List of The X Factor finalists (UK series 8)

The eighth UK series of The X Factor is currently being broadcast on ITV. The series started airing on 20 August 2011. The live shows started on 8 October 2011.

Boys

The boys are mentored by singer Gary Barlow

The "Boys" category is being mentored by Gary Barlow. Contestants in this category are males aged 16 to 24. The eight candidates were Frankie Cocozza, Marcus Collins, Craig Colton, Joe Cox, Luke Lucas, James Michael, Max Vickers and John Wilding. Barlow chose:

Frankie Cocozza

Frankie Cocozza (born 13 December 1992) is from Brighton and was born to an English mother and a father of Italian descent. He attended Longhill High School. During the first live show, he sang "The A Team" and was safe. The second week of live shows, he sang "The Scientist" and was in the bottom two and had to perform against Nu Vibe in the final showdown, when he sang "Red". Barlow, Rowland and Walsh all voted in his favour, saving him from elimination. In week three, Cocozza sang "Rocks", and was at the centre of controversy after he swore live on air.^{[citation needed]} He was announced as being safely through to the following week. The week after he sang "Should I Stay or Should I Go", and during week 5 he sang "I Gotta Feeling", after which, all four judges criticised his performance.^{[citation needed]} On 8 November, it was announced that Cocozza had been asked to leave due to breaking a "golden rule".^[1] This made Cocozza only the second act ever to be removed from The X Factor, the first being Emily Nakanda of series 4.

Marcus Collins

Marcus Collins (born 30 August 1988) is a 23 year old hairdresser from Liverpool.^[2] Collins was a member of Eton Road, a band that competed during series 3 of UK The X Factor. Following their exit from the show in November 2006 and the departure of lead singer Anthony Hannah, Collins joined Eton Road as a replacement in August 2007. He stayed with the band for about 10 months before leaving to pursue a solo career.^[3] It was revealed Collins was bullied at school because he was gay. The Sun newspaper also reported that his boyfriend was Eton Road's David Heath.^[4]

Craig Colton

Craig Colton (born 27 Febuary 1988) is from Kirkby and works in a biscuit factory in Liverpool and is currently a student.^[5][6] He is openly gay.^[7] He was voted out of the competition on Week 7, after being in the bottom two with Amelia Lily and receiving the fewest amount of votes, due to the judges taking the decision to deadlock.

James Michael

James Michael (born 1 September 1991;^{[citation needed]} aged 20, born James Michael Stillings in Liverpool, Merseyside) is from Thelwall, Cheshire.^[8] The unemployed singer taught himself a few songs on guitar while job-hunting after finishing school at 16. He describes himself as "not academic" but realised he had a love for music and went to college to study music technology.^[9] He sang "Ticket to Ride" and was the first in the boys' category to be eliminated from the live shows on October 9 by decision of mentor Gary Barlow, as there was no public vote in the inaugural live show. After Frankie Cocozza was expelled from the show, the public voted for one act from the initial four eliminated from the first live show to replace him, but Michael lost out to Amelia Lily.^[10]

Girls

Kelly Rowland is mentoring the girls category.

The "Girls" category is being mentored by Kelly Rowland. Contestants in this category are females aged 16 to 24. The eight candidates were Misha Bryan, Janet Devlin, Sophie Habibis, Amelia Lily, Melanie McCabe, Holly Repton, Jade Richards and Sarah Watson. Rowland chose:

Misha B

Misha Bryan (born 4 April 1992) is from Manchester.^[11][12] Born to a single mother, she was raised from 3-months old on by her aunt, as her mother could not take care of her. To this day, she doesn't know who her father is.^[13] In week four, Misha B was in the bottom two and had to sing for survival in the final showdown against Sophie Habibis. After singing "Use Somebody" as her survival song, she was unanimously saved by Louis Walsh, Tulisa Contostavlos and Kelly Rowland, with Gary Barlow also confirming he would have saved Misha B too, though his vote was unnecessary for the result. She landed in the bottom two again in week six against Kitty Brucknell and sang "Who You Are" as her survival song. Walsh voted to eliminate her, but Tulisa, Rowland and Barlow voted to save her.

Janet Devlin

Janet Devlin (born 12 November 1994^[14]) is from Gortin, County Tyrone. Janet had very little singing experience before X Factor, only singing in school and local talent shows. Devlin previously uploaded singing videos to YouTube on a regular basis. Janet performed "Your Song" by Elton John during the audition stage of the competition.

Sophie Habibis

Sophie Maria Habibis (born 3 November 1991) in Westminster) is from London. She is the youngest of four children to a father of Greek descent. In week four, Sophie was in the bottom two and had to perform in the final showdown against Misha B, she sang "Shelter" for survival. The judges voted 3-0 to eliminate her, keeping Misha B in competition. Gary Barlow also announced he would also have eliminated Habibis.^[12][15]

Amelia Lily

Amelia Lily Oliver (born 16 October 1994) is from Middlesbrough, where she attends dance school, also taking part in musical theatre.^[12][16] Her brother Lewis Bradley is a musical theatre actor. She performed "Billie Jean" and was the first of the girls' category to be eliminated from the live shows on October 9 by decision of mentor Kelly Rowland, as there was no public vote in the inaugural live show. The public voted, from the 10th until the 12th November, for one act, from the initial 4 eliminated, to replace the expelled Frankie Cocozza.^[10] Amelia Lily was voted back into the competition after winning 48% of the vote. She sang "The Show Must Go On". In week 7, she landed in the bottom two with Craig Colton, and was saved by having more votes than Colton due to the judges taking the vote to deadlock.

Over 25s

The over 25s category is being mentored by Louis Walsh.

The "Over 25s" category is being mentored by Louis Walsh. Contestants in this category are of either sex, aged 25 or over. There is no upper age limit. The eight candidates were Samantha Brookes, Kitty Brucknell, Goldie Cheung, Joseph Gilligan, Jonjo Kerr, Carolynne Poole, Johnny Robinson and Terry Winstanley. Walsh chose:

Sami Brookes

Samantha "Sami" Brookes com/2011/finalists/sami-brookes |title=The X Factor - Sami Brookes |publisher=Xfactor.itv.com |date= |accessdate=2011-11-11}}</ref> ^[17] She replaced contesta Cheung left at the end of Judges Houses. She was placed in the bottom two in the third week, along with fellow over Kitty Brucknell. She performed "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" in the final showdown. All judges apart from Tulisa voted to send her home, thus eliminating her from the competition.

Kitty Brucknell

Kitty Brucknell (born 15 November 1984; aged 27, born Kimberley Edwards^[18]) is from Cheltenham.^[12] She used to be a Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and (more recently) Lady Gaga impersonator, and featured on BBC Radio 1^[19] BBC Three^[20] and several American TV shows.^[21] In week three she was in the bottom two, along with Sami Brookes. She performed "The Edge of Glory" in the final showdown. Tulisa voted to eliminate her, but Gary, Kelly and Louis all saved her. In week five, she was in the bottom three along with The Risk and Johnny Robinson. The Risk had the lowest amount of votes, and were eliminated. Brucknell and Robinson then sang again for survival in the final showdown. Her mentor Louis Walsh, Tulisa and Kelly Rowland all saved her and voted against Robinson. Although he wasn't required to vote as the judges had reached a majority verdict (like in the previous week), Gary confirmed he would have voted Robinson off. On the sixth live show, Kitty wanted to sing Born This Way (song). Unfortunately, Misha B chose the song and had higher priority over her. Kitty then sang "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen. Kitty was for the third time in the bottom two along with Misha B. She sang "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" but was voted off over a 3-1 majority verdict. Only her mentor, Louis Walsh, voted to save her. On 19th November 2011 she appeared on Harry Hill's TV Burp.

Jonjo Kerr

Jonjo Kerr (born 16 April 1983 in Chorley, Lancashire;^{[citation needed]} aged 28) is an infantry soldier (in the Yorkshire Regiment) from Coventry (originally from Chorley, Lancashire). He was deployed to Afghanistan as part of his duties.^[12][22] He sang "You Really Got Me" and was the first of the overs category to be eliminated from the live shows on October 9 by decision of mentor Louis Walsh, as there was no public vote in the inaugural live show. The public voted from the 10th to the 12th November for one act from the initial four eliminated from the first live show, including Kerr, to replace the expelled Frankie Cocozza, but Kerr lost out to Amelia Lily.^[10]

Johnny Robinson

Johnny Robinson (born 10 June 1966; aged 45) is from Harrow, London. Born to an Irish mother and an English father, Robinson has one older brother and an older sister.^[23] He is openly gay^[24] and took part in Stars in Their Eyes when he was 24, as Boy George, and got through to the grand final.^[12] The Daily Mirror also revealed that he performs as a female impersonator in transvestite clubs around London under the name Sarah Lee. The Mirror also put a video of one of his performances in the clubs as a drag queen. In week five, he was in the bottom three along with The Risk and Kitty Brucknell. The Risk had the lowest amount of votes, and were eliminated. Brucknell and Robinson then sang again for survival in the final showdown. He was eliminated by his mentor Louis, Tulisa and Kelly.^[25]

Groups

Tulisa Contostavlos is the mentor for the groups.

The Groups category is being mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos. Acts in this category are duos or vocal groups. All members must be aged 16 or over. The eight candidates were 2 Shoes, Estrella, Girl v Boy, The Keys, The Lovettes, Nu Vibe, Little Mix (formerly known as Rhythmix) and The Risk. Contostavlos chose:

2 Shoes

2 Shoes are a duo from Brentwood, Essex, made up of Charley Bird (born 7 June 1988 (23), a telesales worker, and Lucy Texeira (born 9 January 1990) (21), a retail assistant. Bird is currently expecting her first child.^[26] They sang "Something Kinda Ooooh" and were the first of the groups to be eliminated from the live shows on October 9 by decision of mentor Tulisa Contostavlos, as there was no public vote in the inaugural live show. They were in the running to replace Frankie Cocozza after he was eliminated from the contest, but Amelia Lily received 48% of the public vote, which brought 2 Shoes tenure to an end.^[10]

Little Mix

Little Mix (previously Rhythmix) are a four-piece girlband made up of Essex^[27] barmaid Jesy Nelson (born 30 September 1991 (20), High Wycombe waitress Leigh-Anne Pinnock (born 4 October 1992)(19), and South Shields students Perrie Edwards (born 28 April 1993) and Jade Thirlwall (born 3 July 1993) (both 18).^[12][28] Originally known as Rhythmix, the band was formed at bootcamp from singers who auditioned as soloists. On 26 October 2011, Rhythmix announced that they would change their name due to pressure from a children's music charity of the same name, after the programme tried to trademark "Rhythmix" in Europe. A spokesperson for The X Factor said, "At the request of the charity Rhythmix, the members of the girl group Rhythmix have decided to change their name, a decision which has the support of Syco and TalkbackTHAMES. The group's new name will be announced in due course". It was reported that the group decided to make the change, despite no legal reason to do so, to avoid any difficulties for the charity.^[29] They announced that they would now be known as Little Mix on 28 October 2011 following on from this, the band said: "We all agreed on it, including Tulisa, because it just felt right".^{[citation needed]}.

Nu Vibe

Nu Vibe are a four-piece (previously five-piece) boyband made up of Jordan Higo (31 December 1994) (16, from Huddersfield), Stefan Romer (born 6 July 1992) (19, from Hampshire), Bradley Johnson (born 21 May 1995)(16, from Rainford^[8]) and Richard Milford (16, from Birmingham).^[12] The band's members successfully auditioned as soloists, but at bootcamp they were knocked out of the competition. The judges then called them back and put them together as a group. They were put through to the live shows by their mentor Tulisa. For the first live show they sang Chris Brown's "Beautiful People". Tulisa then sent them through to the first public vote after the first live show. For the second live show Nu Vibe sung U2's "With or Without You". After the first public vote, Nu Vibe were in the bottom two and had to perform in the final showdown against Frankie Cocozza. Nu Vibe performed "Promise This" by Cheryl Cole and were then eliminated from the competition with only their mentor, Tulisa voting in their favour.^[30] On 28 October, it was announced that fellow group, The Risk member Ashley Baptiste had left The Risk and was replaced by former member Ashford Campbell.

The Risk

The Risk are a four-piece boyband composed of Ashford Campbell (19, from Huddersfield), car salesman Andy Merry (20, from Ayr), Burger King chef Derry Mensah (21, from London), and Charlie Healy (born 18 September 1986)(25, from Coventry).^[12][31] Charlie Healy originally auditioned in another group, The Keys, while the other three auditioned as soloists. Andy previously auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, and came second in the United Kingdom selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2004.

On 28 October 2011, just before week four's live show, it was announced that original member Ashley Baptiste had decided to leave the band after stating that his heart did not lie within a boyband anymore. He was replaced with Campbell, as a fourth member.^{[citation needed]} Campbell had been previously a member of Nu Vibe, but his original band had been eliminated on 16 October in week two of the competition.

The band came under criticism from a Scottish band from Prestwick, who have been performing together for several years as The Risk. They asked The X Factor management to change the name of its contestants to avoid confusion.^[32] In Week 5, they received the fewest public votes and were sent home, after finding themselves in the bottom three with Johnny Robinson and Kitty Brucknell.

References

1. ^ Published Tuesday, Nov 8 2011, 13:29 GMT. "Frankie Cocozza axed from 'The X Factor' - X Factor News - TV". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/the-x-factor/news/a349760/frankie-cocozza-axed-from-the-x-factor.html. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
2. ^ "The X Factor - Marcus Collins". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/marcus-collins. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
3. ^ Christopher Hooton (12 September 2011). "Marcus Collins used to be in X Factor boy band rejects Eton Road". Metro. http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/875201-marcus-collins-used-to-be-in-x-factor-reject-band-eton-road. 
4. ^ Connolly, Lucy (2011-09-17). "''The Sun'': X Factor’s Marcus Collins backed by boyfriend David Heath". Thesun.co.uk. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/x_factor/3819485/X-Factors-Marcus-Collins-backed-by-boyfriend-David-Heath.html. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
5. ^ Tina Miles (27 September 2011). "Scouse talent takes over; acts head Merseyside for the judges' houses.". http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Scouse+talent+takes+over%3B+acts+head+Merseyside+for+the+judges%27+houses.-a0268068454. 
6. ^ Marion McMullen (3 October 2011). "Ultimate Guide To 2011 X Factor Finalists". Coventry Telegraph. http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/2011/10/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-2011.html. 
7. ^ Fletcher, Alex (19 October 2011). "'X Factor' Craig Colton: 'I've never hidden my sexuality'". Digital Spy (London: Hearst Magazines UK). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/the-x-factor/news/a346361/x-factor-craig-colton-ive-never-hidden-my-sexuality.html. Retrieved 19 October 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Scouse talent takes over; acts head Merseyside for the judges' houses. - Free Online Library". Thefreelibrary.com. http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Scouse+talent+takes+over%3B+acts+head+Merseyside+for+the+judges%27+houses.-a0268068454. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
9. ^ Sonia Elks (2 October 2011). "The X Factor 2011 final 16: Finalists revealed for live shows". Metro. http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/877340-the-x-factor-2011-final-16-finalists-revealed-for-live-shows. 
10. ^ ^{a b c d} "Voting is now open - The X Factor - Story". http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/news/story/read_votes-open-now_item_100199.htm. Retrieved 11 November 2011. 
11. ^ "The X Factor - Misha B". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/misha-bryan. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Elks, Sonia. "The X Factor 2011 final 16: Finalists revealed as Janet Devlin, Frankie Cocozza, Kitty Brucknell make the cut". Metro.co.uk. http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/877340-the-x-factor-2011-final-16-finalists-revealed-for-live-shows. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
13. ^ Sarah Bull. "''Daily Mail'': The next Aretha Franklin? Teenager Misha Bryan labelled a contender by judges after confident performance of Respect". Dailymail.co.uk. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2030874/X-Factor-2011-Misha-Bryan-labelled-contender-judges-performance-Respect.html. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
14. ^ "Birthday girl Janet Devlin back on form". Belfast Telegraph. 14 November 2011. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/birthday-girl-janet-devlin-back-on-form-after-a-tough-week-16076842.html. Retrieved 2011-11-15. 
15. ^ "The X Factor - Sophie Habibis". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/sophie-habibis. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
16. ^ "The X Factor - Amelia Lily". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/amelia-lily. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
17. ^ Did he have the se-X Factor? Lesbian Sami Brookes and The Risk's Derry Mensah enjoy unlikely romance after she 'wore him down'
18. ^ Will Payne (21 August 2011). "X Factor star Kitty Brucknell on verge of breakdown". Sunday Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/tv/2011/08/21/x-factor-star-kitty-brucknall-on-verge-of-breakdown-115875-23359342. 
19. ^ "Kimberley Dayle on Radio One". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoLS9cDGLhg. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
20. ^ "X Factor's Kitty Brucknell - aka Kimberley Dayle Edwards". YouTube. 2011-08-21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPzLxeyp4l0. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
21. ^ "Britney Spears Impersonator ~ Kimberley Dayle". YouTube. 2009-11-16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50F57NuSx4s. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
22. ^ "The X Factor - Jonjo Kerr". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/jonjo-kerr. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
23. ^ "The X Factor - Johnny Robinson". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/johnny-robinson. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
24. ^ "Robinson 'inspired by family heartbreak'". Xfactor.tellymix.co.uk. 2011-08-28. http://xfactor.tellymix.co.uk/news/43845-x-factor-2011-hopeful-johnny-robinson-inspired-by-family-heartbreak.html. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
25. ^ Boyle, Simon (2011-08-29). "X Factor 2011: Johnny Robinson is a drag queen - video". Mirror.co.uk. http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/tv/x-factor/2011/08/29/x-factor-2011-johnny-robinson-is-a-drag-queen-video-115875-23379835/. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
26. ^ "The X Factor - 2 Shoes". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/2-shoes. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
27. ^ "Little Mix's Jesy Nelson plans to rise above her haters after upsetting 'fat' jibes". Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2059019/Little-Mixs-Jesy-Nelson-plans-rise-haters-upsetting-fat-jibes.html. Retrieved 8 November 2011. 
28. ^ "The X Factor - Little Mix". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/rhythmix. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
29. ^ Published Wednesday, Oct 26 2011, 17:37 BST (2011-10-26). "'X Factor' Rhythmix to change name following charity pressure - X Factor News - TV". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s103/the-x-factor/news/a347661/x-factor-rhythmix-to-change-name-following-charity-pressure.html. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
30. ^ "The X Factor - Nu Vibe". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/nu-vibe. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
31. ^ "The X Factor - The Risk". Xfactor.itv.com. http://xfactor.itv.com/2011/finalists/the-risk. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
32. ^ "STV: Scots band The Risk want X Factor group to change name". Entertainment.stv.tv. 2011-10-09. http://entertainment.stv.tv/tv/273910-scots-band-the-risk-want-x-factor-group-to-change-name/. Retrieved 2011-11-11.