Overview: Wannabe pop stars across the country are preparing to brave the panel of judges and the British public and stake their claim to the winner’s title. Excitingly, this time round there’s a new line up of judges. Familiar face Louis Walsh is joined by the multi-million selling artists, songwriters and pop masterminds that are Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland and Tulisa Conostavlos. As per, the quartet will be handing out their judgement on contestants within the following categories: male soloists aged 16-28, female soloists 16-28 years, over 28s and groups. The X Factor stalwart, Dermot O’Leary will be hosting for the fifth year running and elsewhere, Olly Murs, who was runner-up in 2009, and Caroline Flack, former presenter of ‘I’m a Celebrity! Get me out of Here! Now’ will be taking care of business over on The Xtra Factor. Once again, the auditions took place in front of live audiences throughout the UK, from thousands and thousands of applications. Each contestant needs three yeses to pass their audition; not two yeses and ‘I think you’d be good in a boyband’ from Louis – it’s three yeses every time. Those who survive the audition phase then graduate to bootcamp, where they are put through their paces and mercilessly whittled down, until 32 acts remain. Each judge is then assigned a category to mentor and it’s off to the judges’ houses. Eight acts go to each house, but only three will return. The live show stage of the competition begins in October, as each week we lose the act with the fewest public votes. In the final, three acts will battle it out, until one is crowned winner of The X Factor.
