Sometimes the runner up acts do better than the actual winner – actually, this is pretty much standard practice. We have a look at the X Factor runner ups to see where they’re today and how their careers panned out.
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h2>Series 1
Series 1
G4
The classical pop-opera lads released four albums, with three of them being successful. They disbanded in 2007 apparently because they were “sick” of each other. An attempted re-band was made in 2015 when they released their flop Christmas album G4 Christmas. Only three of the original members performed on the album after Matthew Stiff decided not to rejoin. They lost out to Steve Brookstein.
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h2>Series 1
Andy Abraham
Who can forget the Dustbin man turned pop star Andy Abrahams. He released 3 studio albums and a “best of” however only two of those albums charted. Andy can now be spotted on stage performing in musicals. He lost out to Shayne Ward.
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h2>Series 3
Ray Quinn
Ray Quinn has become a bit of body builder since his time in X Factor, he’s also appearing in musicals. He released just one album Doing It My Way, which reached number 1 in the UK and sold over 300,000 copies. He lost out to Leona Lewis.
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h2>Series 4
Rhydian
Who could forget the platinum blonde Welshman. Losing out to Leon Jackon in 2007 didn’t harm Rhydian’s recording career having released five albums. The first two managed to achieve Platinum and Gold sales status. The following three managed to reach the top 40. Oh, and he got most of his clothes off when he played Rocky in Rocky Horror!
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h2>Series 5
JLS
JLS are the only boyband to come runner up, but not the most successful one – that crown goes to One Direction who actually came third in series 7. JLS has a slew of hits including 5 number one singles. They also released four albums all of which entered the top 3 in the charts. They disbanded in 2013 and left fans with a compilation album called Goodbye.
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h2>Series 6
Olly Murs
CREDIT: Olly Murs / InstagramOlly is probably the most successful solo male artist to come out of X Factor having clocked up four number one albums and four number one singles. Thirteen of his 20 singles have reached the top 20. He’s also gone on to become a TV presenter. He lost out to Joe McElderry.
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h2>Series 7
Rebecca Ferguson
Rebecca was the first woman to come runner up on the X Factor has she’s gone on to release a number of albums and is a spokeswoman for Walkers Crisps. She also opened a shop called Beauty Boudoir in 2012. She lost out to Matt Cardle.
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h2>Series 8
Marcus Collins
Marcus was the only openly gay finalist to come runner up. He released an album but is now appearing on stage in various musicals. Including Kinky Boots and Hairspray. He lost out to Little Mix.
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h2>Series 9
Jahméne Douglas
Jahméne has a largely forgettable career despite being hailed as one of the X Factor‘s best vocalists ever. He’s released a number of albums, but it’s his seemingly changing face that keeps him in the public spotlight. He lost out to James Arthur in 2012.
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h2>Series 10
Nicholas McDonald
I mean who knows what’s happened to Nicholas? He released one album called In the Arms Of An Angel which reached number 6 in the UK charts. He lost out to Sam Bailey.
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h2>Series 11
Fleur East
Fleur was hot favourite to achieve massive world-wide successful after she was the first to sing “Uptown Funk” during the live shows. However, her career has seemingly and sadly stalled after her second and third single “More and More” and “Breakfast” failed to chart. They were both from her 2015 album Love, Sax and Flashbacks which only managed to achieve 60,000 sales in the UK. She has resigned with another Sony Music label and hopes to launch an international singing career. She lost out to Ben Haenow.
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h2>Series 12
Reggie ‘n’ Bollie
Reggie ‘n’ Bollie were the second group to become runner-up from the X Factor have largely fallen out of the public eye since placing second. They released two singles, the first of which achieved a charted of 26, the second failed to chart. They lost out to Louisa Johnson.
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h2>Series 13
Saara Aalto
It’s too early to tell how Saara’s career post X Factor will turn out, but she’s already made history by becoming the first openly bisexual woman to reach the final.
