Judges and host In September, two of the judges from the first series, Stan Walker and Melanie Blatt, were confirmed to return as judges. The other two judges from the first series, Daniel Bedingfield and Ruby Frost, were confirmed as not returning for the second series, with Frost wanting to focus on her music career. In October the final two judges were confirmed as New Zealand-born singer Willy Moon and his wife, English singer Natalia Kills. On 16 March 2015, only hours before the second live results show, Kills and Moon were sacked from the show after a public backlash ensued against the couple after they berated a contestant's appearance on air during the first live show the previous night (15 March). More than 50,000 people signed a petition to get the couple sacked. For the show on 16 March, there were only two judges on the panel. 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. In August 2014, Dominic Bowden was confirmed to return as the host of the second series. Selection process Pre-auditions The first appeal for applicants was made on 24 August 2014, with the announcement of the application process and pre-audition tour details. Pre-auditions in front of the show's producers began on 11 October 2014 and travelled through 13 locations around New Zealand. This was a reduction from the 27 locations visited for the first series, with the second series focusing mainly on cities. Bands were also able to pre-audition in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch or by uploading a performance video. Judges' auditions 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. These auditions were filmed at SkyCity Theatre in Auckland from 26 November to 2 December 2014 and broadcast from 15 February. The successful contestants then progressed to the Boot Camp round. 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. Stuss featured as Cassie Henderson's backing band in week eight of the first series' live shows. Steve Broad previously appeared on the