X Factor (Danish TV series)

Series overview

To date, ten series have been broadcast, as summarised below.

     Contestant in (or mentor of) "15–24s", "15–23s", "14–22s" or "15–22s" category
     Contestant in (or mentor of) "Over 25s", "Over 24s" or "Over 23s" category
     Contestant in (or mentor of) "Groups" category

Judges

The judges in seasons 1 and 2 were Thomas Blachman, Lina Rafn and Remee.

Remee continued as a judge in season 3, while Blachman and Rafn resigned and were replaced by Soulshock and Pernille Rosendahl.

Rosendahl continued as a judge in seasons 4 and 5, while Soulshock and Remee were replaced with Blachman, who returned after one season away, and Cutfather.

Blachman continued as a judge in season 6, while Rosendahl and Cutfather decided to leave and were replaced by Ida Corr and Anne Linnet.

Seasons 7 and 8 returned to the original judging panel consisting of Blachman, Rafn and Remee following the departures of Corr and Linnet.

Season 9 Blachman and Remee returned as judges joined by a newcomer Mette Lindberg.

Judges' categories and their finalists

Key:

     – Winning judge/category. Winners are in bold, eliminated contestants in small font.

Season 1 (2008)

The judges were Remee, Lina Rafn and Thomas Blachman. Remee had the Under 25s, Rafn was given the Groups and Blachman was in charge of the Over 25s. The winner was Martin Hoberg Hedegaard, mentored by Remee.

Finalists Season 1

     – Winner     – Runner-up     – Third place

Results summary

Colour key:

Contestants' colour key:

Season 2 (2009)

Remee, Lina Rafn and Thomas Blachman returned as judges. Remee was given the Groups, Rafn was given the Over 25s and Blachman was in charge of the Under 25s. The winner was Linda Andrews, mentored by Rafn.

Season 3 (2010)

Remee returned as a judge, while Thomas Blachman and Lina Rafn were replaced by Soulshock and Pernille Rosendahl. Soulshock was given the Groups, Rosendahl was given the Over 25s and Remee was in charge of the Under 25s. The winner was Thomas Ring Petersen, mentored by Rosendahl. British singer and X Factor UK judge Cheryl Cole performed her number one single "Fight for This Love".

Finalists Season 3

     – Winner     – Runner-up     – Third place

Results summary

Colour key:

Contestants' colour key:

Season 4 (2011)

Pernille Rosendahl continued as a judge, while original judge Thomas Blachman and new judge Cutfather replaced Soulshock and Remee on the judging panel. Cutfather was given the Under 25s, Rosendahl was given the Groups and Blachman was given the Over 25s. The winner was Sarah, mentored by Cutfather.

Finalists Season 4

     – Winner     – Runner-up     – Third Place

Results summary

Colour key

Contestants' colour key:

Season 5 (2012)

Thomas Blachman, Pernille Rosendahl and Cutfather returned for their respective fourth, third and second seasons. Cutfather was given the Over 25s, Rosendahl was given the Under 25s and Blachman was in charge of the Groups. The winner was Ida Østergaard Madsen, mentored by Rosendahl.

For the first (and currently only) time, a judge made an unforced decision to eliminate their own act.

Season 6 (2013)

Thomas Blachman returned to the judging panel, while Pernille Rosendahl and Cutfather were replaced by new judges Ida Corr and Anne Linnet. Linnet was given the Groups, Corr was given the Over 24s and Blachman was in charge of the Under 24s. The winner was Chresten Falck Damborg, mentored by Corr.

Season 7 (2014)

The seventh season returned to the original judging panel consisting of Thomas Blachman, Lina Rafn and Remee following the departures of Ida Corr and Anne Linnet. Remee had the Over 23s, Rafn had the Under 23s and Blachman was in charge of the Groups. The winners were Anthony Jasmin, mentored by Blachman.

Season 8 (2015)

Thomas Blachman, Remee and Lina Rafn returned to the judging panel for their respective seventh, fifth and fourth seasons. Remee was given the 15-22s, Rafn was given the Over 23s and Blachman was given the Groups. Superbootcamp was replaced by 5 Chair Challenge. The winner was Emilie Esther, mentored by Remee.

Season 9 (2016)

Thomas Blachman and Remee will return as judges for season 9 along with a new judge Mette Lindberg who will replace Lina Rafn. Rafn said in the final of season 8 that she did not know if she would continue as a judge. Eva Harlou announced on 26 June 2015 that she will not return to host. Sofie Linde Lauridsen will be the new host. Rafn announced on 15 July 2015 that she would not be returning as a judge. The winners were Embrace mentored by Remee.

Season 10 (2017)

Thomas Blachman, Mette Lindberg and Remee Will all return for Season 10 and Sofie Linde will also return as host On 31 March 2016 it was announced that X Factor will return for season 10 in 2017. It will begin on 30 December 2016 the winner was Morten Nørgaard mentored by Remee.

Season 11 (2018)

On 31 March 2017, it was announced by DR at X Factor will return for season 11 in 2018.

Controversy

The Danish X Factor has been criticised by music expert and consultant for The Danish Musicians' Association (Dansk Musiker Forbund) Mikael Højris, who claims that the contracts for participation in the show are unfair on participants and almost amount to serfdom to DR1 (the channel airing the show) stating that clauses in the contracts forbid the participants - whether they pass the first round or not - from performing or participating in any other musical event for three months. He also criticises that participants are obliged to travel at their own expense.

Bente Boserup, leader of BørneTelefonen, criticized the Danish X Factor for exposing children under 18 to high pressure and stress, after contestants Baraa Qadoura and Tannaz Hakami broke down in tears during the fourth live show of season 8. This was supported by psychologist John Halse, as well as contestant Finn Irs, who protested by not showing up to the all-stars song during the final live show. Irs stated that the producers were more interested in their contestants showing their emotions, rather than making a musical show. Jan Lagermand Lundme, the contributing editor on DR1, stated that all contestants were checked by a psychologist to see if they were fit to handle the pressure.