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WATCH X FACTOR US Season 1 Episode 12 [FREE ONLINE]

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by: JannView
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Word Count: 662
Date: Wed, 2 Nov 2011 Time: 6:59 PM

The X Factor is an American television music competition to find new singing talent. The show was created by Simon Cowell and is produced by SYCOtv It premiered on September 21, 2011 on Fox.

As part of the British X Factor franchise, the program's format has numerous differences from its rivals, including American Idol, among others. The competition is open to both solo artists and groups and has no upper age limit. Each judge is assigned one of four categories-either girls between 12 and 30, boys between 12 and 30, individuals over 30, or groups (some of which may be formed from rejected soloists after the audition process). Through the live shows, the judges act as mentors to their category, helping to decide song choices, styling and staging, while judging contestants from the other categories; they also compete to ensure that their act wins the competition, thus making them the winning judge. The winner stands to receive a $5 million recording contract[5] and will also star in their own Pepsi commercial, which will air at Super Bowl XLVI on NBC.

Although American Idol went on to become a huge success and rated number 1 for (as of present) seven consecutive seasons, in its home country of the UK, the original Pop Idol did not fare so well. After the massively successful first series, the second series suffered from low ratings. Many - including Pop Idol judge Pete Waterman himself- considered Michelle McManus, who did not go on to achieve fame and success like series 1 winner Will Young, an unworthy winner. In 2004, Pop Idol was axed and ITV announced a new talent show created by former Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell, with no involvement from Idol creator Simon Fuller - The X Factor. Although its ratings were average in the first couple of series, by the seventh series in 2010, ratings were hitting 10 million each week. Pop Idol had been completely forgotten in the UK in favour of The X Factor, whereas American Idol was responsible for the highest rated TV show for seven years in the U.S. - with The X Factor virtually non-existent.

Then, in April 2009, reports surfaced that Cowell was attempting to launch The X Factor in America after his American Idol contract ended after the ninth season. Under his then contract, Cowell was forbidden from launching The X Factor as a rival show to Idol. In September, Fox, the broadcaster of American Idol, signed the deal to launch the U.S. version of The X Factor.

On January 11, 2010, News Corporation (through Fox News in the U.S. and The Times in the UK) reported that Cowell would leave American Idol after season 9 in order to bring The X Factor to the U.S. in September 2011. Cowell told the Television Critics Association that he was leaving American Idol so that he can judge and act as executive producer of the U.S. version of The X Factor.[9] Additionally, Cowell signed a long-term business deal with Sony Music Entertainment, who already support Syco Music artists in the UK, and will now be involved with the artists on the U.S. version of the show as well as becoming involved in its production.

In November 2010, Fox began airing short commercials for the program which displayed the text "Coming to America Fall 2011". The New York Times described the commercials as the network trying to set up The X Factor as a television event. In February 2011, during Super Bowl XLV, Fox unveiled the official logo for the show in a promo starring Cowell. A second promo was shown during that night, featuring Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, The Black Eyed Peas, Usher, Lady Gaga, the Pussycat Dolls and Madonna. This promo started speculation on who would be joining Cowell on the X Factor judging panel.
The X Factor premiered in the U.S. and Canada on September 21, 2011. The following day, it premiered in the UK on ITV2 and a handful of other countries.