The Uraps Factor

The Uraps Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. It began in January 2012 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. The two series of the show to date have been broadcast from January through to Summer. The The "Uraps Factor" of the title refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality on URAPS. The show is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and TV3 in Ireland. The Uraps Factor was devised to fill a gap in the market. It aimed to be a more 'young' counterpart to other popular talent shows such as URAPS Idol. It also allows bands to enter, the first time a show on URAPS has done so.

The original judging panel was Candi Elite, Brett Clarkson, Stacy Hart and James Moss. For the second series, Kleo replaced Hart on the judging panel and Paulo Araujo replaced Clarkson in the third series. In the initial televised audition phase of the show, contestants sang in an audition room in front of just the judges. Auditionees sing infront of a panel not composed of the celebrity judges originally, however this is not televised. Successful auditionees go through to "bootcamp" (which is also not televised) and then to "judges' houses", where judges narrow down the acts in their category down to three or four acts to mentor for the live shows, where the public vote for their favourite acts following weekly live performances by the contestants.

There have been three winners to date: Pandora, Malaya Gold and Kenzi Hale. The winner then releases a "winners single". As of September 2013, a total of 9 number-one singles have been released by artists who have appeared on the show. The all-new Uraps Factor champion receives a recording contract with a stated value of £1 million. This includes a cash payment to the winner, but the majority is allocated to marketing and recording costs.

The show is the biggest television talent competition in Europe and has proved hugely popular with the public. Series 1 attracted almost 200,000 auditionees and peaked at 17.7 million UK viewers, around 8 million votes were cast in the series 1 final as well. ITV have announced that the show has been signed on for at least three series, meaning it will air until at least 2014. The show is currently taking a break and is expected to return in either 2016 or 2017 with a fourth season.

History
Although there were already popular television shows similar to that of The Uraps Factor, ITV felt there was a gap in the market for a new show, to air at the start of the year. It felt Uraps Idol was sometimes very serious, and felt a new show with judges popular with teens would appear more 'cool'. Thus hiring two of the most 'in-demand' singers at the time, Candi Elite and Brett Clarkson. Paulo Araujo was hired as the show's 'big name' and Stacy Hart was added to try and also bring in the older market. Before the first episode aired, Araujo had to withdraw from the show due to work commitments, and was relaced by James Moss, who was brought in due to his expertice. The show recieved several changes for it's second season, in order to improve on the previous year and ensure it remains the biggest talent show in the UK. The first change was that the show gained a new logo. More changes occured. After a dissapointing first year, Stacy Hart was replaced from the judging panel for the second series by Kleo.

Format
The show is primarily concerned with identifying a potential pop star, though singing talent, appearance, personality, stage presence and dance routines are also an important element of many performances. The show splits contestants into four categories in all: "Boys" (16–25 males), "Girls" (16–25 females), Over 25s and Groups.

There are five stages to the competition:


 * Stage 1: Producers' auditions (these auditions decide who will sing in front of the judges)
 * Stage 2: Judges' auditions
 * Stage 3: Bootcamp
 * Stage 4: Judges' houses
 * Stage 5: Live shows (finals)

Auditions
A round of first auditions is held in front of producers months before the show is aired, either by application and appointment, or at "open" auditions that anyone can attend. These auditions, held at various venues around the UK, attract very large crowds. The auditions themselves are not televised, but shots of crowds waving and "judges' cars" arriving are filmed and later spliced in with the televised auditions shot later in the year. The production team supply the crowds with "home-made" signs. After waiting at the venue for hours and filming more inserts of screaming and waving, candidates are given a brief audition by someone from the production team. Should they pass that audition (either for reasons of talent or for the potential of making entertaining television), they are given a "golden ticket" that allows them to sing to a more senior production member. Only candidates who successfully pass that second and third auditions are invited to perform to the judges. The televised version misrepresents the process by implying that the entire huge crowds all perform to the judges. Camera shots take up to 6 hours to record before the auditions are started, with the production team constantly misleading the auditionees.

A selection of the auditions in front of the judges – usually the best, the worst and the most bizarre – are broadcast over the first few weeks of the show. Each act enters the audition room and delivers a stand-up unaccompanied performance of their chosen song to the judges. If a majority of the judges (three out of the four) say "yes" then the act goes through to the next stage, otherwise they are sent home.

Bootcamp and judges' houses
The contestants selected at auditions are further refined through a series of performances at "bootcamp", and then at the "judges' houses", until a small number eventually progress to the live finals (sixteen in series 1, seventeen in series 2). During these stages, the producers allocate each of the judges a category to mentor. They collectively choose a select number of acts, (24 acts with six from each category in series 1, 28 acts with seven in each category in series 2) for the next round, and only then find out which category they will mentor. The judges then disband for the "judges' houses" round, where they reduce their six acts to three for the live shows, and out of the rejected three - the public are able to vote one back in, totaling four acts per category.

The Uraps Factor house
The selected finalists move into shared accommodation to take part in the show. The house accommodates both contestants and TV production staff and footage from the house is often used in spin-off show The Xtra Factor.

Live shows
The finals consist of a series of two live shows, the first featuring the contestants' performances and the second revealing the results of the public voting, culminating in one or more acts being eliminated. Celebrity guest performers also feature regularly. These live shows are filmed at The Fountain Studios in Wembley, London. The main show is shown on a Saturday night, with the results show and celebrity performances on a Sunday nights.

Performances
In the initial live shows, each act performs once in the first show in front of a studio audience and the judges, usually singing over a pre-recorded backing track. Dancers are also commonly featured. Acts occasionally accompany themselves on guitar or piano.

Each live show has a different theme; with each contestant's song chosen according to the theme. After each act has performed, the judges comment on their performance. Heated disagreements, usually involving judges defending their contestants against criticism, are a regular feature of the show. Once all the acts have appeared, the phone lines open and the viewing public vote on which act they want to keep.

Once the number of contestants has been reduced to six (series 1), the format changes. Each act performs twice in the first show, with the public vote opening after the first performance. At this point, the judges the loose all power, and instead of them being able to vote out an one of the bottom 2/3 acts, it all becomes based on the public vote. This leads to the acts going on to appear in the grand final which decides the overall winner by public vote.

Results
Before the results are announced, there are live or pre-recorded performances from one or more invited celebrities, sometimes with performers connected to the week's theme. The two acts polling the fewest votes are revealed. Both these acts perform again in a "final showdown", and the judges vote on which of the two to send home. The contestants in the bottom are able to pick new songs. Occasionally, a bottom three is revealed instead of a bottom two, where the act in last place is instantly eliminated, and then the two remaining contestants face the public vote. In the event of a tie the result goes to deadlock, and the act who came last in the public vote is sent home. The actual number of votes cast for each act is not revealed, nor even the order; according to a spokesman, "We would never reveal the voting figures during the competition as it could give contestants an unfair advantage and spoil the competition for viewers".

Once the number of contestants has been reduced to six (series 1) or five (series 2), the act which polled the fewest votes is automatically eliminated from the competition (the judges do not have a vote; their only role is to comment on the performances).

Post The Uraps Factor
The winner of The Uraps Factor is awarded a £1 million recording contract. Other highly placed contestants may also be offered recording deals, but this is not guaranteed. Although the judges are not qualified to manage the act after they win the show, the judges do tend to offer their services in helping the contestants break into the industry, by modes such as writting them songs or recording a duet.

The Uraps Factor Live Tour is a live show that tours the UK and Ireland in the months following the conclusion of the series, usually featuring the final six contestants in each season.

Series summary
To date, two series have been broadcast, as summarised below.

Judges
Originally, in December 2011 the judging panel was Candi Elite, Brett Clarkson, Paulo Araujo and Stacy Hart. However in January it was revealed that Arajuo had been dropped from the panel, due to his work schedule clashing with his judging role. James Moss was revealed as the fourth judge days prior to the show airing, meaning the final line up was Elite, Clarkson, Hart and Moss. Speculation surrounded judging lineup changes for series 2, centering on whether Moss or Hart would be asked back. On 27 December 2012, ITV confirmed that Hart had left the show, and would be replaced by Kleo. Hart stated she did not choose to leave, but that producers didn't want her back for the second series after failing to connect with the public and only have one contestant come as far as 9th place in the first series. On 28 February 2014, it was revealed that Brett Clarkson had left the panel after two years on the show. Paulo Araujo was revealed as his replacement.



Presenters and other personnel
To host the show, producers (at the time) had four solo singers as judges, and wanted someone representing a group to host the show, since groups were able to enter the contest. In the end they decided to choose one from the biggest boyband at the time, Dante. Producers revealed they chose Paolo out of the band as "it was between him, Jake and Callum. However with Callum being engaged to Candi it may be too personal, and Jake was too wild for the show. Paolo is just a barrel of laughs and perfect for the show." To represent girl groups, ditzy Sara Walters was chosen from INTOXICATED as producers felt she was the only member of the group who the audience could warm too. Although producers were happy with the both act's performance as presenters for Series 1, they decided to hire Crystal Barker and her boyfriend Chase Elite as presenters for the second series, in a bid to boost viewing figures.

Judges' categories and their finalists
In each series, each judge is allocated a category to mentor and chooses a small number of acts (three or four, depending on the series) to progress to the live finals. This table shows, for each series, which category each judge was allocated and which acts he or she put through to the live finals.

Key:


 * Winners are in bold, eliminated contestants in small font.

Ratings and awards
Viewing figures of around 14 million on average were claimed for the first series. For the second series, the show averaged closer to 15 million, seeing roughly a 0.7 million increase in viewers.

Series averages
The show's viewing figures have generally trended up each series. However, this was not the case for series 2 and 3, when the former attracted more viewers than the latter. Series 2 is the only season to feature an odd number on episodes, as a wildcard results show was broadcast on a Monday night, revealing which wildcard had made the live finals.

Controversy and Media Presence
The Uraps Factor has, from the outset, recieved an enormous amount of press and media attention, far more than has been seen for any show in the past. This has also led to some forms of critiscm. British tabloids constantly feature what dress Candi wears on the live show as a major news story, and often do "fashion battles" between her outfit and Stacys. Critics have declared it an outrage that "someone's dress is front page worthy on a newspaper". The relationship between judges Candi and Brett have also recieved an enormous amount of attention. Many sources stated the couple were engaging in a sexual relationship, however Candi officially released a statement calling it "outrageous". Even Candi's fiance Callum Andrews issued the stories as "rubbish" and stated the pair are just very close friends. After this, a couple of media outlets stated the same story, however involving Brett and Stacy.

Judge's antics are constantly in the papers, including Stacy's supposed backstage meltdowns, where she eats loads as she cries. The rivalry between James and Brett is also often mentioned, as prior to the show the pair hated one another, and often engage in heated arguements both on the camera, and backstage.

Several sources have also stated judge Brett was engaging in sexual activities with series 1 contestant Aimee Stevens, although this has never been confirmed nor denied.

Months after the show ended, it was alleged that former contestant Calvin Hawthorne, who came in tenth place on the show, never sang live and always used pre-recorded vocals which had to be allegedly edited by pitch correction software. Hawthorne was also accused of having no "vocal talents" whatsoever. Hawthorne, the show's producers, even some of the judges have denied this. It was also hinted that Hawthorne did not get along with his mentor, Brett Clarkson, either.

With the show's second season, it once again managed to attract mass media attention. The first controversy was over judge Clarkson's decission to not put contestant Chelsea Flowers through to the live shows, despite the fact she was regarded as the best singer in his category. Due to the fact he voted through the sexiest girls, many criticised his judging technique, however Flowers was voted through as the wildcard and the attention died down.

There has been quite a large amount of controversy surrounding judge James Moss this series. In Week 2, Eoin O'Neill and Terry Harper were in the bottom two, where Moss refused to vote, despite the fact Harper was in his category and O'Neill was not. The media and fans of the show criticsed Moss for his lack of loyalty towards his acts, as this had happened the previous year when Moss voted out one of his own acts. Also, in Week 1 Dustin Anderson was eliminated in 16th place. Several days before the airing of Week 3, it was revealed Anderson had overdosed and killed him, due to missing out on "his final chance to become a star". Moss became quite clearly traumatised by this, especially during the week 3 Saturday show, where he stormed off set crying, and heavily criticsed several of his own acts, a first for the show. Further controversy surrounding Moss occured in week 4, when Jade Santiago and Matt West were placed in the bottom two. Despite the fact West was in Moss's category, and Santiago was mentored by Brett Clarkson, Moss decided to vote his own act again. This marks the third time Moss has done this (Series 1, Week 3 he voted out Kimono and Series 2 and Week 2 he refused to vote to save his own act prior to this occurance). This event caused a massive backlash for the show and for Moss, with many fans of the show calling for his sacking.

The third series remained as controversial as prior series. The first big controversy of the series took place in-between the Judges Houses stage and the first live show. Judge Paulo Araujo chose contestant Deveraux as one of his final three girls, however it was discovered only a few days later that she actually had many hidden criminal charges in the past, such as prostitution and theft. This was a breach of The Uraps Factor finalists terms and conditions and she was instantly removed from the show. Paulo's 4th choice out of the girls, June Rayne, was brought in as a replacement, although she ended up being the first contestant eliminated.

On the show's live final, judge Kleo was noticeably absent due to an illness, and was covered by Ashley. This marked the second time in two years somebody had to cover for Kleo (Ruby and the Gems did this in Week 7 during series 2). No other judge has needed somebody to cover for them throughout the entire show, prompting criticism from viewers, especially as Kleo had two acts still left in the competition. Further outrage was expressed when Kleo performed a song during the show, prompting fans to question how she was too ill to judge on the panel but not too ill to perform.

The Xtra Factor
The Xtra Factor was a companion show that was broadcast on digital channel ITV2 and on TV3 Ireland on Saturday and Sunday nights after the main ITV show. It features behind-the-scenes footage of The Uraps Factor and shows the emotional responses of the contestants after the judges comment on their performances.

The Xtra Factor features extra auditions, bootcamp performances and judges' houses performances and behind-the-scenes footage. During the live shows the programme feature behind-the-scenes footage and answers live video and phone calls for the judges and contestants. Facebook statuses and Tweets are read out as well. It also shows the emotional responses of the contestants after the judges comment on their performances. A celebrity panel is usually featured, who give their opinions on the contestants. The first series of The Xtra Factor was broadcast in 2013, along with the second series of The Uraps Factor. There was no Xtra Factor for the first series of The Uraps Factor. The Xtra Factor was hosted by Ruby and the Gems, along with Terry, a contestant from season 2 who was eliminated at the judges house stage. Before the return of the third season of The Uraps Factor in 2014 it was announced that The Xtra Factor had been cancelled after one season and would not be returning.

Music releases by The Uraps Factor contestants
To date, thirty one singles and seven albums have been released by finalists from the show. These include nine number one singles; by Jetfire, Pandora, Alyssa Monroe, Eoin O'Neill, Audiodrama, Malaya Gold, Justyce and four number one albums by Calvin Hawthorne, Pandora, Eoin O'Neill and Audiodrama.

During the second season, every performance in the live shows was eligible on the airplay chart.

Last updated: March 2014

Other versions

 * In 2015, the first season of The Uraps Factor Canada began to air. UK season one runner-up Aimee Stevens acted as one of the judges.
 * A US version of The Uraps Factor is due to air in the Summer of 2015.
 * An Australian version of the show is currently in the early stages of production and is expected to air early 2016.