X Factor cancels audience vote after major sound quality issues
The ITV competition suffered a nightmarish technical problem during Fright Night
The X Factor has been forced to cancel its Saturday night vote after the show was troubled by poor sound quality during a 10-minute period. Voting will instead open in Sunday’s show.
Although the first half of the competition's 'Fright Night' was broadcast without error, the segment featuring the performances of acts Danny Tetley and Anthony Russell was affected by a severe robotic-type sound interference. The audio problems left many viewers saying the pair sounded like Daleks.
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And if that wasn’t bad enough, host Dermot O'Leary wasn't able to acknowledge the technical issue as the show had been filmed hours earlier – it was the first X Factor ‘live’ episode to be pre-recorded in the show’s 15-year history. This was to accommodate Robbie Williams, who needed to leave the UK for South America to perform concerts as part of his world tour.
An ITV spokesperson told RadioTimes.com: “We apologise for the technical issue that affected the sound on part of [Saturday's] episode of The X Factor. We are investigating why this happened.
“We can confirm tonight’s public vote has been cancelled and will instead open in [Sunday] night’s show at 8.30pm on ITV.”
While viewers will still get the chance to vote on Sunday’s show, it’s yet to be confirmed whether The X Factor will air Tetley and Russell’s Saturday performances without the sound interference.
You can watch clean versions of Tetley and Russell’s performances below...
The X Factor continues on 8.30pm Sunday, ITV
Authors
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.