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The X Factor UK (Series 3)
Xforiginallogo
Series 3
Broadcast from 19 August 2006 – 16 December 2006
Judges Louis Walsh
Sharon Osbourne
Simon Cowell
Paula Abdul (guest)
Presenters Kate Thornton
Ben Shephard
Network ITV
ITV2
Number of finalists 12
Winner Leona Lewis
Runner-up Ray Quinn
Notable returnees Nikitta Angus (2)
Ratings 8.27 millions
Chronology
Previous The X Factor: Battle of the Stars
Next Series 4

Series 3 of The X Factor premiered on August 19, 2006 and concluded on December 16, 2006 on ITV.

It was won by 21-year old R&B singer Leona Lewis who was part of the 16-24s category mentored by Simon Cowell.  She was the first female to win the show and this was Cowell's second win as a mentor in three years.

This series was watched by an average of 8.27 million viewers - nearly half a million less than the previous year.

Production[]

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.

Auditions were held in cities around the UK and Republic of Ireland – London, Manchester, Dublin, Leeds and Glasgow.

This was the last series to feature three judges on the judging panel.

Judges[]

Louis 225px-Sharon Osbourne File-Simon Cowell
Louis Walsh Sharon Osbourne Simon Cowell

Twists/Changes[]

Guest Judge Introduction: This is the first series to introduce a temporary guest judge. Paula Abdul served as the guest judge during the auditions.

Live Shows: After changing to a Top 3 final for Series 2, it reverted to a Top 2 final as with Series 1 and was the first series where the Top 2 finalists duetted with celebrity performers. Each week also had its different theme.

Double Elimination: This series was the first to feature a double elimination. This took place in Week 3 where instead three acts will be in the Bottom Three unlike the Bottom Two in a single elimination. In the double elimination format, within the Bottom Three, the act who finished last in the public vote is automatically eliminated. Then the other two acts compete in the Final Showdown and then face the judges' votes.

Finalists[]

Act Category Finish Elimination
Theunconventionalsmini The Unconventionals
25-41, various places
Groups 12th
week one
Majority vote
4suremini 4Sure
23-38, various places
Groups 11th
week two
Majority vote
Dionnemitchellmini Dionne Mitchell
26, London
Over 25s 10th
week three
Fewest public votes
Kerrymcgregormini Kerry McGregor
32, West Lothian
Over 25s 9th
week three
Majority vote
The X Factor 2007 Live Tour
Ashleymckenziemini Ashley McKenzie
20, Croydon, South London
16-24s 8th
week four
Majority vote
Nikittaangusmini Nikitta Angus
18, Manchester
16-24s 7th
week five
Majority vote
Robertallenmini Robert Allen
27, Essex
Over 25s 6th
week six
Majority vote
Etonroadmini Eton Road
17-20, various places
Groups 5th
week seven
Majority vote
Themacdonaldbrothersmini The MacDonald Brothers
20-21, Ayrshire
Groups 4th
quarter-final
Fewest public votes
Benmillsmini Ben Mills
26, Chatham, Kent
Over 25s 3rd
semi-final
Fewest public votes
Rayquinnmini Ray Quinn
18, Liverpool
16-24s Runner-up
final
Fewest public votes
Leonalewismini Leona Lewis
21, North London
16-24s Winner
final
Most public votes

Selection process[]

Auditions[]

See: List of The X Factor UK auditionees (series 3)

Eventual finalist Nikitta Angus first applied for the show the previous year but was knocked down by a car on the way to her audition. Max George who was part of boyband Avenue, who were originally selected for the live shows and eventually disqualified after it was discovered they already had a contract, would go on to be part of English/Irish boyband The Wanted.

This series saw the return of Mollie King as part of the girl group Fallen Angelz. In Series 2 she was criticized in her audition for her outfit by Sharon Osbourne and failed to advance. The group was eliminated at bootcamp but she went on to find fame as part of the British-Irish girl group The Saturdays.

One member of the group Eskimo Blonde also auditioned again & was sent through to bootcamp. The group found a new member, but after getting a no from Simon Cowell, they ended up clashing with Sharon Osbourne & were escorted out of the audition room by security.

Bootcamp[]

See: Bootcamp (UK series 3)

Judges' Houses[]

See: Judges' Houses (UK series 3)

Summary of judges' houses
Judge Category Location Guest mentor(s) Contestants eliminated
Cowell 16-24s Miami Sinitta Carlo Muscutelli, Gemma Sampson, Shaun Rogerson, Stacey Barnes
Osbourne Over 25s London Mark Hudson, Adrian Williams Jonathan Bremner, Katie Angus, Lyn Fairbanks, Tiwa Savage
Walsh Groups Dublin Kian Egan, Yvie Burnett [Avenue, Brother's One, The Dolly Rockers, Pure Liberty

Live Shows[]

Results Summary[]

Weekly results per act
Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Quarter-Final Semi-Final Final
Eliminated Theunconventionalsmini 4suremini Dionnemitchellmini Kerrymcgregormini Ashleymckenziemini Nikittaangusmini Robertallenmini Etonroadmini Themacdonaldbrothersmini Benmillsmini Rayquinnmini Leonalewismini
Leona Lewis Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner
(final)
Ray Quinn Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom Two Safe Safe Safe Safe Runner-Up
(final)
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 Three Bottom Two Eliminated
(week 4)
Kerry McGregor Safe Safe Bottom Three 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
Mitchell Allen McGregor McKenzie Quinn Allen Mills
Osbourne's vote
to eliminate
The Unconventionals 4Sure McKenzie McKenzie Angus Eton Road Eton Road
Cowell's vote
to eliminate
The Unconventionals 4Sure McGregor Allen Angus Allen Eton Road
Eliminated The Unconventionals
(2 of 3)
Majority Vote
4Sure
(2 of 3)
Majority Vote
Dionne Mitchell
Public Vote
To Save
Kerry McGregor
(2 of 3)
Majority Vote
Ashley McKenzie
(2 of 3)
Majority Vote
Nikitta Angus
(2 of 3)
Majority Vote
Robert Allen
(2 of 3)
Majority vote
Eton Road
(2 of 3)
Majority Vote
The MacDonald Brothers
Public Vote
To Save
Ben Mills
Public Vote
To Save
Ray Quinn
Public Vote
To Win


Live show details[]

Week 1 (14 October)[]

  • Theme: Motown
  • Musical guests: Lionel Richie ("I Call It Love")
Contestants' performances on the first live show
Act Order Song Result
Robert Allen 1 "All Night Long (All Night)" Safe
Eton Road 2 "My Girl" Safe
Nikitta Angus 3 "Heaven Must Have Sent You" Safe
Ben Mills 4 "The Tracks of My Tears" Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 5 "Three Times a Lady" Safe
Ray Quinn 6 "Ben" Safe
Dionne Mitchell 7 "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" Bottom two
The Unconventionals 8 "Dancing in the Street" Eliminated
Ashley McKenzie 9 "Easy" Safe
Kerry McGregor 10 "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" Safe
4Sure 11 "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" Safe
Leona Lewis 12 "I'll Be There" Safe
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)[]

  • Theme: Songs by Rod Stewart
  • Musical guest: Rod Stewart ("It's a Heartache")
Contestants' 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" Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 3 "Sailing" Safe
Ashley McKenzie 4 "I'd Rather Go Blind" Safe
Dionne Mitchell 5 "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)" Safe
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" Safe
Ben Mills 11 "Maggie May" Safe
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)[]

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

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."[1] 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.

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

  • Theme: Songs by ABBA
  • Musical guests: Björn Ulvaeus & The Cast of Mamma Mia! ("Mamma Mia" / "Dancing Queen")
Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
Act Order Song Result
Nikitta Angus 1 "Dancing Queen" Safe
Eton Road 2 "Does Your Mother Know" Safe
Robert Allen 3 "Take a Chance on Me" Bottom two
Leona Lewis 4 "Chiquitita" Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 5 "Fernando" Safe
Ray Quinn 6 "Waterloo" Safe
Ben Mills 7 "SOS" Safe
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)[]

  • Theme: Love songs
  • Musical guest: Julio Iglesias ("I Want to Know What Love Is")
Contestants' 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" Safe
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" Safe
Robert Allen 7 "Always and Forever" Safe
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)[]

  • Theme: Number ones
  • Musical guests: Westlife and Delta Goodrem ("All Out of Love")
Contestants' 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" Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 6 "Love Is All Around" Safe
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)[]

  • Theme: Songs from the movies
  • Musical guest: Il Divo ("Desde El Día Que Te Fuiste (Without You)")
Contestants' performances on the seventh live show
Act Order First song Order Second song Result
Leona Lewis 1 "Lady Marmalade" 6 "I Will Always Love You" Safe
The MacDonald Brothers 2 "When You Say Nothing at All" 7 "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" Safe
Ben Mills 3 "Live and Let Die" 8 "Your Song" Bottom two
Eton Road 4 "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" 9 "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" Eliminated
Ray Quinn 5 "The Way You Look Tonight" 10 "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)[]

  • Themes: Songs by Barry Manilow; contestant's choice
  • Musical guest: Barry Manilow ("Everybody Loves Somebody")
Contestants' performances on the eighth live show
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" Safe
Leona Lewis 4 "Could It Be Magic" 8 "Without You" Safe

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)[]

  • Theme: "Songs to get you into the final" (no specific theme)[2]
  • Musical guest: Gloria Estefan ("Anything for You" / "Can't Stay Away from You" / "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You")
Contestants' performances on the ninth live show
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" Safe
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)[]

  • Themes: Favourite performance ("song of the series"); celebrity duets; no theme; winner's single
  • Group performances: "Earth Song" (auditionees) and "That's What Friends Are For" (all finalists)
  • Musical guests: Take That ("Patience") and Shaun Rogerson ("Right Here Waiting")
Contestants' performances on the final live show
Act Order First song Order Second song (duet) Order Third song Order Fourth song Result
Ray Quinn 1 "My Way" 3 "That's Life" (with 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" (with Take That) 6 "All by Myself" 8 "A Moment Like This" Winner

Ratings[]

Template:UK3ratings

Team Rankings[]

1.16-24s (mentored by Simon Cowell)

Leonalewismini Rayquinnmini Nikittaangusmini Ashleymckenziemini

2.Over 25s (mentored by Sharon Osbourne)

Benmillsmini Robertallenmini Kerrymcgregormini Dionnemitchellmini

3.Groups (mentored by Louis Walsh)

Themacdonaldbrothersmini Etonroadmini 4suremini Theunconventionalsmini

Trivia[]

  • This was the first series where the winning mentor had two acts as the winner and runner-up
  • This was the first series to have a Double Elimination Week.
  • This was the first series where the act who performed first on the first live show was not in the final showdown in the first week.
  • This was the final series to feature Kate Thornton on The X Factor UK. She was the first original cast member to depart the show.
  • This is the second consecutive series where only one judge had all of their acts on The X Factor Live Tour.
  • This is the only series where only a single judge had their last two acts in the final.
  • This is the one of two series where only two acts were in the final.
  • This is the first series where every judge had an act in the quarter-final.
  • Unlike the previous 2 series, Kate's armpit wasn't exposed when she was announcing the winner in the final. This is due to her wearing a long-sleeve dress.
  1. Template:Cite web
  2. "This week's theme is"
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