The Pop Factor: Season 2 logo

The Pop Factor

The Pop Factor is a music competition held in the Pop & Country forum on BuzzJack. The competition began on 13 May 2025 when registration opened for its first season. The second season began on 1 February 2026 and concluded on 23 April 2026, with ABBA as reigning champions.

Each season of The Pop Factor sees artists divided into three categories - Solo Male, Solo Female and Groups - and competing in several rounds attempting to reach the final stages of the competition and, ultimately, win. Unlike The X Factor, that the competition draws inspiration from, the artists compete in rounds where members of BuzzJack vote for their favourite performances in each round; deciding the artists that progress and those that are eliminated. The winner [the member behind an artist acting as their 'mentor'] of The Pop Factor typically receives a prize of cash value in place of an established artist winning a recording contract and/or cash payment.

The first season of The Pop Factor was accompanied by an intermittent spin-off series, Popped!, housed in its general discussion and results thread. The series focused on providing updates on the competition as well as reflecting on the progress and journeys of the eliminated artists and the finalists prior to the season finale. While Popped! did return for the second season of The Pop Factor, its prominence was largely reduced.

Following the success of the first season of The Pop Factor, registration for the second season saw increased demand and thus the number of competitors increased; from 24 artists in the first to 39 in the second. This also meant the number of rounds in and overall duration of the competition increased.

Format

The format of The Pop Factor largely follows that of The X Factor, with some differences. Unlike The X Factor, following Judges' Houses in both the first and second seasons there has been an additional round of 'battles' where artists compete head-to-head with one other artist in the competition to progress to the Live Shows stage of the competition. The Live Shows stage of the competition was also considerably small in the first season with four in total (accounting for the two-part final as one Live Show). The Pop Factor has not incorporated The X Factor's controversial Six Chair Challenge element into the competition.

Auditions

The competition begins with Auditions, where all of the artists perform for the first time. Breaking from how artists would traditionally audition in The X Factor, artists are automatically separated by category allowing for even play in the beginning stage. In the second season, due to the increased participation numbers, the auditions were split in two halves with Earth Auditions and Orbit Auditions taking place. Allowing for each artist to showcase at minimum more than one performance in the competition it was announced that in the first round of auditions [Earth Auditions] none of the artists would be eliminated from the competition. The total combined scores from both Earth Auditions and Orbit Auditions would then be combined and one artist from each of the three categories would be eliminated, however this did not happen in the Solo Female category due to an artist withdrawal affecting the competition.

Boot Camp

The second round of the competition - Boot Camp - sees the artists that were successful in their auditions perform again in a bid to progress to the next stage. In the second season, again due to the increased participation numbers, Boot Camp was split in two halves. The Boot Camp stage in the second season also saw the introduction of themed rounds [All-Out Pop Bangers!, a quintessential pop song described as a 'banger' and The Deepest of Cuts, 'deep cuts' from an artist's discography] for the first time in The Pop Factor following member feedback after the first season had concluded. In the first season, the remaining 21 artists came together with their performances judged collectively, however in the second season the artists remained separated by categories.

Judges' Houses

The third round of the competition - Judges' Houses - sees the artists, still separated by category, proceed to perform in different themed locations with special guests making appearances, cited for comedy value as opposed to adding value to the competition. After all of the artists have performed they are informed if they have made it to the next stage of the competition or if they have been eliminated.

Battles

The fourth round of the competition - 'battles' that have in both seasons differed slightly - sees the remaining artists competing head-to-head with one other artist in their bid to become one of the top remaining artists in the Live Shows stage. In the first season it was not disclosed prior to the battles beginning which artists would be competing against one another. Only after public voting of all performances collectively concluded would the artists find out if they would be progressing or eliminated. In the second season it was made public which artists would be competing against one another, however it was announced that votes would not be cast publicly.

Second Chance

After the acts that have progressed to the Live Shows stage of the competition are announced, there has typically been a 'second chance' round for any artists eliminated from the competition up to that point to return. In the first season, the eliminated acts competed to return via The Power of The Golden Wagner, a power-up that guaranteed one artist a place in the Live Shows stage with the Tesco Mary Live Shows Pass. Ultimately, two artists returned to the competition after the round ended in a tie. Both Louise (Solo Female) and CHVRCHES (Groups) returned having previously been eliminated. In the second season, it was announced that The Power of The Golden Wagner had been retired and replaced with The Platinum Paije Rock of Hopes and Dreams and that eliminated artists would compete to return to the competition for the Live Shows stage once again. The Platinum Paije Rock of Hopes and Dreams was won by Conan Gray (Solo Male), Lily Allen (Solo Female) and ROSALÍA (Solo Female).

Live Shows and Grand Final

The final stages of the competition include Live Shows, before concluding with the Grand Final. In the first season of The Pop Factor, there were two live shows where artists performed and eliminations took place before the Semi Final and the two-part Grand Final. 5 artists competed in the first part of the Grand Final, while only the top 3 artists progressed to the second part. The first season of The Pop Factor was won by Avril Lavigne (Solo Female), entered by BuzzJack member Scene. The number of Live Shows increased in the second season of The Pop Factor, with four taking place before the Semi Final and the two-part Grand Final. The second season of The Pop Factor was won by ABBA (Groups), entered by BuzzJack member Julian_.

Series Overview

Season	No. of Rounds	Started	Ended	Winner	Winners' Single	Runner-up	Third Place	Winning Mentor
1	10	13 May 2025	19 July 2025	Avril Lavigne	Take Me Away	Pet Shop Boys	Christina Aguilera	Scene
2	14	1 February 2026	23 April 2026	ABBA	The Winner Takes It All	Lily Allen	Kelly Clarkson	Julian_

Reception

Conceived as a community-building activity to bring people together through a love for pop music and the nostalgia associated with The X Factor, The Pop Factor enjoyed success in its first season and participation numbers increased in its second season with BuzzJack members that didn't participate in the first season being able to either vote or participate.

Ratings and Awards

The discussion and results thread for the first season has 37 pages with total views of 39,500 approximately. The second season saw this number increase dramatically, with the discussion and results thread amassing 140 pages with total views of 113,000 approximately.

The Pop Factor was nominated for a BuzzJack award in 2025 in the category Event of the Year. The Pop Factor finished in second place with 52 points awarded by members that voted at the awards ceremony, 14 points behind the winner, Site Upgrade.

Controversies

While The Pop Factor has remained largely controversy-free, the second season saw the first withdrawal by an artist from the competition due to scheduling conflicts. Michelle Branch (Solo Female) withdrew from the competition during the Orbit Auditions stage of the competition. As a result, another controversy arose when it was announced that the three combined highest-scoring Solo Female artists from the Earth Auditions and Orbit Auditions would automatically progress to the second part of the two-part Boot Camp stage and that a Solo Female artist would not be eliminated when the Orbit Auditions had concluded. This meant they did not need to perform in the first part of Boot Camp.

The Pop Factor: Season 1

Season 1 of The Pop Factor was won by Avril Lavigne, the artist mentored by BuzzJack member Scene. The runner-up was Pet Shop Boys, mentored by BuzzJack member King Rollo and in third place was Christina Aguilera, mentored by BuzzJack member Addy!. Avril Lavigne won the competition with her winners' single Take Me Away.

Presented by: Calum, AI RitaBot 3000*

Executive producers: Calum, Tafty

Winner: Avril Lavigne

Winning mentor: Scene

Winners' single: Take Me Away

Winning category: Solo Female

Duration of competition: 13 May - 19 July 2025

*AI RitaBot 3000 was de-commissioned following the conclusion of the first season and did not return for the second season.

About

During the registration process for this season, BuzzJack members were permitted to register any eligible pop artist to compete, with limited spaces in each of the three available categories. Any artist on BuzzJack with a Club (Artist Forum) or that had previously participated in AF Idol were not eligible. 24 spaces were made available, with 8 spaces in each of the three categories.

The 24 artists that competed in the first season of The Pop Factor were:

Artist	Category	Mentor	Result
Avril Lavigne	Solo Female	Scene	Winner
Pet Shop Boys	Groups	King Rollo	Runner-up
Christina Aguilera	Solo Female	Addy!	Third Place
The Saturdays	Groups	JosephStyles	4th
Mary J. Blige	Solo Female	vibe	5th
CHVRCHES	Groups	Ansel	6th
Louise	Solo Female	-Jay-	7th
Ellie Goulding	Solo Female	awardinary	8th
a-ha	Groups	Björk	9th
Charlie Puth	Solo Male	HarryGarfield	10th
Addison Rae	Solo Female	Jade	11th=
Damiano David	Solo Male	Calum
Elton John	Solo Male	Spiceboy
Enrique Iglesias	Solo Male	Tafty
Fifth Harmony	Groups	Jack
James Blake	Solo Male	Bror
SASAMI	Solo Female	jimwatts
Bob Dylan	Solo Male	Dj Cheeky magpie	18th=
Rina Sawayama	Solo Female	Mangø
WALK THE MOON	Groups	Herbs
ENHYPEN	Groups	AllStarBySmashMouth	21st=
Tom Aspaul	Solo Male	Lukuzz
Lemon Demon	Solo Male	seven.	23rd=
YVA	Groups	Last Dreamer

Auditions

After registration closed, the 24 artists were announced and competed in the first round of the competition. Each artist performed for the first time within their categories. When voting closed Louise, Lemon Demon and YVA were eliminated as the lowest-scoring artists in their respective categories. All of the artists, however, were made aware that they could re-enter the competition at a later point by winning The Power of The Golden Wagner.

Boot Camp

In the second round, the 21 remaining artists came together - not separated by category - to perform as a collective. Since the artists were not performing in their own categories it was announced that Boot Camp would result in a double elimination, with two artists leaving the competition. After voting closed ENHYPEN and Tom Aspaul were eliminated as the lowest-scoring artists and became eligible to compete for The Power of The Golden Wagner.

Judges' Houses

Locations: Gag City (Solo Female), Humboldt (Solo Male), The Hamilton Lodge (Groups)

Special Guests: Big Roman, Engelbert Humperdinck, Patricia Hodge

In the third round, the 19 remaining artists were split back into their categories to perform at different locations. The Solo Female category performed at Gag City where Big Roman was a special guest and Rina Sawayama was eliminated. The Solo Male category performed on the moon at Humboldt where Engelbert Humperdinck was the special guest and Bob Dylan was eliminated. And finally, the Groups category performed at The Hamilton Lodge where Patricia Hodge was a special guest and WALK THE MOON were eliminated. All three artists became eligible to compete for The Power of The Golden Wagner.

Battleground

With 16 artists remaining in the competition, it was announced that there would be a 'battles' round titled Battleground before the Live Shows stage of the competition, breaking away from the traditional format of The X Factor. The 16 artists performed as a collective, unaware that they were competing against one other artist in the competition to progress. This meant that 8 artists would progress to Live Shows, while 8 would be eliminated from the competition and become eligible to compete for The Power of The Golden Wagner. After voting closed, it was announced which artists had won their respective battles and which had been eliminated.

The battles were as follows:

Avril Lavigne	v	Elton John
Enrique Iglesias	v	The Saturdays
Charlie Puth	v	James Blake
SASAMI	v	Pet Shop Boys
Mary J. Blige	v	CHVRCHES
Ellie Goulding	v	Addison Rae
Fifth Harmony	v	a-ha
Damiano David	v	Christina Aguilera

Highlighted in orange are the winners of each battle. Following their eliminations in this round being the losers of their battles, Elton John, Enrique Iglesias, James Blake, SASAMI, CHVRCHES, Addison Rae, Fifth Harmony and Damiano David were eliminated from the competition but returned in the following round to compete for The Power of The Golden Wagner.

The Power of The Golden Wagner

Early in the competition, it was announced that artists eliminated prior to the beginning of Live Shows would be eligible to return and compete for a chance to re-enter the competition and join the 8 artists that had progressed to Live Shows. Golden Wagner coins were awarded to each artist during voting and the artist with the most Golden Wagner coins at the end of voting would receive The Power of The Golden Wagner. Ultimately, both Louise (eliminated at Auditions) and CHVRCHES (eliminated at Battleground) tied with the most Golden Wagner coins and therefore both re-entered the competition, progressing to Live Shows.

Live Shows

Artist	Live Show 1	Live Show 2	Semi Final	Final: Part One	Final: Part Two
Avril Lavigne	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Winner
Pet Shop Boys	Safe	Safe	Safe	Robert Botbert	Runner-up
Christina Aguilera	Bottom 2	Bottom 2	Safe	Safe	Third Place
The Saturdays	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	4th	Eliminated
Mary J. Blige	Safe	Safe	Safe	5th	Eliminated
CHVRCHES	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Semi Final
Louise	Safe	Safe	7th	Eliminated, Semi Final
Ellie Goulding	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Live Show 2
a-ha	Safe	9th	Eliminated, Live Show 2
Charlie Puth	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Live Show 1

Live Show One

After winning The Power of The Golden Wagner, Louise and CHVRCHES re-entered the competition meaning that the Live Shows stage began with 10 artists in Live Show One. All 10 artists performed and when voting closed, the bottom 2 artists faced four guest judges who would decide the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to Live Show Two, and the artist that would be eliminated in 10th place.

Guest Judges: Dandelion Star, Joshua Exclamation, Julie Ann Underscore, Susan

Bottom two: Charlie Puth, Christina Aguilera

Dandelion Star vote to save: Christina Aguilera

Joshua Exclamation vote to save: Charlie Puth

Julie Ann Underscore vote to save: Christina Aguilera

Susan vote to save: Christina Aguilera

Eliminated: Charlie Puth*

Guest judges' decision vs. public vote: Charlie Puth received the fewest points in the public vote, guest judges' majority decision agreed.

*Charlie Puth's elimination in Live Show One resulted in the Solo Male category being fully eliminated with only Solo Female and Groups artists remaining.

Live Show Two

Following Charlie Puth's elimination, the remaining 9 artists competed in Live Show Two in an attempt to progress to the Semi Final. After voting closed, the artist that had received the fewest points in the public vote was automatically eliminated from the competition in 9th place, while the next two artists with the fewest points in the public vote faced four new guest judges who would decide the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to the Semi Final, and the artist that would be eliminated in 8th place.

Automatically eliminated: a-ha

Guest Judges: Daniel 'Honey' Gee, Rich Goodrem, Trademark Aaron, Escándalo Elgornio

Bottom two: Ellie Goulding, Christina Aguilera

Daniel 'Honey' Gee vote to save: Ellie Goulding

Rich Goodrem vote to save: Christina Aguilera

Trademark Aaron vote to save: Ellie Goulding

Escándalo Elgornio vote to save: Christina Aguilera

Since the guest judges could not reach a majority verdict on which artist to save and which artist to eliminate from the competition, the outcome was decided by reverting back to the public voting. Ellie Goulding received the fewest points in the public vote.

Eliminated: Ellie Goulding

Guest judges' decision vs. public vote: N/A; guest judges did not reach a majority decision and therefore the public vote decided the outcome.

Semi Final

After a deadlocked decision from the guest judges in Live Show Two resulted in Ellie Goulding's elimination from the competition alongside a-ha, the remaining 7 artists competed in the Semi Final, attempting to progress to the Grand Final. After voting closed, the artist that had received the fewest points in the public vote was automatically eliminated from the competition in 7th place, while the next two artists with the fewest points in the public vote faced four new guest judges who would decide the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to the Grand Final, and the artist that would be eliminated in 6th place.

Automatically eliminated: Louise

Guest Judges: Paddy J, Snazzy Shaznay, Veronica Viper, The Rogue Trader

Bottom two: The Saturdays, CHVRCHES

Paddy J vote to save: The Saturdays

Snazzy Shaznay vote to save: The Saturdays

Veronica Viper vote to save: CHVRCHES

The Rogue Trader vote to save: The Saturdays

Eliminated: CHVRCHES*

Guest judges' decision vs. public vote: CHVRCHES received the fewest points in the public vote, guest judges' majority decision agreed.

*CHVRCHES' elimination from the competition meant that both artists that had won The Power of The Golden Wagner were eliminated in the same Live Show, and placed back-to-back in the final elimination order.

The Grand Final: Part One

After Louise and CHVRCHES were eliminated from the competition, the remaining 5 artists (now finalists) competed in Part One of the two-part Grand Final. Avril Lavigne, Pet Shop Boys, Christina Aguilera, The Saturdays and Mary J. Blige performed again attempting to progress to Part Two. Unlike the other Live Shows and the Semi Final, there was only one guest judge - the Guest Judge Supreme - who would decide which of the three acts that would not automatically progress to Part Two having scored the fewest points in the public vote would progress, and the two that would be eliminated from the competition in 4th and 5th place.

Guest Judge Supreme: Robert Botbert

Highest scoring artists (automatically progress): Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera

Lowest scoring artists (facing decision): Pet Shop Boys, The Saturdays, Mary J. Blige

Artist chosen to progress by Robert Botbert: Pet Shop Boys

Eliminated: The Saturdays, Mary J. Blige

The Grand Final: Part Two

After The Saturdays and Mary J. Blige were eliminated from the competition, Part Two of the Grand Final began. Avril Lavigne, Pet Shop Boys and Christina Aguilera competed by performing their winners' singles in a bid to be crowned the winner of The Pop Factor. The final outcome to decide the winner of the season was decided solely by public vote, with votes from Part One of the Grand Final being carried over to Part Two following a freeze in voting.

When voting closed, it was announced that Christina Aguilera had finished the competition in third place, meaning that Avril Lavigne and Pet Shop Boys were the top 2 artists. After, it was announced that Avril Lavigne had won the first season of The Pop Factor, with Pet Shop Boys finishing as runners-up. Avril Lavigne's winners' single was Take Me Away.

Winner: Avril Lavigne

Runner-up: Pet Shop Boys

Third place: Christina Aguilera

Finalists winners' singles

Avril Lavigne: Take Me Away

Pet Shop Boys: Left to My Own Devices

Christina Aguilera: Ain't No Other Man

The Saturdays: Up (Radio Mix)

Mary J. Blige: Everything

The Pop Factor: Season 2

The second season of The Pop Factor began on 1 February 2026 following a teaser, in the theme of The X Factor, that was shown prior. The competition ended on 23 April 2026 and was won by ABBA, the artist mentored by BuzzJack member Julian_. The runner-up was Lily Allen, mentored by BuzzJack member JosephStyles and in third place was Kelly Clarkson, mentored by BuzzJack member Scene; marking Scene's second Grand Final: Part Two appearance after winning with Avril Lavigne in the first season. ABBA won the competition with their winners' single The Winner Takes It All.

The second season saw a number of changes introduced, including the introduction of themes, a different approach to the Auditions and Boot Camp stages of the competition, as well as an overarching theme involving Lady BuzzJack disappearing from the homepage of BuzzJack with the artists competing in a space mission aboard Pop Fleet 26 to find her and return her safely before time runs out.

Presented by: Calum

Executive producers: Calum, Tafty

Winner: ABBA

Winning mentor: Julian_

Winners' single: The Winner Takes It All

Winning category: Groups

Duration of competition: 1 February - 23 April 2026

About

During the registration process for this season - referred to as the Pop Detection Unit - BuzzJack members were permitted to register any eligible pop artist to compete. Any artists on BuzzJack with a Club (Artist Forum) or that had previously participated in The Pop Factor were not eligible. Although spaces in the competition were limited in the first season, this was not the case in the second season and a total of 39 artists were chosen, with 13 artists in each of the three categories.

The 39 artists that competed in the second season of The Pop Factor were:

Artist	Category	Mentor	Result
ABBA	Groups	Julian_	Winner
Lily Allen	Solo Female	JosephStyles	Runner-up
Kelly Clarkson	Solo Female	Scene	Third Place
Conan Gray	Solo Male	-Jay-, ElectroBoy	4th
Scissor Sisters	Groups	awardinary	5th
Atomic Kitten	Groups	Lukuzz	6th
Delta Goodrem	Solo Female	gooddelta	7th
Florence + the Machine	Groups	elgornio	8th
David Bowie	Solo Male	Chez Wombat	9th
ROSALÍA	Solo Female	Bror	10th
Chappell Roan	Solo Female	Lindsey.	11th
Troye Sivan	Solo Male	Tafty	12th
HAIM	Groups	Josh!	13th
Nelly Furtado	Solo Female	danG	14th
The Corrs	Groups	Paddington James	15th
The Weeknd	Solo Male	Mangø	16th=
George Michael	Solo Male	DaTilt
Kesha	Solo Female	Jack
Ruel	Solo Male	Calum
Blondie	Groups	Jade
Nik Kershaw	Solo Male	King Rollo
FKA twigs	Solo Female	!!!
Erasure	Groups	dandy*
Fred again..	Solo Male	pavi
The Chicks	Groups	Herbs	25th=
Eric Saade	Solo Male	RobBot
LiSA	Solo Female	CowTzy
The 1975	Groups	Ansel	28th=
Shawn Mendes	Solo Male	HarryGarfield
Toni Braxton	Solo Female	vibe
Ace of Base	Groups	Addy!	31st=
Guitarricadelafuente	Solo Male	Juan Carlos
Nadia Oh	Solo Female	seven.
Girlicious	Groups	Travis	34th=
Markus Riva	Solo Male	uhsting
Michelle Branch	Solo Female	matto	Withdrew
A1	Groups	Impostors	N/A
Cher Lloyd	Solo Female
Luke Black	Solo Male

Auditions

After registration closed, the 39 artists were announced and competed in the first round of the competition, The Earth Auditions. Each artist performed for the first time within their categories. When voting closed it was announced that no artists would be eliminated from the competition and that they would all progress to a second round of auditions - known as The Orbit Auditions - to perform again.

Before The Orbit Auditions began, it was announced that there were three impostor artists not mentored by members of BuzzJack that had entered the competition and clues were given as to their identities. All of the artists were given the opportunity to solve all of the clues and the artist that solved all three clues correctly would win a power-up known as The Rebecca Ferguson Lobster of Resurrection that they could use in future rounds to save themselves from being eliminated if they placed last in a round. The power-up was available up to and including the Judges' Houses stage of the competition. The Rebecca Ferguson Lobster of Resurrection was won by Erasure, mentored by BuzzJack member dandy*, and was used to save them from elimination however, ultimately, was not required and did not change the outcome of the round.

After The Orbit Auditions began, Michelle Branch - from the Solo Female category - withdrew from the competition citing personal reasons. As a result, the three highest-scoring solo female artists from The Earth Auditions and The Orbit Auditions combined would not compete in Boot Camp: Part One, and would automatically progress to Boot Camp: Part Two. After results from both auditions rounds had been combined, it was announced that Kelly Clarkson, Chappell Roan and Nelly Furtado would automatically progress to Boot Camp: Part Two. It was also announced that Markus Riva and Girlicious were eliminated as the lowest-scoring artists in their respective categories. No artist was eliminated from the Solo Female category.

Boot Camp

Different to how the Boot Camp stage of the competition was held in the first season of The Pop Factor, there were two parts to Boot Camp, all of the artists remained separated by categories, and it saw the introduction of themes following feedback at the conclusion of the first season. Boot Camp: Part One saw the 32 remaining artists (excluding Kelly Clarkson, Chappell Roan and Nelly Furtado) perform within their categories following the theme All-Out Pop Bangers!. After voting closed Nadia Oh, Guitarricadelafuente and Ace of Base were eliminated as the lowest-scoring artists.

Boot Camp: Part Two saw the remaining artists (including Kelly Clarkson, Chappell Roan and Nelly Furtado) perform within their categories, this time following the theme The Deepest of Cuts. After voting closed Toni Braxton, Shawn Mendes and The 1975 were eliminated as the lowest-scoring artists.

Judges' Houses

Locations: The Kittysphere (Solo Female), Twinktopia (Solo Male), The Planet Ireland (Groups)

Special Guests: Avril Lavigne, The Twink Overlord, Demon Walsh

In the fifth round, the 27 remaining artists performed at different locations. The Solo Female category performed on The Kittysphere where Avril Lavigne, the winner of Season 1 of The Pop Factor, was a special guest and LiSA was eliminated. The Solo Male category performed on Twinktopia where The Twink Overlord was a special guest and Eric Saade was eliminated. And finally, the Groups category performed on The Planet Ireland where Demon Walsh was a special guest and The Chicks were eliminated.

The Black Hole Battles

WIth 24 artists remaining in the competition, it was announced that, like the first season, there would be a 'battles' round titled The Black Hole Battles before the Live Shows stage of the competition. Different to the first season, The Black Hole Battles took place near a black hole that the artists would be sucked into in the event they lost their battle and were eliminated from the competition. Also different to the first season, the 24 artists performed aware of the artist they were competing against in order to progress. This meant that 12 artists would progress to Live Shows, while 12 would be eliminated from the competition.

It was announced that the 12 artists eliminated from the competition at this stage would become eligible, alongside the previously eliminated artists, to compete for The Platinum Paije Rock of Hopes and Dreams. After voting closed, it was announced which artists had won their respective battles and which had been eliminated.

The battles were as follows:

Conan Gray	v	Scissor Sisters
Chappell Roan	v	ROSALÍA
Nelly Furtado	v	Blondie
Florence + the Machine	v	FKA twigs
Troye Sivan	v	Nik Kershaw
Kesha	v	Kelly Clarkson
Delta Goodrem	v	Fred again..
The Weeknd	v	ABBA
Atomic Kitten	v	George Michael
Erasure	v	David Bowie
The Corrs	v	Ruel
Lily Allen	v	HAIM

Highlighted in orange are the winners of each battle. Following their eliminations in this round being the losers of their battles, Conan Gray, ROSALÍA, Blondie, FKA twigs, Nik Kershaw, Kesha, Fred again.., The Weeknd, George Michael, Erasure, Ruel and Lily Allen were eliminated from the competition but returned in the following round to compete for The Platinum Paije Rock of Hopes and Dreams.

The Scoop

Earlier in the competition, it was announced that artists eliminated prior to the beginning of Live Shows would be eligible to return and compete for a chance to re-enter the competition and join the 12 artists that had progressed to Live Shows. The Scoop referred to a passing spacecraft that had scooped the eliminated artists up in space and saved them from the black hole. Pieces of space debris were awarded to each artist during voting and the three artists* with the most pieces of space debris at the end of voting would receive The Platinum Paije Rock of Hopes and Dreams. Ultimately, Lily Allen, ROSALÍA and Conan Gray (all eliminated at The Black Hole Battles) won the most pieces of space debris and therefore re-entered the competition, progressing to Live Shows.

*initially, only one artist would have progressed to Live Shows, however following public consultation, it was agreed that three artists would re-enter the competition given the large number of artists competing to win The Platinum Paije Rock of Hopes and Dreams

Live Shows

Artist	Live Show 1	Live Show 2	Live Show 3	Live Show 4	Semi Final	Final: Part One	Final: Part Two
ABBA	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Safe	Winner
Lily Allen	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Runner-up
Kelly Clarkson	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Safe	Safe	Third Place
Conan Gray	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	4th	Eliminated
Scissor Sisters	Bottom 2	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	5th	Eliminated
Atomic Kitten	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Semi Final
Delta Goodrem	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	7th	Eliminated, Semi Final
Florence + the Machine	Safe	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Live Show 4
David Bowie	Safe	Bottom 2	Bottom 2	9th	Eliminated, Live Show 4
ROSALÍA	Safe	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Live Show 3
Chappell Roan	Safe	Safe	11th	Eliminated, Live Show 3
Troye Sivan	Safe	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Live Show 2
HAIM	Safe	13th	Eliminated, Live Show 2
Nelly Furtado	Bottom 2	Eliminated, Live Show 1
The Corrs	15th	Eliminated, Live Show 1

Live Show One

After winning The Platinum Paije Rock of Hopes and Dreams, Lily Allen, ROSALÍA and Conan Gray re-entered the competition meaning that the Live Shows stage began with 15 artists in Live Show One. All 15 artists performed - with it being announced previously that each Live Show would feature a double elimination - and when voting closed it was announced that The Corrs had been automatically eliminated from the competition in 15th place as the artist with the lowest overall score. Afterwards, the bottom 2 artists faced the four judges who would decide the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to Live Show Two, and the artist that would be eliminated in 14th place.

Judges: Commander Eye Sack, Le Jé d'Eleven, The Rogue Trader, Jimmy-Jam Watts

Note: Commander Eye Sack returned to the judging panel as a permanent judge having previously appeared during The Black Hole Battles. At that stage of the competition, his votes would have been doubled to break any ties in the battles; however there were no ties. The Rogue Trader appeared as a guest judge in the first season of The Pop Factor, and returned to the judging panel as a permanent judge for the second season. Le Jé d'Eleven and Jimmy-Jam Watts both joined the judging panel for the first time.

Bottom two: Nelly Furtado, Scissor Sisters

Commander Eye Sack vote to save: Scissor Sisters

Le Jé d'Eleven vote to save: Nelly Furtado

The Rogue Trader vote to save: Scissor Sisters

Jimmy-Jam Watts vote to save: Nelly Furtado

Since the guest judges could not reach a majority verdict on which artist to save and which artist to eliminate from the competition, the outcome was decided by reverting back to the public voting. Nelly Furtado received the fewest points in the public vote.

Eliminated: Nelly Furtado

Judges' decision vs. public vote: N/A; guest judges did not reach a majority decision and therefore the public vote decided the outcome.

Live Show Two

Following the eliminations of Nelly Furtado and The Corrs, the remaining 13 artists competed in Live Show Two in an attempt to progress to Live Show Three. The second Live Show was sub-titled The Ballads of a Broken-Hearted BuzzJack and each of the artists performed a ballad. After voting closed, the artist that had received the fewest points in the public vote was automatically eliminated from the competition in 13th place, while the next two artists with the fewest points in the public vote faced the four judges who decided the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to Live Show Three, and the artist that would be eliminated in 12th place.

Automatically eliminated: HAIM

Judges: Commander Eye Sack, Le Jé d'Eleven, The Rogue Trader, Jimmy-Jam Watts

Bottom two: David Bowie, Troye Sivan

Commander Eye Sack vote to save: David Bowie

Le Jé d'Eleven vote to save: Troye Sivan

The Rogue Trader vote to save: Troye Sivan

Jimmy-Jam Watts vote to save: David Bowie

Since the guest judges could not reach a majority verdict on which artist to save and which artist to eliminate from the competition, the outcome was decided by reverting back to the public voting. Troye Sivan received the fewest points in the public vote.

Eliminated: Troye Sivan

Judges' decision vs. public vote: N/A; guest judges did not reach a majority decision and therefore the public vote decided the outcome.

Live Show Three

Following the eliminations of HAIM and Troye Sivan, the remaining 11 artists competed in Live Show Three in an attempt to progress to Live Show Four. The third Live Show returned to a free choice format with no theme. After voting closed, the artist that had received the fewest points in the public vote was automatically eliminated from the competition in 11th place, while the next two artists with the fewest points in the public vote faced the four guest judges - including guest judge Veronica Viper, a returnee from Season 1 of The Pop Factor, in place of The Rogue Trader - who decided the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to Live Show Four, and the artist that would be eliminated in 10th place.

Automatically eliminated: Chappell Roan

Judges: Commander Eye Sack, Le Jé d'Eleven, Veronica Viper*, Jimmy-Jam Watts

*Veronica Viper - who had previously appeared as a guest judge in the first season of The Pop Factor - returned to the judging panel as a special guest in the absence of The Rogue Trader, who was absent from the third Live Show

Bottom two: David Bowie, ROSALÍA

Commander Eye Sack vote to save: ROSALÍA

Le Jé d'Eleven vote to save: David Bowie

Veronica Viper vote to save: ROSALÍA

Jimmy-Jam Watts vote to save: David Bowie

Since the guest judges could not reach a majority verdict on which artist to save and which artist to eliminate from the competition for the third consecutive time, the outcome was decided by reverting back to the public voting. ROSALÍA received the fewest points in the public vote.

Eliminated: ROSALÍA

Judges' decision vs. public vote: N/A; guest judges did not reach a majority decision and therefore the public vote decided the outcome.

At the conclusion of Live Show Three and with ROSALÍA finishing in 10th place, this meant that both Conan Gray and David Bowie had become the highest-placing Solo Male artists in the competition to date, a record previously held by Charlie Puth who finished in 10th place in the first season of The Pop Factor. Up to and including Live Show Three, the second season of The Pop Factor has not yet seen the judging panel reach an overall majority verdict with every vote going to deadlock and reverting to the public vote to decide the outcome.

Live Show Four

Following the eliminations of Chappell Roan and ROSALÍA, the remaining 9 artists competed in Live Show Four in an attempt to progress to the Semi Final. The fourth Live Show was sub-titled The Fable of the Floppy Fishes and each of the artists performed a 'flop' that failed to chart in the top 40 in the UK, the US, and the artist's home country if different. After voting closed, the artist that had received the fewest points in the public vote was automatically eliminated from the competition in 9th place, while the next two artists with the fewest points in the public vote faced the four judges who decided the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to the Semi Final, and the artist that would be eliminated in 8th place.

Automatically eliminated: David Bowie

Judges: Commander Eye Sack, Le Jé d'Eleven, The Rogue Trader, Jimmy-Jam Watts

Bottom two: Florence + the Machine, Kelly Clarkson

Commander Eye Sack vote to save: Florence + the Machine

Le Jé d'Eleven vote to save: Kelly Clarkson

The Rogue Trader vote to save: Florence + the Machine

Jimmy-Jam Watts vote to save: Kelly Clarkson

Since the guest judges could not reach a majority verdict on which artist to save and which artist to eliminate from the competition for the fourth consecutive time, the outcome was decided by reverting back to the public voting. Florence + the Machine received the fewest points in the public vote.

Eliminated: Florence + the Machine

Judges' decision vs. public vote: N/A; guest judges did not reach a majority decision and therefore the public vote decided the outcome.

After Live Show Four had concluded, David Bowie's elimination in 9th place meant that Conan Gray had become the highest-placing Solo Male artist in the competition to date, guaranteed to finish the competition in at least 7th place. Up to and including Live Show Four, the second season of The Pop Factor had not yet seen the judging panel reach an overall majority verdict with every vote going to deadlock and reverting to the public vote to decide the outcome.

Semi Final

Following the eliminations of David Bowie and Florence + the Machine, as well as another deadlocked decision from the judging panel, the remaining 7 artists competed in the Semi Final, attempting to progress to the Grand Final. For the Semi Final, there was no theme and Live Show Four's theme was confirmed to be the last in the season. After voting closed, the artist that had received the fewest points in the public vote was automatically eliminated from the competition in 7th place, while the next two artists with the fewest points in the public vote faced the four judges - for the final time - who would decide the artist that remained in the competition and progressed to the Grand Final, and the artist that would be eliminated in 6th place.

Automatically eliminated: Delta Goodrem

Judges: Commander Eye Sack, Le Jé d'Eleven, The Rogue Trader, Jimmy-Jam Watts

Bottom two: ABBA, Atomic Kitten

Commander Eye Sack vote to save: ABBA

Le Jé d'Eleven vote to save: Atomic Kitten

The Rogue Trader vote to save: ABBA

Jimmy-Jam Watts vote to save: ABBA

Eliminated: Atomic Kitten

Guest judges' decision vs. public vote: Atomic Kitten received the fewest points in the public vote, guest judges' majority decision agreed.

The Semi Final marked the first - and only - time in the season the judging panel reached an overall majority verdict, resulting in Atomic Kitten's elimination from the competition with only one vote to save from Le Jé d'Eleven.

The Grand Final: Part One

After Delta Goodrem and Atomic Kitten were eliminated from the competition, the remaining 5 artists (now finalists of the second season of The Pop Factor) competed in Part One of the two-part Grand Final. ABBA, Conan Gray, Kelly Clarkson, Lily Allen and Scissor Sisters performed again attempting to progress to Part Two. In a change from the first season, there was no Guest Judge Supreme deciding which one of the acts in 3rd, 4th and 5th place would progress to Part Two. Voting for the winner in the Grand Final was based entirely on public votes. The three artists with the most points would progress to Part Two, while the two artists with the fewest points would be eliminated from the competition in 4th and 5th place.

Highest scoring artists (progressing to Part Two): ABBA, Kelly Clarkson, Lily Allen

Eliminated: Conan Gray, Scissor Sisters

The Grand Final: Part Two

After Conan Gray and Scissor Sisters were eliminated from the competition, Part Two of the Grand Final began. ABBA, Kelly Clarkson and Lily Allen competed by performing their winners' singles in a bid to be crowned the second winner of The Pop Factor. The final outcome to decide the winner of the season was decided solely by public vote - as with Part One - however votes from Part One were not carried over.

When voting closed, finalist Conan Gray returned to perform his single The Best as a special guest, and it was revealed that the evil mastermind behind the capture of Lady BuzzJack - birthing Pop Fleet 26's mission to save her - was Evil JonasStyles. After, it was announced that ABBA had won the second season of The Pop Factor, with Lily Allen finishing as runner-up and Kelly Clarkson in third place. ABBA's winners' single was The Winner Takes It All.

Winner: ABBA

Runner-up: Lily Allen

Third place: Kelly Clarkson

Finalists winners' singles

ABBA: The Winner Takes It All

Lily Allen: Hard Out Here

Kelly Clarkson: Sober

Conan Gray: Winner

Scissor Sisters: Comfortably Numb