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The second and final series of the New Zealand television reality music competition The X Factor premiered on TV3 in February 2015.[1] Pre-auditions began in October 2014. As well as again being open to singers aged 14 and over, the series was also open to bands, which had to contain no more than five members and have at least two singers.[2] The contestants were split into the show's four traditional categories: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups.[3]
The series premiered on Sunday 15 February,[4] and screened three nights per week (SundayTuesday) until March 15, when it returned to the regular schedule of two nights per week (SundayMonday).[5] As well as being broadcast on TV3, the full series was also streamed live on TV3's website. The live shows were simulcast on More FM.[6]
The series was again hosted by Dominic Bowden.[7] Both former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker returned to judge the series.[8] They were joined by new judges, married couple Natalia Kills and Willy Moon until the first live show when they were both fired after bullying a contestant from the Over 25s, then former The X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and I Am Giant drummer Shelton Woolright from the second live show.
The series was accompanied by spin-off show The Xtra Factor, which was hosted by Guy Williams, Sharyn Casey, and Clint Roberts, and screened on Four immediately after The X Factor.[9] [10]
As of February 2016, five acts from series 2 have been signed to a certain music label. Beau Monga, Mae Valley, Brendon Thomas and The Vibes were signed to Sony Music New Zealand, Stevie Tonks was signed to Christian music label "Parachute" and Finlay Robertson had received a grant by NZ On Air to release a single titled "Control".[11]
The X Factor was created by Simon Cowell in the United Kingdom and the New Zealand version is based on the original UK series. Broadcast funding agency NZ On Air contributed $800,000 as a minority investor, for the production of 41 episodes of 60 minutes duration each.[12]
The series' broadcast sponsor is McDonald's, with Mazda, Fruttare, 2degrees and VO5 as programme partners.[13]
The initial pre-audition tour of 13 towns and cities was held in October and early November 2014, with the judges' auditions round filmed in Auckland in late November and early December. The Boot Camp round was filmed in mid-January 2015 in Auckland.[14]
In September, two of the judges from the first series, Melanie Blatt and Stan Walker, were confirmed to return as judges.[8] The other two judges from the first series, Ruby Frost and Daniel Bedingfield, were confirmed as not returning for the second series, with Frost wanting to focus on her music career.[15] In October the final two judges were confirmed as English singer Natalia Kills and her husband New Zealand-born singer Willy Moon.[16] On 16 March 2015, only hours before the second live results show, Kills and Moon were sacked from the show after a public backlash ensued against the couple after they berated a contestant's appearance on air during the first live show the previous night (15 March). More than 50,000 people signed a petition to get the couple sacked. For the show on 16 March, there were only two judges on the panel.[17] The X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and New Zealand-born I Am Giant drummer Shelton Woolright were named as the replacements of Moon and Kills respectively.[18]
In August 2014, Dominic Bowden was confirmed to return as the host of the second series.[7]
The first appeal for applicants was made on 24 August 2014, with the announcement of the application process and pre-audition tour details. Pre-auditions in front of the show's producers began on 11 October 2014 and travelled through 13 locations around New Zealand. This was a reduction from the 27 locations visited for the first series, with the second series focusing mainly on cities.[14] [19] Bands were also able to pre-audition in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch or by uploading a performance video.[2]
| Audition city/town | Dates | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland Central | 11–12 October 2014 | AUT City Campus | |
| Queenstown | 14 October 2014 | Performing Arts Centre | |
| Dunedin | 15 October 2014 | Forsyth Barr Stadium | |
| Christchurch | 16–17 October 2014 | New Zealand Institute of Sport | |
| Nelson | 19 October 2014 | Nelson College | |
| Wellington | 21–22 October 2014 | Westpac Stadium | |
| Palmerston North | 24 October 2014 | Regent Theatre | |
| Napier | 26 October 2014 | Napier Boys' High School | |
| Rotorua | 27 October 2014 | Rotorua Arts Village | |
| Tauranga/Mt Maunganui | 28 October 2014 | Club Mount | |
| Hamilton | 29 October 2014 | Wintec | |
| Whangarei | 30 October 2014 | Whangarei Athletics Club | |
| South Auckland | 1–2 November 2014 | Alfriston College |
The auditionees chosen by the producers were invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience.[20] These auditions were filmed at SkyCity Theatre in Auckland from 26 November to 2 December 2014 and broadcast from 15 February. The successful contestants then progressed to the Boot Camp round.[21]
Notable returning auditionees included three contestants who had competed in the first series: Finlay Robertson, who made it to judges' retreats; Hannah Cosgrove, who reached the second day of Boot Camp; and Kalsey Goodall and Nofo Lameko, who also made it to Boot Camp. Stuss featured as Cassie Henderson's backing band in week eight of the first series' live shows. Steve Broad previously appeared on the second series of NZ Idol in 2005, where he placed third, and on Pop's Ultimate Star in 2007. Archie Hill and Rick Aslett [22] were two separate acts that appeared on series three of New Zealand's Got Talent (series 3) at the audition stage in 2013. Richard Aslett also went on to appear live as one of the "crowd favourites" at the finale of series 3 of NZGT in December 2013.[23]
The Boot Camp round was filmed at Vector Arena in Auckland in mid-January 2015 and broadcast from 1 to 3 March. In the first part of Boot Camp, the 101 acts were divided into groups of eight and giving a song to sing. From here they were reduced down to a top 64 and were introduced to their category judge. In the six-seat challenge, the 12 acts in each category performed one song each for the judges and were allocated a seat or sent home. If all seats were filled, a swap had to take place with a previously seated contestant. Any contestant under 16 could not be swapped out if they were given a seat.[26] [27]
The 24 successful acts were:
The judges' retreats episodes were filmed over the month of February in locations in New Zealand and Thailand. Blatt mentored the Over 25s in Pattaya, Thailand, assisted by Nicole Appleton; Kills took the boys to Titirangi, assisted by contestant of the first series of The X Factor Benny Tipene; Moon has the Groups in Karaka, with musician and former New Zealand's Got Talent judge Jason Kerrison; and Walker took the girls to Bangkok, assisted by Ginny Blackmore. Moon created a new group, country duo Mae Valley, made up of Abby Christodoulou and Hannah Cosgrove who had previously been eliminated at Boot Camp.
At the end of judges' retreats, it was announced that each judge could bring one further act back as a wildcard, with the public voting for which of the four wildcards would become the 13th contestant.[28]
Key:
– Wildcard Winner
| Judge | Category | Location | Assistant[29] | Acts eliminated | Wildcard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blatt | Over 25s | Pattaya | Nicole Appleton | Talitha Blake, Kayla Mahon | Joseph Emanuel | |
| Kills | Boys | Titirangi | Benny Tipene | Micah Heath, Reiki Ruawai | Archie Hill | |
| Moon | Groups | Karaka | Jason Kerrison | Duel, Modulation, Urban Legacy | Mae Valley | |
| Walker | Girls | Bangkok | Ginny Blackmore | Georgina Banfield, Sally Faherty | Jazzy Axton |
Key:
– Winner
– Runner-Up
– Third Place
| Category (mentor) | Acts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boys(Bassingthwaighte)* | Nofo Lameko | ||||
| Girls (Walker) | Nyssa Collins | Finlay Robertson | |||
| Over 25s (Blatt) | Steve Broad | Joe Irvine | Sarah Spicer | ||
| Groups (Woolright)* | Fare Thee Well | Stuss | |||
The live shows began on 15 March 2015.[4] The shows were filmed at The X Factor NZ Studio in Favona, Auckland.[30] The finals were held in Vector Arena, in Auckland.
| Act | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Quarter-Final | Semi-Final | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Monday Vote | Second Monday Vote | |||||||||||
| Beau Monga | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner (Final) | |
| Nyssa Collins | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Three | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-Up (Final) | |
| Safe | Safe | Safe | 9th | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | 3rd | Eliminated (Final) | ||
| Stevie Tonks | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Bottom Two | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Semi-Final) | ||
| Steve Broad | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Quarter-Final) | |||
| Lili Bayliss | 12th | Safe | Bottom Two | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 7) | ||||
| Mae Valley | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 6) | |||||
| Joe Irvine | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Three | Eliminated (Week 5) | ||||||
| Finlay Robertson | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 9th | |||||||
| Sarah Spicer | Safe | Safe | Safe | 10th | Eliminated (Week 4) | |||||||
| Fare Thee Well | Safe | Bottom Two | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 3) | ||||||||
| Nofo Lameko | Safe | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 2) | |||||||||
| Stuss | 13th | Eliminated (Week 1) | ||||||||||
| Final Showdown | Bayliss, Stuss | Fare Thee Well, Lameko | Bayliss, Fare Thee Well | Brendon Thomas & The Vibes, Spicer | Collins, Irvine | Bayliss, Mae Valley | Bayliss, Tonks | Broad, Tonks | Brendon Thomas & The Vibes, Tonks | No final showdown/judges' vote; results were based on public votes alone | ||
| Woolright's vote to eliminate | Lameko | Bayliss | Spicer | Irvine | Bayliss | Bayliss | Broad | Tonks | ||||
| Bassingthwaite's vote to eliminate | Fare Thee Well | Fare Thee Well | Spicer | Irvine | Mae Valley | Bayliss | Broad | Brendon Thomas & The Vibes | ||||
| Walker's vote to eliminate | Stuss | Lameko | Fare Thee Well | Brendon Thomas & The Vibes | Irvine | Mae Valley | Tonks | Broad | Tonks | |||
| Blatt's vote to eliminate | Bayliss | Lameko | Fare Thee Well | Brendon Thomas & The Vibes | Collins | Mae Valley | Bayliss | Tonks | Tonks | |||
| Eliminated | Stuss 1 of 2 votes Deadlock | Nofo Lameko 3 of 4 votes Majority | Fare Thee Well 3 of 4 votes Majority | Sarah Spicer 2 of 4 votes Deadlock | Finlay Robertson Public Vote To Save | Mae Valley 3 of 4 votes Majority | Lili Bayliss 3 of 4 votes Majority | Steve Broad 3 of 4 votes Majority | Stevie Tonks 3 of 4 votes Majority | Brendon Thomas and The Vibes Third Place | Nyssa Collins Runner-Up | |
| Joe Irvine 3 of 4 votes Majority | ||||||||||||
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 1 | "I Shot the Sheriff"/"Uptown Funk" | Safe | |
| Beau Monga | Boys (Kills) | 2 | "Make It Bun Dem"/"Jamming" | ||
| Fare Thee Well | Groups (Moon) | 3 | "The Sound of Silence" | ||
| Sarah Spicer | Over 25s (Blatt) | 4 | "Wrecking Ball" | ||
| Stuss | Groups (Moon) | 5 | "Girls" | Bottom Two | |
| Nofo Lameko | Boys (Kills) | 6 | "Cry Me a River" | Safe | |
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 7 | "Rude" | Bottom Two | |
| Brendon Thomas and the Vibes | Groups (Moon) | 8 | "Lonely Boy" | Safe | |
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Kills) | 9 | "Young and Beautiful" | ||
| Mae Valley | Groups (Moon) | 10 | "If I Die Young" | ||
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 11 | "Drunk in Love" | ||
| Finlay Robertson | Girls (Walker) | 12 | "Chandelier" | ||
| Joe Irvine | Over 25s (Blatt) | 13 | "Cry Me a River" | ||
| Final showdown details | |||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | |
| Stuss | Groups (Moon) | 1 | "Shiver" | Eliminated | |
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 2 | "No Scrubs" | Safe | |
With the acts in the bottom two receiving one vote each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Stuss was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finlay Robertson | Girls (Walker) | 1 | "FourFiveSeconds" | Safe | |
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 2 | "Like I Can" | ||
| Sarah Spicer | Over 25s (Blatt) | 3 | "Love Me like You Do" | ||
| Fare Thee Well | Groups (Woolright) | 4 | "Style" | Bottom Two | |
| Joe Irvine | Over 25s (Blatt) | 5 | "Take Me to Church" | Safe | |
| Nofo Lameko | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 6 | "Special" | Bottom Two | |
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 7 | "Dear Future Husband"/"All About That Bass" | Safe | |
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 8 | "Happy"/"Drop It Like It's Hot"/"Beat It" | ||
| Mae Valley | Groups (Woolright) | 9 | "Up" | ||
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 10 | "Jealous" | ||
| Brendon Thomas and the Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 11 | "Budapest" | ||
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 12 | "Earned It" | ||
| Final showdown details | |||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | |
| Fare Thee Well | Groups (Woolright) | 1 | "If I Ain't Got You" | Safe | |
| Nofo Lameko | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 2 | "Valerie" | Eliminated | |
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fare Thee Well | Groups (Woolright) | 1 | "In the Summertime" | Bottom Two | |
| Joe Irvine | Over 25s (Blatt) | 2 | "Summer of '69" | Safe | |
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 3 | "Señorita" | ||
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 4 | "Only Girl (In the World)" | Bottom Two | |
| Mae Valley | Groups (Woolright) | 5 | "Somewhere in My Car" | Safe | |
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 6 | "Summertime Sadness" | ||
| Finlay Robertson | Girls (Walker) | 7 | "Bang Bang" | ||
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 8 | "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" | ||
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 9 | "How Will I Know" | ||
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 10 | "I'm Shakin'" | ||
| Sarah Spicer | Over 25s (Blatt) | 11 | "Summertime" | ||
| Final showdown details | |||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | |
| Fare Thee Well | Groups (Woolright) | 1 | "Hallelujah" | Eliminated | |
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 2 | "Naughty Girl" | Safe | |
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Spicer | Over 25s (Blatt) | 1 | "What's Up?" | Bottom Two | |
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 2 | "A Thousand Miles" | Safe | |
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 3 | "My Sharona" | Bottom Two | |
| Finlay Robertson | Girls (Walker) | 4 | "Somebody That I Used to Know" | Safe | |
| Joe Irvine | Over 25s (Blatt) | 5 | "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" | ||
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 6 | "Crazy" | ||
| Mae Valley | Groups (Woolright) | 7 | "Teenage Dirtbag" | ||
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 8 | "Tainted Love"/"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" | ||
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 9 | "Stay" | ||
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 10 | "Freestyler" | ||
| Final showdown details | |||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | |
| Sarah Spicer | Over 25s (Blatt) | 1 | "At Last" | Eliminated | |
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 2 | "Power of Soul" | Safe | |
With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Sarah Spicer was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finlay Robertson | Girls (Walker) | 1 | "Shake It Off" | Eliminated | |
| Joe Irvine | Over 25s (Blatt) | 2 | "Lego House" | Bottom Three | |
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 3 | "I Knew You Were Trouble" | Safe | |
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 4 | "The A Team" | ||
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 5 | "Blank Space" | ||
| Mae Valley | Groups (Woolright) | 6 | "Sparks Fly" | ||
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 7 | "Safe & Sound" | Bottom Three | |
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 8 | "Give Me Love" | Safe | |
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 9 | "Make It Rain" | ||
| Final showdown details | |||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | |
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 1 | "Slow Motion" | Safe | |
| Joe Irvine | Over 25s (Blatt) | 2 | "Wake Me Up" | Eliminated | |
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Chosen by | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mae Valley | Groups (Woolright) | 1 | "Landslide" | Israel Dagg | Bottom Two | |
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 2 | "Hold Back the River" | Jay-Jay Harvey | Safe | |
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 3 | "Superstition" | Awen Guttenbeil | ||
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 4 | "Ghost" | Kylie Bax | ||
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 5 | "That's Not My Name" | Bottom Two | ||
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 6 | "Little Monster" | Jono and Ben | Safe | |
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 7 | "Gold Digger" | DJ Sir-Vere | ||
| Final showdown details | ||||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
| Mae Valley | Groups (Woolright) | 1 | "Lay Me Down" | Eliminated | ||
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 2 | "You're The One That I Want" | Safe | ||
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Musical Hero | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 1 | "Billie Jean" | Michael Jackson | Bottom Two | |
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 2 | "Back to Black"/"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" | Amy Winehouse | ||
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 3 | "Goody Goody" | Frankie Lymon | Safe | |
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 4 | "Higher Ground" | Stevie Wonder | ||
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 5 | "Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down" | Alicia Keys | ||
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 6 | "Climax" | Usher | ||
| Final showdown details | ||||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
| Lili Bayliss | Girls (Walker) | 1 | "Blue Jeans" | Eliminated | ||
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 2 | "Grenade" | Safe | ||
| Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Mentored By | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 1 | "Wake Up" | Aaradhna | Safe | |
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 2 | "Always on My Mind" | Tiki Taane | Bottom Two | |
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 3 | "Bathe in the River" | Hollie Smith | Safe | |
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 4 | "Oh My" | Gin Wigmore | Bottom Two | |
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 5 | "Fade Away" | Che Fu | Safe | |
| Final showdown details | ||||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 1 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Safe | ||
| Steve Broad | Over 25s (Blatt) | 2 | "I Lived" | Eliminated | ||
| Category (mentor) | Order | Number One Song | Order | Song For Mum | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 1 | "Another Brick In the Wall" | 7 | "Imagine"/"You Can't Always Get What You Want" | Bottom Two | ||
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 2 | "My Love"/"La La La" | 5 | "Silly Love Songs" | Safe | ||
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 3 | "Some Nights" | 8 | "Fix You" | Bottom Two | ||
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 4 | "Am I Wrong"/"Yeah 3x" | 6 | "Crazy" | Safe | ||
| Final showdown details | ||||||||
| Act | Category (mentor) | Order | Song | Result | ||||
| Stevie Tonks | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 1 | "Over the Rainbow" | Eliminated | ||||
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 2 | "My Generation" | Safe | ||||
| Category (mentor) | Order | Party songs | Order | Judges' choice | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 1 | "Are You Gonna Go My Way" | 5 | "(Sitting On) The Dock of the Bay" | |
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 2 | "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"/"Thriller" | 6 | "Don't Dream It's Over" | |
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 3 | "Insane in the Brain" | 4 | "The Roimata Song" |
| Category (mentor) | Order | Audition Song | Order | Winner's Single | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beau Monga | Boys (Bassingthwaighte) | 1 | "Hit the Road Jack"/"Fever"/"Feeling Good" | 4 | "King and Queen" | Winner | |
| Nyssa Collins | Girls (Walker) | 2 | "Saving All My Love For You" | 5 | "18" | Runner-Up | |
| Brendon Thomas and The Vibes | Groups (Woolright) | 3 | "Foxy Lady" | N/A | N/A (already eliminated) | Eliminated |
In April it was announced that the finalists had recorded a charity single, a cover of Rachel Platten's single "Fight Song". The charity single was released on 13 April is in aid of Ronald McDonald House Charities in New Zealand. The single debuted at number 13 on the Official New Zealand Singles Chart.[43] The final 13 acts performed the song live on the week six results show.[40]
In December 2014, vlogger Brad Fisher claimed that during a taping of the judges' auditions, he saw the show's producer giving the judges hand signals to guide them on which contestants to put through to Boot Camp.[44] [45] However, judge Stan Walker denied the claims, saying that while the producers give the judges background information on the contestants, it was up to the judges to choose who goes through.[46]
During the filming of the final judges' auditions session in December 2014, while giving feedback to busker Sally Faherty, judge Natalia Kills used strong language, including profanity, to admonish audience members. Some members of the audience were shocked at the outburst and walked out. A TV3 spokeswoman said both the network and Kills apologised for the incident.[47] The incident was featured in the final audition episode, with the profanity bleeped out. Faherty was also heard using bleeped language backstage.[48]
In the sixth audition show, singer Shae Brider auditioned and was put through to the Boot Camp round. In the episode, Brider revealed that he had been involved in a 2004 murder in Wanganui and had served six years in prison for manslaughter.[49] In reaction to criticism from the public and media, MediaWorks New Zealand issued a statement saying that Brider's criminal record had been fully disclosed when he entered The X Factor and that the New Zealand justice system considers that Brider has paid his debt to society and apologised for any distress the episode may have caused viewers.[50] Donna Travers, the mother of Brider's victim, told media she was "devastated" by Brider's X Factor appearance and felt "revictimised".[51] [52] Brider later told media that he regretted appearing on the series and had not thought through the impact of his appearance.[53] TV3 announced that the first two bootcamp episodes would start with an apology to Travers and her family.[54] International The X Factor producers FremantleMedia Australia and Syco Entertainment discussed the situation with the show's producers, with a spokesperson for FreemantleMedia describing the inclusion of Brider on the show was "a very poor editorial decision" and that "a more rigid approval process" would ensure a similar situation would not happen in future.[55]
During the first live show, Kills bullied and humiliated Joe Irvine during the judges' comments, stating that there was "a doppelganger in our midst".[56] Kills called out Irvine on his apparent copying of the dress sense and hairstyle of her husband, Willy Moon. Kills deemed the contestant a "laughing stock", overtly "cheesy" and "disgusting".[57] Moon continued her rant, saying that Irvine was "like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother's clothing, it's just a little bit creepy". Viewer response to the comments was overwhelmingly negative, with some calling for Kills and Moon to be fired from the show mid-series, some calling them out on their hypocrisy about originality and others simply stating the comments to be disgusting themselves. A Facebook page demanding the two be fired was set up on 15 March 2015, and within twelve hours had amassed over 50,000 likes.[58] The incident led to criticism from the show's sponsors, franchise owner and fellow judges.[56]
Moon and Kills were both fired from the show the day after the incident and left Auckland for Los Angeles.[59] [60] Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Kills made her first public comments on the controversy by wishing luck to Joe Irvine and those in her former category luck in the competition, dismissing the idea of a "manufactured conspiracy" and also stated that "there are many sides to this story".[61] The following day both Kills and Moon made further comments via Twitter, with Kills explicitly apologising to Joe Irvine, while Moon wished him luck in the competition.[62] [63] Kills and Moon were replaced by former X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and New Zealand-born drummer Shelton Woolright respectively with immediate effect from the second live show.
| Ep. # | Episode | Airdate | Timeslot | Average Viewers | Rank (Night) | TV3+1 Viewers | Total Viewers | Rank (Day) | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auditions 1 | Sunday February 15, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:35pm | 304,500 |
| 38,780 | 343,280 |
| [64] |
| 2 | Auditions 2 | Monday February 16, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 354,750 |
| 23,190 | 377,940 |
| [65] |
| 3 | Auditions 3 | Tuesday February 17, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 344,080 |
| 32,570 | 376,650 |
| [66] |
| 4 | Auditions 4 | Sunday February 22, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:35pm | 328,650 |
| 40,420 | 369,070 |
| [67] |
| 5 | Auditions 5 | Monday February 23, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 325,100 |
| 38,050 | 363,150 |
| [68] |
| 6 | Auditions 6 | Tuesday February 24, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 358,300 |
| 44,880 | 403,180 |
| [69] |
| 7 | Boot Camp, Top 64 Revealed | Sunday March 1, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:35pm | 252,610 |
| 65,400 | 318,010 |
| [70] |
| 8 | Six Chair Challenge, Boys and Overs | Monday March 2, 2015 | 7:35 - 8:35pm | 318,200 |
| 22,100 | 340,300 |
| [71] |
| 9 | Six Chair Challenge, Groups and Girls | Tuesday March 3, 2015 | 7:35 - 8:35pm | 306,180 |
| 22,620 | 328,800 |
| [72] |
| 10 | Judges Reatreats, Girls and Overs | Sunday March 8, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:35pm | 259,940 |
| 24,830 | 284,770 |
| [73] |
| 11 | Judges Reatreats, Groups and Boys | Monday March 9, 2015 | 7:35 - 8:35pm | 307,400 |
| 25,840 | 333,240 |
| [74] |
| 12 | Judges Reatreats, Top 12 Reveal | Tuesday March 10, 2015 | 7:35 - 8:35pm | 316,750 |
| 36,380 | 353,130 |
| [75] |
| 13 | Live Show 1 | Friday March 15, 2015 | 7:35 - 9:35pm | 281,020 |
| 33,490 | 314,510 |
| [76] |
| 14 | Live Results 1 | Saturday March 16, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:30pm | 438,320 |
| 45,390 | 483,710 |
| [77] |
| 15 | Live Show 2 | Friday March 22, 2015 | 7:00 - 9:10pm | 314,870 |
| 22,890 | 337,760 |
| [78] |
| 16 | Live Results 2 | Saturday March 23, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 237,120 |
| 18,150 | 255,270 |
| [79] |
| 17 | Live Show 3 | Monday March 30, 2015 | 7:30 - 9:40pm | 324,470 |
| 15,890 | 340,360 |
| [80] |
| 18 | Live Results 3 | Tuesday March 31, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | colspan="6" | |||||
| 19 | Live Show 4 | Monday April 6, 2015 | 7:30 - 9:30pm | 236,450 |
| 22,890 | 337,760 |
| [81] |
| 20 | Live Results 4 | Tuesday April 7, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 247,110 |
| 13,910 | 261,020 |
| [82] |
| 21 | Live Show 5 | Sunday April 12, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:55pm | 261,860 |
| 26,550 | 288,410 |
| [83] |
| 22 | Live Results 5 | Monday April 13, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 336,700 |
| 24,600 | 361,300 |
| |
| 23 | Live Show 6 | Sunday April 19, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:30pm | 291,170 |
| 19,850 | 311,020 |
| [84] |
| 24 | Live Results 6 | Monday April 20, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 271,810 |
| 21,100 | 292,910 |
| [85] |
| 25 | Live Show 7 | Sunday April 26, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:35pm | 265,170 |
| 17,800 | 282,970 |
| [86] |
| 26 | Live Results 7 | Monday April 27, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 283,890 |
| 283,890 |
| [87] | |
| 27 | Live Show 8 | Sunday May 3, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:30pm | 242,070 |
| 31,620 | 273,690 |
| [88] |
| 28 | Live Results 8 | Monday May 4, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 287,130 |
| 12,650 | 299,780 |
| [89] |
| 29 | Live Show 9 | Sunday May 10, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:40pm | 341,460 |
| 10,270 | 351,730 |
| [90] |
| 30 | Live Results 9 | Monday May 11, 2015 | 7:30 - 8:35pm | 240,620 |
| 240,620 |
| [91] | |
| 31 | Grand Final Performances | Sunday May 17, 2015 | 7:00 - 8:35pm | 325,740 |
| 25,970 | 351,710 |
| [92] |
| 32 | Grand Final Decider | Monday May 18, 2015 | 7:30 - 9:30pm | 326,380 |
| 33,530 | 359,910 |
| [93] |