A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| The X Factor | |
|---|---|
| Season 3 | |
 | |
| Hosted by | Luke Jacobz |
| Judges | |
| Winner | Reece Mastin |
| Winning mentor | Guy Sebastian |
| Runner-up | Andrew Wishart |
| Release | |
| Original network | Seven Network |
| Original release | 29 August – 22 November 2011 |
| Season chronology | |
The X Factor was an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent; the winner of which received a management contract and a Sony Music Australia recording contract.[1][2] The third season premiered on the Seven Network on 29 August 2011[3] and ended on 22 November 2011.[1] The winner was Reece Mastin and his debut single "Good Night" was released after the final.[1] Mastin was mentored throughout by Guy Sebastian, who won as mentor for the first time.[1] There was only a one percent difference in the votes between Mastin and runner-up Andrew Wishart.[4] The season was presented by Luke Jacobz.[5] Ronan Keating and Sebastian were the only judges from the previous season who returned, while Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Mel B joined the judging panel as replacements for former judges, Natalie Imbruglia and Kyle Sandilands.
The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp, home visits and live shows. Auditions in front of the show's producers took place throughout March and April 2011. The successful auditionees chosen by the producers were then invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience during May and June. After the auditions was bootcamp, where successful acts were split into four categories: Boys,[6] Girls,[6] Over 25s and Groups. Each judge was given a category to mentor and had to decide on their twelve acts after day two, and their six acts after day three. Special guest judges, including Wynter Gordon, Stephen Belafonte, Darren Hayes and The Veronicas, were brought in to help the judges decide their acts. Following bootcamp was the home visits stage, where each of the judges reduced their six acts to three, with help from more guest judges including Beyoncé, Melanie C, Jason Derulo, Good Charlotte and Leona Lewis. The live shows began on 19 September 2011.[7]
The season 3 sparked controversy, namely Mel B's attitude towards the other judges, labeling them dishonest and boring.[8] Controversy also occurred between Sebastian and contestant Mitchell Callaway; Sebastian took aim at Callaway's attitude to the competition following his performance on the third live performance show.[9] There were also claims of a clash between Callaway and contestant Declan Sykes.[10] The grand final decider was watched by 1.99 million people, making it the highest rated television episode of the season.[11]
Judges
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On 16 March 2011, judge Kyle Sandilands announced on his breakfast radio show, Kyle & Jackie O that he would not be returning to the judging panel for season 3.[12] Of his decision, Sandilands said, "Not because I didn't like it. I thought the show was great and it was great fun to do but it's just too hectic, it's too much work. So, I've told Channel Seven, no."[12] On 31 March 2011, it was announced that Natalie Bassingthwaighte would join the judging panel as a replacement for Natalie Imbruglia.[13] When speaking of her role as a judge, Bassingthwaighte said she would focus on bringing an honest critique to the show and would guide "the artists through the competition".[14] In late April 2011, it was confirmed that Mel B would be Sandilands' replacement.[15] Mel B said, " are either going to love me or hate me but it's going to be a fun ride. I'm really easy to get on with and I'm a hard worker. I'm firm but nice."[15] Guy Sebastian and Ronan Keating were the only judges from the season 2 who returned.[16]
Selection process
Auditions
In 2011, the minimum age for contestants to audition was changed to 14 years old, having previously been 16 years old.[17] Auditions in front of the show's producers began in March 2011 in five cities: Perth (Parmelia Hilton, 27 March), Adelaide (AAMI Stadium, 29 March), Brisbane (Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, 2–3 April), Sydney (Australian Technology Park, 8–10 April) and Melbourne (Moonee Valley Racecourse, 15–17 April).[18] The successful auditionees chosen by the producers were then invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience. These auditions were held in three cities: Brisbane (Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 21–22 May),[19] Melbourne (Hisense Arena, 27–29 May),[20] and Sydney (Sydney Entertainment Centre, 2–3 June).[20][21][22]
Bootcamp
The bootcamp stage was held in Sydney and was first broadcast on 7 September 2011.[23] On the first day of bootcamp, each judge was given a category to mentor and were joined by a celebrity guest judge to help them decide their top twelve acts.[23] Sebastian was assisted by Wynter Gordon and was given the Boys, Mel B was assisted by her husband Stephen Belafonte and was given the Girls, Bassingthwaighte teamed up with Darren Hayes and was assigned the Over 25s, and Keating was assisted by The Veronicas and had the Groups.[23][24] On the second day, the Boys each had to sing a song made famously by a female artist, the Over 25s got styled for a photo shoot and later each had to perform one song, the Girls had to perform choreography to either Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" or Lady Gaga's "Born This Way", and the Groups held recording sessions with vocal producer Erana Clark.[25] On the third day of bootcamp, the judges along with their celebrity guest judges, narrowed down the contestants to six each.[26]
The 24 successful acts were:
- Boys: Rob Baron, Trent Bell, Reece Mastin, Johnny Ruffo, Declan Sykes, Mali Talefenua
- Girls: Tyla Bertolli, Sophie Metcalfe (replaced Tara-Lynn Sharrock due to Visa issues),[27] Chantelle Morrell, Jacqui Newland, Christina Parie, Amy Walton
- Over 25s: Mitchell Callaway, Pamela Cook, Marina Davis, Cleo Howman, Paige Phoenix, Andrew Wishart
- Groups: Audio Vixen, Femme Da Funk, Hype (previously known as Lazy J & Big Guy), Three Wishez, Up Front, Young Men Society
Home visits
The final round of the selection process, the home visits (formerly the "judges' houses"),[24] saw the judges reduce their six acts to three. Each judge took their six acts to exclusive locations around the world. Sebastian and the Boys travelled to New York City, where he was assisted by Beyoncé and her A-Team, Mel B and the Girls visited Hollywood, where they met up with Melanie C, Bassingthwaighte and the Over 25s travelled to Double Island, Queensland, where she was helped by Jason Derulo, and Keating and the Groups travelled to Los Angeles, California, where they were assisted by Good Charlotte and Leona Lewis,.[28][29][30] After, the judges along with their celebrity guest judges, narrowed down the contestants to three each.[7]
| Judge | Category | Location | Assistant | Acts eliminated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian | Boys[6] | New York City | Beyoncé | Rob Baron, Trent Bell, Mali Talefenua |
| Mel B | Girls[6] | Hollywood | Melanie C | Sophie Metcalfe, Chantelle Morrell, Amy Walton |
| Bassingthwaighte | Over 25s | Double Island, Queensland | Jason Derulo | Pamela Cook, Marina Davis, Paige Phoenix |
| Keating | Groups | Los Angeles | Good Charlotte Leona Lewis |
Femme Da Funk, Hype, Up Front |
Acts
Key:
- – Winner
- – Runner-up
| Act | Age(s) | Hometown | Category (mentor) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reece Mastin | 16 | Scunthorpe/Greenwith, South Australia | Boys (Sebastian) | Winner |
| Andrew Wishart | 40 | Seaford, Victoria | Over 25s (Bassingthwaighte) | Runner-Up |
| Johnny Ruffo † | 23 | Balcatta, Western Australia | Boys (Sebastian) | 3rd Place |
| Three Wishez | 18–23 | Sydney | Groups (Keating) | 4th Place |
| Declan Sykes | 15 | Fitzroy, Victoria | Boys (Sebastian) | 5th Place |
| Christina Parie | 15 | Castle Hill, New South Wales | Girls (Mel B) | 6th Place |
| Mitchell Callaway | 25 | Bowraville, New South Wales | Over 25s (Bassingthwaighte) | 7th Place |
| Young Men Society | 22–26 | Sydney, New South Wales | Groups (Keating) | 8th Place |
| Audio Vixen | 19–28 | Sydney, New South Wales | 9th Place | |
| Jacqui Newland | 23 | Geelong, Victoria | Girls (Mel B) | 10th Place |
| Tyla Bertolli | 19 | Melbourne | 11th Place | |
| Cleo Howman | 25 | Gold Coast, Queensland | Over 25s (Bassingthwaighte) | 12th Place |
Live shows
Results summary
Act's colour key:
Act in Team Mel B
Act in Team Guy
Act in Team Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Act in Team Ronan
- – Act in the bottom two and had to perform again in the final showdown
- – Act received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown)
| Act | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Quarter-Final | Semi-Final | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday Vote | Tuesday Vote | |||||||||||
| Reece Mastin | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner | |
| Andrew Wishart | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-Up | |
| Johnny Ruffo | Safe | Safe | Safe | 8th | Safe | 6th | Safe | Safe | Safe | 3rd | Eliminated (Final) | |
| Three Wishez | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | 4th | Eliminated (Semi-Final) | ||
| Declan Sykes | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 7th | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Quarter-Final) | |||
| Christina Parie | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 7) | ||||
| Mitchell Callaway | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 7th | Eliminated (Week 6) | |||||
| Young Men Society | Safe | Safe | Bottom Two | Safe | 8th | Eliminated (Week 5) | ||||||
| Audio Vixen | Safe | Safe | Safe | 9th | Eliminated (Week 4) | |||||||
| Jacqui Newland | Bottom Two | Bottom Two | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 3) | ||||||||
| Tyla Bertolli | Safe | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 2) | |||||||||
| Cleo Howman | Bottom Two | Eliminated (Week 1) | ||||||||||
| Final Showdown | Howman, Newland | Newland, Bertolli | Newland, Young Men Society | Ruffo, Audio Vixen | Young Men Society, Sykes | Callaway, Ruffo | Parie, Mastin | Sykes, Three Wishez | No bottom two/judges' vote; public votes alone decide who is eliminated. | |||
| Keating's vote to eliminate (Groups) | Howman | Newland | Newland | Ruffo | Sykes | Ruffo | Parie | Sykes | ||||
| Bassingthwaighte's vote to eliminate (Over 25s) | Newland | Bertolli | Newland | Ruffo | Young Men Society | Ruffo | Parie | Sykes | ||||