song Result
The MacDonald Brothers 1 "Can't Smile Without You" 5 "Shang-a-lang" Eliminated
Ray Quinn 2 "Mandy" 6 "My Way" Safe
Ben Mills 3 "I Made It Through the Rain" 7 "Somebody to Love"
Leona Lewis 4 "Could It Be Magic" 8 "Without You"

The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, The MacDonald Brothers, were automatically eliminated.

Week 9: Semi-Final (9 December)[edit]

Acts' performances in the semi-final
Act Order First song Order Second song Result
Ray Quinn 1 "Smile" 4 "You'll Never Walk Alone" Safe
Leona Lewis 2 "I Have Nothing" 5 "Over the Rainbow"
Ben Mills 3 "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" 6 "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" Eliminated

The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Ben Mills, was automatically eliminated.

Week 10: Final (16 December)[edit]

Acts' performances in the final
Act Order First song Order Second song Duet Partner Order Third song Order Fourth song Result
Ray Quinn 1 "My Way" 3 "That's Life" Westlife 5 "Fly Me to the Moon" 7 "A Moment Like This" Runner-Up
Leona Lewis 2 "I Will Always Love You" 4 "A Million Love Songs" Take That 6 "All by Myself" 8 "A Moment Like This" Winner

Winner's single[edit]

Winner Leona Lewis's debut single was "A Moment Like This", and was released on 20 December 2006.[10]

Reception[edit]

Ratings[edit]

Episode Air date Official ITV1 rating[11] Weekly rank[11]
Auditions 1 19 August 7.45 7
Auditions 2 26 August 7.36 10
Auditions 3 2 September 9.08 5
Auditions 4 9 September 7.96 7
Auditions 5 16 September 7.53 8
Auditions 6 23 September 9.17 6
Bootcamp 1 30 September 6.39 16
Bootcamp 2 8.76 7
Judges' houses 1 7 October 6.77 14
Judges' houses 2 8.95 6
Live show 1 14 October 7.52 12
Results 1 7.38 13
Live show 2 21 October 7.54 14
Results 2 7.70 13
Live show 3 28 October 7.10 14
Results 3 7.52 12
Live show 4 4 November 7.30 14
Results 4 7.91 13
Live show 5 11 November 9.83 6
Results 5 8.24 12
Live show 6 18 November 9.22 7
Results 6 8.80 9
Live show 7 25 November 8.46 11
Results 7 8.69 9
Live show 8 2 December 9.31 8
Results 8 8.24 13
Live show 9 9 December 8.39 7
Results 9 8.25 10
Live final 16 December 10.52 4
Live final results 10.78 3

References[edit]

  1. ^ "X Factor winner dreaming of Christmas number one". London Evening Standard. 17 December 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  2. ^ Taylor, Chris (24 December 2006). "X Factor's Leona Lewis Christmas Number One". EntertainmentWise. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  3. ^ "X Factor's Leona has festive No 1". BBC News. 25 December 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Top 40 Singles of 2006". BBC Radio 1. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008.
  5. ^ "British single certifications – Leona Lewis – A Moment Like This". British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  6. ^ Lane, Dan (20 December 2012). "The Top 10 biggest selling X Factor debut singles and albums revealed!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  7. ^ McGarry, Lisa (9 October 2006). "X Factor Rule Breaking….Again!". UnrealityTV. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Prepare for X Factor with a Surprise Twist This Weekend". The X Factor Blog. Retrieved 28 October 2006.
  9. ^ "This week's theme is"
  10. ^ "HMV.co.uk singles: A Moment Like This (2006)"
  11. ^ a b "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014.
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