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The X Factor is an American television music competition to find new singing talent; the winner of which receives a $5 million recording contract with Epic Records. The second season will begin airing on Fox in September 2012.^[1] Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid are the only judges from the previous season to return, as the other two judges, Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger, were both fired from the show. Cowell and Reid are joined on the judging panel by Britney Spears and Demi Lovato.

A new host is yet to be announced, following the departure of season one host Steve Jones, though Cowell confirmed in May 2012 that there will be two hosts this season.^[2]

Judges and hosts[link]

On January 9, 2012, Fox announced that The X Factor would undergo some changes for its second season. On January 30, it was confirmed that host Steve Jones and judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul would not be returning for the second season.^[3][4][5] This left Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid as the only judges still on the show. On February 6, Reid confirmed that he would be returning to The X Factor for season 2.^[6] Prior to her death, Whitney Houston was approached as a potential replacement judge.^[7]

It was also reported that Cowell was in talks with Britney Spears for her to join the show, reportedly offering her $15 million.^[8] On May 9, 2012, reports surfaced that Spears officially signed on to judge the show.^[9] It was also rumoured that Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus were in talks to be the second replacement judge, in hopes of luring a younger audience.^[10] Lovato reportedly signed a deal to judge the show on May 13, 2012.^[11] On May 14, 2012, it was officially confirmed that Spears and Lovato would join The X Factor as the two newest judges.^[12] When asked about the new judges, Cowell said:

"I'm absolutely delighted Britney and Demi are joining us. Britney remains one of the biggest stars in the world, she's talented, fascinating – and I believe she knows exactly how to spot THE X FACTOR. Demi's had an amazing career in music, TV and film for someone her age. She's young, confident, and enthusiastic. I think it’s really important that she speaks to our younger audience. The new panel will be dynamic and will work really well with the changes we are making to the show."^[13]

Selection process[link]

Auditions[link]

Kansas City

Austin

San Francisco

Greensboro

Providence

Cities where the auditions were held.

The producers' auditions began in March 2012 and concluded in May. The judges' auditions began in Austin, Texas (Frank Erwin Center) on May 24–25 and will continue in Kansas City, Missouri (Kemper Arena) on June 8 and 9, San Francisco, California (Cow Palace) on June 16–18 and Providence, Rhode Island (Dunkin' Donuts Center) on June 27–29, before concluding in Greensboro, North Carolina (Greensboro Coliseum) on July 8–9. The Austin auditions went without a host as a new one has yet to be announced.

References[link]

External links[link]

Official website

Look up X factor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

X Factor may refer to:

• X-Factor (comics)
• X-Factor (professional wrestling)
• The X Factor (album), by Iron Maiden
• "Ex-Factor", a song by Lauryn Hill
• "The Ex-Factor", a The O.C. episode
• Dante Hall (born 1978), aka "The X-factor", American football player
• The X Factor, a book by Andre Norton

Television[link]

• The X Factor (TV series), a television music competition, originating in the United Kingdom, and spawning many other national versions, including but not limited to:
  • The X Factor (UK)
  • The X Factor, XSeer Al Najah, pan-Arab version
  • X Factor (Albania)
  • X-Factor (Armenia)
  • The X Factor (Australia)
  • X Factor (Belgium)
  • X Factor (Bulgaria)
  • El factor X (Colombia)
  • X Factor (Czech Republic)
  • X Factor (Denmark)
  • X Factor (Finland)
  • X Factor (France)
  • X-Factor (Germany)
  • The X Factor (Greece)
  • X-Faktor (Hungary)
  • X Factor (Iceland)
  • X Factor (India)
  • X Factor (Indonesia)
  • X Factor (Italy)
  • X Factor (Kazakhstan)
  • X Factor (Netherlands)
  • The X Factor (New Zealand)
  • X Factor (Norway)
  • The X Factor (Philippines)
  • X Factor (Poland)
  • Faktor A (Russia)
  • X Factor (Slovenia)
  • Factor X (Spain)
  • The X Factor (Ukraine)
  • The X Factor (U.S.)

See also[link]

• Factor X (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Jane Cheryl Hansen is the 1971 Miss International beauty pageant titleholder.

Hansen became the first, and up to now the only, New Zealand delegate to win the crown. She was among the 50 delegates who competed in the pageant when it was held in Long Beach, California.^[1]

References[link]