The X Factor (British TV series) series 1
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent; the winner of which receives a £1 million recording contract with the Syco Music record label. The first series was broadcast from 4 September to 11 December 2004. The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp, judges' homes and live shows, with Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell as judges. Kate Thornton presented the show on ITV, whilst Ben Shephard presented the spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2.
Auditions were held in Dublin, Newcastle, London, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow.
Steve Brookstein won the series, with Cowell as the winning mentor. Brookstein went on to have some chart success, with runner-up group G4 achieving two platinum albums before splitting up in 2007, but reuniting in 2014.
Selection process
Applications and auditions
Before the auditions, advertisements appeared on ITV, newspapers, and trade magazines, promising that the new show would encourage groups to join, and while the emphasis was on singing, would welcome those who played musical instruments and wrote their own songs. The show would differentiate itself from its predecessor, Pop Idol.For the first episode of auditions, which aired on 4 September 2004, the judges visited Leeds and London. The second episode aired on 11 September 2004 in which the judges visited Newcastle. The third aired on 18 September 2004, the fourth on 25 September 2004 and the fifth on 2 October 2004.
Bootcamp and judges' houses
After the auditions, each judge was allocated a category at random:- Simon Cowell: Over 25s
- Sharon Osbourne: 16-24s
- Louis Walsh: Groups
In judges' homes, the 15 acts went to the homes of their respective judges, where they were interviewed and performed again. Each judge then chose three acts to go through to the live shows, making a total of nine contestants.
;Bootcamp Tasks per Category:
16-24s:
Location: Hackney Empire
Task 1: Perform "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder in lines of 10.
Task 2: Giving a solo performance of one of these two chosen songs below:
Task 3: Interviews in front of the press and talking about their personal lives.
Task 4: Choose one song from The Beatles back-catalogue and perform it in front of their competitors and Sharon.
Groups:
Location: Angel Recording Studios
Task 1: Perform a song of their own choosing in front of Louis and his team.
Task 2: Write an original song entitled "Right Now" that must contain all these five words:
- Dreams
- Hope
- Anticipation
- Chance
- All the Way
Task 4: Sing a song that they think that showcases all of their members voices to the best of their ability.
Over 25s:
Location: The Landmark London
Task 1: Both the females and males perform one song of their choice separately one at a time with the opposite gender watching their performance.
Task 2: Learn a new song overnight with another member of the category to perform as a duo.
Task 3: Perform a song that will convince Simon and his panel that they are capable of moving on to the next round.
;Judges Houses Performances
16-24s:Cassie: "Anyone Who Had a Heart"
- Megan: "Fly Me to the Moon"
- Andy: "Try a Little Tenderness"Roberta: "Cry Me a River"Tabby: "Maggie May"
- 4Tune: Original Song
- Advance: "To Love Somebody"G4: "Creep"
| Judge | Category | Location | Assistants | Acts Eliminated |
| Cowell | Over 25s | London | Annie Skates, Sinitta | Odis Palmer, Lloyd Wade |
| Osbourne | 16-24s | Buckinghamshire | Mark Hudson, Terry Longden, Jack Osbourne | Megan Ramsay, Andy Steed |
| Walsh | Groups | Dublin | Linda Martin, Faye Sawyer, David Laudat | 4Tune, Advance |
Acts
Key:| Act | Age | Hometown | Category | Result |
| Steve Brookstein | 35 | London | Over 25s | Winner |
| G4 | 22-24 | Various | Groups | Runner-up |
| Tabby Callaghan | 23 | County Sligo, Ireland | 16-24s | 3rd place |
| Rowetta Satchell | 38 | Manchester | Over 25s | 4th place |
| Cassie Compton | 17 | North London | 16-24s | 5th place |
| Voices with Soul | 25-42 | Luton | Groups | 6th place |
| 2 to Go | 23-24 | Notts | Groups | 7th place |
| Verity Keays | 51 | Grimsby, Lincolnshire | Over 25s | 8th place |
| Roberta Howett | 23 | Dublin, Ireland | 16-24s | 9th place |
Live shows
Format
Two live shows were broadcast each Saturday evening during the competition. Until week 5, each act performed once in the first show, then the public voted for the act that they wanted to remain in the show. In the other results show, the two acts with the fewest votes were revealed. These two acts then had to sing again before the three judges decided whom to eliminate.The format changed in the sixth week: each act performed twice in the first show and performed one of their songs in the results show. The act with the fewest votes was eliminated at the end of the second show.
The live shows started on 23 October 2004 and ended on 11 December 2004.
Results summary
;Colour keyAct in 16-24s
Act in Over 25s
Act in Groups
Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority.
Live show details
Week 1 (23 October)
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Voices with Soul | 1 | "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" | Bottom Two |
| Verity Keays | 2 | "I Will Always Love You" | Safe |
| Roberta Howett | 3 | "Superstar" | Eliminated |
| 2 to Go | 4 | "Don't Know Much" | Safe |
| Steve Brookstein | 5 | "When a Man Loves a Woman" | Safe |
| Cassie Compton | 6 | "Alfie" | Safe |
| G4 | 7 | "Everybody Hurts" | Safe |
| Rowetta Satchell | 8 | "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" | Safe |
| Tabby Callaghan | 9 | "You Really Got Me" | Safe |
;Judges' votes to eliminate
- Walsh: Roberta Howett – backed his own act, Voices with Soul.
- Osbourne: Voices with Soul – backed her own act, Roberta Howett.
- Cowell: Roberta Howett – based on the final showdown performances, but felt that neither act deserved to be in the bottom two.
Week 2 (30 October)
- Best bits song: "Over The Rainbow"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Rowetta Satchell | 1 | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | Safe |
| 2 to Go | 2 | "Always" | Bottom Two |
| Cassie Compton | 3 | "Without You" | Safe |
| Verity Keays | 4 | "Wind Beneath My Wings" | Eliminated |
| G4 | 5 | "Don't Look Back in Anger" | Safe |
| Tabby Callaghan | 6 | "My Oh My" | Safe |
| Steve Brookstein | 7 | "If You Don't Know Me by Now" | Safe |
| Voices with Soul | 8 | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | Safe |
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
- Walsh: Verity Keays – backed his own act, 2 to Go.
- Cowell: 2 to Go – backed his own act, Verity Keays.
- Osbourne: Verity Keays – gave no reason.
Week 3 (6 November)
- Best bits song: "(I Just) Died in Your Arms"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Tabby Callaghan | 1 | "Addicted to Love" | Safe |
| Voices with Soul | 2 | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" | Bottom Two |
| Steve Brookstein | 3 | "Smile" | Safe |
| 2 to Go | 4 | "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" | Eliminated |
| Cassie Compton | 5 | "I Say a Little Prayer" | Safe |
| Rowetta Satchell | 6 | "Over the Rainbow" | Safe |
| G4 | 7 | "...Baby One More Time" | Safe |
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
- Osbourne: 2 to Go – gave no reason.
- Walsh: 2 to Go – said he did not want to send either of his acts home. He asked to vote last but Thornton pressed him for his decision.
- Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority.
Week 4 (13 November)
- Best bits song: "That's What Friends Are For"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| G4 | 1 | "Circle of Life" | Bottom Two |
| Rowetta Satchell | 2 | "MacArthur Park" | Safe |
| Tabby Callaghan | 3 | "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" | Safe |
| Voices With Soul | 4 | "Lady Marmalade" | Eliminated |
| Cassie Compton | 5 | "Hero" | Safe |
| Steve Brookstein | 6 | "Help Me Make It Through the Night" | Safe |
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
- Osbourne: Voices with Soul – based on the final showdown performances, and believed that G4 had a future in a recording career.
- Cowell: G4 – gave no reason.
- Walsh: Voices with Soul – said he did not want to send either of his acts home, saying the result was worse than last week; he tried to back out but Thornton forced him for his decision.
Week 5 (20 November)
- Best bits song: "Goodbye"
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Steve Brookstein | 1 | "Let's Stay Together" | Safe |
| Cassie Compton | 2 | "All by Myself" | Eliminated |
| G4 | 3 | "My Way" | Safe |
| Tabby Callaghan | 4 | "Sweet Child o' Mine" | Bottom Two |
| Rowetta Satchell | 5 | "Somewhere" | Safe |
;Judges' votes to eliminate:
- Walsh: Cassie Compton – originally gave no reason, but when asked said he believed Callaghan could win the competition.
- Osbourne abstained from voting as both acts were in her category. Thornton tried to remind her of her duty to vote between her acts as Walsh did in the previous two results shows, but Osbourne still refused to vote against either of her acts, citing her loyalty to both of them. Following this, Thornton warned Cowell that if he voted to eliminate Callaghan, the result would revert to the public vote to decide who would be eliminated.
- Cowell: Cassie Compton – wanted to win the competition and believed Callaghan was his biggest threat but after deliberating on whether to eliminate either Callaghan or Compton, who he felt was the weakest, opted to vote against Compton.
Week 6: Quarter-Final (27 November)
- Best bits song: "She"
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
| Rowetta Satchell | 1 | "River Deep - Mountain High" | 5 | "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" | Eliminated |
| G4 | 2 | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | 6 | "Somebody to Love" | Safe |
| Steve Brookstein | 3 | "I Get the Sweetest Feeling" | 7 | "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" | Safe |
| Tabby Callaghan | 4 | "More Than Words" | 8 | "Livin' on a Prayer" | Safe |
The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Rowetta Satchell, was automatically eliminated
Week 7: Semi-Final (4 December)
- Best bits song: "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
| Tabby Callaghan | 1 | "Pride (In the Name of Love)" | 4 | "Sailing" | Eliminated |
| Steve Brookstein | 2 | "Have I Told You Lately" | 5 | "Greatest Love of All" | Safe |
| G4 | 3 | "O Holy Night" | 6 | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Safe |
The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Tabby Callaghan, was automatically eliminated.
Week 8: Final (11 December)
- Musical guests: Robert Unwin
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Originally performed in.... | Order | Third song | Result |
| Steve Brookstein | 1 | "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" | 3 | "Smile" | Live Show 3 | 5 | "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" | Winner |
| G4 | 2 | "Nessun Dorma" | 4 | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Live Show 7 | 6 | "Creep" | Runner-Up |