Distressed Dude: Finished in the bottom three on three separate occasions, the most of anyone in this season.
Nikitta Angus
Category: 16-24s
Real-Life Relative: Her aunt, Katie auditioned with her and nearly got to the live shows as well, but fell short at the Judges' House stage.invoked
Shocking Elimination: Had never finished in the bottom two, and was one of the few singers beside Leona who anyone bothered paying any attention to this year, so it was quite a shock when she ended up in the bottom two and got eliminated during the sixth week.
The Ace: From the very first live show, there was absolutely no doubt that she was going to win. Effectively, the season was a ten-week long advert for her debut album.
Flawless Victory: Almost — though ITV have never released the voting figures for this year, Simon Cowell implied in a post-series interview that she topped the voting in every week bar the second.
The MacDonald Brothers
Category: Groups
Ashley McKenzie
Category: 16-24s
Kerry McGregor
Category: Over 25s
Inspirationally Disadvantaged: The show's only physically disabled finalist so far — she was left paralysed from the waist-down following an accident when she was 13, and needed to use a wheelchair. Tragically, she subsequently became the first X-Factor finalist to die, passing away from cancer in early 2012.
Shocking Elimination: He was generally regarded as the only act with even the faintest hope of preventing Leona from winning, leaving quite a few people surprised that he "only" managed third place.
Dionne Mitchell
Category: Over 25s
Ray Quinn
Category: 16-24s
The Runner-Up Takes It All: Completely averted. There was absolutely zero interest in him after the final, and it wasn't until a Career Resurrection in the early 2010s that he started getting anywhere in the music industry.
Shocking Elimination: Had never finished in the bottom two, and was one of the few singers beside Leona who anyone bothered paying any attention to this year, so it was quite a shock when she ended up in the bottom two and got eliminated during the sixth week.
Career Resurrection in the early 2010s that he started getting anywhere in the music industry.