W Factor returns

The W Factor took place on 26th November for the second time in Warwick’s history.

The modified version of the X Factor, organised by the Chinese Society, claimed to be Warwick’s biggest talent competition. Ran Chang, the Chinese Society Entertainment Officer said it was, “one of the most influential international events on campus”.

The W Factor welcomed any and all talents and performances ranged from singing and playing an instrument to performing tricks on a yo-yo.

A female contestant, after singing a song in Chinese said, “I was always the shy one in my group until one of my friends dragged me here. I had so much fun and now I feel like I have the confidence to do anything!”

The competition will be held in two stages over the period of the first and second academic terms.

Twenty-six students were selected for the first round, only ten of which qualified for the second and final round to take place in Week Five of the following term.

This year the prizes to be awarded for first, second, and third place are cash sums of £100, £60 and £40 respectively.

The outcome of the first round was based purely on a panel of judges who were selected from a variety of cultural and performance societies.

Between the first and second rounds, clips of the top ten finalists will be posted online on the Warwick Chinese Society website, enabling the audience to vote for their favourite contestant. The audience’s votes will count for 40 percent of the contestants’ final marks.

The W Factor aimed to bring in cultural diversity and succeeded in attracting students from other backgrounds to the competition as both contestants and spectators.

To maintain an unbiased competition, the judges consisted of students from various backgrounds as well as societies. Only one out of five of the judges were from the Chinese Society. Approximately 50 percent percent of the finalists were of other ethnic origin.

The W Factor was a non-profit event. All proceeds were donated to the CSCF (overseas Chinese Student Children’s Funding), a charitable organisation which provides aid to children in the Si Chuan province in China which was devastated by an earthquake in 2008.