| The X Factor | |
|---|---|
| Series 6 | |
_series_6&sq=&lang=&file=File:Joe_McElderry_by_David_Wright.jpg) McElderry performing at The Sage Gateshead on 25 February 2012 | |
| Hosted by | Dermot O'Leary (ITV) Holly Willoughby (ITV2) |
| Judges | |
| Winner | Joe McElderry |
| Winning mentor | Cheryl Cole |
| Runner-up | Olly Murs |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Original release | 22 August – 13 December 2009 |
| Series chronology | |
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The sixth series started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009.[1] Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back series.[2] The show was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Holly Willoughby on ITV2. McElderry's winner's single was a cover version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb".[3] Public auditions by aspiring singers began in June 2009 and were held in five cities across the UK. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cole returned as judges. This season was the first to be sponsored by TalkTalk after they took over the sponsorship from The Carphone Warehouse. For the first time, auditions were held in front of a live audience. Following initial auditions, the "bootcamp" stage took place in August 2009, where the number of contestants was narrowed down to 24. The 24 contestants were split into their categories, Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups, and given a judge to mentor them at the "judges' houses" stage and throughout the finals.
During "judges' houses", the 24 acts were reduced to twelve, with one act being eliminated each week by a combination of public vote and judges' decision until a winner was found. The live shows started on 10 October 2009. The acts performed every Saturday night with the results announced on Sundays. This was change of format from previous series in which the results were announced later on the Saturday evening. This series was sponsored by TalkTalk.
- ^ "Joe McElderry wins X Factor crown". BBC News. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
- ^ Daly, Susan (8 August 2009). "The boo hoo factor". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
- ^ Revealed! Tonight's songs ITV X Factor, 13 December 2009