The X Factor (British series 3)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The third series was broadcast on ITV from 19 August 2006 until 16 December 2006. Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell all returned for their third series on the judging panel. Kate Thornton returned to present the main show on ITV, while Ben Shephard returned to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. After the semi-final on 9 December, Cowell became the winning judge even though the series had not yet finished, as two of his acts, Ray Quinn and Leona Lewis, became the two finalists. Lewis won the series on 16 December, with Quinn finishing as runner-up.
Instead of the earlier red and purple colour scheme, this year's theme was red and blue. A new-look website for the third series was launched on 11 August 2006. The final on 16 December brought in the show's then-highest ever audience, with 12.6 million people tuning in, and 8 million votes were cast, with Lewis receiving 60%. Lewis released a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" as her winner's single, and it went on the become the Christmas number one on 24 December despite only going on sale four days before on 20 December. It ended as the United Kingdom's second best selling single of the year. In January 2007, the single was awarded platinum status by the British Phonographic Industry. According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 895,000 copies in the United Kingdom as of December 2012.
Lewis emerged as the most successful contestant to appear on the X Factor having sold over 30 million records worldwide as well as being the only former contestant to be nominated for a Grammy.
This was the last series presented by Kate Thornton and the last time Ben Shephard presented The Xtra Factor. It was also the last series with only three judges.
Judges and presenters
, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all returned for their third series on the judging panel. Kate Thornton returned to present the main show on ITV, while Ben Shephard returned to present spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2.This was both Thornton and Shephard's last series of The X Factor, as Thornton announced her departure on 8 March 2007 and was replaced for the fourth series by Dermot O'Leary. Shephard also quit the show after being passed over for promotion to main presenter. He was replaced by Fearne Cotton. This is the final series to feature just three judges on the panel; from series 4, it was increased for four.
Selection process
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.
Bootcamp
It was originally intended that 21 acts 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.| Judge | Category | Location | Assistant | Acts eliminated |
| Cowell | 16–24s | Miami | Sinitta | Stacey Barnes, Carlo Muscutelli, Shaun Rogerson, Gemma Sampson |
| Osbourne | Over 25s | London | The Osbournes | Katie Angus, Jonathan Bremner, Lyn Fairbanks, Tiwa Savage |
| Walsh | Groups | Dublin | Shane Filan | Avenue, Brother's One, The Dolly Rockers, Pure Liberty |
Finalists
Key:| Act | Age | Hometown | Category | Result |
| Leona Lewis | 21 | North London | 16-24s | Winner |
| Ray Quinn | 18 | Liverpool | 16-24s | Runner-up |
| Ben Mills | 26 | Chatham | Over 25s | 3rd place |
| The MacDonald Brothers | 20 | Ayrshire | Groups | 4th place |
| Eton Road* | 17-20 | Various | Groups | 5th place |
| Robert Allen | 27 | Essex | Over 25s | 6th place |
| Nikitta Angus | 18 | Manchester | 16-24s | 7th place |
| Ashley McKenzie | 20 | Croydon | 16-24s | 8th place |
| Kerry McGregor | 32 | West Lothian | Over 25s | 9th place |
| Dionne Mitchell | 26 | London | Over 25s | 10th place |
| 4Sure | 23-38 | Various | Groups | 11th place |
| The Unconventionals | 25-41 | Various | Groups | 12th place |
- Avenue was originally chosen to go through, but were disqualified from the competition. Eton Road took their place at the live shows.
Live shows
Results summary
;Colour keyLive show details
Week 1 (14 October)
- Theme: Motown
- Musical guests: Lionel Richie
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Robert Allen | 1 | "All Night Long " | 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
| 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 " | Safe |
| 4Sure | 6 | "You're in My Heart " | 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 " | 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
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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!
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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 " | 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
| 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"
- Musical guest: Gloria Estefan
| 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 | " 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 ; celebrity duets; no theme; winner's single
- Group performances: "Earth Song" and "That's What Friends Are For"
- Musical guests: Take That and Shaun Rogerson
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Order | Third song | Order | Fourth song | Result |
| Ray Quinn | 1 | "My Way" | 3 | "That's Life" | 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" | 6 | "All by Myself" | 8 | "A Moment Like This" | Winner |