The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Simon Cowell, the show began in September 2004 and has since aired annually from August/September through to December. The show is produced by FremantleMedia’s Thames and Cowell’s production company SYCOtv. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and TV3 in Ireland, with spin-off behind-the-scenes show The Xtra Factor screened on ITV2. It is the originator of the international The X Factor franchise. The X Factor was devised as a replacement for the highly successful Pop Idol, which was put on indefinite hiatus after its second series, largely because Cowell, who was a judge on Pop Idol, wished to launch a show to which he owned the television rights. The perceived similarity between the two shows later became the subject of a legal dispute. The “X Factor” of the title refers to the undefinable “something” that makes for star quality.
The original judging panel was Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh. Dannii Minogue joined the panel in series 4, and Cheryl Cole replaced Osbourne in series 5 after her departure. After series 7, Cowell and Cole both left to judge the American version of the show whilst Minogue left the show due to commitments on Australia’s Got Talent. Kelly Rowland, Tulisa Contostavlos and Gary Barlow then joined Walsh on the judging panel for series 8, though Rowland announced she would not return for series 9 and was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger. Osbourne later returned in 2013, replacing Contostavlos. Since 2007, the show has been presented by Dermot O’Leary, who replaced original host Kate Thornton. The show is split into a series of phases, following the contestants from auditions through to the grand finale. In the original televised audition phase of the show, contestants sang in an audition room in front of just the judges. From series 6 onwards, auditionees sing on a stage in front of the judges and a live audience. Successful auditionees go through to “bootcamp” and then to “judges’ houses”, where judges narrow down the acts in their category down to three or four acts to mentor for the live shows, where the public vote for their favourite acts following weekly live performances by the contestants.
All Episodes
You May Also Like
American version of the culinary competition series that gives talented kids between the ages of 8 and 13 the chance to showcase their culinary abilities and passion for food through a series of delicious challenges. Celebrated food experts coach and encourage the promising hopefuls to cook like pros and teach them the tricks of the trade along the way.
In the first-ever competitive cannabis cooking show, two chefs prepare mouthwatering marijuana-infused dishes for a panel of very chill celeb judges.
Ace of Cakes is an American reality television show that aired on the Food Network. The show focused on the daily operations of Duff Goldman’s custom cake shop, Charm City Cakes, in Baltimore, Maryland; including small-business ownership, working with various vendors, tasting with customers, constructing cakes, and delivering his products.
Big Brother is a television reality game show based on an originally Dutch TV series of the same name created by producer John de Mol in 1997. The show follows a group of HouseGuests living together 24 hours a day in the “Big Brother” house, isolated from the outside world but under constant surveillance with no privacy for three months. Since its television debut in 2000, Big Brother has run continuously with at least one season of the show airing each year. It is currently the second longest running version in the world to have done so, after the Spanish version. The HouseGuests compete for the chance to win a $500,000 grand prize by avoiding weekly eviction, until the last HouseGuest remains at the end of the season that can claim the $500,000 grand prize. The American series is hosted by television personality Julie Chen. Produced by Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan for Fly On The Wall Entertainment, it currently airs in the United States on CBS and Global.
The show’s debut season followed the format of most international editions of the series, in which a group of contestants live together and are voted off each week by the viewers. Following a negative critical and commercial reaction to the first season, the format for future changes was drastically changed. For this new format, a group of contestants, known as “HouseGuests,” compete to win the series by voting each other off and being the last HouseGuest remaining. One HouseGuest, known as the Head of Household, must nominate two of their fellow HouseGuests for eviction. The winner of the Power of Veto can remove one of the nominees from the block, forcing the HoH to nominate another HouseGuest. The HouseGuests then vote to evict one of the nominees, and the HouseGuest with the most votes is evicted. When only two HouseGuests remained, the last seven evicted HouseGuests, known as the Jury of Seven, would decide which of them would win the $500,000 prize. Much like the first season, the HouseGuests are still under constant surveillance and are filmed at all times. The September 5, 2013 episode marked the show’s 500th episode.
Team Jonathan vs. Team Drew. The Brothers get two teams built of various skills (contractors, designers, realtors) & have a series of competitions, each week sending home a competitor. The final man (or woman) standing takes the title of Brother vs. Brother.
Hosted by actor Dean Cain, Masters of Illusion is with great escapes, fascinating sleight-of-hand and large scale illusions, all in front of a studio audience. The series features amazing magic performed by cutting-edge illusionists and escape artists, and performers in each episode display skills ranging from perplexing interactive mind magic to hilarious comedy routines. Live audience members and viewers at home will be baffled by the astounding skills of these modern illusionists.
“Buying Alaska” proves that forgoing basic amenities is a reasonable tradeoff when it comes to breathtaking views and stunning wild surroundings that you can’t find anywhere in the lower 48 states. Offering much more than living quarters, these properties are so in tune with the extraordinary landscape that it’s often what’s beyond the house that proves to be the main attraction – from the ability to hunt and fish from a back deck, to extreme seclusion on your own private island, to self-sustaining features such as smokehouses and greenhouses. However, there are also dangers that come with all the beauty, and living in this rugged and remote terrain can lead to animal attacks and brutal winters that cut you off from society.
Just how far is a chef willing to go to win a cooking competition? Cutthroat Kitchen hands four chefs each $25,000 and the opportunity to spend that money on helping themselves or sabotaging their competitors. Ingredients will be thieved, utensils destroyed and valuable time on the clock lost when the chefs compete to cook delicious dishes while also having to outplot the competition. With Alton Brown as the devilish provocateur, nothing is out of bounds when money changes hands and we see just how far chefs will go to ensure they have the winning dish.
The Boulet Brothers host a competition of drag performers who don’t just push the envelope – they chew it up and spit it out. With themes like Zombie and challenges like being buried alive, this ain’t your momma’s drag competition.
