X Factor Malta
X Factor Malta is the Maltese version of the British television music competition The X Factor, created by Simon Cowell. The first season premiered on 7 October 2018 and has since been broadcast on Television Malta. The show was used to determine the artist that would represent Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest in and. In July 2020, it was announced that the show would be replaced by Malta's Got Talent, but after a one-year hiatus, a third season began in October 2021. Season four started on 8 October 2023.
Season summary
To date, five seasons have been broadcast, as summarised below.Contestant in "Ray Mercieca"
Contestant in "Alexandra Alden"
Contestant in "Howard Keith Debono"
Contestant in "Ira Losco"
Contestant in "Ivan Grech"
Contestant in "Philippa Naudi"
Contestant in "Gianluca Bezzina"
Contestant in "Amber Bondin"
Contestant in "Aleandro Spiteri Monsigneur"
| Season | Start | Finish | Winner | Main judges | |||||
| 1 | 7 October 2018 | 26 January 2019 | Michela Pace | Owen Leuellen | Nicole Frendo | Petra Zammit | Howard Keith Debono | Ben Camille | Howard Keith Debono Ira Losco Alexandra Alden Ray Mercieca |
| 2 | 6 October 2019 | 8 February 2020 | Destiny Chukunyere | Justine Shorfid | F.A.I.T.H | Kyle Cutajar | Ira Losco | Ben Camille | Howard Keith Debono Ira Losco Alexandra Alden Ray Mercieca |
| 3 | 3 October 2021 | 12 February 2022 | Ryan Hili | Drakard | Lisa Gauci | Cheryl Balzan | Howard Keith Debono | Ben Camille | Howard Keith Debono Ira Losco Ivan Grech Philippa Naudi |
| 4 | 8 October 2023 | 11 February 2024 | Richard Aquilina | Lapes u Nadine | Shanice Micallef | Amelia Kalabic | Howard Keith Debono | Gianni Zammit | Howard Keith Debono Ira Losco Gianluca Bezzina Amber Bondin |
| 5 | 11 January 2026 | Gianni Zammit | Howard Keith Debono Philippa Naudi Amber Bondin Aleandro Spiteri Monsigneur |
Judges' categories and their contestants
In each season, each judge is allocated a category to mentor and chooses three acts to progress to the live finals. This table shows, for each series, which category each judge was allocated and which acts he or she put through to the live finals.Key:
| Season | Howard Keith Debono | Ira Losco | Alexandra Alden | Ray Mercieca |
| 1 | Girls Michela Pace Nicole Frendo Kelsey Bellante | Boys Owen Leuellen Luke Chappell Norbert Bondin | Groups 4th Line Xtreme Kayati | Overs Petra Zammit Ben Purplle Franklin Calleja |
| 2 | Groups F.A.I.T.H Bloodline Yazmin & James | Girls Destiny Chukunyere Justine Shorfid Jasmine Abela | Overs Celine Agius Paul Anthony Ed Abdilla | Boys Kyle Cutajar Karl Schembri Dav. Jr |
| Season | Howard Keith Debono | Ira Losco | Philippa Naudi | Ivan Grech |
| 3 | Boys Ryan Hili Aidan Drakard Kevin Paul | Overs Cheryl Balzan Audrienne Fenech Jimmy Tyrrell | Groups Ceci & Kriss Soul Tide Beyond | Girls Lisa Gauci Timea Farr Shauna Vassallo |
| Season | Howard Keith Debono | Ira Losco | Amber Bondin | Gianluca Bezzina |
| 4 | Overs Richard Aquilina Rose Marielle Mamaclay Sean Kamati | Groups Lapes & Nadine XO Kelsie & Martina | Boys Isaac Tom Kodin Camilleri Mattia Adduocchio | Girls Shanice Micallef Amelia Kalabic Kristy Spiteri |
| Season | Howard Keith Debono | Philippa Naudi | Amber Bondin | Aleandro Spiteri Monsigneur |
| 5 | Miguel Bonello Amelia Kalabic Lapes & Nadine | Bloodline Lisa Gauci Maya Sesay | Kyle Cutajar Owen Leuellen Rose Marielle Mamaclay | Jasmine Abela Shanice Micallef Shauna Vassallo |
Presenter and judges
On 2 July 2018, it was announced that Ben Camille was selected to host the show.The full judges' panel was revealed on 31 July 2018, and was composed of music producer Howard Keith Debono, The Rifffs' frontman Ray Mercieca, Maltese singer and songwriter Alexandra Alden, and singer/star Ira Losco.
lovinmalta.com Retrieved 9 October 2019
Season 1
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", "See You Again", "Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me" "My Girl". 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 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
| Judge | Category | Assistant | Contestants eliminated |
| Losco | Boys | Joseph Calleja | Mark Anthony Bartolo, Aidan Cassar, Claudio Zammit |
| Debono | Girls | Mike Hedges | Karin Duff, Danica Muscat, Jade Vella |
| Mercieca | Overs | Matthew James Borg | Anna Azzopardi, Anna Faniello, Vanessa Lee Sultana |
| Alden | Groups | Carlo Borg Bonaci | Horizon, Prism, Systm12 |
Contestants
Key:Live shows
The live shows began on Sunday, 6 January 2019. They were filmed at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre in Attard, Malta. Dance groups contracted for all live shows were The Unit Collective, Southville Dancers, Kinetic Dance Academy and Annalise Dance Studio.Results summary
;Colour keyLive show details
Week 1 (6 Jan)
- Theme: This is Me
- Mercieca: Xtreme
- Alden: Franklin Calleja
- Losco: Franklin Calleja
- Debono: Franklin Calleja
Week 2 (13 Jan)
- Theme: Throwbacks
- Mercieca: 4th Line
- Alden: Ben Purplle
- Losco: 4th Line
- Debono: Ben Purplle
Week 3: Semi-Final (20 Jan)
- Theme: Movie Spectacular, Jukebox
- Mercieca: Luke Chappell
- Alden: Owen Leuellen
- Debono: Owen Leuellen
- Losco: Luke Chappell
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.