Remembering The X Factor

[StrawberryBlond 14,776]

After it was announced last month that The X Factor UK was officially cancelled after 17 years, I thought it was time to take a retrospective on the show that was such a talking point of British tv for a good number of years. Yes, there were many international versions but the UK version was the original and unquestionably the most famous, resulting in many hits for its winners and finalists and launching the international careers of Leona Lewis and One Direction, along with Little Mix and James Arthur. Yes, the show had lots of downsides, the eventual songs released tended to be generic, the show was, as I once saw someone say "more fixed than Mousetrap" and there were so many scandals over the years (the confessions from past contestants in the last year likely contributed heavily to its cancellation). But it was, at its best, great Saturday night entertainment and for a while, everyone, whether they loved it or hated it, had an opinion on it. So, I thought I'd share all my favourite contestants and moments and lets remember a show that owned the UK Christmas #1 for a period of time.

Favourite winners: Little Mix, Louisa Johnson (I only started watching from season 4 onwards)

Favourite finalists: Rebecca Ferguson, Saara Aalto, Scarlett Lee, Stacey Solomon, Amelia Lily, Kevin Davy White

Favourite non-finalists: Ruth Lorenzo, Jamie Archer, Lucie Jones, Mary Byrne, Kitty Brucknell, Lucy Spraggan, Seann Miley Moore

Favourite novelty acts: Wagner, Rylan Clark

Favourite judges: Dannii Minogue, Kelly Rowland, Mel B

Favourite auditions: Melanie Masson - Cry Baby, Josh Daniel - Jealous, Stacey Solomon - What A Wonderful World, Jennifer Phillips - Shackles, Amelia Lily - Piece Of My Heart, Scarlett Lee - Never Enough, Berget Lewis - Purple Rain, Kevin Davy White - This Is A Man's Man's Man's World, Seann Miley Moore - The Show Must Go On, Louisa Johnson - Who's Lovin' You

Favourite performances: Ruth Lorenzo - Always, Lucie Jones- Funny Valentine, Stacey Solomon - Who Wants To Live Forever, Lucy Spraggan - Tea & Toast, Chloe Jasmine - Fame, Monica Michael - Make It Rain, Saara Aalto - Chandelier, Kevin Davy White - Whole Lotta Love

Favourite celeb duets: Alexandra Burke & Beyonce - Listen, Rebecca Ferguson & Christina Aguilera - Beautiful, Louisa Johnson & Rita Ora - And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, Matt Terry & Nicole Scherzinger - Purple Rain, Saara Aalto & Adam Lambert - Bohemian Rhapsody, Scarlett Lee & Leona Lewis - One More Sleep

Favourite winners singles: Alexandra Burke - Hallelujah, Rak-Su - Dimelo, Dalton Harris - The Power Of Love

Favourite contestants singles: Leona Lewis - Footprints In The Sand, Run, Happy, One More Sleep, Rebecca Ferguson - Glitter and Gold, One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful, Best Song Ever, Midnight Memories, You & I, Night Changes, Perfect, History, Little Mix - almost all their discography!

Favourite contestants albums: Leona Lewis - Christmas, With Love, Diana Vickers - Music To Make Boys Cry, Rebecca Ferguson - Heaven, One Direction - Made In The AM, Little Mix - Get Weird, Confetti, James Arthur - James Arthur, Ella Henderson - Chapter One, Lucy Spraggan - Join The Club

Share all your favourites!

[Mirrion Rizzons 10,744]

A big part of my childhood, I only watched from 2009-2012 (aged 7-10) but I have so many memories watching X factor, followed by Merlin every Saturday over pizza/chinese takeaway 

[LastNight 5,935]

X Factor in it’s prime was so good; truly a lightning-in-a-bottle TV era. It was the highlight of a Saturday night when I was a teenager and I have so many fond memories of it and that time of life.

Everything about it was great: the funny auditions, wondering which judge would get which category, the judges houses trips, the live shows, waiting to see what Cheryl and Dannii would come out wearing every night. Ugh. It was the best. I miss that era of pop culture - remember when Cheryl was brought on as a judge and she ended up on Vogue covers and with a L’Oreal contract? Remember they got Beyoncé to perform with Alexandra Burke?! It really was a phenomenon. 

[Rj Barker 3,328]

The x factor was TV gold and the car crash auditions were so good. Leona Lewis has to be my favourite winner. She was incredible.

My favourite performance was kitty brucknell doing sweet dreams, she was a bit of an underdog and universally hated but I had a soft spot for her. Also when she got eliminated and Lady Gaga ran on stage and hugged her. Cute.

 

[StrawberryBlond 14,776]

1 hour ago, LastNight said:

X Factor in it’s prime was so good; truly a lightning-in-a-bottle TV era. It was the highlight of a Saturday night when I was a teenager and I have so many fond memories of it and that time of life.

Everything about it was great: the funny auditions, wondering which judge would get which category, the judges houses trips, the live shows, waiting to see what Cheryl and Dannii would come out wearing every night. Ugh. It was the best. I miss that era of pop culture - remember when Cheryl was brought on as a judge and she ended up on Vogue covers and with a L’Oreal contract? Remember they got Beyoncé to perform with Alexandra Burke?! It really was a phenomenon. 

It was crazy to think that even people who didn't watch it had something to say about it. People were so mad about it owning the Christmas #1 every year that they actually started campaigns to get a completely unrelated song to #1 that week and it even worked once and Simon eventually changed when the final was so that the winners single would no longer vie for the Christmas week. Back then, the show really helped the judge's careers as well. Cheryl's solo career likely wouldn't have taken off like it did if she didn't have the show to promote her and hype her up and the likes of Tulisa would never have got off the ground otherwise. And yeah, they used to get American A-listers to duet with them and over time, you could tell the show didn't have the money or the clout to get those big names anymore (remember the season where all the acts sang with their mentors? You could tell that wasn't planned in advance as Louis would've been at a loss!). And it used to beat Strictly in the ratings every week, boy did the tables end up turning on that one. The concept of these shows is so antiquated now as most artists gain fame completely differently to how they did 20 years ago so we really don't need them anymore so it was going to inevitably end one day. The only question now is why the likes of The Voice still exist when they can't get the ratings or success that this show did.

[RAMROD 108,695]