The X Factor

The X Factor is a television music competition franchise created by Simon Cowell. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol (2001–2003). It is held in various countries. The programmes are produced by executive producer Simon Cowell and his company SYCOtv. The "X Factor" of the title refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality. The prize is usually a recording contract, in addition to the publicity that appearance in the later stages of the show itself generates, not only for the winner but also for other highly ranked contestants.

The similarities between The X Factor and Idols prompted Idol creator Simon Fuller, along with 19 Entertainment, to file a lawsuit against Cowell, SYCOtv, and FremantleMedia in 2004. An out-of-court settlement was reached in 2005 allowing Fuller to gain a 10% share in The X Factor format, and preventing an American version until 2010. Fuller later filed another lawsuit in 2011, claiming that he had also been promised that he would be credited as an executive producer of The X Factor USA, but that Syco, FremantleMedia, and Fox Broadcasting Company had failed to fulfill that promise; that lawsuit is pending.

X-Factor (comics)

X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off from the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently in X-Factor v. 3 as X-Factor Investigations.

X-Factor launched in 1986, featuring an eponymous team composed of the five original X-Men. In 1991, the founding members were incorporated back into the regular X-Men series, and X-Factor relaunched as a U.S. government-sponsored team incorporating many secondary characters from the X-Men mythos. The series was canceled in 1998.

In 2002 a four-part X-Factor mini-series detailed an investigation by the Mutant Civil Rights Task Force into an alleged conspiracy by hate-groups to commit murder against mutants. The series was written by Jeff Jensen with artwork by Arthur Ranson.

In 2005 a new X-Factor series was launched, following the mutant detective agency X-Factor Investigations. Written by Peter David, the series drew acclaim from Ain't It Cool News, as well as controversy for establishing a homosexual romantic relationship between Rictor and Shatterstar, a move criticized by Shatterstar's co-creator, Rob Liefeld. The series also won a 2011 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book. The series ended in 2013.

The X Factor (UK TV series)

The X Factor is a British reality television music competition to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September until December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's Thames (previously Talkback Thames) and Cowell's production company Syco TV. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and simulcast on TV3 in Ireland. The "X Factor" refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality.

The show is currently presented by Olly Murs and Caroline Flack. The series consists of auditions, bootcamp, judges' houses, several weeks of live shows, semi-finals and the final. After the show's success, it then became an international franchise following a similar format. The series has a spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor, which airs directly after the main show on ITV2.

History

The X Factor was created by Sony Music A&R judge Simon Cowell as a replacement for Pop Idol. Cowell, who was a judge on Pop Idol, wished to launch a show to which he owned the television rights.Pop Idol's first series was massively successful, and while the second series was also successful, the viewing figures for its finale dropped. Some—including Cowell's fellow Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman— considered Michelle McManus an unworthy winner. In 2004, ITV announced a new show created by Cowell, with no involvement from Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller—The X Factor. The perceived similarity between the two shows later became the subject of a legal dispute.

The X Factor (UK series 5)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The fifth series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis performed during the live stages of the show.

The X Factor (UK series 1)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent; the winner of which receives a £1 million recording contract with the Syco Music record label. The first series was broadcast from 4 September to 11 December 2004. The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp and live shows, with Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell as judges. Kate Thornton presented the show on ITV, whilst Ben Shephard presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2.

Auditions were held in Dublin, Newcastle, London, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow.

The series was won by Steve Brookstein, with Cowell as the winning mentor. Brookstein went on to have some chart success, with runners-up G4 achieving two platinum albums before splitting up in 2007.

Selection process

Applications and auditions

Prior to the audition phase, advertisements appeared on ITV, in newspapers, and trade magazines, promising that the new show would encourage groups, and while the emphasis was on singing, would welcome those who played instruments and wrote their own songs. Thus the show would differentiate itself from its predecessor, Pop Idol.

The X Factor (UK series 6)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The sixth series started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009.Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back series. The show was presented by Dermot O'Leary, with spin-off show The Xtra Factor presented by Holly Willoughby on ITV2. McElderry's winner's single was a cover version of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb". Public auditions by aspiring singers began in June 2009 and were held in five cities across the UK. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cole returned as judges. For the first time, auditions were held in front of a live audience. Following initial auditions, the "bootcamp" stage took place in August 2009, where the number of contestants was narrowed down to 24. The 24 contestants were split into their categories, Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups, and given a judge to mentor them at the "judges' houses" stage and throughout the finals.

The X Factor (UK series 11)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The eleventh series began airing on ITV on 30 August 2014.Dermot O'Leary presents his eighth and final series of the main show on ITV and Sarah-Jane Crawford presents spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2, replacing Caroline Flack and Matt Richardson. Louis Walsh was the only judge from series 10 to return and was joined by former judges Simon Cowell, and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, and new judge Mel B. Sharon Osbourne, Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger left after series 10. Former judge Tulisa returned as a guest judge for the final on 13 December due to Mel B being ill. The series also saw the lower age limit decreased from 16 to 14, as it was in series 4 and 5. This was Walsh's final series as a judge. It was also the only series in which Mel B was a main judge. It was O'Leary's final series as presenter on the main show, as he announced on 27 March 2015 that he was leaving to pursue other projects. On 11 May, Crawford also confirmed via Twitter that she would leave her position as The Xtra Factor presenter.