The series was won by 22-year-old singer Renee Maurice from Wellington, who performed "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going". Maurice had previously made it to the bootcamp round of the first New Zealand series of The X Factor.[5] Christchurch dance duo Silhouette was the runner-up, with 14-year-old singer-songwriter Jenny Mitchell from Gore in third place. Unlike 2012 winner Clara van Wel, Maurice was not given a recording contract, after Sony opted not to sign her. Maurice did, however, still receive the prize of a new car and $80,000 cash.[6]
Background
In November 2012, TVNZ confirmed the show would return for a third series in 2013.[7] In July 2013, funding agency NZ On Air confirmed that it would give the series $800,000 in production funding, a 50% reduction from the 2012 series funding.[8]
In December 2012, series two host Tāmati Coffey announced his plans to tour Europe for six months in early 2013, expressing his intention to return to New Zealand to present the 2013 series. In June 2013 he was confirmed as returning as series host.[1][9] In April, TVNZ confirmed Opshop frontman Jason Kerrison would return as a judge.[2] In May, TVNZ confirmed that American choreographer Cris Judd would join the judging panel[3] and that Rachel Hunter would return to the judging panel for 2013.[10]
Auditions
The first call for auditions was made in November 2012. Contestants could enter in one of three ways: online, via post, or in person at an open audition venue as part of the Toyota Talent Tour.[11] From late April to early June 2013, the show's producers toured around New Zealand towns and cities with the Toyota Talent Tour and held non-televised open auditions. The top applicants then progressed to the judges' auditions.
The following list contains all of the cities, venues and dates of the Toyota Talent Tour.[12]
Audition city/town
Date
Venue
Invercargill
29 April 2013
Southland Boys High School
Dunedin
30 April 2013
Otago Boys High School
1 May 2013
Timaru
3 May 2013
Roncalli College
Christchurch
5 May 2013
Addington Event Centre
6 May 2013
Greymouth
8 May 2013
Tai Poutini Polytechnic
Nelson
9 May 2013
Nelson School of Music
New Plymouth
14 May 2013
New Plymouth Boys High School
Wellington
17 May 2013
Wellington East Girls College
18 May 2013
Napier
20 May 2013
Napier War Memorial Conference Centre
Hamilton
25 May 2013
Southwell School
Rotorua
28 May 2013
John Paul College
Tauranga
29 May 2013
Otumoetai College
Whangarei
4 June 2013
Whangarei Girls High School
Auckland
8 June 2013
Epsom Girls Grammar School
9 June 2013
Judges auditions
The judges auditions took place in Dunedin at the Regent Theatre on 14 and 15 July, in Auckland at the City Impact Church on 25 and 27 July and in Wellington at the St James Theatre on 10 and 11 August.[13] The first episode aired on 15 September 2013, running for 90 minutes. After the judges' auditions, the successful contestants will be further reduced down to a group of 30 for the semi-finals.
Semi-finals
There are six semi-finals, with the first episode broadcast on 10 October. The semi-finals are pre-recorded the Thursday before broadcast at the City Impact Church in Albany, Auckland.[14] The winners of each week's semi-final were revealed at the beginning of the next week's episode.
Tip Top Natural Talent Search
In addition to 30 semi-finalists, one wildcard entry will be chosen by a public competition. The Tip Top Natural Talent Search competition is open to any act. Acts upload a video audition and are voted on by the public.[15] The top five acts were revealed in semi-final four, with the winner selected by the judges and announced in semi-final five. The five top acts were: The Pack (dance trio), The Black Trio (singing trio), Troublemakers Dance Crew (dance group), Shane Brown (singer) and APD Bhangra Group (dance group).[16]