The X Factor is an Australian television reality music competition, based on the original UK series, to find new singing talent.

[3] The X Factor was renewed after the highly successful Australian Idol was no longer broadcast on Network Ten.

[7] The original judging panel line-up in 2005 consisted of Mark Holden, Kate Ceberano, and John Reid.

When the show was revived in 2010, the judging panel was replaced by Natalie Imbruglia, Ronan Keating, Kyle Sandilands and Guy Sebastian.

There have been eight winners: Random, Altiyan Childs, Reece Mastin, Samantha Jade, Dami Im, Marlisa Punzalan, Cyrus Villanueva and Isaiah Firebrace.

The X Factor was created by Simon Cowell in the United Kingdom and is based on the original British series.

[9] Networks Seven and Nine both began the bidding war after expressing interest by attending a conference organised by Cowell.

[3] Cowell wanted the Australian version to match his "own specifications", and said that it would cost at least $20 million for 21 hours of television.

[7] The X Factor was primarily concerned with identifying singing talent, through appearance, personality, and stage presence.

The successful auditionees chosen by the producers were invited back to the last set of the audition phase, which took place in front of the show's judging panel and a live audience.

[15] The judges' auditions were held on selected dates and locations in a number of major cities of Australia, and were broadcast over the first few weeks of The X Factor.

During the first season of The X Factor, each act entered an audition room and delivered a stand-up unaccompanied performance of their chosen song to the judges, without any instrumental music playing.

In the second round, participants who reach this stage are sent to a "bootcamp" to refine their performances, while they are organised into categories based on the conditions of their application.

From season 7, bootcamp were now based around the five seat challenge, where each judge chose their five acts to go through to the super home visits.

[21] During the super home visits, each act performed one song in front of their mentor and celebrity guest judges.

[citation needed] The finals consisted of two live shows, the first featuring the contestants' performances and the second revealing the results of the public voting, culminating in one/two acts being eliminated each week.

[26][27] The acts usually sung over a pre-recorded backing track, and backup dancers were commonly featured as well as stage props.

The results were announced during the live decider show the following day, in aid to give the Australian public time to vote.

The results show also featured a number of celebrity guest performers promoting their singles or albums, usually their latest ones.

[39] When it was announced that The X Factor would return in 2010, British reality television star Peter Andre was linked to the role.

[44] Bassingthwaighte said she would focus on bringing an honest critique to the show and will guide "the artists through the competition",[45] while Mel B said, "[The contestants] are either going to love me or hate me but it's going to be a fun ride.

In March 2013, Keating confirmed in an interview with News Limited that Sebastian and Mel B had left the show, but stated that he wanted them to return.

Following the announcement that The X Factor was returning in 2010, the Herald Sun reported that MacPherson was favourite to fill the hosting role but was unable to commit because of his duties on Dancing with the Stars.

[citation needed] The show featured behind-the-scenes footage of The X Factor and the emotional responses of the contestants after the judges commented on their performances.

The judges and contestants also answered phone calls from viewers, while Facebook statuses, tweets, and SMS messages appeared on screen.

A few weeks later, their debut album was released, which contained their winner's single and cover versions of songs they performed during the live shows.

Contestants that did not win but signed with Sony Music Australia include Johnny Ruffo, Young Men Society, The Collective, Jason Owen, Bella Ferraro, Nathaniel Willemse, Third Degree, Taylor Henderson, Jai Waetford, Dean Ray and Reigan Derry.

[116][120] The top twelve finalists of the fourth season recorded a cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" as a charity single, in aid of Sony Foundation's You Can program which aims "to build specialised and age-appropriate youth cancer centres across Australia".

[121] The show's second charity single, a cover of Pharrell Williams' "Happy", was also released to help raise funds for the You Can program.

[123] It was recorded by the top six finalists of the sixth season with Australian pop group Justice Crew and released on the iTunes Store on 29 September 2014.