[7] Both former All Saints singer Melanie Blatt and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker returned to judge the series.
[8] They were joined by new judges, married couple Natalia Kills and Willy Moon until the first live show when they were both fired after bullying a contestant from the Over 25s, then former The X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and I Am Giant drummer Shelton Woolright from the second live show.
Beau Monga, Mae Valley, Brendon Thomas and The Vibes were signed to Sony Music New Zealand, Stevie Tonks was signed to Christian music label "Parachute" and Finlay Robertson had received a grant by NZ On Air to release a single titled "Control".
[11] The X Factor was created by Simon Cowell in the United Kingdom and the New Zealand version is based on the original UK series.
Broadcast funding agency NZ On Air contributed $800,000 as a minority investor, for the production of 41 episodes of 60 minutes duration each.
[17] The X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and New Zealand-born I Am Giant drummer Shelton Woolright were named as the replacements of Moon and Kills respectively.
[2] 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.
[21] Notable returning auditionees included three contestants who had competed in the first series: Finlay Robertson, who made it to judges' retreats; Hannah Cosgrove, who reached the second day of Boot Camp; and Kalsey Goodall and Nofo Lameko, who also made it to Boot Camp.
Steve Broad previously appeared on the second series of NZ Idol in 2005, where he placed third, and on Pop's Ultimate Star in 2007.
[26][27] The 24 successful acts were: The judges' retreats episodes were filmed over the month of February in locations in New Zealand and Thailand.
Moon created a new group, country duo Mae Valley, made up of Abby Christodoulou and Hannah Cosgrove who had previously been eliminated at Boot Camp.
[49] In reaction to criticism from the public and media, MediaWorks New Zealand issued a statement saying that Brider's criminal record had been fully disclosed when he entered The X Factor and that the New Zealand justice system considers that Brider has paid his debt to society and apologised for any distress the episode may have caused viewers.
[54] International The X Factor producers FremantleMedia Australia and Syco Entertainment discussed the situation with the show's producers, with a spokesperson for FreemantleMedia describing the inclusion of Brider on the show was "a very poor editorial decision" and that "a more rigid approval process" would ensure a similar situation would not happen in future.
[55] During the first live show, Kills bullied and humiliated Joe Irvine during the judges' comments, stating that there was "a doppelganger in our midst".
[56] Kills called out Irvine on his apparent copying of the dress sense and hairstyle of her husband, Willy Moon.
[57] Moon continued her rant, saying that Irvine was "like Norman Bates dressing up in his mother's clothing, it's just a little bit creepy".
[62][63] Kills and Moon were replaced by former X Factor Australia judge Natalie Bassingthwaighte and New Zealand-born drummer Shelton Woolright respectively with immediate effect from the second live show.