Pre-auditions The first appeal for applicants was made on 26 June 2018, with the launch of the online submission form. Auditioning artists were also able to send a video audition via the WhatsApp messaging platform. In addition, a number of pop-up booths were set up around Malta in early July to encourage people to enter. Producers auditions were held from 13 to 15 July at Fort St Elmo. There the show's producers assessed the auditioning acts and determined who would progress to the judges auditions.
Judges' auditions The auditionees chosen by the producers were invited back to the last set of auditions that took place in front of the judges. These auditions were filmed at Fort St Angelo from 1 to 8 August and broadcast from 7 October, as well as short daily extra auditions on the X Factor Malta YouTube channel and on the Facebook page of Vodafone Malta. The 120 successful contestants then progressed to the bootcamp round.
Bootcamp The bootcamp round was filmed at the Hilton Malta Conference Centre from 9 to 12 September and broadcast on 11 and 18 November. Contestants were given three performance challenges. On the first day, the 120 contestants were split into the four category groups - Boys, Girls, Overs and Groups. Acts in each category were given one song to sing a cappella: "A Million Reasons" (Girls), "See You Again" (Boys), "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me" (Overs) "My Girl" (Groups). After the performances, the judges sent home 30 acts. For the second challenge, the remaining acts each selected a song from the Wall of Songs, which they had to perform with three others who had selected the same song. Contestants were either put through to the next stage, or went to the Waiting Room, where they later had the possibility of being called on to be part of a newly formed group. In the final challenge, the remaining acts - including newly formed groups - performed a song of their own choice. The jury then selected 12 participants from each category to go through to the Six Chair Challenge.
Six Chair Challenge The Six Chair Challenge was filmed at the
Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC) in Attard on 11 and 12 October 2018. The 24 successful acts were: •
Boys: Mark Anthony Bartolo, Norbert Bondin,
Aidan Cassar,
Luke Chappell, Owen Leuellen, Claudio Zammit •
Girls: Kelsey Bellante, Karin Duff, Nicole Frendo, Danica Muscat, Michela Pace, Jade Vella •
Overs: Anna Azzopardi, Franklin Calleja, Anna Faniello, Ben Purplle, Vanessa Lee Sultana, Petra Zammit •
Groups: 4th Line, Horizon, Kayati, Prism, Systm12, Xtreme
Judges' Houses The Judges' Houses episodes were broadcast on 23 and 30 December 2018.
Contestants Key: : – Winner : – Runner-up : – Third Place
Live shows The live shows began on Sunday, 6 January 2019. They were filmed at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre (MFCC) in Attard, Malta. Dance groups contracted for all live shows were The Unit Collective (Deedee Clark, Kimberly Lowell, Nicole Schembri), Southville Dancers (Christian Scerri), Kinetic Dance Academy (Clayton Mifsud, Daphne Gatt) and Annalise Dance Studio (Annalise Ellul).
Results summary ;Colour key : – Contestant in the bottom three and had to perform in the Sing-Off : – Contestant was in the bottom three but received the fewest votes and was immediately eliminated : – Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown)
Live show details Week 1 (6 Jan) • Theme: This is Me ; Judges' vote to eliminate • Mercieca: Xtreme • Alden: Franklin Calleja • Losco: Franklin Calleja • Debono: Franklin Calleja
Week 2 (13 Jan) • Theme: Throwbacks ; Judges' vote to eliminate • Mercieca: 4th Line • Alden: Ben Purplle • Losco: 4th Line • Debono: Ben Purplle With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. 4th Line was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.
Week 3: Semi-Final (20 Jan) • Theme: Movie Spectacular, Jukebox ; Judges' vote to eliminate • Mercieca: Luke Chappell • Alden: Owen Leuellen • Debono: Owen Leuellen • Losco: Luke Chappell With the acts in the sing-off receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Luke Chappell was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes. In this semi-final, the eight qualified finalists performed at least once. The two acts with the fewest public votes after the first round left the competition, with Kelsey Bellante, gaining the fewest votes overall, and Ben Purplle gaining the second fewest votes. The top six performed again, with the top three acts automatically progressing to the final. The remaining three faced elimination. Of these three, Norbert Bondin received the fewest votes and was thus immediately eliminated. The remaining two, Owen Leuellen and Luke Chappell, faced the tiebreaker, which was to be decided by the judges. However, as the tie was not resolved by the end of the judges' vote, the deadlock - once again decided by the public vote - had to be used. As Owen Leuellen received more votes then Luke Chappell, the former progressed to the final.
Week 4: Final (26 Jan) Aired Shows ==Season 2==