Pre-auditions The first appeal for applicants was made on 11 November 2012, with the announcement of the application process and the pre-audition tour details. Pre-auditions in front of the show's producers began on 5 January 2013 and continued through 27 towns and cities across New Zealand. More than 6,000 contestants auditioned, and were either rejected outright with a "no" response or considered for the next round with a "maybe" response.
Judges' auditions The auditionees chosen by the producers were invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges and a live studio audience. •
Auditions 3 (28 April 2013)Featured successful auditionees: Taiaroa Neho, Alex Familton, Anabac, Liam Kennedy-Clark, Eden Roberts, Tjay Faaosofia, Vasa Faaosofia,
Cassie Henderson, Tom Batchelor, Oriana Faaumu and Bryan Townley. •
Auditions 4 (29 April 2013)Featured successful auditionees: 3rd Watch, Shaan Singh, Taye Williams, Anna Wilson, Brianna Phillips, Jordan Edwards, Fadzai Paradza, Sorelle, Finley Brentwood, Preeti Narayan, Puhi Tau, Phebe Martin-Holgate, Sharaine Barrett, Hannah Cosgrove, Jasmyn Kereama, Khona Va’aga-Gray, Esther Crispin, Whenua Patuwai, Tania Pari, Moorhouse and Jackie Thomas.
Fast Ford Boot Camp The Edge radio station and series sponsor
Ford held a second-chance competition called Fast Ford Boot Camp. Chosen from video auditions, five acts attended the week-long Fast Ford Boot Camp in Auckland before auditioning in front of three
X Factor judges live on The Edge's breakfast show on 15 March. From there, singers Geordie Meade, Meghan Fraser and Grace Ikenasio were chosen by the judges to continue to the
X Factor bootcamp round.
Bootcamp The bootcamp round was filmed at
Vector Arena in Auckland from 16 to 21 March and broadcast on 5 and 6 May. Contestants were given two performance challenges. On the first day, the 120 contestants were split into the four category groups - Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups. Acts in each category were given one song to sing: "
Come On Home" (Boys), "
Firework" (Girls), "
Iris" (Over 25s) and "
Man in the Mirror" (Groups). Contestants were aided by vocal coach Turanga Merito and choreographer Emma McLachlan. After the performances, the judges sent home half the acts. On the second day, the remaining 60 acts were put into ensembles and chose a song which they had to learn and perform for the judges. From the bootcamp, 24 successful acts (six in each category) progressed to the judges' retreats round. Rejected soloists Sam Yeoward and Cameron Rota from the Boys category and former 3rd Watch member Peniamina Sofai were brought back by judges and asked to form a group. This group was named The Young Project (TYP). The elimination of popular contestant Jackie Thomas, who had performed poorly at bootcamp, stirred debate amongst viewers. A Facebook group was formed urging the show to bring her back, while
Birdy's 2011 recording of Jackie's audition song "
Skinny Love" entered the New Zealand charts, peaking at number 2. At judges' retreats, Daniel Bedingfield made the decision to bring back Jackie to join the six girls at his retreat. The 25 successful acts were: •
Boys: Tom Batchelor, Liam Kennedy-Clark, Fletcher Mills, Taiaroa Neho, Whenua Patuwai, Benny Tipene •
Girls: Aotea Beazley, Madeline Bradley, Oriana Faaumu, Cassie Henderson, Eden Roberts, Finlay Robertson, Jackie Thomas •
Over 25s: Maaka Fiso, Grace Ikenasio, Jessie Matthews, Bryan Townley, Taye Williams, Anna Wilson •
Groups: Anabac, Gap5, L.O.V.E, Moorhouse, Voltech, The Young Project (TYP)
Judges' retreats The judges retreats episodes were filmed over the month of April in locations in New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Australia. The judges received news of their categories from the show's producer via telephone, seen during the second bootcamp episode on 6 May. Daniel Bedingfield also brought previously eliminated contestant Jackie Thomas back to the Girls category. Bedingfield mentored the Girls in
Rarotonga, assisted by his sister
Natasha Bedingfield; Blatt joined the Groups at
Mahurangi with
S Club 7 member
Rachel Stevens; Frost took the Boys to
Sydney, assisted by former Australian
X Factor judge
Guy Sebastian; and Walker had the Over 25s in
Queenstown with New Zealand singer
Hollie Smith. Each act performed one song for their mentor and assistant. The judges then selected their top three contestants, which make up the final 12 and progressed to the live shows. At the end of judges' retreats, it was announced that each judge could bring one further act back as a wildcard. The public then voted for which of the four wildcards would become the 13th finalist. This left one judge with an extra act. Fletcher Mills was revealed as the winner on 14 May. The show's producers had originally intended for the wildcard to be announced on the first live show on 19 May, but after judge Melanie Blatt mistakenly tweeted the news on 14 May, the official announcement was made early. Key: : – Wildcard Winner ==Acts==