The X Factor: Celebrity Explained

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The X Factor: Celebrity is a British celebrity special edition of The X Factor which premiered on 12 October 2019 on ITV.[1] It is a revamped version of the 2006 celebrity format . Simon Cowell, Nicole Scherzinger and Louis Walsh judged this series, with Dermot O'Leary presenting the series and Vick Hope hosting Xtra Bites on YouTube.[2]

The format for the series was announced in 2019, after The X Factor was contracted until 2020.[3] The celebrity lineup was announced on 30 September 2019. On 30 November, Megan McKenna won the series with 46.3% of the vote, with Max and Harvey finishing in second place and Jenny Ryan in third place.[4] [5]

Background and judges

The series' predecessor, aired in 2006 as a celebrity incarnation of The X Factor. It was reported on 26 August 2006 that Cowell had axed Battle of the Stars, describing it as "pointless" and adding "we are never going to do it again." However, Cowell later stated in an interview with The Sun on 30 November 2018 that he would consider reviving the show for a second series as a charity special.[6]

The series was first reported in early 2019, as the main series was being put on hiatus due to declining ratings.[7] [8] On 7 July 2019, Walsh spoke about the return of the series, stating, "I go to Los Angeles on Tuesday, I go to Simon's house in Malibu, it's me, Simon and Nicole, we're doing the celebrity one."[9] On 22 October 2019, it was revealed that Vick Hope would host Xtra Bites on YouTube, each episode premiered after each live show.[10]

The format of the series differs heavily than Battle of the Stars to bring it more in line with the main series. Notable differences between this series and Battle of the Stars are instead of competing for charity, the acts are competing to win a record contract with Syco Music, and the live shows, instead of being aired daily, are aired every Saturday night, allowing more time inbetween shows for the acts to develop their artistry.

Acts

A teaser, released in September 2019, teased the potential contestants of the series, of which include: a film star, model, online influencers, professional dancer, social media stars and a soap star.[11] The full line-up was revealed on 30 September 2019.[12] Cowell mentored the Groups, Walsh mentored the 16-30s and Scherzinger mentored the Over 31s. During auditions, Cowell's America's Got Talent co-judge Howie Mandel and American Idol co-judge Randy Jackson appeared as guest judges.

-Key:

– Winner

– Runner-up

– Eliminated in the live shows

– Eliminated in the auditions

ActAge(s)HometownCategory (mentor)Known ForResult
Cole and Edwards43 & 48Christchurch, New Zealand
London, England
Groups (Cowell)Former Strictly Come Dancing professional
Former Hollyoaks actor
style=background:darkgrey;
Hayley Hasselhoff27Los Angeles, California, U.S.16-30s (Walsh)Actress & modelstyle=background:darkgrey;
Jenny Ryan37Bolton, EnglandOver 31s (Scherzinger)Quizzer & The Chase starstyle=background:pink
Jonny Labey26Grouville, Jersey16-30s (Walsh)Former EastEnders actorstyle=background:pink
Kevin McHale31Plano, Texas, U.S.Over 31s (Scherzinger)Glee actorstyle=background:pink
Martin Bashir56Wandsworth, EnglandOver 31s (Scherzinger)Journalist & news anchorstyle=background:pink
Max and Harvey16Sandhurst, EnglandGroups (Cowell)YouTube personalitiesstyle=background:silver
Megan McKenna27Barking, England16-30s (Walsh)Television personalitystyle=background:gold
No Love Lost21–24Essex / London / StaffordshireGroups (Cowell)Love Island starsstyle=background:pink
Olivia Olson27Los Angeles, California, U.S.16-30s (Walsh)Actress & singerstyle=background:pink
Ricki Lake51Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.Over 31s (Scherzinger)Hairspray actress & former talk show hoststyle=background:pink
Try Star21–34Birmingham / Harare, Zimbabwe / ChesterGroups (Cowell)Rugby union playersstyle=background:pink
V518–21Colombia / Puerto Rico /
Brazil / Cuba / Mexico
Groups (Cowell)Social media influencersstyle=background:pink
Victoria Ekanoye36Bury, EnglandOver 31s (Scherzinger)Former Coronation Street actressstyle=background:pink
Vinnie Jones54Watford, EnglandOver 31s (Scherzinger)Actor & former Premier League footballerstyle=background:pink

Notes

Auditions

The audition process took place in Los Angeles, California. The celebrity acts were all asked to meet with O'Leary in a location where they then spent two days with the production team working on vocal training and song choices. They then auditioned for Cowell, Walsh and Scherzinger at a house party in Malibu consisting of various singers, songwriters, record producers and talent judges for the acts to perform in front of.

Some of the guest judges that the celebrities got to perform in front of were as follows:[13]

Vinnie Jones, who was due to take part in the show, was unable to fly to Los Angeles for his audition due to the death of his wife Tanya Terry on 6 July 2019. Cowell personally called Jones two months later and offered him an unconditional place in the live shows.

OrderCelebrityCategorySong choice[14] Result
Week 1 (12 October 2019)
1No Love LostGroups"There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back"Advanced
2Kevin McHale16-30s"Never Be the Same"
3Max and HarveyGroups"I Don't Care"
"Sucker"
4Cole & EdwardsGroups"Love at First Sight"Eliminated
5Martin BashirOver 31s"L-O-V-E"Advanced
6Hayley Hasselhoff16-30s"Someone You Loved"Eliminated
7Jenny RyanOver 31s"Somebody to Love"Advanced
8Try StarGroups"No Diggity"
Week 2 (19 October 2019)
1Olivia Olson16-30s"Location"Advanced
"Come Together"
2Jonny Labey16-30s"Feel It Still"
"Feeling Good" with David Foster
3Megan McKenna16-30s"Everything but You"
4Ricki LakeOver 31s"Us"
5V5Groups"Juice"
6Victoria EkanoyeOver 31s"The House of the Rising Sun"

Notes

Live shows

Results summary

Colour key
  - Act was eliminated by their mentor
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
 –Act was given a Safe Seat from the judges
Weekly results per act[15]
ActAuditionsWeek 1Week 2Week 3Quarter-FinalSemi-FinalFinal
First Vote Second Vote
Megan McKennaAdvanced1st
26.7%
1st
30.1%
1st
25.7%
1st
21.6%
1st
28.6%
1st
40.6%
Winner
46.3%
Max and Harvey5th
10.6%
3rd
12.2%
Safe
Seat
4th
14.0%
3rd
16.9%
2nd
27.5%
Runner-Up
27.1%
Jenny RyanEliminatedSafe
Seat
5th
10.4%
2nd
25.5%
3rd
14.5%
2nd
17.2%
3rd
21.2%
3rd
22.4%
V5Advanced6th
8.7%
4th
12.0%
5th
11.0%
5th
10.5%
5th
11.1%
4th
10.7%
Try StarSafe
Seat
Safe
Seat
3rd
17.5%
2nd
20.8%
4th
15.7%
Vinnie Jones2nd
16.5%
2nd
14.0%
Safe
Seat
6th
10.1%
6th
10.5%
Kevin McHale7th
7.9%
Safe
Seat
Safe
Seat
7th
8.5%
Eliminated (quarter-final)
No Love Lost3rd
11.2%
Safe
Seat
4th
13.7%
Eliminated (week 3)
Martin Bashir8th
3.7%
6th
9.3%
6th
6.6%
Jonny LabeySafe
Seat
7th
6.6%
Eliminated (week 2)
Victoria Ekanoye4th
10.7%
8th
5.4%
Olivia Olson9th
2.9%
Eliminated (week 1)
Ricki Lake10th
1.1%
Hayley HasselhoffEliminatedEliminated (Auditions)
Cole & Edwards
Final ShowdownN/ABashir,
Olson
Bashir,
Labey
No Love Lost,
V5
Jones,
McHale
Try Star,
V5
No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone
Walsh's vote
to eliminate (16-30s)
HasselhoffBashir Bashir No Love Lost Jones
Scherzinger's vote
to eliminate (Over 31s)
RyanOlson Labey No Love Lost McHale Try Star
Cowell's vote
to eliminate (Groups)
Cole & EdwardsOlson None (abstained) McHale Try Star
EliminatedCole & Edwards
by Cowell
Ricki Lake
1.1%
to save
Victoria Ekanoye
5.4%
to save
Martin Bashir
6.6%
to save
Kevin McHale
2 of 3 votes
Majority
Vinnie Jones
10.5%
to save
V5
10.7%
to save
Jenny Ryan
22.4%
to win
Hayley Hasselhoff
by Walsh
Olivia Olson
2 of 3 votes
Majority
Jonny Labey
1 of 2 votes
Deadlock
No Love Lost
2 of 2 votes
Majority
Try Star
2 of 2 votes
Majority
Max and Harvey
27.1%
to win
Jenny Ryan
by Scherzinger

Week 1 (26 October)

Act! scope="col"
Category (mentor)OrderSong (original artist)[16] Result
Kevin McHale16-30s (Walsh)1"Good as Hell" (Lizzo)Safe
Ricki LakeOver 31s (Scherzinger)2"Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac)Eliminated (Fewest Public Votes)
No Love LostGroups (Cowell)3"All or Nothing" (original song) Safe
Jenny RyanOver 31s (Scherzinger)4"Rise Like a Phoenix" (Conchita Wurst)Saved by Scherzinger
Jonny Labey16-30s (Walsh)5"Show Me Love" (Robin S.)Saved by Walsh
V5Groups (Cowell)6"Bad Guy"/"Taki Taki" (Billie Eilish) / (DJ Snake)Safe
Martin BashirOver 31s (Scherzinger)7"Danke Schoen" (Wayne Newton)Bottom Three
Max and HarveyGroups (Cowell)8"When Will I Be Famous?" (Bros)Safe
Olivia Olson16-30s (Walsh)9"Anyone Who Had a Heart" (Dionne Warwick)Eliminated (Judges' Vote)
Vinnie JonesOver 31s (Scherzinger)10"Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Solomon Burke)Safe
Megan McKenna16-30s (Walsh)11"This" (original song)Safe (Highest Votes)
Victoria EkanoyeOver 31s (Scherzinger)12"Never Tear Us Apart" (INXS)Safe
Try StarGroups (Cowell)13"Pony"/"Old Town Road" (Ginuwine) / (Lil Nas X)Saved by Cowell
Judges' votes to eliminate

Week 2 (2 November)

Act! scope="col"
Category (mentor)OrderSongResult
Jonny Labey16-30s (Walsh)1"Are You Gonna Be My Girl"Eliminated (Deadlock)
Jenny RyanOver 31s (Scherzinger)2"This Is My Life"Safe
No Love LostGroups (Cowell)3"Would I Lie to You?"Saved by Cowell
Victoria EkanoyeOver 31s (Scherzinger)4"Why Don't You Love Me"Eliminated (Fewest Public Votes)
Max and HarveyGroups (Cowell)5"Cool"Safe
Kevin McHale16-30s (Walsh)6"Dance Monkey"Saved by Walsh
Try StarGroups (Cowell)7"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot"Saved by Scherzinger
Martin BashirOver 31s (Scherzinger)8"Easy"Bottom Three
V5Groups (Cowell)9"Despacito"/"Mi Gente"Safe
Vinnie JonesOver 31s (Scherzinger)10"Lip Up Fatty"
Megan McKenna16-30s (Walsh)11"Stronger" (original song)Safe (Highest Votes)
Judges' votes to eliminate

With the acts in the bottom two receiving one vote each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Jonny Labey was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 3 (9 November)

Act! scope="col"
Category (mentor)OrderSongResult
Kevin McHale16-30s (Walsh)1"Don't Start Now"Saved by Walsh
Max and HarveyGroups (Cowell)2"Can't Hold Us"Saved by Cowell
Vinnie JonesOver 31s (Scherzinger)3"It Must Be Love"/"House of Fun"/"One Step Beyond"Saved by Scherzinger
Try StarGroups (Cowell)4"No Diggity"Safe
V5Groups (Cowell)5"Motivation"/"I Like It"Bottom Three
Martin BashirOver 31s (Scherzinger)6"That's Life"Eliminated
Megan McKenna16-30s (Walsh)7"Half of My Heart" (original song)Safe (Highest Votes)
No Love LostGroups (Cowell)8"Money Where Your Mouth Is" (original song)Bottom Three
Jenny RyanOver 31s (Scherzinger)9"The Edge of Glory"Safe
Sing-off details
V5Groups (Cowell)1"Juice"Saved
No Love LostGroups (Cowell)2"Sorry"Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate

However, voting statistics revealed that No Love Lost received more votes than V5 which meant that if the result went to deadlock, No Love Lost would have advanced to the quarter-final and V5 would have been eliminated.

Week 4: Quarter-Final (16 November)

At the beginning of the show, Cowell stated that Safe Seats would no longer be used due to negative viewer reception, therefore all acts would face the public vote.

This is also the only live show with one contestant going home.

Act! scope="col"
Category (mentor)OrderSongResult
Max and HarveyGroups (Cowell)1"High Hopes"Safe
Kevin McHale16-30s (Walsh)2"I Feel Love"Bottom Two
V5Groups (Cowell)3"Bang Bang"Safe
Vinnie JonesOver 31s (Scherzinger)4"I Fought the Law"/"Should I Stay or Should I Go"Bottom Two
Megan McKenna16-30s (Walsh)5"When I'm Crying" (original song)Safe (Highest Votes)
Jenny RyanOver 31s (Scherzinger)6"Euphoria"Safe
Try StarGroups (Cowell)7"Boom"
Sing-off details
Vinnie JonesOver 31s (Scherzinger)1"The Galway Shawl"Saved
Kevin McHale16-30s (Walsh)2"Something's Got to Give"Eliminated
Shortly before the judges voted, Jones announced that he did not wish to obstruct McHale's progress and requested to withdraw.
Judges' votes to eliminate

Week 5: Semi-Final (23 November)

At the start of the show, O'Leary announced that Cowell's request for a wildcard vote had to be declined, and that four finalists would be found amongst the remaining six acts.

Act! scope="col"
Category (mentor)OrderSongMovieResult
Try StarGroups (Cowell)1"The Greatest Show"The Greatest ShowmanBottom Three
Jenny RyanOver 31s (Scherzinger)2"Skyfall"SkyfallSafe
Max and HarveyGroups (Cowell)3"Kiss You"
Vinnie JonesOvers (Scherzinger)4"(I've Had) The Time of My Life"Dirty DancingEliminated
Megan McKenna16-30s (Walsh)5"It Must Have Been Love"Pretty WomanSafe (Highest Votes)
V5Groups (Cowell)6"September"TrollsBottom Three
Sing-off details
Try StarGroups (Cowell)1"Hold Me While You Wait"Eliminated
V5Groups (Cowell)2"Con Calma"/"End of Time"Saved
Judges' votes to eliminate

However, voting statistics revealed that Try Star received more votes than V5 which meant that if the result went to deadlock, Try Star would have advanced to the final and V5 would have been eliminated.

Week 6: Final (30 November)

Act! scope="col"
Category (mentor)OrderSongOrderSongResult
V5Groups (Cowell)1"All I Want for Christmas Is You"N/AN/A (Already Eliminated)Eliminated in Round 1
Jenny RyanOver 31s (Scherzinger)2"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"6 "The Edge of Glory"Eliminated in Round 2
Max and HarveyGroups (Cowell)3"Last Christmas"7"Kiss You"Runner-Up
Megan McKenna16-30s (Walsh)4"One More Sleep"5"This" (original song)Winner

Following the announcement that McKenna had won, she performed her winner's single, "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)".

Reception

Ratings

EpisodeAir dateOfficial rating
(millions)[20]
Weekly
rank
Auditions 16.2912
Auditions 25.1521
Live show 14.4535
Live show 23.8947
Live show 33.8048
Live show 4<3.39rowspan="3"
Live show 5<3.47
Live final<3.38

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The X Factor: Celebrity series finally gets an official air date. Warner. Sam. 2019-10-02. Digital Spy. en. 2019-10-02.
  2. Web site: X Factor: Celebrity - Brendan Cole, Ricki Lake and Ben Foden among stars revealed for full-line up. Sky News. en. 2019-09-30.
  3. Web site: Rose Clarke . Annaleigh . 13 November 2018 . X Factor and Britain's Got Talent 'to stay on ITV until 2022' says Simon Cowell . Telly Mix. 13 November 2018.
  4. Web site: X Factor: Celebrity crowns Megan McKenna winner after epic final show. Griffin. Louise. 30 November 2019. Metro. 30 November 2019 .
  5. Web site: The X Factor: Celebrity voting results revealed!. ITV. 30 November 2019.
  6. News: Simon Cowell wants to revive Celebrity X Factor and mentor David Walliams. 2018-12-01. Metro. en-US. 2019-08-22.
  7. Web site: Simon Cowell's X Factor and BGT each getting TWO series in 2019. Justin. Harp. 14 February 2019. Digital Spy.
  8. Web site: Celebrity X Factor: Which Stars Are On The Line-Up And Who Are The Judges?. 16 July 2019.
  9. Web site: Louis Walsh and Nicole Scherzinger 'to return to The X Factor'. Josh. Darvill. 7 July 2019. TellyMix.
  10. Web site: Vick Hope joins X Factor Celebrity presenting team. Meechan. Simon. 2019-10-22. nechronicle. 2019-10-23.
  11. Web site: Seddon . Dan . The X Factor: Celebrity's star-studded line-up is teased in new video . . . 28 September 2019 . United Kingdom . 21 September 2019.
  12. Web site: West . Amy . Love Island stars and more sign up for Celebrity X Factor . Digital Spy . 30 September 2019 . United Kingdom . 30 September 2019.
  13. Web site: The X Factor: Celebrity on Instagram: "You saw them at Simon's house, now get the scoop behind these industry legends who our nervous celebs performed for! #XFactorCelebrity…". https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/B39Vhz9nz9M . 26 December 2021 . registration. Instagram. en. 2019-11-24.
  14. Web site: The X Factor: Celebrity spoilers - first contestants and song choices!. Darvill. Josh. 2019-10-12. TellyMix. en. 2019-10-19.
  15. News: The X Factor: Celebrity voting results revealed!. 30 November 2019. The X Factor: Celebrity. itv.com. 1 December 2019.
  16. TheXFactor. 1188144775326769152. XCLUSIVE: Tonight's #XFactorCelebrity song lists! Don't say we don't get you anything nice. Which song are you looking forward to seeing in action tonight? #XFactor. 26 October 2019. 26 October 2019.
  17. News: Excited to say I'll be making a return to @TheXFactor on Saturday night to perform 'Quite Miss Home'. Tune in at 8.30 on @ITV. 31 October 2019. Twitter. 31 October 2019.
  18. News: 'Good As Hell'? We can't think of anything better! The incredible @Lizzo will be performing her hit song live on #XFactorCelebrity this Saturday! #XFactor. 13 November 2019. Twitter. 15 November 2019.
  19. Web site: Watch Pussycat Dolls Reunite for First Performance in Nearly 10 Years . rollingstone.com . Kreps . Daniel . 1 December 2019 . 2 December 2019.
  20. Web site: Four screen dashboard (see relevant week under – select 7 day data) . . 21 October 2019.