The X Factor (British series 15)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifteenth series began airing on ITV on 1 September 2018, presented by Dermot O'Leary. Simon Cowell returned alongside new judges Louis Tomlinson, Ayda Field (credited as Ayda Williams) and Robbie Williams who replace departing judges Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Nile Rodgers filled in for Williams while he was away on his tour for weeks 3–5 of the live shows. On 2 December, Jamaican-born singer Dalton Harris won the series making him the first foreign contender to win the UK show.[1][2] This was the only series that featured Tomlinson, Field and Williams as judges.

The X Factor
Series 15
Presented by	Dermot O'Leary (ITV)
Judges	Simon Cowell Louis Tomlinson Ayda Field Robbie Williams Nile Rodgers (guest)
Winner	Dalton Harris
Winning mentor	Louis Tomlinson
Runner-up	Scarlett Lee
Finals venue	The SSE Arena, Wembley
Release
Original network	ITV ITV Hub (Xtra Bites)
Original release	1 September – 2 December 2018
Series chronology

Judges and presenters

Series 15 Judges

Louis Tomlinson

Simon Cowell

Ayda Field

Robbie Williams

On 6 June 2018, it was announced that Sharon Osbourne would return to judge the fifteenth series, but only for the live shows, due to her ongoing work commitments in the United States. The next day, long-serving judge Louis Walsh announced that after thirteen years on the show, he would leave to focus on other projects.[3] Earlier in the year, it was reported that Nicole Scherzinger would not return as a judge for the fifteenth series.[4] On 30 September 2018, Osbourne announced her decision to no longer appear as a judge during the live shows, stating that she had "seen the new judges finding their rhythm and are doing brilliantly".[5]

Simon Cowell confirmed his return as head judge and Dermot O'Leary’s return as presenter. After much speculation, it was announced on 16 July 2018 that Ayda Field (credited as Ayda Williams), Louis Tomlinson and Robbie Williams would join Cowell on the series' judging panel to replace Osbourne, Scherzinger and Walsh.[6]

On 23 August 2018, it was announced that Xtra Bites would return after a first series, presented by Becca Dudley again, and she would be joined by a co-host named Tinea Taylor.[7]

On 2 November 2018, it was revealed that Nile Rodgers would fill in for Williams on the panel during some of the live shows, due to Williams' touring commitments. Rodgers sat alongside Williams on 3 November, before fully substituting for him on 4, 10, 11 & 17 November. In a statement, Rodgers stated: "I had such a great time with Louis at the Judge's House in Ibiza a couple of weeks ago that when the opportunity came to step in for Robbie I could not say ('no')", "From Chic and Sister Sledge to Duran Duran and Daft Punk, I've had great experiences with Groups in my career, so I look forward to giving them as much support as I can while Rob is away!". Williams returned to the panel on 24 November.[8]

Selection process

Auditions

Auditions for performers took place only at London's SSE Arena, Wembley, on 18–20, 22–24 and 26–28 July 2018.

Deliberations

Instead of the traditional bootcamp stages, a deliberation stage (similar to that employed by Britain's Got Talent) was introduced to cut down the number of performers at the six-chair challenge. This took place on 30 July 2018 at the Tobacco Dock in London. It was broadcast on a single episode on 23 September 2018 after the final auditions show.

After the "deliberation" and "reveal" stages, but before the start of the "six-chair challenge", the judges found out the categories they are mentoring: Cowell mentored the "Girls", Field mentored the "Over 28s", Williams mentored the "Groups", and Tomlinson mentored the "Boys".[9]

Six Chair Challenge

The Six Chair Challenge took place over the course of three days, from 1–3 August 2018, at the SSE Arena in Wembley. A new twist was added with the introduction of a golden button, similar to Britain's Got Talent's Golden Buzzer. When this was pressed, the act in question was guaranteed a 'Safe Seat', and would go straight through to Judges' Houses. The Six Chair Challenge was aired over 3 episodes starting on 29 September 2018 and finished on 6 October 2018.[10]

Judges' Houses

It was announced by O'Leary during an appearance on This Morning that the Judges' Houses would be filmed in late September 2018, and that three of the judges' houses would be in Los Angeles (Cowell, Field and Williams); Tomlinson's houses would be hosted in Ibiza. Cowell judged from Malibu, while Field and Williams each judged their categories separately from their home in Beverley Hills. The guest judges were announced to be: Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis in assisting Field, David Walliams with Williams, and Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Diane Warren, Babyface, Lewis and Sinitta to assist Cowell, who hosted a house party consisting of various singers, songwriters and record producers for the Girls to perform in front of. Liam Payne and Nile Rodgers were announced to assist Tomlinson.[11]

Maria Laroco was not able to secure the correct visa in time to travel to Malibu with the remaining Girls for this stage of the competition. Unlike similar instances where the affected contestants withdrew from the competition, Laroco sang to Cowell via video link from a London studio.

16 finalists were put through to the live shows at this stage, four from each category. This last-minute change was lobbied by Cowell who was unable to narrow his Girls down to just three; the other judges were then allowed one more act each for their own categories as well.

Summary of Judges' Houses

Judge	Category	Location	Assistants	Acts eliminated
Cowell	Girls	Malibu	Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, Diane Warren, Babyface, Michelle Visage, Adam Lambert, Leona Lewis, Sinitta, Paul Anka, Tricky Stewart and Dallas Austin.	Georgia Burgess, Maria Laroco
Field	Over 28s	Beverly Hills	Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis	Ricky John, Louise Setara
Tomlinson	Boys	Ibiza	Liam Payne and Nile Rodgers	J-Sol, Thomas Pound
Williams	Groups	Beverly Hills	David Walliams	Panda and Burgandy, Sweet Sense

Finalists

Key:

  – Winner

  – Runner-up

  – Third place

– Golden Buzzer/Safe Seat (Six-chair challenge)

Act	Age(s)	Hometown	Category (Mentor)	Result
Dalton Harris	24	Clarendon, Jamaica	Boys (Tomlinson)	Winner
Scarlett Lee	21	Surrey	Girls (Cowell)	Runner-up
Anthony Russell	28	Bootle	Boys (Tomlinson)	3rd place
Acacia & Aaliyah	15 & 14	Leyland	Groups (Williams)	4th place
Brendan Murray	21	Tuam, Republic of Ireland	Boys (Tomlinson)	5th place
Danny Tetley	36	Wigan	Over 28s (Field)	6th place
Shan Ako	25	Croydon	Girls (Cowell)	7th place
Bella Penfold	19	Essex	Girls (Cowell)	8th place
Giovanni Spano	33	West London	Over 28s (Field)	9th place
Misunderstood	25 & 27	London	Groups (Williams)	10th place
Molly Scott	16	County Durham	Girls (Cowell)	11th place
United Vibe	17–20	Various	Groups (Williams)	12th place
LMA Choir	19–40	Liverpool	Groups (Williams)	13th place
Janice Robinson	50	Galveston, United States	Over 28s (Field)	14th place
Armstrong Martins	23	Lagos, Nigeria/London	Boys (Tomlinson)	15th place
Olatunji Yearwood	32	Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago	Over 28s (Field)	16th place

Live shows

The finalists were announced after each category performed at Judges' Houses. There will be 16 finalists (4 from each category) this year. The Live Shows will be broadcast for 7 weeks from 20 October to 2 December.[12][13] This year the live shows reverts to the previous format of all performances on the Saturday night and the results show on the Sunday night.[14] However, there are 16 finalists and a reduced number of live shows, so almost all of the live result shows had double eliminations.[15][16]

Nile Rodgers temporarily replaced Williams on the panel, due to touring commitments. Rodgers appeared in Williams's place from 4–18 November.[8]

For the first time since 2008, there was no elimination on the Saturday (1 December 2018). Instead, all 3 finalists progressed the Sunday (2 December 2018) live final results show.[17]

Musical guests

Keala Settle and Rak-Su, the winners of the previous series, performed on the first live results show. Little Mix and Kylie Minogue performed on the second live results show. James Arthur and Jonas Blue, Liam Payne and Lennon Stella performed on the third live results show. Michael Bublé, Olly Murs and Lady Leshurr performed on the fourth live results show. Cheryl and Tom Walker performed on the fifth live results show. Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus appeared on the sixth live show (Andersson doing a Masterclass with the semi-finalists and Ulvaeus appearing on the judging panel alongside Williams, Field, Tomlinson and Cowell to judge the performances). Zara Larsson performed on the sixth live results show. The live final featured a performance from Robbie Williams (with Take That) on the live final results show.[18]

Final venue

Unlike the previous series where the live final was held at The ExCeL Center in London, instead this year's final was held at the normal venue which is The SSE Arena, Wembley in London.[19]

Winners single

The winners single will be the winning contestant's duet from the Sunday (2 December 2018) result show with all proceeds going to the children's charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase. It is the eighth year running that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has waived any VAT on The X Factor's winners single.[20] The winner was announced to be Dalton Harris who performed a duet with James Arthur on "The Power of Love".

Results summary

Colour key

  Act in team Simon Cowell

  Act in team Robbie Williams

  Act in team Ayda Field

  Act in team Louis Tomlinson

–	Act was in the bottom two/three and had to perform again in the sing-off
–	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 sing-off)
–	Act received the most public votes

Weekly results per act[21]

Act		Week 1	Week 2		Week 3	Week 4		Quarter-Final		Semi-Final		Final
			First Vote	Second Vote		First Vote	Second Vote	First Vote	Second Vote	Saturday Vote	Sunday Vote
	Dalton Harris	3rd 9.3%	1st 15.5%	2nd 15.2%	1st 15.9%	2nd 17.3%	2nd 17.8%	1st 23.8%	1st 22.8%	1st 26.9%	1st 31.4%	Winner 41.3%
	Scarlett Lee	6th 7.4%	5th 6.8%	4th 7.2%	3rd 9.5%	4th 8.9%	4th 9.3%	5th 9.4%	4th 11.3%	2nd 19.1%	3rd 22.3%	Runner-up 31.3%
	Anthony Russell	1st 11.5%	2nd 15.4%	1st 15.6%	2nd 14.8%	1st 18.6%	1st 18.8%	2nd 19.0%	2nd 19.9%	3rd 18.9%	2nd 23.5%	3rd 27.4%
	Acacia & Aaliyah	9th 6.2%	6th 6.6%	7th 6.8%	10th 6.5%	9th 7.0%	8th 8.0%	6th 8.9%	6th 9.8%	4th 12.3%	4th 14.7%	Eliminated (semi-final)
	Brendan Murray	10th 4.9%	12th 4.7%	12th 4.8%	9th 6.6%	5th 8.6%	5th 8.8%	4th 9.5%	5th 10.5%	5th 11.9%	Eliminated (semi-final)
	Danny Tetley	8th 6.8%	7th 6.3%	6th 6.8%	7th 7.2%	7th 7.8%	7th 8.1%	3rd 12.8%	3rd 12.6%	6th 10.9%
	Shan Ako	2nd 10.0%	3rd 7.9%	3rd 7.9%	4th 9.2%	3rd 9.6%	3rd 9.8%	7th 8.5%	7th 8.9%	Eliminated (quarter-final)
	Bella Penfold	4th 8.5%	9th 5.3%	9th 5.6%	6th 7.2%	6th 8.1%	6th 8.5%	8th 8.1%	Eliminated (quarter-final)
	Giovanni Spano	13th 3.4%	10th 4.9%	10th 5.0%	5th 7.8%	8th 7.2%	9th 7.3%	Eliminated (week 4)
	Misunderstood	5th 8.0%	4th 6.8%	5th 7.2%	8th 7.0%	10th 6.9%	Eliminated (week 4)
	Molly Scott	7th 7.2%	8th 5.6%	8th 5.9%	11th 4.5%	Eliminated (week 3)
	United Vibe	12th 4.5%	11th 4.9%	11th 4.8%	12th 3.8%
	LMA Choir	11th 4.8%	13th 4.7%	13th 4.5%	Eliminated (week 2)
	Janice Robinson	14th 3.2%	14th 4.6%	Eliminated (week 2)
	Armstrong Martins	15th 2.4%	Eliminated (week 1)
	Olatunji Yearwood	16th 1.9%
Final Showdown		Martins, Robinson	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	LMA Choir, Murray	Acacia & Aaliyah, Scott	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	Acacia & Aaliyah, Spano	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	Acacia & Aaliyah, Ako	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone	Acacia & Aaliyah, Lee	No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Judges voted to		Eliminate		Eliminate			Eliminate		Eliminate		Send Through
Rodgers' vote (Groups)		N/A		N/A	Scott		Spano		Ako		N/A
Williams' vote (Groups)		Martins		Murray	N/A		N/A		N/A		Acacia & Aaliyah
Field's vote (Over 28s)		Martins		LMA Choir	Scott		Acacia & Aaliyah		Ako		Lee
Tomlinson's vote (Boys)		Robinson		LMA Choir	Scott		Spano		Acacia & Aaliyah		Lee
Cowell's vote (Girls)		Martins		Murray	Acacia & Aaliyah		Spano		Acacia & Aaliyah		Lee
Eliminated		Olatunji Yearwood 1.9% to save	Janice Robinson 4.6% to save	LMA Choir 2 of 4 votes Deadlock	United Vibe 3.8% to save	Misunderstood 6.9% to save	Giovanni Spano 3 of 4 votes Majority	Bella Penfold 8.1% to save	Shan Ako 2 of 4 votes Deadlock	Danny Tetley 10.9% to save	Acacia & Aaliyah 1 of 4 votes Minority	Anthony Russell 27.4% to win
		Armstrong Martins 3 of 4 votes Majority			Molly Scott 3 of 4 votes Majority					Brendan Murray 11.9% to save		Scarlett Lee 31.3% to win

Week 1 (20/21 October)

• Theme: This is Me
• Musical guests: Keala Settle ("This Is Me") and Rak-Su ("I Want You to Freak")[22]

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 out of the three 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	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song[23]	Result
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	1	"Chewing Gum" (original song)	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"Issues"	Safe (Highest Votes)
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	3	"Hero"	Safe
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	4	"Fake Love"	Safe
Janice Robinson	Over 28s (Field)	5	"Clarity"	Bottom three
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	6	"Break Free"	Safe
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	7	"Beneath Your Beautiful"	Safe
Armstrong Martins	Boys (Tomlinson)	8	"Story of My Life"	Bottom three
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	9	"Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"	Safe
United Vibe	Groups (Williams)	10	"Slow Hands"	Safe
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	11	"Imagine"	Safe
Olatunji Yearwood	Over 28s (Field)	12	"Jiggle It" (original song)	Eliminated
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	13	"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"	Safe
LMA Choir	Groups (Williams)	14	"Circle of Life"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah		15	"Finesse"	Safe
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	16	"Life On Mars?"	Safe
Sing-off details
Janice Robinson	Over 28s (Field)	1	"The Climb"	Saved
Armstrong Martins	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"True Colors"	Eliminated

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Field: Armstrong Martins – backed her own act, Janice Robinson, saying she deserves to be in the competition.
• Tomlinson: Janice Robinson – backed his own act, Armstrong Martins.
• Williams: Armstrong Martins – gave no reason.
• Cowell: Armstrong Martins – said that despite Martins being more interesting, Robinson was the better singer.

Week 2 (27/28 October)

• Theme: Guilty Pleasures
• Musical guests: Little Mix ("Woman Like Me")[24] and Kylie Minogue ("A Lifetime to Repair")

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were frozen on Sunday at 7:30 pm, 30 minutes before the results show, and Janice Robinson was eliminated after the special guest performance from Little Mix after receiving the fewest votes. Lines then reopened and the two acts with the next fewest votes then performed in the sing-off.

Contestants' performances on the second live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song[25]	Guilty Pleasure	Result
LMA Choir	Groups (Williams)	1	"Proud Mary"	Tina Turner	Bottom three
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	2	"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word"	Elton John	Safe
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	3	"Crazy for You"	Madonna	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	4	"Believe"	Cher	Bottom three
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	5	"Close to You"	Maxi Priest	Safe
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	6	"Little Do You Know"	Alex & Sierra	Safe
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	7	"I Have Nothing"	Whitney Houston	Safe (Highest Votes-1st Vote)
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	8	"Always on My Mind"	Elvis Presley	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	9	"All My Life"/"Shutdown"	K-Ci & JoJo / Skepta	Safe
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	10	"...Baby One More Time"	Britney Spears	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	11	"I Want to Know What Love Is"	Foreigner	Safe (Highest Votes-2nd Vote)
United Vibe	Groups (Williams)	12	"Party in the U.S.A."	Miley Cyrus	Safe
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	13	"Diamonds Are Forever"/"Diamonds from Sierra Leone"	Shirley Bassey / Kanye West	Safe
Janice Robinson	Over 28s (Field)	14	"Show Me Love"	Robin S.	Eliminated
Sing-off details
LMA Choir	Groups (Williams)	1	"A Change Is Gonna Come"		Eliminated
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"High and Dry"		Saved

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Williams: Brendan Murray – backed his own act, LMA Choir.
• Tomlinson: LMA Choir – backed his own act, Brendan Murray.
• Cowell: Brendan Murray – gave no reason.
• Field: LMA Choir – could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock.

With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. LMA Choir were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 3 (3/4 November)

• Theme: Fright Night
• Musical guests: James Arthur ("Empty Space")[26] and Jonas Blue, Liam Payne & Lennon Stella ("Polaroid")[27]

The live show was pre-recorded during Saturday afternoon to allow Williams to be present before flying to South America for touring commitments. Nile Rodgers appeared as a guest judge, filling in for Williams during the third results show and the fourth & fifth live shows and results shows.

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were originally scheduled to be frozen on Sunday at 7:30 pm, 60 minutes before the results show, the act receiving the fewest votes leaving the competition at the beginning of the show before lines would reopen and the two acts with the next fewest votes would then perform in the sing-off. However, due to a technical issue that affected the sound during Danny Tetley and Anthony Russell's performances, Saturday's public vote was cancelled and lines instead opened in the results show on Sunday.[28] At the start of the live results show, all of the performances were shown in full before the public vote opened for 14 minutes.[29]

Contestants' performances on the third live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song[30]	Result
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	1	"Toxic"	Bottom three
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"Creep"	Safe (Highest Votes)
United Vibe	Groups (Williams)	3	"Bleeding Love"	Eliminated
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	4	"The Sound of Silence"	Safe
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	5	"Who Wants to Live Forever"	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	6	"Demons"	Safe
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	7	"Thriller"	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	8	"I Put a Spell on You"	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	9	"Jump"	Bottom three
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	10	"In My Blood"	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	11	"Youngblood"	Safe
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	12	"Live and Let Die"	Safe
Sing-off details
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	1	"Big for Your Boots"	Saved
Molly Scott	Girls (Cowell)	2	"Human"	Eliminated

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Rodgers: Molly Scott – based on the sing-off performances, effectively backing Williams' own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
• Cowell: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed his own act, Molly Scott.
• Field: Molly Scott – based on the sing-off performances.
• Tomlinson: Molly Scott – said both acts have potential but he was not sure Scott was "quite there yet".

Week 4 (10/11 November)

• Theme: "Movies" (songs from films)[31]
• Musical guests: Michael Bublé ("When I Fall in Love") and Olly Murs featuring Lady Leshurr ("Moves")[32]

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were frozen on Sunday at 7:30 pm, 60 minutes before the results show, and Misunderstood were eliminated after the special guest performance from Bublé after receiving the fewest votes. Lines then reopened and the two acts with the next fewest votes then performed in the sing-off.

Contestants' performances on the fourth live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song[31]	Movie	Result
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	1	"The Greatest Show"	The Greatest Showman	Bottom three
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"California Dreamin'"	San Andreas	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	3	"I'll Never Love Again"	A Star is Born	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	4	"Everybody Hurts"	Bewitched	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	5	"Survivor"	Tomb Raider	Bottom three
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	6	"A Million Dreams"	The Greatest Showman	Safe
Misunderstood	Groups (Williams)	7	"Maniac"	Flashdance	Eliminated
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	8	"My Heart Will Go On"	Titanic	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	9	"Eye of the Tiger"	Rocky III	Safe (Highest Votes-Both Votes)
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	10	"Never Enough"	The Greatest Showman	Safe
Sing-off details
Giovanni Spano	Over 28s (Field)	1	"Let Me Entertain You"		Eliminated
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	2	"All My Life"/ "Shutdown"		Saved

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Rodgers: Giovanni Spano – backed Williams' own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
• Field: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed her own act, Giovanni Spano, saying he brought fun and vital entertainment to the competition.
• Tomlinson: Giovanni Spano – believed Acacia & Aaliyah had a future as recording artists while Spano had more of a future in musical theatre.
• Cowell: Giovanni Spano – gave no specific reason but praised both acts' sing-off performances.

Week 5: Quarter-Final (17/18 November)

• Theme: Big Band
• Musical guests: Tom Walker ("Leave a Light On") and Cheryl ("Love Made Me Do It")[33]

This week's results show featured a double elimination. Lines were frozen on Sunday at 7:30 pm, 30 minutes before the results show, and Bella Penfold was eliminated immediately at the beginning of the show. Once that occurred, lines reopened for a few more minutes and the two acts with the next fewest votes performed in the sing off.

During the results show, Cowell originally told the acts that the final six would go on The X Factor Live Tour in 2019. After the elimination of Shan Ako, Cowell stated that he would allow both her and Penfold to join the final six on tour as well. His statement meant that the final eight would perform on the tour rather than the final six.

Contestants' performances on the fifth live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song[34]	Big Band Artist	Result
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	1	"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"	Andy Williams	Safe
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	2	"Say Something"	A Great Big World & Christina Aguilera	Safe
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	3	"Summertime"	George Gershwin	Bottom three
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	4	"Beyond the Sea"	Bobby Darin	Safe
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	5	"Act Our Age" (original song)	Original	Bottom three
Bella Penfold	Girls (Cowell)	6	"Strong"	London Grammar	Eliminated
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	7	"Listen"	Beyoncé	Safe (Highest Votes- both votes)
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	8	"My Way"	Frank Sinatra	Safe
Sing-off details
Shan Ako	Girls (Cowell)	1	"Rise Up"		Eliminated
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	2	"Bang Bang"		Saved

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Cowell: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed his own act, Shan Ako.
• Rodgers: Shan Ako – backed Williams' own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
• Tomlinson: Acacia & Aaliyah – based on "vocal ability" without being led by his emotions.
• Field: Shan Ako – praised both acts' sing-off performances but could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock.

With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Shan Ako was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 6: Semi-Final (24/25 November)

24 November

• Theme: Get Me to the Final (Part I) & Mamma Mia[35]

This week's semi-final featured a triple elimination. During Saturday's show, the lines froze where the two acts with the fewest votes were immediately eliminated. They then re-opened and closed during Sunday's results show ahead of the final sing-off of the series.

In addition, following all of the act's first performance during Saturday's show, each act performed a segment from an ABBA song where Björn Ulvaeus joined the judging panel for the performances.

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	First song	Order	Second song	Result
Brendan Murray	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"Run"	11	"I Have a Dream"	Eliminated
Danny Tetley	Over 28s (Field)	2	"This Is My Life"	12	"Thank You for the Music"	Eliminated
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	3	"Feeling Good"	7	"SOS"	Safe (Highest Votes)
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	4	"Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2"/"I Win"	10	"Money, Money, Money"	Safe
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	5	"Livin' on a Prayer"	8	"The Name of the Game"	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	6	"This Is Me"	9	"The Winner Takes It All"	Safe

25 November

• Theme: Get Me to the Final (Part II)
• Musical guests: Zara Larsson[35] ("Ruin My Life")

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song	Result
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"Clown"	Safe (Highest Votes)
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	2	"Big for Your Boots"/"Shutdown"	Bottom two
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	3	"Don't Look Back in Anger"	Safe
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	4	"I Didn't Know My Own Strength"	Bottom two
Sing-off details
Acacia & Aaliyah	Groups (Williams)	1	"Blinded by Your Grace, Pt. 2"/"I Win"	Eliminated
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	2	"This Is Me"	Saved

Judges' votes to send through to the final

• Cowell: Scarlett Lee – based on the sing-off performances, and said he would have made the same choice even if Scarlett Lee was not his own act; he said without her, the final would not be the same.
• Williams: Acacia & Aaliyah – backed his own act, Acacia & Aaliyah.
• Field: Scarlett Lee – based on the sing-off performances.
• Tomlinson: Scarlett Lee – based on the vocals only in the sing-off performances.

Week 7: Final (1/2 December)

1 December[18]

• Theme: No theme; Celebrity duets
• Group Performance: "Let Me Entertain You"/"Rock DJ"/"Freedom" (Final 10 with Robbie Williams)
• Musical guests: James Arthur & Anne-Marie ("Rewrite the Stars") and George Ezra ("Shotgun")

Contestants' performances on the seventh live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	First song	Order	Second song
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"Let It Be"	4	"Leave a Light On" with Tom Walker
Dalton Harris		2	"A Song for You"	5	"Beneath Your Beautiful" with Emeli Sandé
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	3	"Your Song"	6	"Angels" with Robbie Williams

2 December[18]

• Theme: Winners duets
• Musical guests: Pinkfong ("Baby Shark"), Ellie Goulding ("Close To Me"), Nile Rodgers & Chic ("Le Freak"/"'Till The World Falls"/"We Are Family"/"I Want Your Love"/"Do You Wanna Party"/"Good Times"/"Rapper's Delight" with Acacia & Aaliyah and Misunderstood) and Take That ("Shine"/"Everything Changes" with Robbie Williams)

Contestants' performances on the final live show

Act	Category (Mentor)	Order	Song	Results
Anthony Russell	Boys (Tomlinson)	1	"I Predict a Riot" with Kaiser Chiefs	Third Place
Scarlett Lee	Girls (Cowell)	2	"One More Sleep" with Leona Lewis	Runner-up
Dalton Harris	Boys (Tomlinson)	3	"The Power of Love" with James Arthur	Winner

Reception

Ratings

As of September 2018, all official ratings include those who watched on demand via the ITV Hub.

Episode	Air date	Official rating (millions)[36]^,1	Weekly rank[36]^,2
Auditions 1	1 September	7.59	1
Auditions 2	2 September	6.43	8
Auditions 3	8 September	6.57	9
Auditions 4	9 September	6.38	13
Auditions 5	15 September	7.08	7
Auditions 6	16 September	6.08	15
Auditions 7	22 September	6.59	11
Auditions 8	23 September	6.34	15
Six-chair challenge 1	29 September	6.27	15
Six-chair challenge 2	30 September	6.38	12
Six-chair challenge 3	6 October	6.38	11
Judges Houses 1	7 October	6.19	13
Judges Houses 2	13 October	6.88	11
Judges Houses 3	14 October	6.26	14
Live show 1	20 October	5.55	15
Live results 1	21 October	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 2	27 October	5.29	15
Live results 2	28 October	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 3	3 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live results 3	4 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 4	10 November	5.03	15
Live results 4	11 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live show 5	17 November	4.99	15
Live results 5	18 November	5.42	13
Live show 6	24 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live results 6	25 November	N/A	Outside top 15
Live final 1	1 December	N/A	Outside top 15
Live final 2	2 December	N/A	Outside top 15

^1 The ratings over a 28-day period, including the broadcasts on ITV and streaming through ITV Hub using BARB's four-screen dashboard system (includes viewers watching on tablets/smartphones).

^2 The ITV rank for the programme compared to other ITV broadcasts for the week.

Controversies

Accusations of transphobia

During the audition stage, 20-year-old transgender man Felix Shepherd impressed the judges with his rendition of "All I Want" by Kodaline, and received a standing ovation from the crowd. Before singing, Williams asked him about his background; Shepherd said he was there to prove to people that he was "more than just a transgender guy." Williams responded by asking him: "So when you were born, what was your name?", thus misgendering him. Although many fans of the show were supportive of the representation, many were outraged by Williams' question, though Shepherd stated that he was not offended by Williams.[37][38]

Sharon Osbourne

On 5 September 2018, whilst on Howard Stern's radio show, Osbourne accused Cowell of underpaying her for the new series. She used some offensive language to criticise Cowell and the show's auditionees, which led to a backlash from fans who suggested that Osbourne should be replaced.[39] Osbourne subsequently announced her decision to not participate during the live shows.[5] Various sources reported that Osbourne had been fired over the interview and Stern stated that he believed she had been tipped off to keep quiet. Osbourne later refuted Stern's allegations and stated that her comments were only made in jest and were not to be taken literally, but that they were misappropriated by other people including The X Factor’s production company due to Stern wanting to give Cowell a bad reputation by using his radio show. She added that although the company wanted to fire her, Cowell was not upset with the comments and wanted her to remain on the show, but that it was ultimately her decision to step down out of fear of awkwardness between her and fellow judges Williams and Field, with whom she is close friends, though she did not rule out a return to the show in the future.

Sound problems

During the third week of live shows, sound issues caused the judges, O'Leary and contestants to sound distorted. As the show was not live, O'Leary did not address the sound problems until the following night's live results show, but at the end of the programme, another message said: "Due to a technical issue, tonight's vote has been cancelled. It will open in tomorrow night's show." During the results show all the performances of the night were replayed before the lines opened to make the vote as fair possible for the contestants.[28]

References

1. "Dalton Harris wins The X Factor 2018". Radio Times. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
2. "Dalton Harris 'still buzzing' after X Factor win". RTÉ News. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
3. Lee, Ben (7 June 2018). "Louis Walsh quits The X Factor, after 13 years". Digital Spy. United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
4. Daly, Helen (7 June 2018). "X Factor 2018 judges: Sharon Osbourne lands new deal". Daily Express. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
5. Lenniger, Shea (2 October 2018). "Sharon Osbourne Says Goodbye to UK X Factor". Billboard. United States: Eldridge Industries. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
6. "New X Factor judges (finally) confirmed". United Kingdom: BBC News. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
7. "The Just Eat Xtra Bites is back for series 2 with a new host; Tinea Taylor joins Becca Dudley!!!". itv.com. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
8. Harp, Justin (2 November 2018). "The X Factor gets music legend to replace Robbie Williams while he's on tour". Digital Spy. United Kingdom. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
9. "X Factor 2018 judges' categories REVEALED – spoilers!". TellyMix. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
10. "X Factor introduces brand new twist to the six chair challenge". TellyMix. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
11. Capital. "Guest Judges Confirmed". Metro Newspaper UK. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
12. "The X Factor 2018 confirms date for live final". Radio Times.
13. "The X Factor Episode 28".
14. "The X Factor – S15". Radio Times.
15. Spencer, Samuel (28 October 2018). "The X Factor 2018 live shows: How many live shows are there?".
16. "X Factor 2018 final date and details confirmed". 21 November 2018.
17. "Updated: The X Factor confirms final song choices, including celebrity duets and winner's singles". Digital Spy. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
18. Anderton, Joe (1 December 2018). "Updated: The X Factor confirms final song choices, including celebrity duets and winner's singles". Digital Spy. United Kingdom. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
19. Debnath, Neela (2 December 2018). "X Factor final 2018 location: Where is The X Factor final 2018?". Daily Express. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
20. Association, Press (1 December 2018). "X Factor 2018: winner's single proceeds to go to children's charities". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
21. "All The X Factor 2018 Voting Percentages". The X Factor. itv.com. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
22. "It's been such a crazy year since we won @TheXFactor and this Sunday we'll be back where it started performing our brand new single I Want You To Freak!!!🙌🏾". Twitter. 17 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
23. https://twitter.com/TheXFactor/status/1053678766130688000?s=19%5B%5D
24. @LittleMix (24 October 2018). "@LittleMix: We're coming back to @TheXFactor! 💃🏽 Can't wait to be back on that stage performing #WomanLikeMe this Sunday night! Tune in on @ITV ♥️ X the girls" (Tweet). Retrieved 25 October 2018 – via Twitter.
25. https://twitter.com/TheXFactor/status/1056142636480892928%5B%5D
26. @JamesArthur (4 November 2018). "@JamesArthur23: I'm on Xfactor tonight performing my new single 'Empty Space' LIVE at 8:30 ITV #xfactor #EmptySpace" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 November 2018 – via Twitter.
27. @LiamPayne (3 November 2018). "@LiamPayne: Always enjoy coming back to perform on @TheXFactor stage! See you all tomorrow from 8pm – I'll be performing #Polaroid with @lennonstella + @JonasBlue 📸" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 November 2018 – via Twitter.
28. @TheXFactor (3 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: We apologise for the technical issue that affected the sound on part of tonight's episode of The X Factor. We are investigating why this happened. We can confirm Saturday's public vote has been cancelled and will instead open in Sunday's show at 8.30pm on ITV" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 November 2018 – via Twitter.
29. @TheXFactor (4 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: Tune in tonight at 8.30pm on @itv & @wearestv to see all of last night's #XFactor performances from our 12 amazing contestants, in full, before the new public vote opens. #decisiontime" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 November 2018 – via Twitter.
30. @TheXFactor (3 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: It's the spookiest night on The #XFactor calendar....#FrightNight! Here's what our fabulous contestants will be singing this weekend" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 November 2018 – via Twitter.
31. @TheXFactor (10 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: Which silver screen songs will our Final 10 be serenading you with tonight?👀 Check them out below... but can you name the artists that sang them originally?🎶🤔 #XFactor" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 November 2018 – via Twitter.
32. "ABBA legends to appear on this week's X Factor".
33. @TheXFactor (16 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: This weekend we have another two guest artists gracing the #XFactor stage! Who's excited to see @CherylOfficial & @IAmTomWalker? We are! 🙌 #XFactor" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 November 2018 – via Twitter.
34. @TheXFactor (17 November 2018). "@TheXFactor: We know you've been waiting all week to find out what our Final 8 will be singing for #BigBandWeek 🎺🎶🎷 #XFactor" (Tweet). Retrieved 17 November 2018 – via Twitter.
35. Copsey, Rob (19 November 2018). "Performers on this week's X Factor results show announced". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
36. "Four screen dashboard (see relevant week under – select 28-day data)". BARB. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
37. "Robbie Williams slammed by X Factor fans for asking trans contestant his 'birth name'". PinkNews. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
38. "Robbie Williams draws criticism after asking transgender X Factor contestant about their birth name". Gay Times. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
39. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (5 September 2018). "Sharon Osbourne accuses Simon Cowell of underpaying her for X Factor". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2018.

External links

• The X Factor at itv.com
• The X Factor at stv.tv