The X Factor (British series 7)

Birmingham

Manchester

Dublin

London

Cardiff

Glasgow

Cities that auditions were held in.

Judges Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole during filming of the London auditions on 21 June 2010.

The first appeal for applicants for series 7 was broadcast during series 6 on 5 December 2009. Applicants for the seventh series were given the opportunity to apply by uploading a video audition to the Internet.[5] Auditions began in June 2010 in six cities: Glasgow (SEC Centre, 9 June), Birmingham (LG Arena, 13–14 June), London (ExCeL London, 21–24 June), Dublin (Convention Centre Dublin, 28 June), Cardiff (International Arena, 2 July), and Manchester (Manchester Central, 9–11 July). Dublin returned as an audition city for the first time since the third series in 2006.[6]

Halliwell was the first guest judge, and attended the Glasgow auditions.[7] Imbruglia was the second guest judge, appearing for the Birmingham auditions.[6] The guest judge slot was axed for the London auditions,[8] but continued with Perry judging in Dublin, Lott in Cardiff and Scherzinger at the auditions in Manchester.[9] Cole was unable to attend the Manchester auditions because she had contracted malaria[10] and was not replaced for them.

The first episode, broadcast on 21 August 2010, featured auditions from Glasgow and London,[11][12] while episode two, on 28 August, showcased Dublin's auditions and more from London.[13] More London auditions were shown on 4 September, along with those from Birmingham,[14] and Cardiff was featured in 11 September broadcast along with the final set of London auditions.[15] Finally, the Manchester auditions were shown in the 18 and 19 September episodes.[16][17]

The bootcamp stage of the competition began on 22 July 2010 at Wembley Arena, London and was broadcast on 25–26 September.[18] Minogue continued her maternity leave and Cole did not attend because she was still in recovery.[19] As Cole and Minogue were absent, producers of the show decided to axe bootcamp's live audience. The bootcamp stage was broadcast in two episodes on 25 and 26 September. The first day of bootcamp saw Cowell and Walsh split the 211 acts into their four categories: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups. They received vocal coaching and each category later performed one song: the Boys sang "Man in the Mirror", the Girls sang "If I Were a Boy", the Over 25s sang "Poker Face" and the Groups sang "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now". At the end of the day, the number of acts was cut to 108. On the second day, acts were given dance lessons by creative director Brian Friedman but they were not judged on their performances.[20]

Scherzinger then returned as a guest judge on the third day, where each act performed one song from a list of 40.[20] On the fifth day,[21] Scherzinger suggested that the Over 25s category be changed to the Over 28s, as the quality of older singers was high. The Boys and Girls categories then comprised singers aged 16 to 27, rather than 16 to 24.[22][23] As the groups category was the weakest, five rejected soloists from the Boys category and four from the Girls category were asked to form two groups, One Direction and Belle Amie respectively.[21][24] After bootcamp, each judge was assigned a category: Cowell was given the Groups, Walsh had the Over 28s, Minogue was asked to look after the Boys and Cole was assigned the Girls.[24]

Minogue and Cole returned to the judging panel for the judges' houses stage of the competition,[6] where each judge mentored eight acts, increased from six in previous series.[22] Each judge had help from a guest judge to choose their final acts. Original judge Sharon Osbourne returned to assist Walsh at Adare Manor in Adare, County Limerick, Ireland,[25] Cole was assisted by will.i.am in Coworth Park, Ascot, Berkshire, England,[26] Cowell by Sinitta in Marbella, Spain,[27] and Natalie Imbruglia returned to assist Minogue in Melbourne, Australia.[28] Contestants spent a week at judges' houses and performed two songs for their respective judge.[29] Each judge and their guest eliminated five acts, leaving twelve remaining. The judges' houses stage was broadcast in two episodes on 2 and 3 October 2010.

• Acts in bold advanced

Boys:

• Nicolo: "New York"
• Tom: "Feel"
• Paije: "True Colors" (wildcard)
• John: "Back for Good"
• Karl: "She Said"
• Marlon: "Empire State of Mind"
• Matt: "If I Were a Boy"
• Aiden: "Cannonball"

Over 28s:

• Stephen: "Get the Party Started"
• Yuli: "Bonkers"
• Justin: "Telephone"
• Wagner: "You Got the Love" (wildcard)
• Mary: "Fix You"
• John: "Billionaire"
• Elesha: "If I Ain't Got You"*
• Storm: "Without You"

Groups:

• Twem: "When Love Takes Over"
• Belle Amie: "Faith"
• Princes and Rouges: "Video Killed the Radio Star"
• Hustle: "Tainted Love"
• The Reason: "If You're Not The One"
• F.Y.D: "Beggin'"
• Diva Fever: "Love Machine" (wildcard)
• One Direction: "Torn"

Girls:

• Rebecca: "Fireflies"
• Gamu: "Cry Me Out"
• Annastasia: "How Could an Angel Break My Heart"
• Raquel: "Ordinary People"
• Keri: "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
• Katie: "Smile"
• Treyc: "Ave Maria" (wildcard)
• Cher: "Cooler Than Me"
• Elesha Moses was originally sent home, but after the judges could not decide on an eighth act to send through, she was later bought back.

In the first live show on 9 October, Paije Richardson, Treyc Cohen, Wagner and Diva Fever were reinstated as wildcards.[31]

The Fountain Studios, where The X Factor and The Xtra Factor live shows took place

The live shows took place at The Fountain Studios in Wembley, northwest London.[32] They started on 9 October 2010, with contestants performing on the Saturday night shows and the results being announced on the Sunday night shows. As previously, each week had a different song theme. The two acts with the fewest public votes were in the bottom two and sang again in the "final showdown". The songs they performed in the bottom two were of their own choice and did not necessarily follow that week's theme. The four judges then each chose one act from the bottom two that they wanted to be eliminated from the show. If each act received an equal number of judges' votes, the result went to deadlock and the act with the lowest number public votes was eliminated. The first live show was extended to two and a half hours to include a surprise twist,[33] namely that each judge was given a wildcard, allowing them to bring back one rejected act from judges' houses, thus bringing the number of finalists up from twelve to sixteen.[34] Owing to the addition of the wildcards, the first two results were double eliminations. The quarter-final result was also a double elimination.[35] In the case of a double elimination, instead of the bottom two, the bottom three were announced and the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated. The two remaining acts from the bottom three then performed in the final showdown.[36][37] Starting from the quarter-final of live shows, the acts performed two songs each on the Saturday night.[38]

At the start of each results show, the remaining finalists performed a song as a group. However, the song was pre-recorded and the contestants mimed, because of technical issues with mixing the number of microphones. Starting this series, the contestants' live performances were made available to download from iTunes.[39] However, the songs are not eligible to chart to protect the integrity of the contest.[40] Viewers in Ireland were allowed vote again, having been unable to for four years.[41]

Each results show featured a number of guest performers. Joe McElderry and Usher performed on the first live results show,[31] and Diana Vickers and Katy Perry performed in the second week.[37] The third results show featured performances from judge Cole and Michael Bublé.[42] Rihanna, Bon Jovi and Jamiroquai performed in the fourth results show,[43] and Shayne Ward and Kylie Minogue performed in the fifth week.[44] Take That, Westlife and JLS all performed on the sixth results show,[45] and Olly Murs performed on the seventh.[46] The quarter-final featured performances from Justin Bieber, The Wanted and Nicole Scherzinger.[47] The cast of Glee performed on the semi-final on 5 December,[48] along with Alexandra Burke and The Black Eyed Peas.[49] Rihanna performed again in the first show of the final, and Christina Aguilera also performed.[50] Take That performed again in the second show of the final.[51]

The final took place on 11 and 12 December, with each episode lasting two hours. During the first show, the voting lines were frozen and the fourth placed contestant was eliminated. The votes carried over and the third placed contestant left on the second show following another freeze. The final two performed the potential winner's singles before the winner was announced.[52]

Colour key

  Act in Boys

  Act in Girls

  Act in Over 28s

  Act in Groups

• ^1 Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority. However in the quarter-final, he stated that he would have voted to eliminate Wagner.
• ^2 The voting percentages in the final for both Sunday Votes do not add up to 100%, owing to the freezing of votes. Cher Lloyd received 6.65% of the vote at the second freeze, and 4.07% of the final vote. One Direction received 12.69% of the final vote.[54]

• Theme: Number-one singles[31]
• Group performance: "The Rhythm of the Night"[58]
• Musical guests: Usher ("DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" / "OMG")[31][59] and Joe McElderry ("Ambitions")[60]
• Best bits songs: "Grace Kelly" (Nicolo Festa) & "Superman (It's Not Easy)" (F.Y.D.)

• Owing to the addition of four wildcard acts, two acts were eliminated from the series' first results show.[31] The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and the act with the fewest public votes was then automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes. Nicolo Festa was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Cowell: Katie Waissel – backed his own act, F.Y.D.
• Cole: F.Y.D. – based on the final showdown performance, effectively backing her own act, Katie Waissel.
• Minogue: F.Y.D. – based on the final showdown performance.
• Walsh: F.Y.D. – stated that he had to choose the act with more potential, as well as "the right" act.

However, voting statistics revealed that F.Y.D received more votes than Waissel, which meant that if Walsh sent the result to deadlock, F.Y.D would have been saved.

• Theme: Musical Heroes[62][63]
• Group performance: "Telephone"[55]
• Musical guests: Diana Vickers ("My Wicked Heart")[64] and Katy Perry ("Firework")[55]
• Best bits songs: "Sweet Child o' Mine" (Storm Lee) & "Take Your Mama" (Diva Fever)

• Owing to the addition of four wildcard acts, two acts were eliminated from the series' second results show. 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 for the judges' votes.[37] Storm Lee was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Judges' votes to eliminate[55]

• Walsh: Diva Fever – thought Belle Amie would get better in the competition.
• Minogue: Diva Fever – based on final showdown performances.
• Cole: Diva Fever – gave no reason.
• Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority; when asked how he would have voted, he abstained to answer (probably because both were his own acts).

However, voting statistics revealed that Diva Fever received more votes than Belle Amie which meant that if the result went to deadlock, Diva Fever would have been saved.

• Theme: Guilty pleasures[67]
• Group performance: "Forget You"[56]
• Musical guests: Michael Bublé ("Hollywood") and Cheryl Cole ("Promise This")[56]
• Best bits song: "You Give Me Something"

Judges' votes to eliminate[69]

• Walsh: Treyc Cohen – said Adeleye had more potential, effectively backing his own act, John Adeleye.
• Minogue: John Adeleye – based on the final showdown performances also stating that she knew what she would see in Adeleye’s future.
• Cole: John Adeleye – backed her own act, Treyc Cohen.
• Cowell: John Adeleye – based on the final showdown performances and stated that Adeleye was not improving as much as Cohen.

However, voting statistics revealed that Adeleye received more votes than Cohen which meant that if Cowell sent the result to deadlock, Adeleye would have been saved.

• Theme: Halloween[70]
• Group performance: "Livin' on a Prayer" (with Bon Jovi)[43]
• Musical guests: Bon Jovi with finalists ("Livin' on a Prayer"), Jamiroquai ("White Knuckle Ride") and Rihanna ("Only Girl (In the World)")[43]
• Best bits song: "Issues"

Judges' votes to eliminate[43]

• Cowell: Katie Waissel – backed his own act, Belle Amie.
• Cole: Belle Amie – backed her own act, Katie Waissel.
• Minogue: Belle Amie – based on the final showdown performance.
• Walsh: Katie Waissel – gave no reason; though on The Xtra Factor he stated that he could not decide and sent the result to deadlock.

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Belle Amie were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.[43]

• Theme: American Anthems[72]
• Group performance: "So What"[44]
• Musical guests: Shayne Ward ("Gotta Be Somebody") and Kylie Minogue ("Better than Today")[44]
• Best bits song: "Happy"

Judges' votes to eliminate[73]

• Cowell: Treyc Cohen – based on who he would prefer to see again the following week.
• Cole refused to vote off either of her acts; she asked O'Leary to have her vote after Minogue and Walsh to send the result deadlock, however, O'Leary then announced the result would be determined by a majority vote by the other three judges.
• Minogue: Katie Waissel – gave no reason although said both acts sung better under pressure.
• Walsh: Treyc Cohen – stated that he would follow his heart and save Waissel.

However, voting statistics revealed that Cohen received more votes than Waissel which meant that if the result went to deadlock, Cohen would have been saved.

• Theme: Songs by Elton John[74][75]
• Group performance: "Can't Stop Moving"[76]
• Musical guests: JLS ("Love You More"), Westlife ("Safe") and Take That ("The Flood")[76]
• Best bits song: "What If"

Judges' votes to eliminate[77]

• Cowell: Aiden Grimshaw – gave no reason.
• Cole: Aiden Grimshaw – backed her own act, Katie Waissel.
• Minogue: Katie Waissel – gave no reason, though effectively backed her own act, Aiden Grimshaw.
• Walsh: Katie Waissel – felt Grimshaw had more potential.

With the acts in the bottom two receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Grimshaw was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.[45]

• Theme: Songs by The Beatles[78][79]
• Group performance: "Heroes" (all finalists)[46]
• Musical guest: Olly Murs ("Thinking of Me")[46]
• Best bits song: "Make You Feel My Love"

Judges' votes to eliminate[46]

• Cowell: Paije Richardson – said he would want to back Lloyd whom he had continually supported though he stated that both acts did not deserve to be in the final showdown.
• Cole: Paije Richardson – backed her own act, Cher Lloyd.
• Minogue: Cher Lloyd – backed her own act, Paije Richardson.
• Walsh: Paije Richardson – gave no reason, though he stated on The Xtra Factor that Lloyd had performed better in the final showdown.

However, voting statistics revealed that Richardson received more votes than Lloyd which meant that if Walsh sent the result to deadlock, Richardson would have advanced to the quarter-final and Lloyd would have been eliminated.

• Theme: Rock[80]
• Musical guests: The Wanted ("Lose My Mind"),[81] Justin Bieber ("Somebody to Love" / "Baby") and Nicole Scherzinger ("Poison")[35]
• Best bits songs: "Lucky Star" (Katie Waissel) & "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (Wagner)

For the first time this series, each act performed two songs.[38]

• Two acts were eliminated from the series' eighth results show.[35] The three acts with the fewest 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 for the judges' votes. Katie Waissel was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Judges' votes to eliminate

• Walsh: Wagner – based on the final showdown performances.
• Minogue: Wagner – backed Byrne who she thought was the better singer.
• Cole: Wagner – gave no reason.
• Cowell was not required to vote as there was already a majority, but said that he would have voted to eliminate Wagner as he wanted to return the show to being a talent competition.

• Themes: Club classics; "songs to get you to the final" (no theme)[83]
• Musical guests: Alexandra Burke ("The Silence"), Glee Cast ("Don't Stop Believin'") and The Black Eyed Peas ("The Time (Dirty Bit)")[57]
• Best bits song: "The Garden"

For the first time in The X Factor history, the judges chose which act they wanted to see progress to the final.

Judges' votes to send through to the final[84]

• Walsh: Mary Byrne – backed his own act, Mary Byrne.
• Minogue: Cher Lloyd – thought Lloyd’s performance was emotional but also acknowledged that both acts did "an incredible performance" and were "great contestants in the show".
• Cole: Cher Lloyd – backed her own act, Cher Lloyd.
• Cowell: Cher Lloyd – gave no reason although he praised Byrne as a contestant and singer as well as Lloyd's final showdown performance.

However, voting statistics revealed than Byrne received more votes than Lloyd which meant that if Cowell sent the result to deadlock, Byrne would have advanced to the final and Lloyd would have been eliminated.

11 December

• Themes: No theme; celebrity duets[85]
• Group performance: "Flashdance... What a Feeling" (all contestants)[50]
• Musical guests: Rihanna ("What's My Name?") and Christina Aguilera ("Express")[50]
• Best bits song: "Halo"

12 December

• Themes: No theme; winner's single[52]
• Group performances: "Never Forget" (with Take That) and "Bad Romance" (auditionees)[51]
• Musical guest: Take That ("Never Forget" with contestants and "The Flood")[51]
• Best bits songs: "Baby" (One Direction), "The Voice Within" (Rebecca Ferguson) & "Cannonball" (Matt Cardle)

The first episode on 21 August attracted 11.88 million viewers on ITV1,[103] the highest ever ratings for a series premiere of The X Factor.[104] It was watched by 46.5% of television viewers during its original broadcast.[104] The episode also received ratings of 568,000 on ITV1 HD.[105] The first live performance show on 9 October 2010 gained 12.62 million viewers,[103] attaining a 48.5% share of the audience during broadcast.[106] The final result on 12 December was the highest rated episode with 16.55 million viewers on ITV1,[103] a 51.5% audience share[107] and 1.16 million viewers on ITV1 HD.[105] It peaked at 19.4 million (18.14 million on ITV1 and 1.3 million on ITV1 HD)[107] and was the highest rated television episode of 2010 in the UK.[108] Official ratings concluded that the series averaged 14.13 million (including HD), making it the most watched series in the show's history. The series dominated the weekly rankings, taking up the top position for the first four weeks, then the top two positions until the final.[103]

The seventh series of The X Factor sparked several heated controversies, with over 5,000 complaints registered with Ofcom throughout the series. A spokesperson told the Daily Mirror newspaper that ITV bosses were worried about the number of complaints as claims that the show had become "seedy and oversexed" and accusations of fixing would tarnish the image of the show and ITV.[136]

On 25 August, it was announced that contestant Shirlena Johnson had been asked to leave the show because of concerns over her mental health. Producers said the medical report from her general practitioner, requested during bootcamp, arrived late. A spokesperson said, "The welfare of contestants is of paramount importance, and for this reason it has been agreed that Shirlena Johnson should not continue in the competition."[137][138]

The decision to form two groups, Belle Amie and One Direction, from soloists at the end of the bootcamp stage was branded unfair by some of the other groups, as neither had entered the competition as groups. The controversy deepened after Cowell put through both Belle Amie and One Direction and picked just one of the original applicants.[139]

More controversy erupted after the News of the World reported that after failing to qualify in 2009, Treyc Cohen signed a management deal with Artimis Music Management Ltd that landed her a recording contract in October that year with Birmingham-based Ajoupa Records and she released a single entitled "A Time to Be Heard".[140] The rules of The X Factor strictly forbid record deals while a contestant is on the show. According to the newspaper, The X Factor was attempting to release Cohen from her management deal and remove the single from sale.[140] Katie Waissel also had to be released from a contract in the United States after her audition.[141]

Controversy was caused when Cole chose not to send popular contestant Gamu Nhengu through to the live shows. Nhengu was an early favourite to win and many viewers were upset that Katie Waissel and Cher Lloyd were put through despite stumbling through their performances at judges' houses.[142] Around 1,000 people complained to ITV and by 7 October, 220,000 had joined a Facebook page called "Gamu Should Have Got Through".[143] Cole reportedly became the target of death threats,[144] and took extra security precautions in her home as well as at The X Factor.[145] Bookmaker Paddy Power were forced to give odds on Nhengu winning the show after a large number of bets were placed,[146] and made her the favourite to win, but all punters had their losing bets refunded when Nhengu was not chosen as Cole's wildcard.[147] There was speculation that Cole was pressured by producers to eliminate Nhengu over issues with her visa, but Cole denied those claims,[148] saying it was entirely down to her "gut instinct" and that she believed Lloyd, Waissel and Rebecca Ferguson were the best singers in her category.[29] Later in her 2012 autobiography Cheryl: My Story, Cole confessed that she had chosen Waissel for the live shows because she was more entertaining, claiming that, "[Cowell] had spent the past two years drumming into me that we needed acts who would be 'good TV.'... she had the character and drive it took to withstand the pressure of the show, and so I put her through, even though she messed up when she sang in front of Cole and will.i.am."[149]

Hundreds of viewers complained when, in week 5 of the live shows, Cole abstained from voting against either of her acts who she mentored in the bottom two (Cohen and Waissel) and was not allowed to vote last to send the result to deadlock. When the time came for the judges to determine the result, Cowell was asked to vote first and voted against Cohen. However, O'Leary then asked Cole to vote second rather than last which traditionally occurs when a judge has two of their own acts in the sing-off. Cole stated that she wanted to abstain from voting. When O'Leary asked her to clarify what she meant, Cole responded that she was abstaining at that moment but wanted O'Leary to ask Minogue and Walsh to cast their votes then ask Cole again where she would vote last and send the result to deadlock which is how a judge with two acts they mentor in the sing-off would vote when voting last. Due to Cole abstaining from voting against Cohen or Waissel when she was asked second, she was not allowed to send the result to deadlock. A spokesperson for The X Factor explained: "A judge can abstain from placing a vote. Cheryl made it clear that she would not send anyone home and therefore abstained from voting. Dermot went back to her to clarify that it was going to go to a majority vote if she did that. Cheryl was unable to take the vote to deadlock as deadlock requires a valid active vote."[150] O'Leary revealed that during the previous commercial break, when the bottom two was known to the producers, they realised that Cole might abstain and decided that if she did, the result would be decided by a majority vote.[150] After the series ended, voting statistics showed that Cohen received more votes than Waissel, meaning if Cole was allowed to send the result to deadlock, Cohen would have been saved.[151]

After O'Leary's revelation that producers had rehearsed what would happen if Cole abstained in week 5, allegations were made that the result was rigged to save Waissel, on the producers' assumption that her outlandish performances and growing unpopularity with the public resulted in better ratings and sensational press reports and article releases for the show. One of the assumptions that viewers believed was part of the presumed rigging was to not have Cole vote last and stop the result from going to deadlock. Cowell denied this claim, saying he would never want to defraud viewers and said the situation had "been blown out of proportion".[152] O'Leary defended himself and the show on Twitter, saying "We never know which way the judges are going to vote. Ever. The only thing I know is who's in the bottom two when I'm given the card. I don't know which judge to go to until I'm called and the judges, including [Cowell], don't know the vote or who we're coming to next. It's that simple."[152] The following week, Heat magazine printed a report claiming that Cowell was aware of the public votes before the judges cast their votes, and several other media reports contained rumours of the show being fixed. The X Factor's bosses instructed their lawyers to file a formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission against Heat, saying that the article was a lie, that very few people know the actual public voting results and conspiracy theories being printed in the media are "total and utter rubbish".[153] Heat printed an apology in their 1 January 2011 issue and accepted that Cowell was unaware of the public votes cast until after the final.[154]

There were accusations from viewers of fixing during the semi-final when O'Leary announced that only the public's votes would decide which acts would advance to the final, but the next day in the semi-final result show, this was changed and there was a final showdown. The show's official website also stated that the result would be decided by the public vote, and Walsh confirmed that on a radio show earlier in the week.[155] It was the first time in the show's history that the judges were given a vote in a semi-final. Cowell (incorrectly) said that "There has always been a sing-off when there are five people left in the competition. This is a lot of nonsense about nothing."[156] However, semi-finalist, Mary Byrne said she believed the result would be solely down to the public until the day of the semi-final performances in which the next day, she ended up in the final showdown with Cher Lloyd. She claimed that Cowell really wanted Lloyd in the final because of Cowell constantly praising Lloyd's performances, Lloyd as an artist, and Lloyd having a high likability from Cowell throughout the live shows and Byrne to be voted out because she believed that Cowell thought that Byrne's type of music of easy listening, was too different among the other semi-finalists and old-fashioned compared to the more modern mainstream music.[156] Public supporters of Byrne also felt that their votes to vote Byrne into the final were wasted and demanded refunds for their votes as they along with the viewers were not notified of the final showdown until the conclusion of the semi-final result show and due to the result not being decided by the public vote as Byrne was voted out by the judges. Byrne, viewers and Byrne supporters believed that at Cowell's and other executive producers' behest, the final showdown was put in place by producers who scrambled at the last minute, (just before the result announcement, more specifically, right after the semi-final public voting period closed and when the votes were being counted), only to prevent Byrne from having a place in the final and guarantee Lloyd's place if Byrne finished fourth in the public vote and if Lloyd finished last in the public vote. Other viewers and Byrne voters believed that Minogue was told by producers to vote to send Lloyd through to the final, on the producers' assumption at the time that Byrne finished fourth in the public vote and Lloyd finished last in the public vote in order to preclude Byrne from advancing to the final and the result from going to deadlock. Following Byrne's comments and the accusations by viewers and public supporters of Byrne, Cowell wrote an open letter to the viewers in the Daily Mirror to explain why the final showdown in the semi-final occurred by saying:

"It's always our sole intention to try and make the show as entertaining and hopefully exciting every week. Our main focus is to ensure that the contestants are given every opportunity to benefit from being on the show and show their talent. Throughout the series I have met with fans of the show on a regular basis and have listened and acted on their feedback. I believe they have enjoyed the changes in the show this year and I feel it's been a better series as it hasn't followed the same pattern as before. This year we decided to give four contestants a second chance and introduce them as wild card entrants on the first live show. And having 16 finalists rather than just 12 meant that we introduced both single and double eliminations [though this was inaccurate as a double elimination was introduced and performed once in the 2006 UK series]. We decided for the first time some weeks ago to put four people into the final and this meant having five semi-finalists. We also felt it would be fairer that there would be a sing-off rather than automatic elimination as there were more contestants. I understand new decisions are seen as controversial by our viewers but it stops the show becoming boring. As the excitement heats up, debates begin but I do want to assure people that the show is definitely not fixed. The sing-off on Sunday [5 December 2010] was something that was always going to happen regardless of who was in the bottom two. The contestants all prepared their save-me songs on Monday last week [29 November 2010]. It was always going to be sad for whoever left. [...] I have always listened to and respected our viewers and have always believed viewers ultimately make the right decision. I hope the viewers trust the show that this is a fair competition."[157]

During the final four press conference, a press reporter asked Cowell about how thoughts on the infuriated public who felt misguided on the semi-final result show format. Cowell replied by claiming he re-watched the semi-final result show, that the show misleading the viewers was unintended, and issued an apology to the enticed public voters who felt enraged with the semi-final result.

Voting statistics revealed that if there was not a final showdown or if Minogue or Cowell voted to send Byrne through to the final or if the result went to deadlock, Byrne would have advanced to the final and Lloyd would have been eliminated.[151]

Due to the high accusations of the final showdown in the semi-final this series, the final showdown in the semi-final did not return until 2013 UK series and continued onwards with the exception of the 2017 UK series.

Following the first episode, viewers complained on social networking websites after it appeared that pitch correction (which has been seen as controversial in the music industry) was used to improve the quality of some singers' voices,[158] and forty-five viewers complained to Ofcom.[159] Series producers claimed post-production work was necessary on the show because of the number of microphones used during filming: "The judges make their decisions at the auditions stage based on what they hear on the day, live in the arena. The footage and sound is then edited and dubbed into a finished programme, to deliver the most entertaining experience possible for viewers. When it gets to the live shows, it will be all live."[160] In October 2010, Ofcom ruled that viewers had not been "materially misled" as pitch correction was only used during auditions and not when viewers were paying to vote for the contestants.[159]

In December 2010, it emerged that Ofcom were investigating the show after claims that viewers were being encouraged to purchase songs recorded by guest performers Michael Bublé and Diana Vickers.[161] Ofcom also received over 2,868 complaints[162] from viewers about "raunchy" dance routines from Rihanna and Christina Aguilera during the final. Although an ITV spokesperson denied the routines were inappropriate,[163] Cowell was warned by ITV to "cut the sleaze".[136] In April 2011, Ofcom ruled that there had been no breach of guidelines over the performances, and highlighted that "approximately 2,000" of the complaints were received after the routines were covered by the Daily Mail, and said the newspaper's report featured a number of stills that were "significantly more graphic and close-up" than material broadcast, and that were "taken from a different angle to the television cameras".[162]

In its 7 December 2010 issue, Heat magazine said series 7 of The X Factor had been the best series to date, citing many of the controversies, plus events such as Lloyd singing on a spiral staircase, Wagner's "ludicrous" performances and Walsh likening Richardson to "a little Lenny Henry", as moments that helped make it "the most deliriously, thrilling, controversial and demented yet. [...] This was the year the biggest and best show on TV somehow got bigger and better."[164] Before the final, Digital Spy's reality television editor Alex Fletcher listed his five favourite moments from the series. His favourite moment was Nhengu's elimination, on which he said "No other show can make people so passionate, angry and feel like they really know the programme's stars. With only approximately 30 minutes of screentime, Gamu had managed to capture the hearts of millions. Whatever you think of Simon Cowell's programmes, you have to give them credit for achieving that."[165]

The series won in the Most Popular Talent Show category at the 16th National Television Awards in 2011, beating series 4 of Britain's Got Talent, series 6 of Dancing on Ice and series 8 of Strictly Come Dancing.[166] It was also nominated in the TV Reality Programme category at the 2011 TRIC awards,[167] the Entertainment Programme category at the 2011 British Academy Television Awards,[168] and the Best Talent Show category at the 2011 TV Choice Awards.[169]