Singing to success... (The X Factor)

Member Name: mrdave2606

Product:	The X Factor
Date:	18/04/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good format, unleashes new singing talent

Disadvantages: A little bit too much about the judges egos at times in the past

The X Factor is a singing contest that has been run every year on ITV1 since 2004. The shows judges at present are Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheyrl Cole. The presenter is Dermot O'Leary. There are 4 categories, Males 14-24, Females 14-24, 25 and over and Groups.

The show usually starts in August with lots of auditions shown every Saturday night. No instruments are allowed, and most of the contestants shown on TV are either really good or really bad. Some of the worst are great for comedy value! The judges have to vote on if the contestant should go through to the next round. If they get 3 or more votes, they go through.

The next stage of the competition is boot camp, where the judges decide on the best 6 competitors for each category. Once these are decided, the judges then find out which category they are managing. Once decided, the competitors go to a resort where they meet their manager. Here, they have to audition again, and the best three for each category is decided. These then go through to the live TV shows.

Every week on the live TV shows, all of the remaining competitors have to sing. The public then decide via phone who the favourite is. The bottom two each week then have to sing again, with the judges deciding who should go home. This process continues each week until just three acts are left in the final. The competitor with the most votes that week is the X Factor winner, and gets a single released for the following week and is signed up for a record deal.

Winners so far of the X Factor are Steve Brookstein (2004, Over 25s), Shayne Ward (2005, 16-24s), Leona Lewis (2006, 16-24s), Leon Jackson (2007, Boys), Alexandra Burke (2008, Girls). Leona Lewis in particular has been a massive worldwide success, selling millions of singles and albums.

The programme makes for good Saturday night viewing and is now a successful brand worldwide.

Summary: Good Saturday night TV