The history of X Factor, from the first edition to the present day

The history of X Factor

The initial phases of X Factor 2022 ended a few days ago and the next phase is about to begin: the Live, in which the singers of the different coaches will compete against each other for the first time . In this article, we will briefly retrace the history of the now famous singing competition, also reviewing all the famous singers who took part in the X Factor as judges and guests, but also all those musicians who have reached the heights of fame. starting right from X Factor. For a more complete overview, we recommend that you also read our article dedicated to this year's edition.

The history of X Factor, from the first edition to the present day

What is X Factor? How does the race take place? A brief history of the X Factor famous judges competition Famous singers who emerged from X Factor X Factor abroad: the famous singers of foreign editions

What is X Factor?

X Factor is a singing competition in the form of reality show that puts soloists and emerging music bands in direct competition with each other. The aim of the competition, therefore, is to give a great stage on which to perform for artists who have not yet "broken through" in the music field. This is a great opportunity that has allowed many musicians to perform for the very first time in front of a large audience, and not only: for many of these artists, in fact, X Factor was a springboard towards a brilliant career.

The participants in the competition are divided into different teams, each of which is led by a judge who first takes care of choosing the singers he wants in his team, and who then, assisted by the vocal coaches, chooses for them the better songs to bring out their vocal skills; everything is then accompanied by singing lessons designed to improve the live performances of the artists in the competition.

How does the race take place?

Pre-selection stages




X Factor 2022 Auditions


Bootcamp

In this phase the musicians they are divided into 4 teams of 12 elements each, each of which is led by a judge. Of these 12 artists per team only 5 will be able to access the next phase. Each judge therefore has 5 chairs to seat the singers of his choice. Once the chairs are filled, the judge can choose to have one of the previously chosen artists stand up to accommodate an artist he likes best.

Last Call

This new phase replaces the Home Visit, and is the last selection phase before Live. In this case, each team performs only in front of its judge, while the other 3 attend the singing performances outside the studio. Of 5 applicants per team, only 3 will progress to the next stage of the program. This year's Last Call aired on October 20th in a single episode.



The table of judges (XF2022) Live

Every Thursday evening from next October 27 the competitors will perform, divided into two groups. In this phase, spectators can choose the singers they prefer thanks to televoting: the two least voted artists will perform at the end of the evening and will be voted by the judges. In the event of a tie, the “tilt” will be triggered, in which televoting will be used again. Sometimes, even 2 competitors per evening can be eliminated to reach the predetermined number of 4 competitors for the Semifinal and 4 for the Final.

Final

The seventh and last Live constitutes the Final. of X Factor 2022, which is accessed by four talents. From time to time, viewers at home choose who to eliminate, again via televoting. After four heats the winning competitor is declared.

A brief history of the competition

The successful format was born with the name of The X Factor in Great Britain, in 2004. It was conceived by Simon Cowell , presenter and record producer also known abroad for his often very harsh criticism (not surprisingly, in fact, he was also the protagonist of an episode of The Simpsons). Even before X Factor, Cowell created, together with Simon Fuller (manager of Annie Lennox and Spice Girls), the Idol format, of which there are variants Pop Idol and American Idol. Finally, another very successful international format created by Cowell is Got Talent, declined in many variations that place the name of the nation in which the competition takes place in front of the title (In Italy, for example, we have Italia's Got Talent.



X Factor 2022 Cowell is a very successful television author thanks to his formats, of which X Factor is one of the spearheads. During the first edition, there were only 3 categories: from 16 to 24 years (regardless of sex), from 25 years up (both men and women) and groups; from the fourth edition, it is chosen to divide the participants in the race between the ages of 16 and 24 also on the basis of sex; as previously mentioned, for several years the competition has tried to be as inclusive as possible, so all the discriminating factors related to age and sex have been eliminated. Each category, then, from the beginning is led by a judge.

Famous X Factor judges

The first Italian edition of X Factor was broadcast on Rai2 (as well as the 3 subsequent editions) in 2008, and since then the singing competition has hosted many singers, soloists or band members, both among the judges and among the guests: in fact, the format also includes duets with Italian and international musicians in the final stages of the competition. It would be impossible to list them all, but to give you an idea of ​​the caliber of the race we will give you some examples. We deliberately left out the judges of this year, since you can find all the information about them in our article.

Elio: musician, multi-instrumentalist and comedian, as well as leader of the crazy rock band Elio e le Storie Tese; he has been a judge for 5 editions. Morgan: musician, multi-instrumentalist and writer known for being the leader of the alternative rock band Bluvertigo; he has been a judge of 7 editions, starting with the first. Mara Maionchi: music producer and radio presenter with a strong personality and outspoken; she was a judge for 7 editions, including the first. Manuel Agnelli: musician and leader of the alternative rock band Afterhours; he was a judge for 5 editions.

The table of judges (XF2022) Samuel: singer-songwriter and guitarist, as well as frontman of the electronic rock band Subsonica; he was a judge for an edition. Mika: British singer-songwriter and showman; he was a judge for 5 editions. Emma Marrone: singer and actress who emerged from another talent show, Amici; she was a judge for 2 editions. Sfera Ebbasta: rapper and trapper; he was a judge for an edition. Simona Ventura: TV presenter and actress; she was a judge for 5 editions, including the first.

Famous singers who emerged from X Factor

X Factor is not only a very popular and popular format worldwide. Many of the participants and those who have won the previous editions of the competition performed for the first time in front of a huge audience thanks to their participation in X Factor, which launched their careers. Also in this case, we will provide you with just some of the most significant examples of Italian musicians who emerged from X Factor and who later became very well known, even internationally.

Marco Mengoni: winner of the third edition of X Factor in the team of Morgan, in 2013 he also won the Sanremo festival with L'Essenziale. Mengoni was the first Italian singer in history to have won the Best European Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and he did it twice (in 2010 and 2015). At the moment, he has released 11 albums. Francesca Michielin: winner of the fifth edition for Simona Ventura's team, she came second at the Sanremo Festival in 2016 and 2021, and again in 2016 she represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest, as well as having received nominations for other awards She is also the presenter of this year's edition. Chiara: winner of the sixth edition of the singing talent show. She participated in the Sanremo Festival in 2013, 2015 and 2017, she won a Wind Music Award and was nominated for several other awards. Måneskin: Incredible, but true, the pop rock phenomenon of recent years hasn't won the X Factor! The band, in fact, finished second in the 2017 edition with judge Manuel Agnelli. Thanks to Zitti and Buoni, they won both the 71st Sanremo Festival and the 65th Eurovision Song Contest, thus obtaining the visibility that allowed them to emerge also at an international level.

X Factor abroad: famous singers from foreign editions

Being an international singing competition, there are also several well-known artists today who have taken their first steps right on the X Factor stage. Here are some examples.

Leona Lewis: winner of the third UK edition of the X Factor, she is by far the most successful artist in the entire history of the program. James Arthur: Winner of the ninth UK edition, his cover of Shontelle's Impossible is the best-selling single ever by an artist to emerge from the competition. JLS: winners of the fifth UK edition, they have won 3 BRIT Awards. One Direction: the world-famous boy band came third in the seventh UK edition of the musical talent show, in which the singers presented themselves individually, but did not qualify. Thus, judges Nicole Scherzinger and Simon Cowell decided to bring them together in a single singing group. The Live of X Factor 2022 will air exclusively on Sky Uno and will also be available on NOW TV starting next October 27th. To take advantage of these and many other contents, you can buy the Fire Stick TV directly here on Amazon.

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