The X Factor Philippines is a Philippine reality music competition, adapted from the original UK series as part of The X Factor franchise, to find new singing talent in the Philippines. The show was hosted by KC Concepcion while the judging panel consists of Charice, Gary Valenciano, Pilita Corrales, and Martin Nievera. It was the first franchise to be adapted in Southeast Asia.
KZ Tandingan was proclaimed the winner of the first season, of whom received a cash prize of 4 million pesos including a recording contract from Star Records, ABS-CBN's recording arm.
Overview
The series is part of The X Factor franchise and is based on a similar competition format in United Kingdom entitled The X Factor.
Format
Categories
The show is primarily concerned with identifying singing talent, though appearance, personality, stage presence and dance routines are also an important element of many performances. Each judge is assigned one of four categories. For season one, these categories were: "Boys" (aged 16–25 males), "Girls" (aged 16–25 females), "Over 25s" (solo acts aged 25 and over), and "Groups" (group or duo acts aged 16 and above). Some groups were formed from soloists and other groups rejected 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 other categories.
Stages
There are five stages to The X Factor Philippines. First is the Producers' auditions, the stage where the producers decide who will sing in front of the judges and of the live audience. It is followed by the Judges' auditions, then the Bootcamp, the Judges' home visit, and the Live shows including the finale.
Auditions
A round of first auditions is held in front of producers months before the show is aired through "open" auditions that anyone (solo artists and vocal groups ages 16 and above) can attend. These auditions, held at various venues around the Philippines, attract very large crowds. The auditions themselves are not televised, but shots of crowds waving and "judges' cars" arriving are filmed and later spliced in with the televised auditions shot later in the year. After waiting at the venue for hours and filming more inserts of screaming and waving, candidates are given a brief audition by someone from the production team. Should they pass that producers' auditions (either for reasons of talent or for the potential of making entertaining television), they are given a "go signal" that allows them to sing in front of the judges and of the live audience. The televised version misrepresents the process by implying that the entire huge crowds all perform to the judges.
A selection of the auditions in front of the judges – usually the best, the worst and the most bizarre – are broadcast over the first few weeks of the show. The judges' auditions are held in front of a live audience and the acts sing over a backing track. A majority of the judges, in this case, at least three judges have to say "yes" then the act goes through to the next stage, otherwise they are sent home.
Bootcamp and judges' homes visit
The contestants selected at auditions are further refined through a series of performances at "bootcamp", and then at the "judges' houses", until a small number eventually progress to the live finals (twelve in season 1). The houses the contestants visit may not actually belong to the judges, but are sometimes rented for the purpose. During these stages, the producers allocate each of the judges a category to mentor. At bootcamp the judges collaboratively choose either 20 acts (season 1; five from each category) for the next round, and only then are told by the show's producers which category they are to mentor. The contestants did not know who their mentor was until they revealed themselves at the house.
The judges then disband for the "judges' houses" round, where they further reduce their acts on location at a residence with the help of a celebrity guest.
Live shows
The finals consist of a series of two live shows, the first featuring the contestants' performances and the second revealing the results of the public voting, culminating in one or more acts being eliminated. Celebrity guest performers also feature regularly. These live shows are filmed at PAGCOR Grand Theater in Parañaque, Metro Manila. The performance shows are broadcast on Saturday nights and the results show on Sunday nights. In season one, twelve acts were put through to the live shows.