List of The X Factor finalists (British series 7)

The seventh UK series of The X Factor is currently being broadcast on ITV. The series started airing on 21 August 2010. The live shows are scheduled to start on 9 October 2010. The Final 12 were declared on 3 October 2010.

Boys

The "Boys" category is being mentored by Dannii Minogue. Contestants in this category are males aged 16 to 27. From the eight candidates Karl Brown, Matt Cardle, Nicolo Festa, Aiden Grimshaw, Marlon McKenzie, Tom Richards, Paije Richardson, and John Wilding, Minogue chose:

Matt Cardle

Matt Cardle, 27, is a former painter and decorator from Essex. Before applying to The X Factor, he was the frontman and guitarist of the band Seven Summers alongside Alex Baker (drums), Jon Holland (bass) and Neillo (guitars) and released their debut album, an alternative rock album. He auditioned with "You Know I'm No Good" from Amy Winehouse, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" from Roberta Flack and "If I Were a Boy" from Beyoncé in judges' house, all three interpretations of female artist songs.

Nicolo Festa

Nicolo Festa (born 1988) is an Italian student living in London. He was born in Southern Italy. He auditioned with "A Song for You" from Leon Russell. Cowell commented: "I Like you because you are weird... and that's a compliment". Louis Walsh called him "a diva in making". He told Dannii Minogue that his fame was "inevitable" before performing "New York" by Paloma Faith in the judges' houses stage and qualifying.

Aiden Grimshaw

Aiden Grimshaw, 18, is a student from Blackpool. He auditioned with "Gold Digger" by Kanye West. Cowell said "Now that's what I call a pop star!"

Girls

The "Girls" category is being mentored by Cheryl Cole. Contestants in this category are females aged 16 to 27. Of the following eight candidates Keri Arrindell, Annastacia Baker, Treyc Cohen, Rebecca Ferguson, Cher Lloyd, Gamu Nhengu, Raquel Thomas, and Katie Waissel, Cole chose:

Rebecca Ferguson

Rebecca Ferguson, 24, is a single mother of two and student from Liverpool. She had previously unsuccessfully auditioned for X-Factor. At her bootcamp audition, Cowell said "That is a recording voice!" Nicole Scherzinger said, "I told you first time I saw her, she is our generation’s songbird."

Cher Lloyd

Cher Lloyd, 17, is a student from Malvern, Worcestershire. At judges' houses she suffered a throat infection and was unable to complete her song.. She was given a second chance, but broke down sobbing and could not complete the song. Despite this, she was picked as one of the final 3 girls by mentor Cole.

Katie Waissel

Katie Waissel, 24, is a former receptionist and waitress from London. At her audition she forgot some of the words to "We Are The Champions". She also fell to pieces when performing the song "Smile", in front of Cole and will.i.am at judges' house, and had to stop to compose herself and cried saying "it is an emotional song". Cole later admitted that Waissel was a drama queen.

Over 28s

The "Over 28s" category is being mentored by Louis Walsh. Contestants in this category are of either sex, aged 28 or over. There is no upper age limit. Out of the following eight candidates, John Adeleye, Mary Byrne, Wagner Fiuza-Carrilho, Stephen Hunter, Justin Vanderhyde, Storm Lee, Yuli Minguel, and Elesha Moses, Walsh chose:

John Adeleye

John Adeleye, 29, is a care worker from London. He says he was inspired to enter competition by the dementia sufferers at the care home where he works. He says his distinctive singing means they always remember him - even when they can't recall much else. He told TV Biz: "I sing all the time at the care home. One of the residents told me, 'When you sing, I feel a lot better'. That's when I decided to enter."

Mary Byrne

Mary Byrne (born 1959) is a supermarket worker from Dublin. She says she wanted to be a singer all her life but never had the confidence until now.

Storm Lee

Storm Lee (born Lee Gardner), 37, is a singer from Edinburgh who was living in Los Angeles at the time of applying to the show. He has previously worked with Meat Loaf and Ozzy Osbourne, as well as appearing on US show The Singing Bee as part of the house band.

Groups

The Groups category is being mentored by Simon Cowell. Acts in this category are duos or vocal groups. All members must be aged 16 or over. Out of the following eight groups: Belle Amie, Diva Fever, F.Y.D., Husstle, Princes and Rogues, The Reason, and Twem, Cowell chose:

Belle Amie

Belle Amie is a four-member girl band made up Rebecca Creighton, 21, an unemployed hairdresser from Tallaght, Esther Campbell, 17, Geneva Lane, 20 and Sophia Wardman, 23.

They all applied as solo candidates to the competition, but the judges, after a suggestion by Cowell decided to put them in a band qualifying for the Groups category. For their qualifying song, their first ever together, they sang an acoustic version of George Michael's song "Faith".

F.Y.D.

F.Y.D. is a five-member boy band made up of Matt Newton, 26, Jordan Gabriel, 22, Kalvin LaMey, 25, Ryan-Lee Seager, 22, and Alex Murdoch, 22. F.Y.D. stands for "Follow Your Destiny". The band was originally called F.Y.E., which stands for For Your Entertainment, but they had to change it to F.Y.D. upon the insistence of The X Factor management. For their qualifying song, they sang "Beggin'", a song composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy Farina and popularized by The Four Seasons.

One Direction

1 Direction is a five-member boy band made up of Liam Payne, (born in Wolverhampton on 29 August 1993), Louis Tomlinson, 18, Niall Horan, 17, Harry Styles, 16, and Zain Malik, 17 (from Bradford). They applied as solo candidates to the competition, but the judges, after a suggestion by Cowell, decided to put them in a band, qualifying for the Groups category.

Payne had already auditioned in 2008 to The X Factor fifth series when he was 14 and reached judges' houses, but Cowell thought he was not ready for the competition and asked him to come back after two years. This time around Cowell chose him to be part of One Direction. Malik, a Muslim of mixed Pakistani / British origin, was noted for becoming nervous in bootcamp, when he was told he had to dance, and decided to remain backstage effectively running the risk of elimination. Cowell noticed Malik missing from the dance routine and went backstage to convince him to return. He was also eventually chosen for the group.

For their qualifying song, One Direction's first ever song together, they sang an acoustic version of Ednaswap's "Torn" made famous by Natalie Imbruglia.

External links

• The X Factor Finalists at itv.com