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The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The thirteenth series began airing on ITV on Saturday 27 August 2016 and ended on Sunday 11 December 2016.[1] Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV for the ninth time to replace Olly Murs and Caroline Flack, who left after series 12. Simon Cowell was the only judge from the 12th series to return; Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh all returned, replacing Rita Ora, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Nick Grimshaw. Matt Edmondson and Rylan Clark-Neal replaced Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom as hosts of The Xtra Factor, which was rebranded as The Xtra Factor Live and was broadcast live twice every week, with Roman Kemp making appearances as a digital presenter and social media reporter. Matt Terry was announced the winner on 11 December 2016, making Scherzinger the winning mentor for the second time. Saara Aalto finished second.
On 18 February 2016, series 12 judge Nick Grimshaw announced that he would not come back for another series on the judging panel.[2] On 5 April 2016, it was confirmed that Cheryl would not return as a judge.[3] Rita Ora confirmed she was leaving the judging panel on 10 May 2016.[4] On the same day, it was reported that former judges Nicole Scherzinger, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh may return to join Simon Cowell on the judging panel to collectively replace Ora, Cheryl and Grimshaw.[5] Walsh confirmed he had signed a contract on 15 May 2016.[6] The judging line-up was officially confirmed as Cowell, Walsh, Osbourne and Scherzinger on 1 June 2016.[7]
On 22 February 2016, during an interview with The Sun, Olly Murs, who had co-hosted the previous series with Caroline Flack, confirmed his decision to quit the series to focus on his music. In a statement, Murs stated, "This was an incredibly hard decision to make and one I didn't take lightly as I've really enjoyed co-hosting The X Factor."[8] Following Murs' decision to exit the series, Flack confirmed she would exit as well, stating, "I have had a brilliant time working on The X Factor over the last few years, and hosting the main show was just fantastic – I made some amazing friends."[9] On 29 March 2016, it was confirmed that Dermot O'Leary would return to present The X Factor on ITV for the ninth time, after having quit the previous year, and said he was "very flattered to be asked back". For series 12, O'Leary was replaced by Murs and Flack, but the viewing numbers fell and O'Leary was asked back. Richard Holloway, boss of Thames, said he was "a much-loved part of The X Factor and one of the best presenters in the business", while Kevin Lygo, ITV's Director of TV, said he was "an important part of the ITV family".[10] [11] On 27 June 2016, it was confirmed that Matt Edmondson will be the new host of The Xtra Factor replacing Rochelle Humes and Melvin Odoom.[12] On 1 July 2016, it was confirmed that Rylan Clark-Neal will co-host alongside Edmondson,[13] and that Capital FM DJ Roman Kemp would be a digital presenter and social media reporter.[14] Mel B joined the panel for one day of London auditions in lieu of Scherzinger.[15] Osbourne was absent in the Edinburgh auditions and was not replaced by a guest judge.
The minimum age to audition this year was 16. Contestants needed three or more 'yeses' from the four judges to progress to Bootcamp.[16]
In addition to the producers' auditions, the "Mobile Audition Tour" took place throughout the UK and Ireland. Auditions ran between 7 March and 30 April 2016, and visited Skegness, Sheffield, Aberdeen, Peterborough, Telford, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Sunderland, Nottingham, Middlesbrough, Leicester, Coventry, Ipswich, Scarborough, Chelmsford, Northampton, Southend-on-Sea, Hull, Milton Keynes, Essex, York, Isle of Man, Swindon, Portsmouth, Bognor Regis, Bristol, Blackpool, Preston, Weston-Super-Mare, Brighton, Newquay, Wigan, Truro, Hastings, Exeter, Margate, Yeovil and Maidstone.[17]
Producers auditions commenced on 7 April in Glasgow and ended on 14 May in Liverpool.[18]
| Audition city | Open audition date | Open audition venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow | 7 April 2016 | Hampden Park | |
| Birmingham | 9–10 April 2016 | St Andrew's | |
| Cardiff | 17 April 2016 | Holland House | |
| Dublin | 24 April 2016 | RDS Arena | |
| Newcastle upon Tyne | 27 April 2016 | St James' Park | |
| London | 1 May 2016 | ExCeL London | |
| Manchester | 7 May 2016 | EventCity | |
| Liverpool | 14 May 2016 | ACC Liverpool |
Originally, the format for auditions was announced to return to that of series 10 and 11, with both room auditions and consequent arena auditions before bootcamp.[19] However, the arena auditions were scrapped at the end of June, towards the end of the filming of the room auditions.[20] The auditions started on 10 June in Leicester[21] and continued in Manchester on 13 June.[22] The next auditions took place on 17 June in London where Mel B was a guest judge in place of Scherzinger, while Scherzinger had other commitments.[23] Contestant Philip Hadlow did not progress to Bootcamp, but judged one audition in Walsh's place. Subsequent auditions were held in London on 19 June, with Scherzinger returning,[24] before moving to Edinburgh on 23 June[25] and Dublin on 1 July.[26] Selected auditions were broadcast over seven episodes, between 27 August and 17 September 2016.
Notable auditionees this series included Rebekah Ryan, who had UK chart success in the 1990s as an independent artist and previously auditioned in series 4, reaching bootcamp, Saara Aalto, who was the runner-up on series 1 of The Voice of Finland,[27] and actor Will Rush.[28]
| City | Date(s) | Venue | Changes to judging line-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester | 10 June 2016 | King Power Stadium | rowspan="2" |
| Manchester | 13–14 June 2016 | Old Trafford Cricket Ground | |
| London | 17 June 2016 | ExCeL London | Mel B (in lieu of Nicole Scherzinger) |
| 18–19 June 2016 | |||
| Edinburgh | 23 June 2016 | Assembly Rooms | Sharon Osbourne absent |
| Dublin | 1 July 2016 | Croke Park | rowspan="2" |
| London | 6 July 2016 | Alexandra Palace |
Bootcamp took place at Alexandra Palace from 6 to 8 July 2016.[29] [30] It was broadcast in a single episode on 18 September 2016. The contestants all chose a song from a wall with sheets of paper attached. Each song appeared three times and the three acts who picked the same song would perform that song as a group. Immediately after each performance, the judges would either put the acts through or eliminate them immediately. 121 acts were successful in this part, and the judges then deliberated to cut the number of contestants down further, to decide who would reach the six-chair challenge.[31] At the end of Bootcamp, the judges discovered which categories they would mentor: Cowell was given the Girls, Scherzinger was given the Boys, Osbourne was given the Over 25s and Walsh was given the Groups.[32]
The six-chair challenge took place from 9 to 12 July, at The SSE Arena, Wembley.[33] It was broadcast over two episodes on 24 and 25 September.[34] [35] [36] [37] Scherzinger and Cowell chose their final six acts during Saturday's show, while Osbourne and Walsh picked their acts during Sunday's show.[38] [39] [40] [41]
Filming for judges' houses took place in late August and early/mid September. The locations and guest judges were officially confirmed on 21 September 2016. Walsh was assisted in Ibiza by Fleur East and Alesha Dixon, Cowell went to Malibu with Mel B and Emma Bunton, Osbourne went to her Los Angeles home where she was joined by Robbie Williams, and Scherzinger went to Nice with Calvin Harris.[42] Ivy Grace Paredes, who was originally selected as one of Osbourne's over-25s at the six-chair challenge, withdrew from the competition because her visa would not be issued in time,[43] and she was replaced by Honey G.[44] Four more acts were chosen as wildcards to go to judges' houses. Walsh chose Samantha Lavery for Cowell, Cowell chose Ryan Lawrie for Scherzinger, Scherzinger chose Saara Aalto for Osbourne and Osbourne chose Yes Lad for Walsh.[45]
The judges houses episodes were broadcast on 1 and 2 October 2016.
Boys:
Girls:
Groups:
Over 25s
| Simon Cowell | Girls | Malibu | Mel B and Emma Bunton | Soheila Clifford, Olivia Garcia, Kayleigh Marie Morgan, Caitlyn Vanbeck | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Osbourne | Over 25s | Los Angeles | Robbie Williams | Samantha Atkinson, Janet Grogan, Christopher Peyton, James Wilson | |
| Nicole Scherzinger | Boys | Southern France | Calvin Harris | Christian Burrows, James Hughes, Niall Sexton, Nate Simpson | |
| Louis Walsh | Groups | Ibiza | Fleur East and Alesha Dixon | Skarl3t, Tom and Laura, Yes Lad |
– Winner
– Runner-Up
– Withdrew
| Act | Age(s) | Hometown | Category (mentor) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Terry | 23 | Kent | Boys (Scherzinger) | Winner | |
| Saara Aalto | 29 | Oulunsalo, Finland | Over 25s (Osbourne) | Runner-Up | |
| 5 After Midnight | 20–23 | East London | Groups (Walsh) | 3rd Place | |
| Emily Middlemas | 18 | Glasgow | Girls (Cowell) | 4th Place | |
| Honey G | 35 | Harrow | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 5th Place | |
| Ryan Lawrie | 20 | Coatbridge | Boys (Scherzinger) | 6th Place | |
| Sam Lavery | 17 | County Durham | Girls (Cowell) | 7th Place | |
| Four of Diamonds | 17–22 | Southampton | Groups (Walsh) | 8th Place | |
| Gifty Louise | 20 | Ghana / London | Girls (Cowell) | 9th Place | |
| Relley C | 27 | Birmingham | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 10th Place | |
| Freddy Parker | 18 | Ashford | Boys (Scherzinger) | 11th Place | |
| Brooks Way | 17 | Cardiff | Groups (Walsh) | 12th Place | |
| Bratavio | 23 & 25 | Leamington Spa & Southampton | Groups (Walsh) | 13th Place |
The live shows began on 8 October 2016, with the performance shows taking place on Saturday night and the results show airing on Sunday night. On 1 October, it was revealed that all the groups would undergo name changes. The new names were revealed as Bratavio (Bradley & Ottavio), Brooks Way (The Brooks) and 5 After Midnight (5AM).[46] The live shows were all filmed at Fountain Studios in London, apart from the live final and final results show, which were filmed at Wembley Arena. This was the last series to be filmed at Fountain Studios, and the semi-final results show and the following episode of The Xtra Factor were the last programmes to be recorded in the studios before its demolition.[47] [48]
New for this series, the first five results shows revealed the acts in the bottom three of the votes, and there was then a second round of 'flash votes' which lasted approximately four minutes, with voting only available via the official The X Factor mobile app. The act who topped this vote avoided the sing-off.[49] Also new, the theme for each week, excluding week 1, is randomly selected via a "jukebox wheel" at the end of the previous week's show, which is spun by O'Leary (apart from week 6, when it was spun by Ant & Dec, during a live link-up from Australia). Themes include "Disco", "Movies", "Fright Night", "80s", "Divas", "Motown", "Girlband vs Boyband" and "Louis loves"—named after Louis Walsh.[50] During the sixth live show, it was revealed that viewers would have a chance to suggest a theme for the jukebox.[51] During the seventh live results show, the new theme was revealed as "Christmas".[52]
On 10 October 2016, Brooks Way confirmed that they would not be taking part in the show after being absent from the first live show. In a statement released by the official website to confirm their exit, Josh Brooks said, "Due to events in my personal life I've decided that it's best not to be on the show at this time. While not everything that has been claimed is true I would like to apologise to everyone involved." A spokesperson for the show added, "Following the allegations relating to Josh Brooks, we have decided by mutual consent that Brooks Way should leave the competition."[53] The same day, it was confirmed that Four of Diamonds, who previously made Judges' Houses, would be replacing Brooks Way. Speaking of their second chance in the competition, the girls said that they "are so excited to be back" and "looking forward to performing live, working hard and showing everyone what they are made of". Speaking about why he brought the girl group back, groups mentor Walsh stated that he was "impressed with the girls" but only had "three spots in the live shows". At the time of the episode airing, many viewers were disappointed that they were not chosen and he stated that he'd "listened to the fans" and was "delighted to be bringing the girls back."[54]
Each results show features guest performances, with some guests performing during the main performance show. Performers included 2012 The X Factor winner James Arthur on the first results show,[55] the cast of on the second live show, OneRepublic and 2011 winners Little Mix on the second results show, Busted, Shawn Mendes and John Legend on the third live results show,[56] 2015 winner Louisa Johnson and Bruno Mars on the fourth live results show, Emeli Sandé and Robbie Williams on the fifth live results show, Sister Sledge on the sixth live show, 2009 runner up Olly Murs and Nathan Sykes on the sixth live results show, the cast of School of Rock, Craig David and Alicia Keys on the seventh live results show, and Busted Clean Bandit featuring Sean Paul and Anne-Marie on the eighth live results show, Zara Larsson[57] and Lady Gaga[58] on the semi-final live results show, The Weeknd, Louis Tomlinson featuring Steve Aoki and Honey G in the first final performances show, and Kylie Minogue, Madness and Little Mix featuring Charlie Puth in the final results show.
Colour key;
Act in Boys
Act in Girls
Act in Over 25s
Act in Groups
| – | Act was in the bottom two/three and had to perform again in the sing-off | |
| – | Act was in the bottom three but was saved by voters in the lifeline vote and did not have to perform in the sing-off | |
| – | Act received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no survival) | |
| – | Act received the most public votes | |
| – | Act was ejected from performing but remained in the competition |
| Act | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Quarter-final | Semi-final | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday Vote | Sunday Vote | |||||||||||||
| Matt Terry | 1st 22.2% | 1st 19.5% | 1st 17.8% | 2nd 18.7% | 1st 16.7% | 3rd 16.7% | 1st 21.1% | 3rd 21.2% | 3rd 22.5% | 2nd 33.4% | Winner 48.5% | |||
| Saara Aalto | 9th 5.3% | 9th 6.4% | 2nd 13.7% | 3rd 11.3% | 6th 9.4% | 2nd 18.4% | 2nd 20.1% | 1st 23.7% | 1st 28.8% | 1st 35.3% | 40.4% | |||
| 5 After Midnight | 2nd 13.3% | 2nd 15.6% | 4th 11.5% | 4th 10.6% | 2nd 15.5% | 1st 19.0% | 3rd 17.5% | 4th 20.3% | 2nd 26.6% | 3rd 31.3% | Eliminated (final) | |||
| Emily Middlemas | 3rd 11.9% | 3rd 11.0% | 3rd 11.9% | 1st 18.7% | 3rd 15.3% | 4th 13.4% | 4th 16.8% | 2nd 22.6% | 4th 22.1% | Eliminated (semi-final) | ||||
| Honey G | 4th 10.9% | 4th 9.3% | 5th 9.4% | 6th 9.2% | 5th 11.6% | 5th 11.7% | 6th 11.2% | 5th 12.2% | Eliminated (quarter-final) | |||||
| Ryan Lawrie | 8th 6.2% | 10th 4.6% | 8th 7.4% | 7th 8.7% | 4th 14.1% | 6th 11.1% | 5th 13.3% | Eliminated (week 7) | ||||||
| Sam Lavery | 5th 9.8% | 5th 8.8% | 6th 8.1% | 5th 10.1% | 8th 8.5% | 7th 9.7% | Eliminated (week 6) | |||||||
| Four of Diamonds | Eliminated | 6th 7.3% | 10th 6.1% | 9th 6.1% | 7th 8.9% | Eliminated (week 5) | ||||||||
| Gifty Louise | 7th 6.6% | 8th 6.4% | 7th 7.9% | 8th 6.6% | Eliminated (week 4) | |||||||||
| Relley C | 6th 7.8% | 7th 6.6% | 9th 6.2% | Eliminated (week 3) | ||||||||||
| Freddy Parker | 10th 3.4% | 11th 4.5% | Eliminated (week 2) | |||||||||||
| Brooks Way | Ejected | Withdrew (week 2) | ||||||||||||
| Bratavio | 11th 2.6% | Eliminated (week 1) | ||||||||||||
| Lifeline Vote | 1st | Parker 52.0% | Lawrie 37.9% | Lawrie 37.9% | Lawrie 41.2% | Lavery 46.1% | No Lifeline Vote | |||||||
| 2nd | Aalto 38.5% | Aalto 32.0% | Relley C 36.0% | Louise 35.0% | Four of Diamonds 27.3% | |||||||||
| 3rd | Bratavio 9.5% | Parker 30.0% | Four of Diamonds 26.1% | Four of Diamonds 23.8% | Aalto 26.6% | |||||||||
| Final Showdown | Aalto, Bratavio | Aalto, Parker | Four of Diamonds, Relley C | Four of Diamonds, Louise | Aalto, Four of Diamonds | Lavery, Lawrie | Honey G, Lawrie | 5 After Midnight, Honey G | Middlemas, Terry | No sing-off or judges' votes: results were based on public votes alone | ||||
| Judges voted to | Eliminate | Send Through | ||||||||||||
| Walsh's vote (Groups) | Aalto | Parker | Relley C | Louise | Aalto | Lawrie | Lawrie | Honey G | Terry | |||||
| Osbourne's vote (Over 25s) | Bratavio | Parker | Four of Diamonds | Louise | Four of Diamonds | Lavery | Lawrie | 5 After Midnight | Terry | |||||
| Scherzinger's vote (Boys) | Bratavio | Aalto | Relley C | Louise | Four of Diamonds | Lavery | Honey G | Honey G | Terry | |||||
| Cowell's vote (Girls) | Bratavio | Aalto | Relley C | Four of Diamonds | Four of Diamonds | Lawrie | Lawrie | Honey G | Middlemas | |||||
| Eliminated | Bratavio 3 of 4 votes Majority | Freddy Parker 2 of 4 votes Deadlock | Relley C 3 of 4 votes Majority | Gifty Louise 3 of 4 votes Majority | Four of Diamonds 3 of 4 votes Majority | Sam Lavery 2 of 4 votes Deadlock | Ryan Lawrie 3 of 4 votes Majority | Honey G 3 of 4 votes Majority | Emily Middlemas 1 of 4 votes Minority | 5 After Midnight 31.3% to save | Saara Aalto 40.4% to win | |||
| Reference(s) | [60] | |||||||||||||
It was announced at the beginning of Saturday's live show that Brooks Way would not be performing. A spokesperson for the show said: "Due to circumstances that have arisen, Brooks Way will not be appearing on tonight's show."[63]
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song[64] | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 1 | "Can't Stop the Feeling!" | Safe | |
| Sam Lavery | Girls (Cowell) | 2 | "Impossible" | ||
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 3 | "Let It Go" | Bottom Three | |
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 4 | "Perfect" | Safe | |
| Gifty Louise | Girls (Cowell) | 5 | "That's My Girl" | ||
| Relley C | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 6 | "Shackles (Praise You)" | ||
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 7 | "You Don't Own Me" | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Freddy Parker | Boys (Scherzinger) | 8 | "Killing Me Softly" | Bottom Three; Saved By Lifeline Vote | |
| Bratavio | Groups (Walsh) | 9 | "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!"/"Barbie Girl" | Bottom Three | |
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 10 | "Closer" | Safe | |
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 11 | "California Love" | ||
| Brooks Way | Groups (Walsh) | Did Not Perform | N/A | Withdrew On 10 October 2016 | |
| Sing-off details | |||||
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 1 | "Alive" | Saved | |
| Bratavio | Groups (Walsh) | 2 | "The Only Way Is Up" | Eliminated | |
Brooks Way were suspended from performing on only the first week. They withdrew the day after the first result show. They were due to perform "Cake by the Ocean". Brooks Way were then later replaced by Four of Diamonds.
On 10 October 2016, Brooks Way confirmed that they would no longer be taking part in the show after being absent from the first live show.[53] It was later confirmed that Four of Diamonds, who were eliminated at Judges' Houses, would replace them.[54]
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Motown Artist | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freddy Parker | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell | Bottom Three | |
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 2 | "Stop! In the Name of Love" | Safe | ||
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 3 | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Marvin Gaye | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Relley C | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 4 | "Ain't No Sunshine" | Bill Withers | Safe | |
| Sam Lavery | Girls (Cowell) | 5 | "Hello" | Lionel Richie | ||
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 6 | "Get Ready"/"Reach Out I'll Be There" | The Temptations | ||
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 7 | "Superstition" | Stevie Wonder | Bottom Three; Saved By Lifeline Vote | |
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 8 | "Mo Money Mo Problems" | Safe | ||
| Gifty Louise | Girls (Cowell) | 9 | "Rockin' Robin" | Jackson 5 | ||
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 10 | "River Deep – Mountain High" | Tina Turner | Bottom Three | |
| Four of Diamonds | Groups (Walsh) | 11 | "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | The Supremes | Safe | |
| Sing-off details | ||||||
| Freddy Parker | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Stay" | Eliminated | ||
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 2 | "Run" | Saved | ||
With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Freddy Parker was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.[67]
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Diva | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Rolling in the Deep" | Adele | Bottom Three; Saved By Lifeline Vote | |
| Gifty Louise | Girls (Cowell) | 2 | "Lay Me Down" | Sam Smith | Safe | |
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 3 | "Valerie" | Amy Winehouse | ||
| Sam Lavery | Girls (Cowell) | 4 | "Earth Song" | Michael Jackson | ||
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 5 | "I'll Be There" | The Jackson 5 | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 6 | "Ice Ice Baby"/"Under Pressure" | Queen/David Bowie/Vanilla Ice | Safe | |
| Relley C | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 7 | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | Aretha Franklin | Bottom Three | |
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 8 | "How Will I Know" | Whitney Houston | Safe | |
| Four of Diamonds | Groups (Walsh) | 9 | "Lady Marmalade"/"Bang Bang" | Labelle/Jessie J/Ariana Grande/Nicki Minaj | Bottom Three | |
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 10 | "It's Oh So Quiet" | Björk | Safe | |
| Sing-off | ||||||
| Relley C | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 1 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Eliminated | ||
| Four of Diamonds | Groups (Walsh) | 2 | "Who Are You" | Saved | ||
However, voting statistics revealed that Relley C received more votes than Four of Diamonds which meant that if Cowell sent the result to deadlock, Relley C would have been saved.
| Category (mentor) | Order[73] | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gifty Louise | Girls (Cowell) | 1 | "I'm in Love with a Monster" | Bottom Three | |
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 2 | "I Put a Spell on You" | Safe | |
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 3 | "Thriller" | ||
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 4 | "Men in Black" | ||
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 5 | "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" | Bottom Three; Saved By Lifeline Vote | |
| Sam Lavery | Girls (Cowell) | 6 | "Total Eclipse of the Heart" | Safe | |
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 7 | "Bad Romance" | ||
| Four of Diamonds | Groups (Walsh) | 8 | "Ghost" | Bottom Three | |
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 9 | "Creep" | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Sing-off | |||||
| Gifty Louise | Girls (Cowell) | 1 | "A Song for You" | Eliminated | |
| Four of Diamonds | Groups (Walsh) | 2 | "The Voice Within" | Saved | |
However, voting statistics revealed that Louise received more votes than Four of Diamonds which meant that if Osbourne sent the result to deadlock, Louise would have been saved.
During the fifth live results show, O'Leary confirmed that the final 8 would be part of The X Factor UK Live Tour 2017.[77]
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Band | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "I'm Your Man" | Wham! | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Sam Lavery | Girls (Cowell) | 2 | "I'll Stand by You" | The Pretenders | Bottom Three, Saved By Lifeline Vote | |
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 3 | "Jump" | Kris Kross | Safe | |
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 4 | "Twist and Shout" | The Beatles | ||
| Four of Diamonds | Groups (Walsh) | 5 | "Hold On" | Wilson Phillips | Bottom Three | |
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 6 | "Sound of the Underground" | Girls Aloud | ||
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 7 | "What Makes You Beautiful" | One Direction | Safe | |
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 8 | "Say You'll Be There" | Spice Girls | ||
| Sing-off | ||||||
| Four of Diamonds | Groups (Walsh) | 1 | "When You Believe" | Eliminated | ||
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 2 | "Who You Are" | Saved | ||
However, voting statistics revealed that Aalto and Four of Diamonds received more votes than Lavery which meant that if Aalto won the lifeline vote, Lavery would have faced Four of Diamonds in the final showdown and in that scenario, if the result went to deadlock, Lavery would have been eliminated. In addition, if Four of Diamonds won the lifeline vote, Lavery would have faced Aalto in the final showdown and in that scenario, if the result went to deadlock, Lavery would have been eliminated.
It was revealed during the sixth live show that the lifeline vote would not return for the remainder of the series.[83]
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song[84] | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 1 | "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" | Safe | |
| Sam Lavery | Girls (Cowell) | 2 | "I Will Survive" | Bottom Two | |
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 3 | "Play That Funky Music" | ||
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 4 | "Boogie Wonderland"/"September" | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 5 | "Best of My Love" | Safe | |
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 6 | "Wishing on a Star" | ||
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 7 | "Stayin' Alive" | ||
| Sing-off | |||||
| Sam Lavery | Girls (Cowell) | 1 | "No More Drama" | Eliminated | |
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 2 | "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" | Saved | |
With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Sam Lavery was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Film | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Jailhouse Rock" | Jailhouse Rock | Bottom Two | |
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 2 | "Try a Little Tenderness" | The Commitments | Safe | |
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 3 | "My Heart Will Go On" | Titanic | ||
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 4 | "Writing's on the Wall" | Spectre | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 5 | "It's Like That"/"Gettin' Jiggy wit It" | /The Last Days of Disco | Bottom Two | |
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 6 | "It Must Have Been Love" | Pretty Woman | Safe | |
| Sing-off | ||||||
| Ryan Lawrie | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Lego House" | Eliminated | ||
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 2 | "Get Ur Freak On"/"Work It" | Saved | ||
However, voting statistics revealed that Lawrie received more votes than Honey G which meant that if Cowell sent the result to deadlock, Lawrie would have advanced to the quarter-final and Honey G would have been eliminated.
For the first time this series, the acts performed two songs.
| Category (mentor) | Order | First song ("Louis Loves") | Order | Second song (own choice) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Secret Love Song, Pt II" | 6 | "Alive" | Safe | |
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 2 | "The Winner Takes It All" | 10 | "Diamonds Are Forever"/"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 3 | "U Can't Touch This"/"Super Freak" | 8 | "Push It"/"Black Beatles" | Bottom Two | |
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 4 | "Uptown Funk" | 7 | "Sorry"/"One Dance" | ||
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 5 | "Toxic" | 9 | "Human" | Safe | |
| Sing-off | |||||||
| Honey G | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 1 | "California Love" | Eliminated | |||
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 2 | "Beneath Your Beautiful" | Saved | |||
| Category (mentor) | Order | Christmas Song | Order | Song To Get into The Final | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Silent Night" | 6 | "Say You Love Me" | Bottom Two | |
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 2 | "Stay Another Day" | 8 | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" | Safe | |
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 3 | "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" | 5 | "Mad World" | Bottom Two | |
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 4 | "White Christmas"/"All I Want for Christmas Is You" | 7 | "Chandelier" | Safe (Highest Votes) | |
| Sing-off | |||||||
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 1 | "Hurt" | Saved | |||
| Emily Middlemas | Girls (Cowell) | 2 | "Wings" | Eliminated | |||
| Category (mentor) | Order | First song | Order | Second song (duet) | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 After Midnight | Groups (Walsh) | 1 | "Crazy in Love" | 4 | "Tears" (with Clean Bandit and Louisa Johnson) | Eliminated | |
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 2 | "Take Me Home" | 5 | "Purple Rain" (with Nicole Scherzinger) | Safe | |
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 3 | "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" | 6 | "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with Adam Lambert) | Safe (Highest Votes) |
5 After Midnight received the fewest public votes and was automatically eliminated.
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song of the series[98] | Originally Performed in.. | Order | Song to win | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saara Aalto | Over 25s (Osbourne) | 1 | "It's Oh So Quiet" | Live Show 3 | 3 | "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" | Runner-up | |
| Matt Terry | Boys (Scherzinger) | 2 | "Writing's on the Wall" | Live Show 7 | 4 | "One Day I'll Fly Away" | Winner |
Following the announcement that Terry had won, he performed his winner's single, "When Christmas Comes Around".
On 4 December 2016, it was announced that all VAT from the winner's single would be donated to charity, meaning that the charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase would receive 100% of all profits from sales of the single. It is the sixth year running that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has waived VAT on The X Factor winner's single.[99]
| Episode | Air date | Duration (minutes)[100] | Official rating (millions inc. HD & +1)[101] | Weekly rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auditions 1 | 90 | 8.52 | 2 | ||
| Auditions 2 | 60 | 7.93 | 4 | ||
| Auditions 3 | 60 | 10.05 | 3 | ||
| Auditions 4 | 60 | 9.07 | 4 | ||
| Auditions 5 | 60 | 9.02 | 2 | ||
| Auditions 6 | 60 | 8.51 | 3 | ||
| Auditions 7 | 60 | 9.21 | 2 | ||
| Bootcamp | 90 | 8.17 | 3 | ||
| Six-chair challenge 1 | 110 | 8.73 | 4 | ||
| Six-chair challenge 2 | 120 | 8.52 | 5 | ||
| Judges' houses 1 | 110 | 8.59 | 4 | ||
| Judges' houses 2 | 90 | 7.83 | 5 | ||
| Live show 1 | 120 | 7.57 | 7 | ||
| Live results 1 | 60 | 7.39 | 8 | ||
| Live show 2 | 120 | 7.01 | 14 | ||
| Live results 2 | 60 | 7.34 | 11 | ||
| Live show 3 | 110 | 7.12 | 18 | ||
| Live results 3 | 60 | 7.22 | 15 | ||
| Live show 4 | 110 | 7.04 | 13 | ||
| Live results 4 | 60 | 6.92 | 19 | ||
| Live show 5 | 100 | 6.72 | 24 | ||
| Live results 5 | 60 | 7.13 | 12 | ||
| Live show 6 | 90 | 7.18 | 15 | ||
| Live results 6 | 60 | 6.91 | 18 | ||
| Live show 7 | 85 | 7.10 | 17 | ||
| Live results 7 | 60 | 6.73 | 23 | ||
| Live show 8 | 110 | 6.63 | 27 | ||
| Live results 8 | 60 | 6.55 | 28 | ||
| Live show 9 | 90 | 6.67 | 22 | ||
| Live results 9 | 60 | 6.70 | 21 | ||
| Live final | 125 | 6.35 | 24 | ||
| Live final results | 125 | 7.56 | 9 | ||
| Series average | 2016 | 7.62 |
Includes advert breaks
The ratings over a 7-day period, including the broadcasts on ITV, ITV HD, ITV+1 and streaming through ITV Hub.
The rank for the combined ITV, ITV HD and ITV+1 broadcasts, compared with all channels for that week, from Monday to Sunday.
Just hours before the first live show, duo Brooks Way, consisting of twin brothers Kyle and Josh Brooks, were suspended from the competition, over allegations that Josh had been violent with his ex-girlfriend Amelia Clark, allegedly breaking her nose and kicking her in the face during a New Year Eve party earlier in the year. It was reported throughout the weekend that Josh was regularly beating up Kyle. Kyle and Amelia came to Josh's defence, saying respectively that the allegations were false and that they were written by a friend and fan who chose to exploit from the show. During the broadcast, presenter Dermot O'Leary acknowledged the brothers' absence stating that it was due to "circumstances that have arisen".
The following Monday, the duo released a statement saying that they were withdrawing from the competition, from "mutual consent" with the producers, whilst denying the "false allegations" and saying that "truth always wins".[102] They were replaced by girl group, Four of Diamonds later that week.[103]
The X Factor were forced to deny that the competition was fixed when nightclub Kittys & Kandy, in Kirkcaldy, posted on Facebook that Honey G would be performing there on 10 December 2016, the same night as the show's final. The post was deleted and the venue said they had secured the date in case Honey G was eliminated before that date, but a spokesperson for The X Factor said, "This story is not true and there is no foundation to any fix claims. The club was mistaken in their post that she would be there on 10 December and the post has since been removed."[104]
Several viewers suspected that the jukebox wheel was rigged after it selected "Fright Night" for the theme for week 4, two days before Halloween.[105] O'Leary insisted the wheel was not rigged, calling it "the most rudimentary hamster wheel you've ever seen in your life".[106] Scherzinger also said she thought it was not fixed because, "I can't pick my songs until we know what theme we're doing—and the producers aren't picking anything as well."[107] Contestant Middlemas said of the wheel: "It's not computerised, it's an old-fashioned wheel. We can see it at the side and there's no-one else around apart from Dermot [O'Leary] pulling the wheel. We do it at rehearsals and it lands on something different each time. All of the producers knew people would say it was fixed. But we know how it works."[108]
At the start of the third live show, O'Leary announced that the voting lines were open for all contestants before they had performed, instead of after they performed as it had been in the first two live shows. Isobel Mohan from The Daily Telegraph claimed this was unfair and gave an advantage to those performing first and turned it into a popularity contest instead of a talent show.[68]
During the fifth results show, many viewers claimed that they were unable to vote via the mobile app. This also led to claims of a fix.[109]
Ofcom received five complaints from viewers after Gifty Louise was heard swearing when she said, "I fucking told you" during the third live results show, when Sam Lavery was announced as the first act through to the following week. O'Leary issued an apology after the results. Ofcom confirmed that they were assessing the complaints before deciding whether to investigate.[110]