Louis Walsh returned to the judging panel and was joined by Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa.

Barlow, Rowland, Tulisa joined the panel replacing judges, Simon Cowell, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole.

Series 5 winner Alexandra Burke served as a guest judge for week 4 of the live shows due to Rowland having a throat infection.

[5] On 5 May 2011, it was announced that Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole would not return as judges for the eighth series to work on the first season of The X Factor USA.

[7] After Cowell and Cole announced their departures, a number of celebrities were linked to the judging role including Frankie Sandford,[8] Alesha Dixon,[9] Lily Allen,[10] and Noel Gallagher.

On 9 May 2011, five days before Minogue announced her departure, news broke that Cowell had offered his seat to Gary Barlow of Take That, though his contract was not finalised.

[citation needed] Following Minogue's announcement, it was reported that Tulisa from N-Dubz had been in talks with producers to take on a judging role to replace Cole.

[7] It was also suggested that Kelly Rowland, formerly of Destiny's Child, was in discussions to take a seat on the judging panel for Minogue's replacement.

In week 4 of the live shows on 29 and 30 October, Rowland was unable to attend due to a throat infection so series 5 winner Alexandra Burke took her place as an extra judge on the panel.

[citation needed] Auditions in front of the judges for series 8 took place in Cardiff, London, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester.

[27][28] Robbie Williams joined Barlow in Los Angeles,[citation needed] Jennifer Hudson assisted Rowland in Miami,[29] Walsh was accompanied by Sinitta in Barcelona,[30] and Tulisa received help from Jessie J in Mykonos.

Sian Phillips was originally selected for the judges' houses, but due to visa issues, she was unable to travel to Miami and was thus replaced by Sarah Watson in the Girls category.

Goldie Cheung was initially put through to the finals by Walsh, but pulled out of the competition at the end of the judges' houses stage, stating that she did not want to be away from her family.

[35] On the third results show, Bruno Mars, Professor Green featuring Emeli Sandé and Kelly Clarkson performed.

[36] Series 7 contestant Cher Lloyd and The X Factor USA judge Nicole Scherzinger performed on the fourth live result show.

[citation needed] The seventh live show featured performances from Rihanna and series 7 runner-up Rebecca Ferguson,.

[39] The eighth live results show included performances from former contestant and The Xtra Factor host Olly Murs featuring The Muppets, and Jessie J.

[40][41] JLS and One Direction also appeared alongside the 16 finalists to perform this year's charity single, "Wishing on a Star".

[45] During the fourth week of the live shows, it was announced that Rowland was unable to travel back from Los Angeles due to a throat infection.

[14] It was reported on 28 June 2011 that the final would take place on 10 and 11 December 2011 at Wembley Arena instead of the usual Fountain Studios.

In an interview on the official website, he explained "I don't believe my future lies in a boyband and it's not fair on [the other members] Charlie, Derry and Andy to remain in the band when I am not truly committed to it for the long term.

The semi-final did not feature a final showdown and instead the act with the fewest public votes, Misha B, was automatically eliminated.

11 December It was announced on 12 October 2011, that the 16 finalists would record a cover version of "Wishing on a Star", released on 20 November in aid of Together for Short Lives, a charity which Cowell said do "amazing work".

For the first time since series 1, the winner's single was not released in the week of the coveted Christmas number one chart battle.

The finalists recorded a cover of the song "When You Wish upon a Star" to feature in the advert and modelled clothes from the company.

[108][109] On 17 November 2011, M&S posted the latest edit of the advert to their official YouTube account, with Cocozza's vocals completely erased.

[111][112] Like the previous two series, the show dominated the weekly rankings, taking the top spot for the first three weeks and then the top two for the rest of the series, with the exceptions being the fourth, fifth and sixth live shows, which were beaten into third place by two episodes of Downton Abbey and the launch episode of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, respectively.

[146][147] In June 2020, Misha B stated that as a result of the orchestrated racism she experienced at the hands of the producers, she suffered suicidal tendencies and was eventually diagnosed with PTSD.

[149] Cocozza's behaviour earlier in the series has led to two Ofcom investigations – he swore during a live show and was also shown drinking heavily with some friends.