11=

Enrique Iglesias

@Tafty

Poor Jonjo - by his own admission - muddled up the song choices for Enrique Iglesias, who didn't falter outside the top 10 in any of the rounds until his untimely elimination at the Battleground. Starting the competition with a bang, Bailamos earned Enrique the top spot among the solo males at the Auditions, while two other top 10 positions were achieved in the larger mixed group with both Heartbeat (gorgeous Nicole Scherzinger collaboration) and Takin' Back My Love (Ciara collaboration). Ultimately though, Rhythm Divine couldn't quite see Enrique claw back into the competition to join the Live Shows. Despite the frustration, Jonjo should be proud of what he brought to the table here. Some throwbacks and excellent pop all round, even managing to escape Judges' Houses unscathed among the slander aimed at Tonight (I'm f***in' You).

Enrique Iglesias in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Men Auditions: 01 Bailamos (161 points)

Boot Camp: 09 Heartbeat (feat. Nicole Scherzinger) [307 points]

Judges' Houses at Humboldt: 05 Tonight (I'm f***in' You) [feat. Ludacris & DJ Frank E] (76 points)

Battleground: 08 Takin' Back My Love (feat. Ciara) [268 points]

The Power of The Golden Wagner: 07= Rhythm Divine (7 coins awarded)

11=

Elton John

@Spiceboy

It's a shock of sorts to remind ourselves that Spiceboy was behind Elton John in this first season of The Pop Factor given the smut that has ensued. Unless of course we are to assume that Sir Elton John himself is also on Spiceboy's hit-list. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume that had it not been for Battleground, Elton John could have continued on his upward trajectory (or rather, consistent) in the competition considering he came out on top at Judges' Houses with some help from Dua Lipa on the PNAU Remix of Cold Heart. Classic hits I'm Still Standing and Are You Ready For Love? kept him in the top 10 too, but ultimately it wasn't enough to cross the Battleground, or re-enter the competition with the power of The Golden Wagner. Joining Bob Dylan in the ranks of extremely elderly artists participating in the competition, at least we can say we've had the retirees among us in the early days!

Elton John in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Men Auditions: 04 Crocodile Rock (134 points)

Boot Camp: 18 Bennie and the Jets (230 points)

Judges' Houses at Humboldt: 01 Cold Heart (PNAU Remix) [with Dua Lipa] (117 points)

Battleground: 07 I'm Still Standing (281 points)

The Power of The Golden Wagner: 04 Are You Ready For Love? (11 coins awarded)

11=

Damiano David

@Calum

Much like Addison Rae (see below), the pool to choose from was slim for Damiano David who has just released his debut solo album away from Måneskin and yours truly took advantage of that to showcase how good it is (don't pay attention to anything said by Bra, however welcome the Mars praise is). Keeping Damiano's recap here brief though, and it's intriguing to note that while he was competing against his male peers only he succeeded in second place twice with Zombie Lady and The First Time, however mixed with the larger group of all artists he fumbled, and it ultimately cost him his place in the competition going up against the pop beast Christina Aguilera in Battleground with his biggest solo song to date, Born With a Broken Heart.

Damiano David in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Men Auditions: 02 Zombie Lady (141 points)

Boot Camp: 11 Voices (278 points)

Judges' Houses at Humboldt: 02 The First Time (98 points)

Battleground: 14 Born With a Broken Heart (204 points)

The Power of The Golden Wagner: 09= Mars (6 coins awarded)

11=

Addison Rae

@Jade

Jade certainly took the bull by the horns with the pop woman of the moment and a true star in the making. Having just released her debut album in time for The Pop Factor getting underway, Addison Rae was a dominant force in the competition despite a dip in the Battleground with Times Like These, an unfamiliar song to most. Had it not been for that round, would we be seeing Addison in the final, or would she have eventually run out of steam with the voting BuzzJack public? We'll never know. But one thing's for sure, Jade's choices for the competition were exquisite and very smart. Not only is Addison fast becoming a big pop girl of the future, Jade's love for her was evident here. Now get your headphones on and check out the rest of her eponymous debut.

Addison Rae in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Women Auditions: 05 Aquamarine (120 points)

Boot Camp: 04 Headphones On (355 points)

Judges' Houses at Gag City: 03 Fame is a Gun (128 points)

Battleground: 13 Times Like These (219 points)

The Power of The Golden Wagner: 03 Diet Pepsi (12 coins awarded)

I really enjoyed using Enrique for this. I wanted to use him for something like AF Idol for a while now, so this competition came at such a great time for me. He had quite a few bangers left to share that if I'd have counted correctly, I really believe it could have been a solid path to make it's way to the final 5! Grr. Never mind!

"Heartbeat (gorgeous Nicole Scherzinger collaboration) and Takin' Back My Love (Ciara collaboration)"

This probably unintentional shade to Ciara x

Correct it now!!

"Takin' Back My Love (gigantic bop Ciara collaboration)"

Loving these write-ups!!! ❤️❤️

Elton and Enrique were robbed in that battleground. 😭😭

Battleground was too crazy! Even without the "luck" involved, halving the number was insane!

Edited yesterday at 08:421 day by AllStarBySmashMouth

1 hour ago, Scene said:

Loving these write-ups!!! ❤️❤️

Elton and Enrique were robbed in that battleground. 😭😭

TELL ME ABOUT IT! ROBBED! 😭

Thanks for a great competition (and dodgy slut shaming write up) @Calum 😂

Edited yesterday at 09:291 day by Spiceboy

Thanks for the wonderful write-up Calum! ❤️

Addison has been a breath of fresh air in the current pop world for me and I thought I'd take the opportunity to showcase her strong singles run, plus any album tracks should she make it far enough. It was always going to be a tall order to make it through the brutal round that culled half the competition, then it wasn't meant to be in the Golden Wagner round ('Diet Pepsi' did come sooo close though!), but overall I'm happy with how she performed - especially 'Aquamarine' advancing in a competitive opening round and 'Fame is a Gun' later smashing. It was lovely to see a couple of people mentioning that she'd been a good discovery for them.

Since entering Addison I unexpectedly got the opportunity to see her live as Lana Del Rey announced her as the Wembley support act a couple of weeks before my date went ahead 😍 happy to report that she was on form and handled a venue as big as Wembley Stadium well so early on in her touring career.

If a Season 2 materialises then I'll definitely switch it up with an act who has a more extensive discography.

Thanks for the write up Calum, and on d again thanks for your hard work! It's really been a lot of fun!

Thanks for all the lovely comments everyone (will post something more in depth later tonight after the results)

Not sure what time I'm going to be back home tonight yet, but we will be crowning the winner tonight!! Still 5 hours left to vote for anybody who hasn't yet

And before that, we'll take a look at the artists that made the Live Shows but sadly didn't go all the way to the final ~

10

Charlie Puth

@HarryGarfield

Charlie Puth in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Men Auditions: 05 Light Switch (112 points)

Boot Camp: 10 We Don't Talk Anymore (feat. Selena Gomez) [289 points]

Judges' Houses at Humboldt: 03 Done For Me (feat. Kehlani) [92 points]

Battleground: 11 How Long (221 points)

Live Show One: 10 Oops (Little Mix feat. Charlie Puth) [92 points; minority vote to save]

09

a-ha

@Bjork

a-ha in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Groups Auditions: 04 Cry Wolf (135 points)

Boot Camp: 15 Manhattan Skyline (247 points)

Judges' Houses at Hamilton Lodge: 04 Hunting High and Low (93 points)

Battleground: 04 Take on Me (343 points)

Live Show One: 08 I've Been Losing You (139 points)

Live Show Two: 09 You Are the One (128 points; automatic elimination)

08

Ellie Goulding

@awardinary

Ellie Goulding in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Women Auditions: 06 Burn (118 points)

Boot Camp: 02 Lights (379 points)

Judges' Houses at Gag City: 02 Love Me Like You Do (138 points)

Battleground: 06 Miracle (with Calvin Harris) [285 points]

Live Show One: 01 Figure 8 (235 points)

Live Show Two: 08 Army (155 points; deadlocked vote with minority points)

07

Louise

@-Jay-

Louise in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Women Auditions: 08 Borderline (91 points)

The Power of The Golden Wagner: 01= Naked (13 coins awarded)

Live Show One: 04 2 Faced (183 points)

Live Show Two: 05 Arms Around the World (172 points)

The Semi Final: to be revealed

06

CHVRCHES

@Ansel

CHVRCHES in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Groups Auditions: 03 Clearest Blue (171 points)

Boot Camp: 06 The Mother We Share (345 points)

Judges' Houses at Hamilton Lodge: 01 Final Girl (127 points)

Battleground: 11= Graves (221 points)

The Power of The Golden Wagner: 01= How Not to Drown (feat. Robert Smith) [13 coins awarded]

Live Show One: 03 Bury It (feat. Hayley Williams) [192 points]

Live Show Two: 04 Bitter End (177 points)

The Semi Final: to be revealed

05

Mary J. Blige

@vibe

Mary J. Blige in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Solo Women Auditions: 03 Without You (126 points)

Boot Camp: 12 F For You (Disclosure feat. Mary J. Blige) [270 points]

Judges' Houses at Gag City: 06 I'm Goin' Down (84 points)

Battleground: 01= Family Affair (371 points)

Live Show One: 05 Just Fine (178 points)

Live Show Two: 06 One (with U2) [167 points]

The Semi Final: to be revealed

The Grand Final, Part One: to be revealed

04

The Saturdays

@JosephBoone

The Saturdays in The Pop Factor: Season 1

The Groups Auditions: 01 Ego (186 points)

Boot Camp: 08 Issues (318 points)

Judges' Houses at Hamilton Lodge: 03 Work (Phil Tan Radio Mix) [97 points]

Battleground: 05 All Fired Up (320 points)

Live Show One: 06 Notorious (167 points)

Live Show Two: 02 Disco Love (187 points)

The Semi Final: to be revealed

The Grand Final, Part One: to be revealed

One collaboration too much - and certainly one that people made their feelings clear on during the first Live Show of the season - cost Charlie Puth his place in The Pop Factor. Aptly titled Oops, Charlie's collaboration (and only, going by recent comments made by JADE) with the Little Mix girls saw the last man standing eliminated in a shock bottom two with Christina Aguilera. Up to that point, Harry had played the game smartly choosing some good collaborations of Charlie's, as well as showcasing some of his best singles. We can only wish there was justice for the likes of Attention and album tracks from his last studio album CHARLIE!.

Finally going to refer to a-ha by their stylised name after deliberately going with 'A-ha' all season seeing @Brer adjusting it in his votes , and Bjork should be really proud of how far he managed to take the vintage group in the competition. I think most would have probably written them and Pet Shop Boys off when the acts were first announced at the beginning of the competition, but both stood the test of time and sadly it was a-ha that ran out of steam quicker, automatically eliminated in the second Live Show. One artist that was ousted probably far earlier than anybody would've imagined was Ellie Goulding. Army saw her time in The Pop Factor come to a close just seconds after a-ha, however Wardy played a very good game with Ellie, using songs at just the right moments and likely saving her biggest hitters for the closing stages. Although not her very best it's still a shame Army was the song that saw her eliminated from the competition. But on a personal level, I'm very glad we got to give Love Me Like You Do another moment in the sun.

Doubling up on the winners of the power of The Golden Wagner, Louise and CHVRCHES had very different journeys in the competition. The latter were tipped to win the whole thing at points with Ansel playing into the hands of their fans very cleverly, sending some of the group's very best. Sadly CHVRCHES ended up falling victim to the Battleground however they came back with a bang in the very next round winning the power jointly with Louise, finishing in the top three of the first Live Show! If you weren't a CHVRCHES fan before the competition, Ansel's certainly given us a few reasons to be one and to sit up and take notice of their discography. Meanwhile, Jay had a more turbulent journey in the competition with r Louise. Victim of hate campaigns championed by walker-reliant pensioners, Louise stormed back into the competition having been eliminated at the Auditions with her bouncy Tension-esque single Borderline from her most recent studio album Confessions. Jay, however, very elegantly picked himself back up and - fortunately for us - saw Louise right through to the Semi Final with some of Louise's more recognisable 90s songs.

And, finally in our look back at all of the contestants that have participated in this first season of The Pop Factor, we remind ourselves of the two finalists who didn't make it through to the second part of the Grand Final. Mary J. Blige (despite being a pesky R&B/soul artist, tsk!) and The Saturdays both had their ups and downs in the competition. Mary in particular possibly used some of the songs that would have aided her in the latter stages too early and lasted much longer than some would have predicted (props to vibe, shows how well the game was played!), while The Saturdays were abandoned by all-out-bop-pop fans in the end, it seems. Having never revealed his identity as the person behind The Saturdays, Joseph played a great game and used all the right songs at the right time, I reckon, and things could probably be even hotter in Part Two of this Grand Final if Up was there?

Tonight...

We crown the WINNER of Season 1 of The Pop Factor!

Stay tuned (and keep voting!)

I've purposely kept my head down throughout the game as I wanted the attention to remain just on The Saturdays and their songs, and it served them well in the end - so close but so far! I think my only real mistake was using Ego too early, I think I'd have used What About Us in round 1 and then had a final run of Higher -> Ego -> Up with hindsight. Otherwise I'm glad I got to use my two favourites (Notorious and All Fired Up) and shone a light on some underappreciated tracks too (Work, Disco Love outside the core fans). Thanks for all the votes along the way everyone!

13 hours ago, -Jay- said:

"Heartbeat (gorgeous Nicole Scherzinger collaboration) and Takin' Back My Love (Ciara collaboration)"

This probably unintentional shade to Ciara x

Correct it now!!

"Takin' Back My Love (gigantic bop Ciara collaboration)"

Omg didn’t even notice that!!!

It’s ON SIGHT NOW @Calum

I promise the shade was unintentional Takin' Back My Love is a major bop!! but Heartbeat is the goat collab let's be honest x

Even with the initial tease of the Golden Wagner, I had very little faith that Louise would actually win that, so I was very pleasantly surprised that she (jointly) did so. Naked, the bop that you are!

Having the unexpected opportunity to showcase some of her hits, and make it to the semi-finals, was fun - and I’m glad that the songs had some fans. ❤️

I enjoyed taking part - hearing familiar songs by artists I love, and making discoveries from artists I’m not so familiar with. Well done to everyone!

Calum you’ve put so much work, effort and passion into every aspect of this contest, it’s been very entertaining, so thank you!

Looking forward to seeing the results of the Top 3 later.

So much work, effort and fun went into this so thank you Calum for all of it

Thank you once again to any of those who supported Charlie Puth along the way, thrilled to finish top 10 tbh!

Hype to see the top 3 results too

While the votes are counted and verified, place your final bets.

Who has won The Pop Factor?

I'm betting on Christina winning by a small lead.

(And I personally want Avril to win.)

I can’t remember if it got used, but I’ve always liked Nobody’s Home by Avril.

2 minutes ago, Paddington James said:

I can’t remember if it got used, but I’ve always liked Nobody’s Home by Avril.

It was indeed used and came second in the first round!

I'm assuming that PSBs will finish in 3rd, although I imagine they got a reasonable amount of 1st place votes - it felt like they'd either be 1st or last for people depending upon their taste.

Can't call it between Christina and Avril. I'd say Christina is more likely to win based upon the song, but I feel like Scene picked up a lot of good will along the way and quite a lot of people are wanting to see Avril do it