The X Factor (UK series 3)

The X Factor
Series 3
Broadcast from	19 August 2006– 16 December 2006
Judges	Simon Cowell Sharon Osbourne Louis Walsh Paula Abdul (London auditions)
Presenter(s)	Kate Thornton (ITV1) Ben Shephard (ITV2)
Broadcaster	ITV
Winner: Leona Lewis
Winner Leona Lewis performing in 2009
Origin	Islington, London, England
Song	"A Moment Like This"
Genre(s)	Pop, R&B
Runner-up
Ray Quinn
Chronology
◄ 2006 ►

The third UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and TV3 in the Republic of Ireland. The first show was broadcast on 19 August 2006. Twelve million people tuned into the final on 16 December 2006, which saw Leona Lewis declared the winning act and Simon Cowell the winning mentor.

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.

After the 9 December show, Simon Cowell became the winning judge even though the series had not yet finished, as two of his acts, Raymond Quinn and Leona Lewis, became the two finalists.

Selection process

Auditions

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

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

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.

The acts in the final 24 who failed to make the final 12 were:

• Groups: Dolly Rockers, Pure Liberty, Brother's One and Avenue
• 16-24s: Shaun Rogerson, Stacey Barnes, Gemma Sampson and Carlo Muscutelli
• 25 and overs: Katie Angus, Jonathan Bremner, Lyn Fairbanks and Tigwa Savage

Personnel

As well as the judges already mentioned, several other personnel were involved in creating the show. Kate Thornton returned as the host of the main X Factor show, with Ben Shephard again presenting The Xtra Factor on ITV2. This was both Thornton's and Shephard's last series of The X Factor, as Thornton announced her departure on 8 March 2007 and Shephard resigned after being passed over for promotion to main presenter. Thornton was replaced for the fourth series by Dermot O'Leary and Shephard by Fearne Cotton.

Finalists

Main article: List of The X Factor finalists (UK series 3)

The following artists made it to the live shows.

Key:

     – Winner

     – Runner-up

Category	Acts
16–24s (Cowell)	Nikitta Angus	Leona Lewis	Ashley McKenzie	Ray Quinn
Over 25s (Osbourne)	Robert Allen	Kerry McGregor	Ben Mills	Dionne Mitchell
Groups (Walsh)	4Sure	Eton Road	The MacDonald Brothers	The Unconventionals

Finals

Results summary

Colour key:

–	Contestant was in the bottom two and had to sing again in the final showdown
–	Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown)
–	Contestant received the most public votes

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10
Leona Lewis	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Winner 60%
Ray Quinn	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Runner up 40%
Ben Mills	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Safe	3rd 20%	Eliminated (Week 9)
The MacDonald Brothers	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	4th 12%	Eliminated (Week 8)
Eton Road	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Bottom 2	Eliminated (Week 7)
Robert Allen	Safe	Bottom 2	Safe	Bottom 2	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated (Week 6)
Nikitta Angus	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated (Week 5)
Ashley McKenzie	Safe	Safe	Bottom 3	Bottom 2	Eliminated (Week 4)
Kerry McGregor	Safe	Safe	Bottom 3	Eliminated (Week 3)
Dionne Mitchell	Bottom 2	Safe	10th	Eliminated (Week 3)
4Sure	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated (Week 2)
The Unconventionals	Bottom 2	Eliminated (Week 1)
Final showdown	Dionne Mitchell, The Unconventionals	4Sure, Robert Allen	Kerry McGregor, Ashley McKenzie	Robert Allen, Ashley McKenzie	Nikitta Angus, Ray Quinn	Robert Allen, Eton Road	Eton Road, Ben Mills	No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins
Walsh's vote to eliminate	Dionne Mitchell	Robert Allen	Kerry McGregor	Ashley McKenzie	Ray Quinn	Robert Allen	Ben Mills
Osbourne's vote to eliminate	The Unconventionals	4Sure	Ashley McKenzie	Ashley McKenzie	Nikitta Angus	Eton Road	Eton Road
Cowell's vote to eliminate	The Unconventionals	4Sure	Kerry McGregor	Robert Allen	Nikitta Angus	Robert Allen	Eton Road
Eliminated	The Unconventionals 2 of 3 Votes To Eliminate	4Sure 2 of 3 Votes To Eliminate	Dionne Mitchell Public Vote	Ashley McKenzie 2 of 3 Votes To Eliminate	Nikitta Angus 2 of 3 Votes To Eliminate	Robert Allen 2 of 3 Votes To Eliminate	Eton Road 2 of 3 Votes To Eliminate	The MacDonald Brothers 12% To Save	Ben Mills 20% To Save	Ray Quinn 40% To Win
			Kerry McGregor 2 of 3 Votes To Eliminate							Leona Lewis 60% To Win

Live show details

Live show 1 (14 October 2006)

• Theme: Motown
• Celebrity guest: Lionel Richie ("I Call It Love")

Order	Artist	Song	Results
1	Robert Allen	"All Night Long (All Night)"	Safe
2	Eton Road	"My Girl"	Safe
3	Nikitta Angus	"Heaven Must Have Sent You"	Safe
4	Ben Mills	"The Tracks of My Tears"	Safe
5	The MacDonald Brothers	"Three Times a Lady"	Safe
6	Ray Quinn	"Ben"	Safe
7	Dionne Mitchell	"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me"	Bottom two
8	The Unconventionals	"Dancing in the Street"	Eliminated
9	Ashley McKenzie	"Easy"	Safe
10	Kerry McGregor	"You Are the Sunshine of My Life"	Safe
11	4Sure	"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"	Safe
12	Leona Lewis	"I'll Be There"	Safe

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Louis Walsh: Dionne Mitchell – Backing his own act, The Unconventionals.
• Sharon Osbourne: The Unconventionals – Backing her own act, Dionne Mitchell.
• Simon Cowell: The Unconventionals – Stated that Dionne had better vocals than The Unconventionals.

Live show 2 (21 October 2006)

• Theme: Songs by Rod Stewart
• Celebrity guest: Rod Stewart ("It's a Heartache")

Order	Artist	Rod Stewart song	Results
1	Leona Lewis	"The First Cut Is the Deepest"	Safe
2	Kerry McGregor	"I Don't Want to Talk About It"	Safe
3	The MacDonald Brothers	"Sailing"	Safe
4	Ashley McKenzie	"I'd Rather Go Blind"	Safe
5	Dionne Mitchell	"Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)"	Safe
6	4Sure	"You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)"	Eliminated
7	Nikitta Angus	"Bring It On Home to Me"	Safe
8	Robert Allen	"Try a Little Tenderness"	Bottom two
9	Eton Road	"This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)"	Safe
10	Ray Quinn	"What a Wonderful World"	Safe
11	Ben Mills	"Maggie May"	Safe

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Louis Walsh: Robert Allen – Backing his own act, 4Sure.
• Sharon Osbourne: 4Sure – Backing her own act, Robert Allen.
• Simon Cowell: 4Sure – Stated that Robert had taken the panel's advice and improved his vocals.

Live show 3 (28 October 2006)

• Theme: Big band
• Celebrity guest: Tony Bennett ("The Best Is Yet to Come"/"For Once In My Life")

Simon 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." It was revealed on the show that this surprise was to be a double elimination.

Order	Artist	Song	Results
1	Ray Quinn	"Ain't That a Kick in the Head"	Safe
2	Dionne Mitchell	"For Once in My Life"	Eliminated
3	Nikitta Angus	"Sway"	Safe
4	Ben Mills	"Smile"	Safe
5	The MacDonald Brothers	"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"	Safe
6	Leona Lewis	"Summertime"	Safe
7	Kerry McGregor	"They Can't Take That Away from Me"	Eliminated
8	Ashley McKenzie	"Moondance"	Bottom three
9	Robert Allen	"Mr. Bojangles"	Safe
10	Eton Road	"Mack the Knife"	Safe

• Two acts were eliminated from the series' third results show. The three acts was Ashley McKenzie, Dionne Mitchell and Kerry McGregor with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and the act with fewest votes was automatically eliminated; this was Dionne Mitchell. The remaining two acts was Ashley McKenzie and Kerry McGregor then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes.

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Sharon Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – Backing her own act, Kerry McGregor.
• Simon Cowell: Kerry McGregor – Backing his own act, Ashley McKenzie.
• Louis Walsh: Kerry McGregor – Stated that Kerry had reached the limit of her abilities, whereas Ashley still had potential to improve.

Live show 4 (4 November 2006)

• Theme: Songs by ABBA
• Celebrity guest: Björn Ulvaeus & The Cast of Mamma Mia! ("Mamma Mia!"/"Dancing Queen")

Order	Artist	ABBA song	Results
1	Nikitta Angus	"Dancing Queen"	Safe
2	Eton Road	"Does Your Mother Know"	Safe
3	Robert Allen	"Take a Chance on Me"	Bottom two
4	Leona Lewis	"Chiquitita"	Safe
5	The MacDonald Brothers	"Fernando"	Safe
6	Ray Quinn	"Waterloo"	Safe
7	Ben Mills	"SOS"	Safe
8	Ashley McKenzie	"The Winner Takes It All"	Eliminated

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Sharon Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – Backing her own act, Robert Allen.
• Simon Cowell: Robert Allen – Backing his own act, Ashley McKenzie.
• Louis Walsh: Ashley McKenzie – Stated that Robert delivered a more polished performance on the night.

Live show 5 (11 November 2006)

• Theme: Love songs
• Celebrity guest: Julio Iglesias ("I Want to Know What Love Is")

Order	Artist	Song	Results
1	Ben Mills	"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"	Safe
2	The MacDonald Brothers	"She's the One"	Safe
3	Ray Quinn	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"	Bottom two
4	Nikitta Angus	"Last Dance"	Eliminated
5	Eton Road	"From Me to You"	Safe
6	Leona Lewis	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"	Safe
7	Robert Allen	"Always and Forever"	Safe

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Sharon Osbourne: Nikitta Angus – Made no comment on either act.
• Louis Walsh: Ray Quinn – Stated that he didn't have a strong enough voice to be a recording artist.
• Simon Cowell: Nikitta Angus – Stated that neither act deserved to be in the bottom two, but eventually chose Nikitta.

Nikitta Angus was duly eliminated by a 2-1 majority.

Live show 6 (18 November 2006)

• Theme: Number ones
• Celebrity guests: Westlife and Delta Goodrem ("All Out of Love")

Order	Artist	Song	Results
1	Ray Quinn	"Livin' la Vida Loca"	Safe
2	Robert Allen	"You Are Not Alone"	Eliminated
3	Eton Road	"I Don't Feel Like Dancin'"	Bottom two
4	Leona Lewis	"Bridge over Troubled Water"	Safe
5	Ben Mills	"With a Little Help from My Friends"	Safe
6	The MacDonald Brothers	"Love Is All Around"	Safe

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Sharon Osbourne: Eton Road – Backing her own act, Robert Allen.
• Louis Walsh: Robert Allen – Backing his own act, Eton Road.
• Simon Cowell: Robert Allen – Stated that Eton Road could progress further in the competition than Robert.

Robert Allen was duly eliminated by a 2-1 majority.

Live show 7 (25 November 2006)

• Theme: Songs from the movies
• Celebrity guest: Il Divo ("Desde El Dia Que Te Fuiste (Without You)")

Order	Artist	First song	Second song	Results
1	Leona Lewis	"Lady Marmalade"	"I Will Always Love You"	Safe
2	The MacDonald Brothers	"When You Say Nothing at All"	"I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)"	Safe
3	Ben Mills	"Live and Let Die"	"Your Song"	Bottom two
4	Eton Road	"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"	"Can You Feel the Love Tonight"	Eliminated
5	Ray Quinn	"The Way You Look Tonight"	"Jailhouse Rock"	Safe

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Louis Walsh: Ben Mills – Backing his own act, Eton Road.
• Sharon Osbourne: Eton Road – Backing her own act, Ben Mills.
• Simon Cowell: Eton Road – Stated that Ben was more talented than Eton Road.

Eton Road was duly eliminated by a 2-1 majority.

Live show 8 (2 December 2006)

• Theme(s): Songs by Barry Manilow; contestant's choice
• Celebrity guest: Barry Manilow ("Everybody Loves Somebody")

This was the first show of the series without a final showdown. The act with the fewest public votes was automatically eliminated.

Order	Artist	First song (Barry Manilow song)	Second song	Results
1	The MacDonald Brothers	"Can't Smile Without You"	"Shang-a-lang"	Eliminated
2	Ray Quinn	"Mandy"	"My Way"	Safe
3	Ben Mills	"I Made It Through the Rain"	"Somebody to Love"	Safe
4	Leona Lewis	"Could It Be Magic"	"Without You"	Safe

Live show 9 (9 December 2006)

• Theme: "Songs to get you into the final" (no specific theme)
• Celebrity guest: Gloria Estefan ("Anything for You"/"Can't Stay Away from You"/"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" Medley)

Order	Artist	First song	Second song	Results
1	Ray Quinn	"Smile"	"You'll Never Walk Alone"	Safe
2	Leona Lewis	"I Have Nothing"	"Over the Rainbow"	Safe
3	Ben Mills	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"	"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"	Eliminated

Live show 10 (16 December 2006, Final)

• Theme(s): No theme
• Celebrity guests: Take That ("Patience"), Shaun Rogerson ("Right Here Waiting") and Westlife
• Group performance: "Earth Song" (The Auditionees), "That's What Friends Are For" (The Finalists)

Order	Artist	First song	Second song	Third song	Winners song	Results
1	Ray Quinn	"My Way"	"That's Life" sung with Westlife	"Fly Me to the Moon"	"A Moment Like This"	Runner up
2	Leona Lewis	"I Will Always Love You"	"A Million Love Songs" sung with Take That	"All by Myself"	"A Moment Like This"	Winner

Winner's single

Winner Leona Lewis's debut single was "A Moment Like This", and was released on 20 December 2006. Contestant Ben Mills reportedly claimed that the contest had been fixed for Leona Lewis to win, as the winner's song was more suited to a female vocal. This rumour subsequently proved to be unfounded and show bosses said that they had made arrangements for the song to fit any singer's voice.