World Factor

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The twelfth series began airing on ITV on 29 August 2015 and ended on 13 December 2015. The judges were Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, who returned for their respective ninth and fifth series as judges, series 9 guest judge and former The Voice UK coach Rita Ora, and BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, with Grimshaw and Ora replacing Louis Walsh, the only judge who had been on the show from its inception in 2004, and Mel B. It was presented by Caroline Flack and Olly Murs, who had both previously co-presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2 and replaced Dermot O'Leary, who left after eight series. Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom presented The Xtra Factor, replacing Sarah-Jane Crawford. Louisa Johnson was announced as the winner on 13 December 2015, making Ora the winning mentor.
==Judges, presenters and other personnel==
In March 2015, Simon Cowell was confirmed to return as a judge for the twelfth series, his ninth on the show. In April 2015, Louis Walsh cited his desire to quit the show and return to management, and that it would take serious thought for him to return for series 12. He also revealed that he was in the dark about whom Cowell had the intentions of bringing onto the panel. On 14 May 2015, Walsh confirmed his exit from the show after 11 series on the judging panel, stating, "The truth is I've done it for 11 years; I never thought I would even be on TV for four or five. To get 10 was great, to get 11 was amazing - I'm not hanging around for them this year." He later continued, "But I wasn't sacked, I haven't been hired and I'm not hanging around." On 16 June, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini was confirmed to be returning for her fifth series followed by new judges, series 9 guest judge and The Voice UK coach Rita Ora, and BBC Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw, replacing Walsh and Mel B, who left the show after only one series. The new judges were met with widespread negativity across social media and the press, especially regarding the appointment of Grimshaw.
On 27 March 2015, Dermot O'Leary announced that he was quitting the show, after eight series, in order to pursue other projects. On 16 April, ITV confirmed that former contestant Olly Murs and Caroline Flack would take over presenting the show, having worked together as hosts before on the The Xtra Factor. They became the first duo to host the show.
On 18 June 2015, it was confirmed that The Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes and Kiss FM DJ Melvin Odoom would be the new hosts of The Xtra Factor.
The show's announcer Peter Dickson announced his departure from the show on 28 July 2015. Dickson was later replaced by Redd Pepper for this series, who was only present for Judges' Houses. However, on 30 October 2015, Dickson confirmed that he would return to The X Factor for the live shows.
==Selection process==
===Eligibility===
The minimum age this year was increased back to 16, after being lowered to 14 in the previous series.
===Auditions===
====Mobile auditions====
In addition to the producers' auditions, the "Mobile Audition Tour" took place up and down the UK and Ireland throughout March and April. Auditions ran between 30 March and 23 May 2015, and visited Aberdeen, Skegness, Bradford, Huddersfield, Dundee, Sheffield, Peterborough, Northampton, Stirling, Cambridge, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Scarborough, Norwich, Leicester, Ipswich, Coventry, York, Hull, Oxford, Chelmsford, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Southend-on-Sea, Belfast, Bangor, Southampton, Isle of Man, Swansea, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Carlisle, Brighton, Truro, Isle of Wight, Wigan, Plymouth, Broadstairs, Margate, Stoke-on-Trent, Exeter, Essex and Yeovil.
====Open auditions====
Producers auditions commenced on 8 April in Dublin and ended on 7 June in London.
Audition city	Open audition date	Open audition venue
Dublin 	8–9 April 2015 	Croke Park
Newcastle 	11–12 April 2015 	St. James' Park
Leeds 	16–17 April 2015 	Elland Road
Birmingham 	18–19 April 2015 	St Andrew's
Glasgow 	23–24 April 2015 	Ibrox Stadium
Liverpool 	26–27 April 2015 	ACC Liverpool
Cardiff 	29–30 April 2015 	Mercure Holland House
Manchester 	10 May 2015 	EventCity
London 	7 June 2015 	The SSE Arena, Wembley
====Judges' auditions====
This series, the judges only visited Manchester (EventCity) and London (The SSE Arena, Wembley) on the audition tour, rather than going all around the UK as in previous series. The room auditions were scrapped and therefore, the format saw the return of the arena auditions. The auditions were originally scheduled to begin in Manchester on 6 July; however, following the death of Cowell's mother on 5 July, the first two days of auditions were postponed to 8 July. As a result, a new day of auditions was announced for 9 July, but this last-minute addition meant that both Ora and Flack were absent due to prior commitments, resulting in just three judges that day and Murs having to host solo. The first day of London auditions were scheduled to be recorded on 14 July, but were cancelled due to the aforementioned bereavement. Flack was also absent from filming on 15 July due to her filming the Love Island final in Spain. Grimshaw had to leave the evening sessions (15, 16, 17, 19, 20 July) of auditions early due to the session over-running and his contract obligated him to have a certain amount of rest between finishing filming and being on BBC Radio 1 the following morning. Filming was delayed on 20 July due to Fernandez-Versini suffering a burns injury to her foot after stepping on some hair tongs. Cowell was absent from the first session on 17 July due to illness. Ora was again absent from filming on 22 July, due to performing a prearranged gig in Italy.
Notable returning auditionees included Havva Rebke, who reached bootcamp in series 9; Monica Michael, who was controversially eliminated during the six chair challenge in series 11; and Rumour Has It, who reached judges' houses in series 11 as an unnamed girl group created by the judges.
Summary of judges' auditions
City 	Date(s) 	Venue 	Absent judges
Manchester	8–9 July 2015 	EventCity 	Rita Ora (9 July)
London 	15–17 July 2015	The SSE Arena, Wembley	Simon Cowell (17 July)
London 	19–23 July 2015	The SSE Arena, Wembley	Rita Ora (22 July)
===Bootcamp===
Bootcamp took place from 27 to 31 July, and was filmed at The Grove Hotel, Watford, having taken place at The SSE Arena, Wembley every other series. The first challenge of bootcamp was to perform in groups of five acts, with a mix of at least three categories in each group, and perform a song from a list. The judges would decide immediately after each performance which of the 180 acts would pass the challenge and which would be eliminated. For the second challenge of bootcamp, the 93 successful acts were to perform a solo performance to the judges, who gave little or no feedback to them. At the end of the challenge, the judges decided on who would be successful and who would be eliminated. Grimshaw was absent from the second day of the challenge due to his commitments with BBC Radio 1, although partially assisted Cowell, Fernandez-Versini and Ora with their decisions via Skype video link. The 64 acts that passed through this stage went on to face the six-chair challenge. It was reported that the standard of auditions were so high that acts who got a "yes" from all four judges were not necessarily guaranteed a place at bootcamp.
For the first time in X Factor history, viewers voted via hashtags on Twitter to determine which of the judges was allocated each of the four categories (for example, #SimonBoys or #RitaGroups). The judges learnt the result during the six-seat challenge. Cowell will mentor the Overs, Fernandez-Versini has the groups, Grimshaw will look after the boys and Ora is in charge of the girls.
Bootcamp aired over two episodes on 20 and 27 September.
===Six-chair challenge===
The six-chair challenge took place on 1 and 2 September, at The SSE Arena, Wembley. 64 acts faced the six-chair challenge, with 16 in the Girls category, 16 in the Boys, 17 in the Overs, and 15 in the Groups. The challenge was broadcast on 4, 11 and 18 October. At the start of the challenge, the judges discovered which categories they would mentor: Ora was given the Girls, Grimshaw was given the Boys, Cowell was given Overs, and Fernandez-Versini was given the Groups.
Tom Bleasby was originally put through, but it was reported on 12 October that he had withdrawn for personal reasons. On 15 October, it was announced that Mason Noise would replace Bleasby at Judges' Houses.
On 20 October, it was revealed that all the groups would undergo name changes due to copyright reasons. The new names were revealed as 4th Impact (4th Power), Alien Uncovered (Alien), BEKLN Mile (BEKLN), Melody Stone (Silver Tone), New King Order (The First Kings) and Reggie 'n' Bollie (Menn On Point)
===Judges' houses===
The X Factor resumed its usual Saturday and Sunday night slots for judges' houses, taking place over one weekend (24–25 October). Murs and Flack did not appear at judges' houses, but filmed from the studio. Judges' houses was planned to be broadcast fully live, and filmed back-to-back, but on 15 September, it was announced that this would not happen as it would cause logistical problems. Instead, the judges' houses performances were pre-recorded in the scheduled destinations, with all of the contestants who made it to that stage of the competition brought to London afterwards to watch the performances and find out if they had made it through to the live shows during a live broadcast. This was the only portion of judges' houses that was broadcast live.
On 1 October, the guest judges for the judges' houses stage were revealed. Meghan Trainor assisted Ora in Los Angeles, Fernandez-Versini was joined by Jess Glynne in Rome, Mark Ronson helped Grimshaw in the Cotswolds, and Cowell's assistant was Louis Tomlinson, joining him in the Loire Valley, France.
Summary of judges' houses
Judge 	Category	Location 	Assistant 	Contestants eliminated
Cowell 	Overs 	Loire Valley, France	Louis Tomlinson	Ebru Ellis, Jennifer Phillips, Kerrie-Anne Phillips
Fernandez-Versini	Groups 	Rome 	Jess Glynne 	BEKLN Mile, Melody Stone, New Kings Order
Grimshaw 	Boys 	Cotswolds 	Mark Ronson 	Ben Clark, Josh Daniel, Simon Lynch
Ora 	Girls 	Los Angeles 	Meghan Trainor 	Monica Michael, Chloe Paige, Havva Rebke
After being eliminated, Monica Michael was brought back as a wildcard before the live shows.
==Finalists==
Key:
: – Winner
: – Runner-up 
: – Third place
Category (mentor) 	Acts 	Acts 	Acts 	Acts
Boys (Grimshaw) 	Ché Chesterman	Seann Miley Moore	Mason Noise 	
Girls (Ora) 	Louisa Johnson	Monica Michael 	Lauren Murray 	Kiera Weathers
Overs (Cowell) 	Bupsi 	Anton Stephans 	Max Stone 	rowspan="2"
Groups (Fernandez-Versini)	4th Impact 	Alien Uncovered 	Reggie 'n' Bollie	
==Live shows==
This year, there were seven weeks of live shows instead of the usual ten. ITV were contractually obliged to show all of Home Nation's Rugby World Cup games in October, some of which take place during The X Factor‍s Saturday night slot. One option that was considered was to air a bumper show on Sunday nights on these weekends, while some reports suggested that the live shows would run for a fewer number of weeks, launching after the World Cup. In fact, bootcamp aired during the Rugby World Cup and the live shows began on 31 October and continued until 13 December, airing every Saturday and Sunday night in the regular timeslots. Due to the omission of three live shows and the introduction of the wildcard act, the first four live shows were all double eliminations. The Xtra Factor moved its Saturday episode to Thursdays, being broadcast before the live shows, starting on 29 October. with the Sunday episode remaining the same. The Saturday edition of The Xtra Factor was reinstated for the final alongside the Thursday and Sunday editions.
===Musical guests===
The performance shows took place on Saturday night with the results show airing on Sunday night. Each results show featured guest performances, with some guests performing during the main performance show. The X Factor series 11 winner Ben Haenow performed on the first live show on 31 October, whilst series 8 winners Little Mix and Ellie Goulding performed on the first live results show on 1 November. Series 11 runner up Fleur East and CeeLo Green performed on the second live results show on 8 November, whilst Jess Glynne and series 7 finalists One Direction performed during the third live results show on 15 November. The fourth live show featured a performance from Rudimental featuring Ed Sheeran, while Nathan Sykes and Murs performed on the fourth live results show on 22 November. The fifth live results show on 29 November featured performances from Carrie Underwood, and Sigma and Ora. Jason Derulo and Sia performed during the semi final results on 6 December. The live final on 12 December featured duets from Leona Lewis and Ben Haenow, and Little Mix and Fleur East. and a performance from Rod Stewart. The results show on 13 December featured performances from One Direction, Coldplay and Adele.
===Results summary===
;Colour key
 –	Contestant was in the bottom two/three and had to perform again in the sing-off
– 	Contestant was in the bottom three but received the fewest votes and was immediately eliminated
– 	Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no sing-off)
– 	Contestant received the most public votes
 Weekly results per contestant
Contestant 	Week 1 	Week 2 	Week 3 	Week 4 	Week 5 	Week 6 	Week 7 	Week 7
Contestant 	Week 1 	Week 2 	Week 3 	Week 4 	Week 5 	Week 6 	Saturday 	Sunday
Louisa Johnson 	1st 15.9% 	1st 15.3% 	1st 16.4% 	2nd 21.5% 	3rd 21.1% 	1st 31.5% 	1st 44.5% 	Winner 53.9%
Reggie 'n' Bollie 	7th 7.4% 	2nd 13.0% 	5th 13.0% 	1st 21.6% 	2nd 22.1% 	2nd 27.0% 	2nd 35.2% 	Runner-up 38.9%
Ché Chesterman 	5th 8.7% 	3rd 12.5% 	3rd 14.0% 	5th 12.8% 	1st 22.2% 	3rd 20.9% 	3rd 20.3% 	Eliminated(week 7)
Lauren Murray 	6th 8.4% 	4th 11.2% 	2nd 14.1% 	3rd 14.8% 	4th 18.4% 	4th 20.6% 	Eliminated(week 6) 	Eliminated(week 6)
4th Impact 	2nd 11.2% 	5th 9.0% 	4th 13.2% 	4th 13.8% 	5th 16.2% 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5) 	Eliminated(week 5)
Anton Stephans 	3rd 10.7% 	7th 7.5% 	7th 8.0% 	6th 12.3% 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4)
Mason Noise 	9th 6.1% 	9th 6.1% 	6th 9.8% 	7th 3.2% 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4) 	Eliminated(week 4)
Monica Michael 	4th 9.1% 	8th 6.3% 	8th 6.1% 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3)
Max Stone 	10th 5.8% 	6th 8.5% 	9th 5.4% 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3) 	Eliminated(week 3)
Seann Miley Moore 	8th 7.3% 	10th 5.5% 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2)
Kiera Weathers 	12th 3.4% 	11th 5.1% 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2) 	Eliminated(week 2)
Alien Uncovered 	11th 4.8% 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1)
Bupsi 	13th 1.2% 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1) 	Eliminated(week 1)
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Sing-off 	Alien Uncovered,Weathers 	Moore,Noise 	Michael,Stephans 	Chesterman, Stephans 	4th Impact, Murray 	Chesterman, Murray 	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Grimshaw's voteto eliminate 	Alien Uncovered 	Moore 	Michael 	Stephans 	4th Impact 	Murray 	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Ora's voteto eliminate 	Alien Uncovered 	Moore 	Stephans 	Stephans 	4th Impact 	Chesterman 	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Fernandez-Versini's voteto eliminate	Weathers 	Noise 	Stephans 	Stephans 	Murray 	Murray 	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Cowell's voteto eliminate 	Alien Uncovered 	Noise 	Michael 	Chesterman 	Murray 	Chesterman 	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Eliminated 	Bupsi1.2%to save 	Kiera Weathers5.1%to save 	Max Stone5.4%to save 	Mason Noise3.2%to save 	4th Impact2 of 4 votesDeadlock	Lauren Murray2 of 4 votesDeadlock	Ché Chesterman20.3%to win 	Reggie 'n' Bollie38.9%to win
Eliminated 	Alien Uncovered3 of 4 votesMajority	Seann Miley Moore2 of 4 votesDeadlock	Monica Michael2 of 4 votesDeadlock	Anton Stephans3 of 4 votesMajority	4th Impact2 of 4 votesDeadlock	Lauren Murray2 of 4 votesDeadlock	Ché Chesterman20.3%to win 	Reggie 'n' Bollie38.9%to win
Reference(s) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
===Live show details===
====Week 1 (31 October/1 November)====
* Theme: "This Is Me"
* Group performance: "Perfect"
* Musical guests:
**Saturday: Ben Haenow ("Second Hand Heart")
**Sunday: Little Mix ("Love Me Like You"/"Black Magic") and Ellie Goulding ("On My Mind")
This week's results show featured a double elimination. The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and the act with the fewest public votes was then automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes.
 Contestants' performances on the first live show
Act 	Order 	Song 	Result
Lauren Murray 	1 	"I'm Every Woman" 	Safe
Max Stone 	2 	"Someone like You" 	Safe
Alien Uncovered 	3 	"Do It like a Dude" 	Bottom three
Kiera Weathers 	4 	"Crying for No Reason" 	Bottom three
Anton Stephans 	5 	"Dance with My Father" 	Safe
Ché Chesterman 	6 	"Tears Dry on Their Own"/"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"	Safe
Mason Noise 	7 	"Sorry" 	Safe
Reggie 'n' Bollie	8 	"It Wasn't Me" 	Safe
Louisa Johnson 	9 	"God Only Knows" 	Safe
Bupsi 	10 	"You're a Wonderful One" 	Eliminated
4th Impact 	11 	"Problem" 	Safe
Monica Michael 	12 	"Make It Rain" 	Safe
Seann Miley Moore	13 	"Life on Mars" 	Safe
Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details
Act 	Order 	Song 	Result
Alien Uncovered 	1 	"Pressure (Pt. 1)" 	Eliminated
Kiera Weathers 	2 	"Everybody Hurts" 	Safe
; Judges' votes to eliminate
* Fernandez-Versini: Kiera Weathers – backed her own act, Alien Uncovered
* Ora: Alien Uncovered – said Weathers has more to give, effectively backing her own act, Kiera Weathers
* Grimshaw: Alien Uncovered – based on the sing-off performances
* Cowell: Alien Uncovered – based on the sing-off performances
====Week 2 (7/8 November)====
* Theme: "Reinvention" (taking a classic or popular song and making it their own)
* Group performance: "Fix You"
* Musical guests: Fleur East ("Sax") and CeeLo Green ("Music to My Soul")
This week's results show featured a double elimination. The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and the act with the fewest public votes was then automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes.
 Contestants' performances on the second live show
Act 	Order 	Song 	Result
4th Impact 	1 	"Sound of the Underground"/"The Clapping Song"	Safe
Mason Noise 	2 	"Teardrops" 	Bottom three
Anton Stephans 	3 	"All About That Bass"/"Bang Bang" 	Safe
Kiera Weathers 	4 	"Return of the Mack" 	Eliminated
Ché Chesterman 	5 	"You Can't Hurry Love" 	Safe
Louisa Johnson 	6 	"Billie Jean" 	Safe
Seann Miley Moore	7 	"California Dreamin'" 	Bottom three
Monica Michael 	8 	"Crazy in Love" 	Safe
Max Stone 	9 	"Over the Rainbow"/"What a Wonderful World" 	Safe
Reggie 'n' Bollie	10 	"What Makes You Beautiful"/"Cheerleader" 	Safe
Lauren Murray 	11 	"Hold Back the River" 	Safe
Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details
Act 	Order 	Song 	Result
Mason Noise 	1 	"End of the Road" 	Safe
Seann Miley Moore	2 	"A Song for You" 	Eliminated
; Judges' votes to eliminate
* Cowell: Mason Noise – based on the sing-off performances
* Fernandez-Versini: Mason Noise – based on the sing-off performances
* Ora: Seann Miley Moore – stated that although Moore performed better in the sing off, Noise had survived all the obstacles in the competition and had more to give
* Grimshaw: Seann Miley Moore – would not eliminate either of his acts so chose to put it to public vote by equalising the votes
With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Seann Miley Moore was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
====Week 3 (14/15 November)====
*Theme: Songs from films (billed as "Movie Week")
*Group performance: "Flashdance... What a Feeling"
*Musical guests: Jess Glynne ("Take Me Home") and One Direction ("Perfect")
As a mark of respect following the November 2015 Paris attacks it was announced that Lauren Murray and Monica Michael would change their songs. Murray was due to perform "Licence to Kill" and Michael would have performed "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)".
At the beginning of the results show, it was announced that the acts who made it through this week would be on The X Factor Live Tour 2016 (Seann Miley Moore was later given a place on the tour).
This week's results show featured a double elimination. The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and the act with the fewest public votes was automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes.
 Contestants' performances on the third live show
Act 	Order 	Song 	Film 	Result
Mason Noise 	1 	"Men in Black" 	Men in Black 	Safe
Max Stone 	2 	"Secret Garden" 	Jerry Maguire 	Eliminated
Louisa Johnson 	3 	"Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" 	Romeo + Juliet 	Safe
Monica Michael 	4 	"What Is Love?" 	- style="background:lightblue;" 	Bottom three
Reggie 'n' Bollie	5 	"My Heart Will Go On"/"Who Let the Dogs Out?"	Titanic/Rugrats in Paris: The Movie	Safe
Anton Stephans 	6 	"I Have Nothing" 	The Bodyguard 	Bottom three
4th Impact 	7 	"Work It Out" 	Austin Powers in Goldmember 	Safe
Lauren Murray 	8 	"One Last Time" 	 	Safe
Ché Chesterman 	9 	"When a Man Loves a Woman" 	When a Man Loves a Woman 	Safe
Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details
Monica Michael 	1 	"Broken-Hearted Girl" 	"Broken-Hearted Girl" 	Eliminated
Anton Stephans 	2 	"If You Don't Know Me by Now" 	"If You Don't Know Me by Now" 	Safe
; Judges' votes to eliminate
* Grimshaw: Monica Michael – based on the sing-off performances
* Ora: Anton Stephans – backed her own act, Monica Michael
* Fernandez-Versini: Anton Stephans – believed Michael had further to go in the competition
* Cowell: Monica Michael – backed his own act, Anton Stephans, although admitted to being conflicted because he helped choose Michael as a wildcard act
With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Monica Michael was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
====Week 4 (21/22 November)====
*Theme: "Love & Heartbreak"
*Group performance: "We Found Love"
*Musical guests:
**Saturday: Rudimental featuring Ed Sheeran ("Lay It All on Me")
**Sunday: Nathan Sykes ("Over and Over Again") and Olly Murs ("Kiss Me")
This week featured a double elimination. The first was on Saturday night, when the act with the fewest votes so far was immediately eliminated. Following this the voting was re-opened, and the two acts with the fewest votes on Sunday's results show then performed in the sing-off.
 Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
Act 	Order 	Song 	Result
Ché Chesterman 	1 	"Yesterday" 	Bottom two
Anton Stephans 	2 	"One Sweet Day" 	Bottom two
4th Impact 	3 	"Ain't No Other Man" 	Safe
Lauren Murray 	4 	"We Belong Together" 	Safe
Mason Noise 	5 	"Jealous" 	Eliminated
Louisa Johnson 	6 	"Let It Go" 	Safe
Reggie 'n' Bollie	7 	"Shut Up and Dance"/"Dangerous Love"	Safe
Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details
Act 	Order 	Song 	Result
Ché Chesterman 	1 	"If I Ain't Got You" 	Safe
Anton Stephans 	2 	"I Can't Make You Love Me" 	Eliminated
; Judges' votes to eliminate
* Grimshaw: Anton Stephans – backed his own act, Ché Chesterman
* Cowell: Ché Chesterman – backed his own act, Anton Stephans
* Ora: Anton Stephans – based on the sing-off performances
* Fernandez-Versini: Anton Stephans – based on the sing-off performances
====Week 5 (28/29 November)====
*Theme: Jukebox; judges' choice"
*Group performance: "Earth Song"
*Musical guests: Carrie Underwood ("Heartbeat") and Sigma and Rita Ora ("Coming Home") 
This week was the first single elimination of the series.
The finalists performed two songs this week; one picked by the mentors and one picked by the viewers. The public voted on Twitter for the songs the contestants will perform. Each act had a choice of three songs and viewers could tweet a hashtag for the song they wanted them to sing. Voting opened at the end of the fourth live results show, and closed at midnight that night.
 Choices for jukebox week
Act 	Song choices 	Result
4th Impact 	 	
4th Impact 	"Only Girl (In the World)" 	Not chosen
4th Impact 	"I'll Be There" 	Chosen
4th Impact 	"Hollaback Girl" 	Not chosen
Ché Chesterman 	"Hello" 	Chosen
Ché Chesterman 	"Jealous Guy" 	Not chosen
Ché Chesterman 	"Runnin' (Lose It All)" 	Not chosen
Louisa Johnson 	 	
Louisa Johnson 	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"	Not chosen
Louisa Johnson 	"Jealous" 	Not chosen
Louisa Johnson 	"Love Yourself" 	Chosen
Lauren Murray 	"You Don't Own Me" 	Not chosen
Lauren Murray 	"Best of My Love" 	Not chosen
Lauren Murray 	"Firestone" 	Chosen
Reggie 'n' Bollie	 	
Reggie 'n' Bollie	"Dynamite" 	Not chosen
Reggie 'n' Bollie	"Locked Away" 	Not chosen
Reggie 'n' Bollie	"Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" 	Chosen
Contestants' performances on the fifth live show
Act 	Order 	First song (public choice) 	Order 	Second song (mentor choice) 	Result 	 	
Louisa Johnson 	1 	"Love Yourself" 	10 	"Jealous" 	Safe 	 	
4th Impact 	2 	"I'll Be There" 	6 	"Fancy"/"Rich Girl" 	Bottom two 	 	
Reggie 'n' Bollie	3 	"Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)"/"Azonto" 	9 	"Dynamite" 	Safe 	 	
Lauren Murray 	4 	"Firestone" 	8 	"You Don't Own Me" 	Bottom two 	 	
Ché Chesterman 	5 	"Hello" 	7 	"Try a Little Tenderness" 	Safe 	 	
Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details	Sing-off details
4th Impact 	1 	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"	Eliminated 	 	
Lauren Murray 	2 	"Vision of Love" 	"Vision of Love" 	"Vision of Love" 	Safe 	 	
;Judge's vote to eliminate
* Ora: 4th Impact – said that Murray had more chance of a music career, effectively backing her own act, Lauren Murray
* Fernandez-Versini: Lauren Murray – backed her own act, 4th Impact, saying her heart lies with them
* Grimshaw: 4th Impact – based on the sing-off performances
* Cowell: Lauren Murray – gave no reason but praised both acts' sing-off performances
With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. 4th Impact were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
====Week 6: Semi-final (5/6 December)====
*Theme: "Songs to Get Me to the Final"
*Guest mentor: Lionel Richie
*Group performance: "Happy"
*Musical guests: Jason Derulo ("Want to Want Me") and Sia ("Alive")
Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
Act 	Order 	First song 	Order 	Second song 	Result 	 	
Reggie 'n' Bollie	1 	"Locked Away" 	8 	"I Gotta Feeling"/"I Like to Move It"	Safe 	 	
Lauren Murray 	2 	"Take Me Home" 	7 	"Runnin' (Lose It All)" 	Bottom two 	 	
Ché Chesterman 	3 	"Would I Lie to You?" 	5 	"Love Is a Losing Game" 	Bottom two 	 	
Louisa Johnson 	4 	"The Power of Love" 	6 	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" 	Safe 	 	
Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details 	Sing-off details	Sing-off details	Sing-off details
Lauren Murray 	1 	"Fight Song" 	"Fight Song" 	"Fight Song" 	Eliminated 	 	
Ché Chesterman 	2 	"Bridge over Troubled Water"	"Bridge over Troubled Water"	"Bridge over Troubled Water" 	Safe 	 	
;Judge's vote to eliminate
* Grimshaw: Lauren Murray – backed his own act, Ché Chesterman
* Ora: Ché Chesterman – backed her own act, Lauren Murray
* Fernandez-Versini: Lauren Murray – was worried Murray would struggle to handle the pressure in the final
* Cowell: Ché Chesterman – could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock
With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result was deadlocked and reverted to the earlier public vote. Lauren Murray was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
====Week 7: Final (12/13 December)====
;12 December
*Theme: New song (no theme); celebrity duet
*Musical guests: Ben Haenow and Leona Lewis ("Slamming Doors"/"Run"), Fleur East and Little Mix ("Black Magic"/"Sax"), and Rod Stewart ("Please")
*Mariah Carey appeared at the start of the show via VT to give some advice to the finalists.
 Contestants' performances on the seventh live show
Act 	Order	First song 	Order	Second song (duet)X Factor finalist duets REVEALED: Who are the superstars set to sing with the last three contenders? - Mirror Online	Result
Ché Chesterman 	1 	"Valerie" 	4 	"The First Cut Is the Deepest" (with Rod Stewart) 	Eliminated
Reggie 'n' Bollie	2 	"Spice Up Your Life"/"Boom Boom Boom"	5 	"Dangerous Love"/"Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)"(with Fuse ODG and Craig David) 	Safe
Louisa Johnson 	3 	"I Believe I Can Fly" 	6 	"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (with Rita Ora) 	Safe
 The acts performed individual songs as they were introduced at the start of the show. Chesterman performed "In the Air Tonight", Johnson performed "Fighter" and Reggie 'n' Bollie performed "Jump", although these were not considered to be their first performances.
Ché Chesterman received the fewest public votes and was automatically eliminated.
;13 December
*Theme: Song of the series; winner's single
*Group performance: "Downtown"/"Downtown" (all finalists except Mason Noise)
*Musical guests: Coldplay ("Adventure of a Lifetime"), One Direction ("Infinity"/"History") and Adele ("Hello")
*Following One Direction's performance of "Infinity", a VT was shown with good luck messages from Cowell, James Cordon, Robbie Williams, Wayne Rooney, Danny DeVito, Jack Whitehall, Little Mix, 5 Seconds of Summer and David Beckham
*Will Ferrell appeared via a VT during the results show to talk about the history of The X Factor
 Contestants' performances on the final live show
Act 	Order	Song of the series 	Order	Winner's single	Result
Reggie 'n' Bollie	1 	"What Makes You Beautiful"/"Cheerleader"/"I Like to Move It"	3 	"Forever Young"	Runner-up
Louisa Johnson 	2 	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World" 	4 	"Forever Young"	Winner
==Reception==
===Ratings===
Episode 	Air date	Duration (minutes)	Share (%)	Official ITV rating(millions)	Official ITV HD rating(millions)	Total viewers(millions)	Weekly rank
Auditions 1 	 	90 	35.9 	7.33 	1.64 	8.97 	2
Auditions 2 	 	60 	27.7 	6.14 	1.35 	7.49 	11
Auditions 3 	 	75 	32.8 	6.88 	1.64 	8.52 	4
Auditions 4 	 	75 	29.6 	6.43 	1.34 	7.77 	10
Auditions 5 	 	75 	36.5 	7.22 	1.58 	8.80 	4
Auditions 6 	 	60 	30.9 	6.76 	1.38 	8.14 	8
Auditions 7 	 	90 	32.2 	6.91 	1.62 	8.53 	6
Bootcamp 1 	 	120 	31.3 	6.51 	1.70 	8.21 	9
Bootcamp 2 	 	120 	31.3 	6.33 	1.63 	7.96 	14
Six-chair challenge 1	 	120 	30.8 	6.67 	1.66 	8.33 	8
Six-chair challenge 2	 	120 	29.7 	6.87 	1.66 	8.53 	9
Six-chair challenge 3	 	120 	31.1 	6.79 	1.82 	8.61 	11
Judges' houses 1 	 	145 	29.6 	6.08 	1.67 	7.75 	16
Judges' houses 2 	 	90 	25.5 	5.57 	1.57 	7.14 	25
Live show 1 	 	145 	27.4 	5.32 	1.63 	6.95 	25
Live results 1 	 	60 	27.3 	5.65 	1.52 	7.17 	21
Live show 2 	 	130 	30.2 	6.03 	1.57 	7.60 	14
Live results 2 	 	60 	28.7 	5.92 	1.58 	7.50 	17
Live show 3 	 	105 	28.6 	5.64 	1.63 	7.27 	20
Live results 3 	 	60 	29.2 	6.10 	1.58 	7.68 	16
Live show 4 	 	100 	29.0 	6.11 	1.54 	7.65 	19
Live results 4 	 	60 	33.0 	5.64 	 	 	26
Live show 5 	 	105 	28.9 	5.77 	1.66 	7.43 	24
Live results 5 	 	60 	26.7 	5.65 	 	 	28
Live show 6 	 	90 	29.3 	5.93 	1.47 	7.40 	22
Live results 6 	 	60 	27.1 	5.52 	1.59 	7.11 	26
Live final 	 	125 	26.5 	5.21 	1.55 	6.76 	27
Live final results 	 	120 	33.8 	6.84 	1.98 	8.82 	6
 Includes advert breaks
 Excludes ITV+1
 The ratings over a 7-day period, including the original broadcast and streaming through ITV Player.
 The rank for the ITV broadcast, compared with all channels for that week, from Monday to Sunday.
 The ITV HD rating for the Live Results show that was broadcast on 22 November 2015 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 1.54 million viewers.
 The ITV HD rating for the Live Results show that was broadcast on 29 November 2015 is unavailable as it is outside the Top 10 ratings recorded on the BARB website. It had fewer than 1.45 million viewers.
===Controversy and criticism===
====Bootcamp====
It was reported that before bootcamp, some contestants who were given three or four "yes" votes from the judges were sent emails from the producers of the show saying that they would not be attending bootcamp due to limited places and a higher standard of auditions. One contestant who received such an email said, "I feel X Factor needs to be shamed for this shocking incident. They are playing with people's lives." A spokesperson for the show said this was "kinder and fairer than an immediate 'cull' of singers on arrival at bootcamp, which has happened in previous series."
====Mason Noise====
During the six-seat challenge, after performing for his mentor Grimshaw, Noise (born Mason Birnell)What is Mason Noise's real name? | X Factor | Judges, Contestants, News & More | Daily Star complained that his audition was only broadcast for 47 seconds while other contestants were featured for up to 10 minutes. Cowell responded by saying "You should feel lucky to be on this show. Why don't you shut up?" and called Noise an "arsehole". Noise was booed by the crowd before walking off the stage. Noise later told the Daily Mirror: "[Cowell] lost control and it was uncalled for. Especially as all I was doing was saying an opinion. I think that no one has ever questioned him before and no one has questioned the format of the show. Something needs to change on that show. Listen to the kids, at the end of the day I have a lot of support on Twitter."
On 12 October, Tom Bleasby had withdrawn from the show and consequently, there was a spare place at judges' houses. On 15 October, Grimshaw announced that Noise would replace Bleasby at judges' houses.
====Monica Michael====
Monica Michael issued an apology when, after being eliminated in week 3, she appeared to make a gun gesture with her hand and shouted "bang, bang, bang". Viewers called her "inconsiderate" and "offensive", as it was not long after the November 2015 Paris attacks. Michael took to Twitter to say, ""
====Caroline Flack and Olly Murs====
Presenters Flack and Murs were criticised throughout the series. Flack's absence from several auditions caused confusion and their lack of chemistry was criticised, with a source from the show saying, "Bosses have been aware of the criticism aimed at Olly and Caroline over their lack of chemistry. They were expected to inject some fun and energy but that has yet to be seen. We've seen this year's line-up undertake a big shake-up and Olly and Caroline were considered to be a safe bet." It was also stated that Flack's other commitments were discussed beforehand. A spokesperson said: "Olly and Caroline have been great additions to the show, We're very happy with them and look forward to them being centre stage when presenting on the live shows at the end of the month."
However, when the live shows started, viewers called for the return of Dermot O'Leary and called the pair's presenting "awkward" and "cringe-worthy". They were criticised for "awkward glances, long pauses and over-enthusiastic shouting" and the hashtag "#bringbackdermot" appeared on Twitter.
In week 3, Murs apologised after claiming that Michael had been eliminated when in fact the judges' vote had gone to deadlock and the result was yet to be announced; in any case, Michael was revealed afterwards to have received the fewest votes and was sent home. Murs said: "I apologise to everyone tonight I made a massive f--k up at the end. It was so tense!! I'm still learning & hope that never happens again!" Isabel Mohan from The Daily Telegraph said, "We were always dreading Flack and Murs taking over from Dermot O'Leary—we knew they wouldn't be able to hack it live on primetime telly. Dermot could build up tension. Dermot could read autocues. Dermot could speak properly with no lazy talk of 'the bottom free'. And, most of all, DERMOT DIDN'T TELL PEOPLE THEY'D BEEN VOTED OFF BEFORE HE WAS SUPPOSED TO! [...] What an absolute shambles." O'Leary supported Murs on Twitter, saying it "Happens to us all" and "live TV is a tricky old beast at times."
==References==