''X Factor'' is the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

version of british Tv show ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'', created by

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 ...

. The show premiered on 4 January 2008. For the first eleven seasons, the show was broadcast on

DR1 DR1 (DR Et) is the flagship television channel of the DR (broadcaster), Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). It became Denmark's first television station when it began broadcasting in 1951 – at first only for an hour a day three times a we ...

before moving to TV 2 from the twelfth season onwards. There have been fifteen winners to date, most notable are

Martin Hoberg Hedegaard Martin Hoberg Hedegaard, also known as Saveus (born 9 October 1992) is a Danish singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2016, he wrote and produced the EP ''Will Somebody Save Us'' and in 2018 he released his first full-length album, ''Neuro' ...

(2008),

Thomas Ring Petersen Thomas Ring Petersen (born 17 February 1980 in Copenhagen, Denmark), better known as Thomas Ring or simply as Thomas, is a Danish singer who rose to fame as the winner of the third Danish series of ''The X Factor''. Thomas started as table tenn ...

(2010),

Anthony Jasmin Anthony Jasmin sometimes Anthony & Jasmin is a Danish pop duo who on 28 March 2014 won season 7 of the Danish version of ''X Factor'' in 2014. After Anthony Lopez and Jasmin Dahl were eliminated as solo artists at bootcamp, the duo was formed and ...

(2014),

Place on Earth Place on Earth is a Danish trio consisting of Mille Katharina Hassenkam, Kathrine Ørnfelt and Andreas Falch Kruse. They became the winners of the eleventh season of the Danish version of the X Factor. They were put together at bootcamp by Th ...

(2018) & Mads Moldt (2022). The original judging panel consisted of

Thomas Blachman Thomas Blachman (born 1963) is a Danish jazz musician, composer, and judge on the Danish version of ''X Factor''. Biography Blachman is the son of Henning and Annie Blachman. One of his grandfathers is Isak Blachman, a Jewish immigrant from Vite ...

Lina Rafn Lina Rafn Sørensen (born 12 August 1976), known professionally as Lina Rafn is a Danish female singer, songwriter and producer active in the band Infernal. Additionally, she is a former VJ on the Danish music video channel ''The Voice TV Danm ...

and

Remee Remee Sigvardt Jackman (né Mikkel Johan Imer Sigvardt; born Frederiksberg, 8 November 1974), better known as Remee, is a Danish producer, composer and songwriter. Career Remee has written more than 60 hits and has sold over 25 million records. H ...

. The current panel consists of Blachman and Martin Jensen. Former judges include

Soulshock Carsten Schack (born 1968 in Gug, Denmark) and better known by his stage name Soulshock is a Danish record producer and songwriter. Beginnings Carsten Schack was born in the Aalborg suburb of Gug, the son of economics professor Bent Schack and p ...

Pernille Rosendahl Pernille Rosendahl (born 22 March 1972) is a Danish singer, who besides her solo career was lead singer of the Danish band Swan Lee and now is lead vocalist for the Danish rock band The Storm. Rosendahl was born in Aalborg and started music at ...

Cutfather Mich Hedin Hansen (born 9 April 1968), known professionally as Cutfather, is a Danish music producer, songwriter, remixer and DJ based in Copenhagen. Cutfather has a studio on Njalsgade, Copenhagen. Career Cutfather is perhaps best known for his ...

Ida Corr Ida Corr (born 14 March 1977 in Aarhus, Denmark) is a Gambian-Danish singer, songwriter and music producer. Early life Ida Corr was born on the 14th of March 1977 to a Danish mother and a Gambian father in Aarhus, Denmark. Her father was a ...

Anne Linnet Anne Linnet (born 30 July 1953 in Århus, Denmark) is a Danish singer, musician composer، and writer. She has released a number of solo albums and has also been a member of several bands, such as Shit & Chanel, Anne Linnet Band, and Marquis de ...

Mette Lindberg Mette Lindberg (born 2 December 1983) is a Danish vocalist for psychedelic pop group The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, paired with songwriter/producer Lars Iversen.Lester, Paul (September 5, 2008)"No 389: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour".''The Guardian'' The ...

Sanne Salomonsen Sanne Salomonsen (born 30 December 1955), is a Danish singer. She has been performing since 1973, and various songs by her band Sneakers were on the charts continuously from 1979 to 1985. She was also a member of the Anne Linnet Band. Salomonsen ...

and

Oh Land Nanna Øland Fabricius (born 2 May 1985), better known by her stage name Oh Land, is a Danish musician, singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. Early life Oh Land was born in Copenhagen, the daughter of Bendt Fabricius, an orga ...

. The original host was

Lise Rønne Lise Rønne (born 1 November 1978 in Viborg) is a Danish journalist and television presenter, best known in Denmark for presenting four seasons of '' X Factor'' as well as two seasons of ''Dansk Melodi Grand Prix''. She is best known outside D ...

. The current host is

Sofie Linde Sofie Linde Ingversen (born Sofie Linde Lauridsen, 22 September 1989 in Aarhus), professionally known as Sofie Linde, is a Danish television presenter and main presenter of the Danish X-Factor. Private life Sofie Linde was born in Aarhus but spen ...

, who has hosted the show since

season 9 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

. Former presenters include Signe Muusmann and Signe Molde. On 14 August 2017, DR announced that the show would end after the eleventh season. On 21 December 2017, TV 2 announced that they had acquired the rights to the show. In 2022, it was announced that ''X Factor'' had been renewed for a sixteenth season.

Judging history

On 15 October 2007, jazz musician

, Infernal singer

and songwriter

were announced as judges for season 1. On 18 September 2008, Rafn confirmed that she would be returning as a judge for season 2. The following day, it was confirmed that Blachman and Remee would be returning as judges for season 2. On 13 August 2009, Rafn announced that she would not be returning as a judge for season 3 due to her pregnancy. On 1 October 2009, Blachman confirmed that he would also not be returning as a judge for season 3. On 5 October 2009, it was confirmed that Remee would be returning as a judge for season 3. On 8 October 2009, record producer

was confirmed as Blachman's replacement. On 15 October 2009, it was announced that The Storm singer

would replace Rafn as the third and final judge for season 3 alongside Remee and Soulshock. On 19 September 2010, Soulshock confirmed that he had been dropped as a judge for season 4. On 21 September 2010, Blachman confirmed that he would be returning as a judge for season 4, replacing Soulshock. The following day, it was confirmed that Rosendahl would be returning as a judge for season 4. On 24 September 2010, it was confirmed that record producer

would replace Remee as a judge for season 4. On 13 September 2011, it was announced that Blachman, Rosendahl and Cutfather would be returning as judges for season 5. On 20 December 2011, Blachman announced that he would be leaving the show at the conclusion of season 5. On 8 February 2012, Rosendahl announced that she would also be leaving the show after season 5 due to starring in the musical ''Hey Jude''. On 10 February 2012, Cutfather announced that season 5 would be his last season as a judge in order to return to his career due to "the show mentally taking time and thought space." On 20 August 2012, despite announcing that he would be leaving the show at the conclusion of season 5, it was confirmed that Blachman would be returning as a judge for season 6, while singers

and

would replace Rosendahl and Cutfather. On 18 September 2013, it was confirmed that Rafn and Remee would be returning to replace Corr and Linnet as judges for season 7 alongside Blachman. On 18 August 2014, it was confirmed that Blachman, Rafn and Remee would be returning as judges for season 8. On 15 July 2015, Rafn confirmed that she would not be returning as a judge for season 9 due to an Infernal concert tour. On 12 August 2015, it was confirmed that

The Asteroids Galaxy Tour The Asteroids Galaxy Tour is a Danish pop band consisting of vocalist Mette Lindberg and songwriter/producer Lars Iversen, formed in 2007. When performing live the band extends to a five-piece, featuring Mikkel Balster Dørig (guitar), Simon Lit ...

singer

would replace Rafn as a judge for season 9 alongside returning judges Blachman and Remee. On 12 August 2016, it was confirmed that Blachman, Remee and Lindberg would be returning as judges for season 10. On 2 August 2017, Lindberg announced that she would not be returning as a judge for season 11. On 10 August 2017, it was confirmed that singer

would replace Lindberg as a judge for season 11 alongside returning judges Blachman and Remee. On 11 April 2018, it was confirmed that Blachman would be returning as a judge for season 12. The following day, Remee confirmed that he would not be returning as a judge for season 12. On 26 April 2018, it was confirmed that Salomonsen would not be returning as a judge for season 12 due to joining

's new television music competition ''LIVE! Danmarks nye live-artist'' as a judge. On 8 August 2018, it was announced that rapper

Ankerstjerne Lars Ankerstjerne Christensen, better known as Ankerstjerne (born on 15 August 1984), is a Danish rapper and songwriter from Hundige. From 2007 to 2010, the rapper was known as Jinks, but returned to using his birth name Lars Ankerstjerne with th ...

and singer

would replace Remee and Salomonsen as judges for season 12 alongside Blachman. On 15 August 2019, it was confirmed that Blachman, Ankerstjerne and Oh Land would be returning as judges for season 13. On 2 July 2020, Ankerstjerne confirmed that he would not be returning as a judge for season 14 in order to focus on "new dreams and projects," but did not rule out a return in the future. On 11 September 2020, it was announced that DJ Martin Jensen would replace Ankerstjerne as a judge for season 14 alongside returning judges Blachman and Oh Land. On 23 July 2021, Oh Land announced that she would not be returning as a judge for season 15, stating that she "could not do everything at once."

Hosts and Judges

Series overview

To date, fifteen seasons have been broadcast, as summarised below. The sixteenth season will premiere in 2023.

Judges' categories and their contestants

Key: : – Winning judge/category. Winners are in bold, eliminated contestants in small font.

Season synopses

2008–2018: DR

Season 1 (2008)

The first season premiered on 4 January 2008 and ended on 28 March 2008. The host was

, while the judges were jazz musician

, Infernal singer

and songwriter

. The auditions took place from 3 to 4 November 2007 at

DR Byen DR Byen (; literally: "the DR City") is the headquarters of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DR, located in Copenhagen, Denmark. DR moved all employees from Radiohuset in Frederiksberg and TV-Byen in Søborg to DR Byen during 2006 and 2007. ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and 7 to 8 November 2007 at DR Østjylland in

Århus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

. The audition episodes were broadcast over three episodes on 4, 11 and 18 January 2008. After the auditions, the judges were given their categories. Remee was given the 15-24s, Rafn was given the Groups, and Blachman was given the Over 25s. For bootcamp, the judges disbanded and took their categories to three different locations. Remee took the 15-24s to Puk-studierne in

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Hotel Marienlyst Hotel Marienlyst is a seaside hotel located just north of Kronborg Castle in Helsingør, Denmark. It takes its name after Marienlyst Castle, Marienlyst House, a neighboring former royal summer retreat, which was part of it from its foundation in ...

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

and Blachman took the Over 25s to

Dragsholm Castle Dragsholm Castle ( da, Dragsholm Slot) is a historic building in Zealand, Denmark. For about 800 years there has been a building on the islet by the “drag”. From the original palace over the medieval castle to the current baroque style, Dragsh ...

in Hørve. The judges were also accompanied by an assistant, who worked in the music industry. Remee was assisted by record producer

, Rafn was assisted by

Border Breakers Border Breakers is a Danish record company. Acts currently signed to the record label are: * Infernal * Anna David * Bryan Rice * Danseorkestret * Hampenberg *Manzini Manzini may refer to: *Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatin ...

director Michael Guldhammer, and Blachman was assisted by composer Kasper Winding. Bootcamp was broadcast over two episodes on 25 January and 1 February 2008. The live shows began on 8 February 2008 at DR Byen. During the sixth week of the live shows,

helped mentor the acts.

Shayne Ward Shayne Thomas Ward (born 16 October 1984) is an English actor and singer. He rose to fame as the winner of The X Factor (British series 2), the second series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor''. His debut single, "That's M ...

, who won the second series of the original British version, performed on the sixth results show.

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

performed on the seventh results show. During the semi-final on 21 March 2008, Remee became the winning mentor after his two acts

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

and Laura advanced to the final. Martin won the first season on 28 March 2008, defeating Laura, and won a recording contract with

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

. He released "The 1" as his winner's single. "The 1" was written by singer

Niels Brinck Niels Brinck Kristensen (born 24 September 1974) is a Danish singer and songwriter. Brinck won the ''Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2009'' with the song "Believe Again (Niels Brinck song), Believe Again" which was written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin ...

and produced by Per Sunding, which would be released by Martin or Laura if they won.

Season 2 (2009)

and

returned as judges. Remee was given the Groups, Rafn was given the Over 25s and Blachman was in charge of the Under 25s. The winner was Linda Andrews, mentored by Rafn.

Season 3 (2010)

returned as a judge, while

and

were replaced by

and

. Soulshock was given the Groups, Rosendahl was given the Over 25s and Remee was in charge of the Under 25s. The winner was

, mentored by Rosendahl. British singer and ''X Factor'' UK judge

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 '' Popstars: ...

performed her number one single "

Fight for This Love "Fight for This Love" is the debut solo single by English singer and Girls Aloud member Cheryl (singer), Cheryl Cole, recorded for her debut studio album, ''3 Words'' (2009). It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as the lead single on ...

Season 4 (2011)

continued as a judge, while original judge

and new judge

replaced

and

on the judging panel. Cutfather was given the Under 25s, Rosendahl was given the Groups and Blachman was given the Over 25s. The winner was

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

, mentored by Cutfather.

Season 5 (2012)

and

returned for their respective fourth, third and second seasons. Cutfather was given the Over 25s, Rosendahl was given the Under 25s and Blachman was in charge of the Groups. The winner was Ida Østergaard Madsen, mentored by Rosendahl. For the first (and currently only) time, a judge made an unforced decision to eliminate their own act.

Season 6 (2012–13)

returned to the judging panel, while

and

were replaced by new judges

and

. Linnet was given the Groups, Corr was given the Over 24s and Blachman was in charge of the Under 24s. The winner was

Chresten Chresten is the Danish equivalent of Christian. It may refer to: *Chresten (singer) (born 1988), full name Chresten Falck Damborg, Danish singer *Christen Berg (1829–1891), Danish liberal politician and editor *Chresten Davis (born 1975), New Ze ...

, mentored by Corr.

Season 7 (2014)

The seventh season returned to the original judging panel consisting of

and

following the departures of

and

. Remee had the Over 23s, Rafn had the 15-22s and Blachman was in charge of the Groups. The winners were

, mentored by Blachman.

Season 8 (2015)

and

returned to the judging panel for their respective seventh, fifth and fourth seasons. Remee was given the 15-22s, Rafn was given the Over 23s and Blachman was given the Groups. Superbootcamp was replaced by 5 Chair Challenge. The winner was Emilie Esther, mentored by Remee.

Season 9 (2016)

and

will return as judges for season 9 along with a new judge

who will replace

. Rafn said in the final of season 8 that she did not know if she would continue as a judge. Eva Harlou announced on 26 June 2015 that she will not return to host.

Sofie Linde Lauridsen Sofie Linde Ingversen (born Sofie Linde Lauridsen, 22 September 1989 in Aarhus), professionally known as Sofie Linde, is a Danish television presenter and main presenter of the Danish X-Factor. Private life Sofie Linde was born in Aarhus but spe ...

will be the new host. Rafn announced on 15 July 2015 that she would not be returning as a judge. The winners were

Embrace Embrace may refer to: * A hug, a form of physical intimacy * Acceptance Music Bands * Embrace (American band), a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C. * Embrace (English band), a post-Britpop band from West Yorkshire * Embrace (duo), a Dan ...

mentored by

Season 10 (2016–17)

and

Will all return for Season 10 and Sofie Linde will also return as host On 31 March 2016 it was announced that X Factor will return for season 10 in 2017. It will begin on 30 December 2016 the winner was Morten Nørgaard mentored by

Season 11 (2018)

On 31 March 2017, it was announced by DR that ''X Factor'' will return for season 11 in 2018. Sofie Linde Lauridsen will return to host the show for the 3rd time

and

also returned and is joined by a new judge

who will replace

. The Winner was

mentored by

2019–present: TV2

Season 12 (2019)

Sofie Linde Lauridsen will return to host the show for the 4th time

returned and is joined by a new judges

and

who will replace

and

. The Winner was Kristian Kjærlund mentored by

Season 13 (2020)

and

Will all return as judges for Season 13 and Sofie Linde Ingversen also return as host for the 5th time. The Winner was

Alma Agger Alma Agger is a Danish singer. She is the winner of the X Factor (Denmark season 13), thirteen season of the Danish version of the ''X Factor''. Performances during ''X Factor'' Discography Singles * "The Last Dance" (2020) * "Om Lidt Er Jeg ...

mentored by

Season 14 (2021)

and

returned as judges for Season 14 while

left and was replaced by Martin Jensen and Sofie Linde Ingversen only returned as host for the auditions, 5 Chair Challenge and bootcamp Lise Rønne returned as host for the live shows also. The Winner was Solveig Lindelof mentored by Oh Land

Season 15 (2022)

and Martin Jensen will return as judges for Season 15 but

has announced that she will leave as a judge and was replaced by

Kwamie Liv Kwamie Liv is a Danish-Zambian artist, singer and songwriter. She released the ''Lost In The Girl'' EP in 2014 and her debut studio album ''Lovers that Come and Go'' in November 2018. Life and work Kwamie Liv was born in Copenhagen to a Zambian f ...

and Sofie Linde Ingversen will return as the main host.

Season 16 (2023)

and Kwamie Liv will return as judges for Season 16 but Martin Jensen has announced that he will leave as a judge and was replaced by

Simon Kvamm Simon Kvamm (born 18 February 1975 in Silkeborg) is a Danish- Faroese actor and singer. He is best known as one of the founding members of the Danish rock band Nephew, where he is the lead vocalist and keyboard player. He is also well known fo ...

and Sofie Linde Ingversen will return as the main host.

Controversy

The Danish ''X Factor'' has been criticised by music expert and consultant for The Danish Musicians' Association ''(Dansk Musiker Forbund)'' Mikael Højris, who claims that the contracts for participation in the show are unfair on participants and almost amount to serfdom to DR1 (the channel airing the show) stating that clauses in the contracts forbid the participants - whether they pass the first round or not - from performing or participating in any other musical event for three months. He also criticises that participants are obliged to travel at their own expense. Bente Boserup, leader of BørneTelefonen, criticized the Danish ''X Factor'' for exposing children under 18 to high pressure and stress, after contestants Baraa Qadoura and Tannaz Hakami broke down in tears during the fourth live show of

season 8 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...

. This was supported by psychologist John Halse, as well as contestant Finn Irs, who protested by not showing up to the all-stars song during the final live show. Irs stated that the producers were more interested in their contestants showing their emotions, rather than making a musical show. Jan Lagermand Lundme, the

contributing editor A contributing editor is a newspaper, magazine or online job title that varies in its responsibilities. Often, but not always, a contributing editor is a "high-end" freelancer, consultant, or expert who has proven ability and has readership dra ...

, stated that all contestants were checked by a psychologist to see if they were fit to handle the pressure.Politiken: Børneeksperter: Fjern alle under 18 år fra X Factor.
(Danish) Despite this, the series has remained quite popular within the Danish public.

References

External links

*
X Factor website
{{The X Factor series Danish reality television series Television series by Fremantle (company) 2008 Danish television series debuts Danish television series based on British television series DR TV original programming