Auditions Each year's competition begins with auditions round, which consists of three stages held several months prior to the series premiere, and within venues around the
United Kingdom; in some series, auditions were also allowed within the
Republic of Ireland. Participants are required to provide a performance across each stage, focused on singing a piece from another artist to gauge their musical talent. The first round consists of auditionees performing before production staff either by application and appointment, or at "open" auditions that anyone can attend. Those wishing to apply could do so via postal or online applications, with
The X Factor having no upper-age limit and no restriction on groups participating. If an auditionee passes this stage, they then move on to the second stage in which they perform before a senior production member. Both of these stages are not filmed, but shots of the crowds waiting to audition are spliced into audition episodes during final editing; the televised version can sometimes misrepresent the process in this fashion by implying that huge crowds all perform before the judges.
Bootcamp and judges' houses 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. The first category consists of men and women solo contestants aged under 24 both genders were conjoined in early series until split into individual gender in the fourth series with the minimum age allowed being 16 (except for the fourth to sixth series where it was lowered to 14). The second category consists of men and women solo acts aged 25 and older (with the exception of a few series where the minimum age was raised to 26, 27, 28 and 29). The third and final category consists of group contestants, which include two or more contestants within each group. During this time, the producers decide on which judge for that year's competition is assigned to mentoring one of the category of participants. After the judges receive their assigned category, they then oversee two stages of performances from participants in each category, in which they must whittle down the number of participants to around six per category (eight for the seventh and eighth series). In this stage, the participants each conduct a performance to their category's judge, who must decide which of their category's participants will proceed into the live rounds. Both the bootcamp and the judges' homes stages of the contest are pre-recorded, though in some cases, either between the first and second stages of Bootcamp or prior to judges' houses, judges may look at certain rejected individual contestants who they feel have potential but may be better suited in a group, and in an attempt to give them a lifeline, then send these contestants into a room to form a number of different groups, each depending on size, height, fashion and chemistry. Lineup changes may also sometimes occur depending on what the judges feel the group is missing or which members they think work well with others. In the tenth series, the bootcamp stage was changed to a new format called "Six-Chair Challenge" in which participants had to secure a majority vote to sit in one of six empty chairs for their category, to move into the next stage; if all six seats were filled, the judge of that category must replace one of these participants with another they wish to see through. This new format, despite some tweaks, was not well received by viewers after its introduction.
Elimination stages and Final Contestants who make it through both the second and third stages eventually enter the live rounds of the competition. By this stage they compete against each other over a series of elimination heats, with those that make it through competition to win in a live final, with these filmed in two parts in a fixed studio venue (except for the final after the eighth series): a performance episode featuring all active participants; and a results episode, which includes a live or pre-recorded performances by celebrity performers. During this time, they move into shared accommodation while involved in the live episodes, sharing this with production staff; filming "behind-the-scenes" within the accommodation is frequently down and used in live episodes for
The Xtra Factor. In some series, some additional participants are sometimes selected from the rejects to contestants as wildcards in these stages, alongside those who progressed to the live episodes. In these stages, each participant not only performs on live television, but also before the judges and a live studio audience. Their routine is often designed to fully judge their singing talent, appearance, personality and stage presence that may not have been noticeable during auditions, with their routine focusing a performance to a specific song originally a pop or contemporary hit from the charts in early series, before being later assigned based on the musical theme for the episode. Performance may sometimes be accompanied by backing dancers and musicians, and, in some cases, participants may also provide their own music and/or dance routines. At the end of each performance, the judges provide feedback on each performance, with their discussions often regularly adding entertainment value to each live episode. However, success is determined by the public vote in each episode. The system involves the same phone number, with exception for the last two digits which, beginning at "01", is assigned to each participant by order of appearance. The phone number is displayed twice for viewers once after a participant's performance is over, and a second time after all performances are completed and phone lines opened. Voting is conducted over a set time period, and closed before the results are announced of each stage of the live shows is shown, with the public vote results not detailing the actual number of votes or the ranked order (first to last) the public placed each act in). In the elimination stages, the two contestants to be the lowest ranked in the public vote are revealed, and thus face off against each other in a "final showdown". This consists of conducting a new performance primarily for the judges while earlier series focused on reprisal of their earlier songs, producers changed this after the fourth series to allow them to pick new songs to perform to. After their performances are completed, the judges vote on which act to eliminate. When the fourth series saw the introduction of a fourth judge, the result was given the chance to be tied. In the event of a tie, the result goes to deadlock, where the earlier public vote determines the elimination of the contestabts in the final showdown which means, of the two contestants in the final showdown, the act who received the lowest number of votes in the public vote is eliminated. Sometimes in certain years, starting with the third series, due to an increased number of contestants in the live shows or reduced weeks, a double elimination is featured where the three contestants who were the lowest ranked in the public vote are revealed, with the act who received the lowest votes is immediately eliminated with the other two contestants in the bottom two perform in the final showdown for the judges' votes. After only five (series 2, 4–6), or four (series, 1, 3, 7–9), or three (series 10–13, 15) contestants remain, no final showdown is involved the act who has the lowest vote in the public vote is automatically eliminated. In the final, the public vote decides the winner, who receives at the end of the competition a £1 million recording contract with
Syco Music, in association with
Sony Music, which, by the beginning of the fifth series, included a £150,000 cash advance with the balance covering the costs of recording and marketing. Other highly placed contestants may also be offered recording deals, but this is not guaranteed. ==Judges and presenters==