The X Factor (British series 3)

London

Birmingham

Manchester

Glasgow

Leeds

Dublin

Cities that auditions were held in.

Auditions began on 7 June 2006. Simon Cowell said on ITV's This Morning "The next international boyband or girlband is what I want to see in this year's show". 100,000 people applied to audition, the most so far. Nearly 20,000 attended an open audition at Old Trafford, Manchester on 18 June 2006.

All three judges, Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, returned. Hints by Cowell and the surrounding media that a fourth full-time judge mentoring a fourth category of contestants might be added proved to be false. However, American Idol judge Paula Abdul did make an appearance as a guest judge at the London auditions, and further celebrity guests appeared during the live shows. Auditions were held in cities around the UK and Republic of Ireland – London, Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Leeds and Glasgow. Cowell had also stated that there could be a 14–24s category but during the audition process the category was named as 16–24s, as in the previous two series. Cowell was given the 16–24s, Osbourne had the Over 25s, and Walsh mentored the Groups. (Both rumoured changes – the lowering of the age limit and the addition of a fourth category – were actually implemented in series 4.)

It was originally intended that 21 acts (seven for each judge) should remain by the conclusion of the bootcamp stage. However, Cowell decided that he had made a mistake with his seven by failing to include Ray Quinn, and asked the producers to allow one more contestant or act to go through. The other two judges were then allowed to increase their quota to eight as well, giving a total of 24 acts.

In the "judges' houses" round this was cut down to 12 to go through to the live finals. Avenue were chosen to go through but were later disqualified, having misled the judges over an existing record contract with a manager who was no longer associated with the show. As a consequence of this disqualification, Eton Road were put through in their place.[7]

Judges Houses Performances

• Contestant highlighted in bold advanced

Over 25s:

• Ben: "With a Little Help from My Friends"
• Robert: "Crazy"
• Kerry: "You've Got a Friend"
• Dionne: "What's Love Got to Do with It"
• Lyn: "Downtown"
• Tiwa: "Hero"
• Katie: "Anyone Who Had a Heart"
• Jonathan: "This Love"

16-24s:

• Leona: "Without You"
• Ray: "Smile"
• Ashley: "I Can't Make You Love Me"
• Nikitta: "Angel"
• Carlo: Your Song"
• Shaun: "Ben"
• Stacey: "I Don't Want to Talk About It"
• Gemma: "With You I'm Born Again"

Groups:

• Brother’s One: "Nobody Knows"
• 4Sure: "I Swear"
• The McDonald Brothers:"All I Have to Do Is Dream"
• The Unconventionals: "Dedicated to the One I Love"
• Dolly Rockers: "Round Round"
• Eton Road: "God Only Knows" (originally eliminated but advanced later)
• Avenue: "Back for Good" (originally advanced but were later disqualified)
• Pure Liberty:"Crazy in Love"

Colour key

  Act in team Simon Cowell

  Act in team Sharon Osbourne

  Act in team Louis Walsh

• Theme: Motown
• Musical guests: Lionel Richie ("I Call It Love")
• Best bits song: "That's What Friends Are For"

Call Out Order

Leona, Eton Road, Robert, Nikitta, Ben, Kerry, 4Sure, Ray, The McDonald Brothers & Ashley

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Walsh: Dionne Mitchell – backed his own act, The Unconventionals.
• Osbourne: The Unconventionals – backed her own act, Dionne Mitchell.
• Cowell: The Unconventionals – stated that Mitchell had better vocals than The Unconventionals.

• Theme: Songs by Rod Stewart
• Musical guest: Rod Stewart ("It's a Heartache")
• Best bits song: "End of the Road"

Call Out Order

Dionne, The McDonald Brothers, Ray, Ben, Kerry, Ashley, Nikitta, Eton Road & Leona

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Walsh: Robert Allen – backed his own act, 4Sure.
• Osbourne: 4Sure – backed her own act, Robert Allen.
• Cowell: 4Sure – stated that Allen had taken the panel's advice and improved his vocals.

• Theme: Big band
• Musical guest: Tony Bennett ("The Best Is Yet to Come" / "For Once in My Life")
• Best bits songs: "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" & "Over The Rainbow"

Cowell appeared on GMTV on the morning of Wednesday 25 October and said that "something big is going to happen this week that none of the contestants know about – a change that will shake some of them up."[8] It was revealed on the show that this surprise was to be a double elimination. The three acts with the fewest public votes were announced as the bottom three and then the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown and faced the judges' votes.

Call Out Order

Robert, Leona, Eton Road, Ben, Ray, The McDonald Brothers & Nikitta

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – backed her own act, Kerry McGregor.
• Cowell: Kerry McGregor – backed his own act, Ashley McKenzie.
• Walsh: Kerry McGregor – stated that McGregor had reached the limit of her abilities, whereas McKenzie still had potential to improve.

• Theme: Songs by ABBA
• Musical guests: Björn Ulvaeus & The Cast of Mamma Mia! ("Mamma Mia" / "Dancing Queen")
• Best bits song: "You Give Me Something"

Call Out Order

Nikitta, Leona, Eton Road, the McDonald Brothers, Ray & Ben

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Osbourne: Ashley McKenzie – backed her own act, Robert Allen.
• Cowell: Robert Allen – backed his own act, Ashley McKenzie.
• Walsh: Ashley McKenzie – stated that Allen delivered a more polished performance on the night.

• Theme: Love songs
• Musical guest: Julio Iglesias ("I Want to Know What Love Is")
• Best bits song: "One Moment in Time"

Call Out Order

Robert, Leona, Eton Road, Ben & the McDonald Brothers

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Osbourne: Nikitta Angus – gave no reason.
• Walsh: Ray Quinn – stated that Quinn did not have a strong enough voice to be a recording artist.
• Cowell: Nikitta Angus – gave no reason but stated that neither act deserved to be in the bottom two.

• Theme: Number ones
• Musical guests: Westlife and Delta Goodrem ("All Out of Love")
• Best bits song: "Anytime You Need a Friend"

Call Out Order

The McDonald Brothers, Ray, Ben & Leona

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Osbourne: Eton Road – backed her own act, Robert Allen.
• Walsh: Robert Allen – backed his own act, Eton Road.
• Cowell: Robert Allen – stated that Eton Road could progress further in the competition than Allen.

• Theme: Songs from the movies
• Musical guest: Il Divo ("Desde El Día Que Te Fuiste (Without You)")
• Best bits song: "Never Forget"

Call Out Order

The McDonald Brothers, Leona & Ray

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Walsh: Ben Mills – backed his own act, Eton Road.
• Osbourne: Eton Road – backed her own act, Ben Mills.
• Cowell: Eton Road – stated that Mills was more talented than Eton Road.

• Themes: Songs by Barry Manilow; contestant's choice
• Musical guest: Barry Manilow ("Everybody Loves Somebody")
• Best bits song: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"

Call Out Order

Ray, Leona & Ben

Lowest Votes: The McDonald Brothers

The quarter-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, The MacDonald Brothers, were automatically eliminated.

• Theme: "Songs to get you into the final" (no specific theme)[9]
• Musical guest: Gloria Estefan ("Anything for You" / "Can't Stay Away from You" / "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You")
• Best bits song: "Let It Be"

Call Out Order

Leona & Ray

Lowest Votes: Ben

The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Ben Mills, was automatically eliminated.

• Themes: Favourite performance ("song of the series"); celebrity duets; no theme; winner's single
• Group performances: "Earth Song" (auditionees) and "That's What Friends Are For" (all finalists)
• Musical guests: Take That ("Patience") and Shaun Rogerson ("Right Here Waiting")
• Best bits songs: "Smile" & "Without You"