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Dami Im wins The X Factor 2013

After a string of stand-out of vocal performances, Dami wins The X Factor with Taylor Henderson as Runner Up.

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dami324 year old piano teacher Dami Im has won The X Factor Australia 2013.

The Queensland vocalist was always the favourite to win after a string of stand-out performances, mentored by Dannii Minogue.

20 year old singer-guitarist Taylor Henderson was Runner-Up, with 14 year old schoolboy Jai Waetford in third place.

Dami Im’s rise throughout the contest has been marked by power ballads and striking, eclectic costumes, while the strength of her vocals has elicited repeated standing ovations. Im, who migrated to Australia from South Korea at the age of 9, also benefited from the judges changing the category from Under 25s to Under 24s and Matt Gresham who had to withdraw.

Im already has over 1,000,000 views on YouTube. As a result of winning the contest she now has a SONY recording contract. Her debut single will be Alive.

“I can’t believe it. I don’t believe that I won because I’m better than everybody else. I just believe that God has given me this talent for a purpose,” she said.

“I want to use it to help people like me who are really daggy losers, and use it to encourage people and give them hope.

“They can do it too if they go for it.”

Ronan Keating’s two finalists were split at the penultimate moment. Taylor Henderson, from Ceres near Geelong, was previously a finalist in Australia’s Got Talent after competing as a duo with his father.

“I’m so thankful that I’m here, it’s just been incredible,” he said.

Jai Waetford, from Campbelltown, displayed maturity beyond his 14 years in a Reality TV spotlight that has seen others buckle under the pressure.

Seven’s fourth series (and the fifth in Australia) shows no signs of abating, with bumper ratings underpinning Seven’s fourth quarter in the 2013 ratings. On Sunday night it pipped 2 million viewers.

Seven begins its audition tour in Canberra on November 7th.

This post updates.

26 Responses

  1. Congratulations to Dami and Dannii I have been cheering for Dami ever since she sang Hero in her audition. I believe she can be truely international,same with 3rd Degree.

    I don’t think Jai was as good as most thought, but being 14 he will grow and only get better. I enjoyed Taylor but at times wasn’t very strong vocally.

    @jtshadow65 what do you mean Dannii is very well known in Australia, from years on Young Talent Time, Home and Away and AGT. Sure she may not have released any new music herself in a while, but she has been far from twiddling her thumbs mentored 2 winners on the UK xfactor, worked on Britians next top model. Has also done theatre and has her own clothing label.

  2. I think it is dishonest of Seven to have a promo during Home and Away at 7.15 saying that you will find out who won the X Factor in 15 mins (this happened at 9.50!).
    We all know the Networks lie but this was just so blatant.
    Great to see Dami win but the show was just so bloated. Could have been a better show if it kept to just 2 hours.

  3. So, am I the only one not surprised by the winner?
    I don’t watch reality tv,
    but can’t avoid the ads for them.
    I thought by the way they tailored the ads for this
    (more focus on her; more time to hear her sing
    than the others)
    I thought it was all figured out before it began!

    Not that I’m cynical or anything 😉

    Having said that, Congratulations to Dami.

  4. Haven’t really watched the X Factor as much, but of what I have seen, I have been surprised at the 2 new judges, especially Redfoo. Keep in mind his father founded and created Motown.

    Well done on Dami and Dannii.

  5. Congrats to Dami. The right person won. This season of the x factor was brilliant and I cant believe they are auditioning already in the next few weeks. Also well done to Danni who mentored well.

    I guess she can thank Matt for withdrawing. But to see the change in her from her first audition to the live shows is amazing.

  6. @jtshadow65 what do you mean? seven hasn’t tried to make dannii more known again – she judged six series of australia’s got talent before doing this show.

  7. So Dannii won it then – wonder though if she’ll jump ship and return to the UK next year with the tip being that assuming the US version is finally axed they’ll try and get the panel of Dannii, Cheryl, Simon and Louis back together in an effort to take back the lead over Strictly (our Dancing with the Stars).

    I guess though she’s now at a point where it’s her kid who will determine what happens. The Aussie version probably suits her better from that point of view.

  8. Congratulations to Dami, who is such a humble person and also to Dannii who really knows how to help an artist grow to their full potential. She is a huge asset to The X Factor and has made Dami into a superstar. I really can’t wait to see how far she can go.

    Overall the entire series this year has been phenomenal. It is hands down a much better production than The Voice and continues to prove a success after the show finishes with the likes of Samantha Jade, Nathanial and Reece Mastin. Tonights finale was slick and it was just overall a great night of television even though i was super nervous all night long waiting for a result. Jai and Taylor commiserations to them. They met a superstar in the making and any other season they probably would have won it easily.

    Now what to watch now its over.

  9. oh wow such a surprised not, she won the bloody show the second she did her first live show & for god sake the waiting on this show to announce something is so bloody annoying it always makes me yell out to the tv how hard is it to announce the winner or loser & please i hope next year Natalie Bassingthwaighte goes away shes horrible & im sure channel 7 brought danni in because lets bring in a star who is more known in the UK then Australia & & try to make her known again & that she hasn’t produce anything since 07

  10. I have to agree with those praising Dannii. She’s sorely underrated in Australia. As for The Voice, I would think that Taylor’s contract with X-Factor will preclude him from auditioning.

  11. A well-deserved victory by Dami! She was the clear standout from Week One.

    David – Taylor and his dad auditioned together, but they were separated immediately by the judges and competed in the same semi-final as soloists (Taylor won the public vote and the judges put his dad through). Taylor ended up finishing third, behind his dad, who finished second to Justice Crew.

  12. So Taylor did AGT and cane 3rd, did X factor and came 2nd, The Voice next year? Could take home the trophy!

    A great show, great winner, event tv at its finest.

  13. So I was working tonight so I recorded the show to watch on chase play. Got home at 9:30, showered and changed so let’s say I started the show at 9:40ish. Fast forwarding through ads, pauses and endless recaps – finished by 10:30pm.

    Can I just say though – with the recaps, it was really clear that Ronan’s team was just am endless series of absolutely hideous shirts!!! Did he get them specially made? Dreadful costuming!!!!

  15. What a show. Congrats to Dami and the two very classy runners up in the top 3. But the biggest congrats must go to channel 7 for knowing how to make a show as good as this. I remember Ten’s attempt and it seems a generation ago.

    This had brilliant production values, great connection between mentors and contestants, great connection for the audience to the contestant’s loved ones. Everything done perfectly.

    On the other hand, AGT’s format does not allow the audience to connect with the acts as they see them once at auditions, once at final stage and once at grand final stage, many weeks apart and there is no connection between judges and contestants, but that is the restriction of the format.

  16. There is no doubt that Jai and Taylor will still have successful careers, but credit to Dami who transformation from her audition to tonight has been nothing short of amazing to watch – she is such a deserving winner and I will definently buy her music. Also well done to Danni Minogue who I completely underestimated, she has been a great addition to the show and I hope she will be back again next year

  20. 2 and half hours to annouce a result we knew would happen by the second week of live shows. I’m a fan of the show and happy that this year they got it right with the final three, but I just can’t stand the finale, everything being said has already been said.

  21. Well done Dami – an inspiration to so many. She is everything what these shows are about.
    Her performances have been amazing throughout the competition, that voice is a gift!
    It also goes to show what a fantastic mentor Dannii Minogue is – she has been in this industry such a long time & she knows her stuff – loved Dannii this season!

  23. Could see Dami winning right from the first live show, and was one of the stand outs of the show this year. Thought Jai’s reaction to not making the final 2 was all class.

    The show is still airing here in Adelaide, but I was told that 7 here already gave away the winner while showing an ad for Today Tonight.

  25. ch7 have continued to build this show after it was ditched by ch10 and have got a winner with potential beyond these shores. Dannii’s connections with a certain Mr Cowell could propel Dami Im to superstardom, you just never know…..a nice win for her though….

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