''The X Factor'' is a television

music competition A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Exampl ...

franchise created by British producer

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of ''The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on t ...

and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'' (2001–2003), and has been adapted in various countries. The "X Factor" of the title refers to the undefinable "something" that makes for star quality.Described as "something you can't quite put your finger on" by

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstar ...

, a judge on the UK version of ''The X Factor'', ''The Xtra Factor'', 23 November 2009 Similar to ''

Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's SYCOtv company. It has spawned spin-offs in over 69 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Fremantle ...

'', the franchise maintains a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, called ''X Factor Global''. The channel uploads clips of ''X Factor'' shows from around the world. The channel currently has over 3 million subscribers. Additionally, many individual ''X Factor'' shows have their own YouTube channels such as ''X Factor India''.

Format

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. Unlike ''Idols'', where the judges only critique the contestants' performances, on ''The X Factor'' each judge "mentors" the finalists in a particular category, aiding them with song selection and styling, while also participating together in judging the contestants in the other categories. Not only ''Idols'', but also new singing shows such as ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', '' The Four'' and '' All Together Now'' have become rivals and popular in recent years.

''The X Factor'' around the world

There have been a total of 200 winners of ''The X Factor'' worldwide.

Franchise that is currently airing
Franchise that is not currently airing, but is slated to return in the future
Franchise that has ended
Franchise that was cancelled during production
Franchise whose status is unknown ;Notes # As a one-off judge replacing Prūsaitis # Also shown in

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

and in series 3, 4, 7 and 13 auditions were held in Dublin, and viewers in Ireland were allowed to vote. The UK version of The X Factor is also shown in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

on channel TVM.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:X Factor, The Television franchises Television series by Fremantle (company) 2004 television series debuts 2004 British television series debuts 2010s British television series

Format

''The X Factor'' around the world

See also

Notes

References