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 Sony Music Australia recording contract and a management deal. The fifth season premiered on the Seven Network on 29 July 2013 and ended on 28 October 2013. The winner was Dami Im and her winner's single "Alive" was released after the final. Im was mentored throughout by Dannii Minogue, who won as mentor for the first time on the Australian series, and third overall. The show was presented by Luke Jacobz, and Ronan Keating and Natalie Bassingthwaighte returned as judges. Minogue and Redfoo joined the judging panel as replacements for former judges, Mel B (who quit the show to join America's Got Talent) and Guy Sebastian.
Open auditions in front of the show's producers took place in 14 cities throughout December 2012 and January 2013. The last set of auditions, in front of the judges and a live studio audience, were filmed in April. Following auditions was super bootcamp, where Keating, Minogue and Redfoo worked together and collectively chose 24 acts (six from each category). Bassingthwaighte did not attend the Sydney auditions and bootcamp because she was pregnant at the time and was advised not to fly from her home in Melbourne. During bootcamp, the Over 25s category was changed to Over 24s. Bassingthwaighte returned for the home visits stage, and each judge reduced their six acts to three. They were also assisted by guest mentors Jon Bon Jovi, will.i.am, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Osbourne and Sebastian.
The live shows, which began on 25 August 2013, returned to Sunday and Monday nights as seen in season two. This was a change of format from seasons three and four, in which the live shows were broadcast on Monday and Tuesday nights.
Judges
In February 2013, it was reported that Guy Sebastian would not be returning for season 5, due to tour commitments and to focus on a music career in the United States. It was also reported that Mel B was not returning, due to visa issues in Australia and her commitments with America's Got Talent. The following month, Ronan Keating confirmed in an interview with News Limited that both judges had left. Former judge on The X Factor UK, Dannii Minogue was announced as Mel B's replacement on 12 April. The Sunday Telegraph confirmed on 21 April that Redfoo would be Sebastian's replacement.
Redfoo was offered the opportunity to join the judging panel during his visit to Australia for the 2013 Australian Open, where he was supporting girlfriend and then-World number-one Victoria Azarenka. The producers later visited his recording studio in Hollywood and explained to him what The X Factor is about. In an interview with The West Australian, Redfoo said "they basically explained the show because I didn't know if I wanted to just be a judge. And they said 'Wait a second, wait a second, no it's not just judging, that's just to pick your team. Then you're really a mentor, you're going to be mentoring a category.' Then they said 'You can be a winner too.'" Minogue revealed to The Daily Telegraph that she was offered many other TV roles but chose to join The X Factor because she had always been a fan of the Australian version.
Selection process
Auditions Open auditions in front of the show's producers began in December 2012 and ended in January 2013. These auditions took place in 14 cities. Online and DVD auditions were also introduced into the season for those who could not attend the open auditions. The 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 filmed at Allphones Arena in Sydney on 21, 22 and 23 April,"The X Factor 2013 – Melbourne Auditions". Applause Store. Applause Store Productions. Retrieved 24 June 2013. and at Hisense Arena in Melbourne on 28, 29 and 30 April."The X Factor 2013 – Sydney Auditions". Applause Store. Applause Store Productions. Retrieved 24 June 2013. Natalie Bassingthwaighte did not attend the Sydney auditions because she was pregnant at the time and was advised not to fly from her home in Melbourne.
+Open auditions City Dates Venue Launceston 1 December 2012 Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart 2 December 2012 Hotel Grand Chancellor Albury 5 December 2012 Albury Entertainment Centre Dubbo 7 December 2012 Western Plains Cultural Centre Darwin 10 December 2012 Crowne Plaza Hotel Alice Springs 11 December 2012 Alice Springs Convention Centre Townsville 13 December 2012 Reid Park Precinct Brisbane 15–16 December 2012 Sofitel Brisbane Melbourne 12–14 January 2013 Caulfield Racecourse Adelaide 17 January 2013 Adelaide Convention Centre Perth 19–20 January 2013 Parmelia Hilton Kalgoorlie 22 January 2013 Goldfields Arts Centre Sydney 25–27 January 2013 Sydney Cricket Ground Newcastle 30 January 2013 Hunter Stadium
+Judges' auditions City Dates Venue Absent judge Sydney 21–23 April 2013 Allphones Arena Melbourne 28–30 April 2013 Hisense Arena Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Super bootcamp The super bootcamp stage of the competition was filmed at The Star casino in Pyrmont, New South Wales. Bassingthwaighte did not attend because she was on maternity leave. The first day of bootcamp saw the judges split the 150 acts into four categories: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups. Each act performed one song in front of their entire category and the judges. At the end of the day, the judges sent home 75 acts. On the second day, the remaining acts were put into ensembles of 10 and were each given a song which they had to learn and perform for the judges. Season four winner Samantha Jade helped each ensemble with stage presence and choreography. The judges sent home more acts, but called back some rejected soloists from the Boys and Girls categories to form three supergroups – a boy band (consisting of Fabian Andres, Zac Hakos, Jayden Rodrigues and Nick Tabone), girl group (consisting of Jessica Kent, Dina Knoweiss, Rebecca Quinn and Carla Wehbe) and unisex group (consisting of Kelebek, Jacinta Gulisano and Jordan Rodrigues). On the third day, the remaining 50 acts each individually performed one song to the judges and a live audience of one thousand. After the performances, the judges narrowed down the acts to 24. Redfoo suggested that the Over 25s category be changed to Over 24s. The judges removed Zac Hakos from the boy band because they felt his heart was not in the group.
The 24 successful acts were: Boys: Georgie Bannard, Omar Dean, Taylor Henderson, Mitchell Thompson, Ofisa "Tee" Toleafoa, Jai Waetford Girls: Joelle Hadjia, Ellie Lovegrove, Georgina Mastin, Riv Ngwenya, Jiordan Tolli, Vendulka Wichta Over 24s: Tyler Hudson, Dami Im, Michael Ross, Barry Southgate, Gemma Thorpe, Cat Vas Groups: Adira–Belle, Boy Band, Girl Group, JTR, Straight Up, Third Degree
Matt Gresham had originally been put through to Home Visits in the Over 24s category but decided he could not commit to the competition and was replaced by Dami Im.
Home visits The home visits round was filmed in June 2013 and saw the remaining 24 acts travel to exclusive locations around the world to find out which judge would become their mentor. The judges received news of their categories from The X Factor creator Simon Cowell by telephone. The Over 24s travelled to New York City and were assigned to Dannii Minogue, the Groups travelled to Sir Richard Branson's Makepeace Island in Sunshine Coast, Queensland and were assigned to Natalie Bassingthwaighte, the Boys travelled to Los Angeles and were assigned to Ronan Keating, and the Girls travelled to London and were assigned to Redfoo. The first day of home visits saw each act having a private mentoring session with their mentor, ahead of their solo performance in front of their mentor and guest mentor the next day. Redfoo was assisted by Jon Bon Jovi during the mentoring sessions for the Girls.
On the second day, each judge was given a guest mentor to help them decide their final three acts. Bassingthwaighte was assisted by former X Factor judge Guy Sebastian, Redfoo was assisted by will.i.am, Keating was assisted by Kelly Osbourne (who replaced Miley Cyrus due to laryngitis) and Minogue was assisted by her older sister Kylie.
+Summary of home visits Judge Category Location Assistant(s) Contestants eliminated Keating Boys Los Angeles Kelly Osbourne Georgie Bannard, Mitchell Thompson, Ofisa "Tee" Toleafoa Redfoo Girls London Jon Bon Joviwill.i.am Georgina Mastin, Riv Ngwenya, Vendulka Wichta Minogue Over 24s New York City Kylie Minogue Tyler Hudson, Michael Ross, Gemma Thorpe Bassingthwaighte Groups Makepeace Island Guy Sebastian Boy Band, Girl Group, Straight Up
Acts
Key: – Winner – Runner-Up
ActAge(s)HometownCategory (mentor)ResultDami Im25Daisy Hill, QueenslandOver 24s (Minogue)WinnerTaylor Henderson20Ceres, VictoriaBoys (Keating)Runner-UpJai Waetford14Campbelltown, New South WalesBoys (Keating)3rd PlaceThird Degree18–19VariousGroups (Bassingthwaighte)4th PlaceJiordan Tolli19MelbourneGirls (Redfoo)5th PlaceOmar Dean20Melbourne, VictoriaBoys (Keating)6th PlaceJTR19–23Sweden/Cornubia, QueenslandGroups (Bassingthwaighte)7th PlaceJoelle22Sydney Girls (Redfoo)8th PlaceEllie Lovegrove19Adelaide, South Australia9th PlaceBarry Southgate30Kellyville, Queensland Over 24s (Minogue)10th PlaceCat Vas27Adelaide, South Australia11th PlaceAdira Belle17–19Sydney, New South WalesGroups (Bassingthwaighte)12th Place
Live shows
Results summary Colour key Act in Team Dannii Act in Team Redfoo 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)
+ Weekly results per act Act Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Quarter-Final Semi-Final Final Sunday Vote Monday Vote Dami Im Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner Taylor Henderson Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 3rd Safe Runner-Up Jai Waetford Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 3rd Eliminated(Final) Third Degree Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom Two Safe 4th 4th Eliminated(Semi-Final) Jiordan Tolli Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom Two Safe 5th 5th Eliminated(Quarter-Final) Omar Dean Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 6th Eliminated(Week 7) JTR Safe Safe Bottom Two 8th Safe Bottom Two Eliminated(Week 6) Joelle Hadjia Safe Bottom Two Safe Safe Bottom Two Eliminated(Week 5) Ellie Lovegrove Safe Safe Safe 9th Eliminated(Week 4) Barry Southgate Bottom Two Safe Bottom Two Eliminated(Week 3) Cat Vas Safe Bottom Two Eliminated(Week 2) Adira–Belle Bottom Two Eliminated(Week 1) Final Showdown Adira-Belle, Southgate Vas, Joelle JTR, Southgate Lovegrove, JTR Joelle, Tolli JTR, Third Degree Dean, Tolli Tolli, Third Degree Henderson, Third Degree No bottom two/judges' vote; public votes alone decide who wins Judges voted toEliminateSend Through Keating's vote (Boys) Adira-Belle Vas Southgate JTR Joelle JTR Tolli Third Degree Henderson Bassingthwaighte's vote (Groups) Southgate Vas Southgate Lovegrove Joelle 2 Dean Tolli Third Degree Minogue's vote (Over 24s) Adira-Belle Joelle JTR Lovegrove Joelle JTR Tolli Tolli Third Degree Redfoo's vote (Girls) Adira-Belle Vas Southgate JTR 1 JTR Dean Third Degree Henderson Eliminated Adira-Belle3 of 4 votesMajority Cat Vas3 of 4 votesMajority Barry Southgate3 of 4 votesMajority Ellie Lovegrove2 of 4 votesDeadlock Joelle3 of 3 votesMajority JTR3 of 3 votesMajority Omar Dean2 of 4 votesDeadlock Jiordan Tolli2 of 4 votesDeadlock Third Degree2 of 4 votesDeadlock Jai Waetford Public VoteTo Win Taylor HendersonPublic VoteTo Win
Notes 1 Redfoo was not required to vote as there was already a majority. 2 Bassingthwaighte was not required to vote as there was already a majority.
Live show details
Week 1 (25/26 August) Theme: Judges' Choice Group performance: "I Like It"