The X Factor: The Band

Did You Know?

• The girlband Real Like You initially consisted of five members (Jess Folley, Seorsia Jack, Luena Martinez, Halle Williams, Kellimarie Willis), but Virginia Hampson was added at the last minute, making six.
• None of the episodes attracted more than 3 million viewers.
• The Guardian's Rebecca Nicholson called the show a 'peculiar addition' to the franchise, noting the format felt rushed.

Background

Originally pitched in early 2019 as The X Factor: All Stars, the concept was scrapped that November and replaced with The X Factor: The Band. This new format had contestants auditioning to be placed into either a girl group or a boy band. The announcement followed closely on the heels of former X Factor winners Little Mix revealing their own group-formation show, Little Mix: The Search, for BBC One in 2020. The auditions were held at Syco Music’s London headquarters, judged by a panel of industry experts.

The series ran for four episodes, starting on Monday, 9 December, continuing on Wednesday the 11th and Friday the 13th, and concluding with a live finale on Sunday, 15 December, at Birmingham’s Resorts World Arena. Host Dermot O’Leary explained the choice of Birmingham by noting the importance of moving the show around the country, recalling a previous successful final in Manchester and expressing his anticipation for the event.

Episodes

The series began with auditions at Syco Music headquarters in London, where auditionees sang in front of Cowell and Scherzinger while industry experts sat in the background. The industry panel included Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Lil' Eddie, Norwegian producer-songwriter Fred Ball, British producer-artist Naughty Boy, and Grammy-nominated songwriter Carla Williams. Filmed on 4 December and aired two days after the label auditions, O'Leary hosted auditions at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham with a studio audience; contestants who advanced from the label auditions performed in front of the judges panel, which now included Lewis.

The boys' auditions, filmed on 5 December and aired four days after the label auditions, followed the same format with Lewis joining the judging panel and the industry experts present. The live final, held two days after the boys' arena auditions aired, was broadcast live from Resorts World Arena before a studio audience of 7,000 people, with musical guest Dalton Harris performing "Cry".