# The X Factor (Greek TV series)

The X Factor is the Greek version of The X Factor, a show originating in the United Kingdom. It is a television music talent show contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions.
Auditions are held in Greece in the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki, as well as in Cyprus in the city of Nicosia. Auditions for the third X Factor were also held in New York City. Applicants from the Greek diaspora are also accepted.
The show was broadcast live in Greece and Cyprus, as well as abroad via ANT1's international stations, for the first three seasons. For the fourth and fifth season was broadcast live in Greece via Skai TV and in Cyprus via Sigma TV. The sixth season was broadcast live in Greece via Open TV and in Cyprus via Omega. The seventh season began airing on 18 March 2022 on Mega Channel and on Alpha TV Cyprus.
The winners of the show are: in the 1st season was Loukas Yorkas, in the 2nd was Stavros Michalakakos, in the 3rd was Harry Antoniou, in the 4th was Andreas Leontas, in the 5th was Panagiotis Koufogiannis, in the 6th was Giannis Grosis and in the 7th was Katerina Lazaridou.

## Stages

There are four stages to the competition:
* Stage 1: Judges' auditions – either in an audition room (series 1–3, 5, 7) or an arena (series 4, 6)
* Stage 2: Bootcamp
* Stage 3: Judges Houses (Series 1–3)
* Stage 3: Four-Chair Challenge (Series 4–7)
* Stage 4: Live Shows (Finals)

## Judges and presenters

| Main Presenters | Sakis Rouvas: 2008–2011, 2016–2017 Despina Vandi: 2019 Andreas Georgiou: 2022 |
| Backstage Presenters | Giorgos Lianos: 2008–2011 Despina Kampouri: 2008–2010 Maria Sinatsaki: 2010–2011 Evangelia Aravani: 2016–2017 Aris Makris: 2019 Ilias Bogdanos: 2022 Katerina Lioliou: 2022 |
| Judges | Giorgos Theofanous: 2008–2011, 2016, 2019 George Levendis: 2008–2011 Katerina Gagaki: 2008–2011 Nikos Mouratidis: 2008–2011 Tamta: 2016–2017 Peggy Zina: 2016 Thodoris Marantinis: 2016 Babis Stokas: 2017 Giorgos Papadopoulos: 2017 Giorgos Mazonakis: 2017 Melina Aslanidou: 2019 Christos Mastoras: 2019, 2022 Michael Tsaousopoulos: 2019 Mariza Rizou: 2022 Michalis Kouinelis: 2022 Stelios Rokkos: 2022 |
| Guest Judges | Ilias Psinakis: 2022 Nikos Mouratidis: 2022 |
* 1 2 Mouratidis returned as a guest judge for the 4th and 5th live episodes in 2022.
* ↑ Psinakis served as judge only on the live shows in 2022.

## Series overview

To date, five series have been broadcast, as summarised below.
Contestant in "Nikos Mouratidis"  Contestant in "Katarina Gagaki"  Contestant in "George Levendis"  Contestant in "Giorgos Theofanous"  Contestant in "Tamta"  Contestant in "Peggy Zina"  Contestant in "Thodoris Marantinis"  Contestant in "Babis Stokas"  Contestant in "Giorgos Papadopoulos"  Contestant in "Giorgos Mazonakis"  Contestant in "Christos Mastoras"  Contestant in "Melina Aslanidou"  Contestant in "Michael Tsaousopoulos"  Contestant in "Mariza Rizou"  Contestant in "Michalis Kouinelis"  Contestant in "Stelios Rokkos"
| Series | First aired | Last aired | Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place | Winning mentor | Presenter | Co-Host | Main judges (Seat order) | Main judges (Seat order) | Main judges (Seat order) | Main judges (Seat order) |
| Series | First aired | Last aired | Winner | Runner-up | Third place | Fourth place | Winning mentor | Presenter | Co-Host | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1 | 4 October 2008 | 30 January 2009 | Loukas Yorkas Boys 16-24s | Nikolas Metaxas Boys 16-24s | Triimitonio Groups | Kokkina Xalia Groups | Katerina Gagaki | Sakis Rouvas | Giorgos Lianos Despina Kampouri | Nikos | Katerina | George | Giorgos T. |
| 2 | 2 October 2009 | 12 February 2010 | Stavros Michalakakos Boys 16-24s | Nini Shermadini Girls 16-24s | 48 Ores Groups | Eleni Alexandri Over 25s | Nikos Mouratidis | Sakis Rouvas | Giorgos Lianos Despina Kampouri | Nikos | Katerina | George | Giorgos T. |
| 3 | 10 October 2010 | 11 February 2011 | Haris Antoniou Boys 16-24s | Alexandros Notas Over 25s | Nikki Ponte Girls 16-24s | T.U. Groups | George Levendis | Sakis Rouvas | Giorgos Lianos Maria Sinatsaki | Nikos | Katerina | George | Giorgos T. |
| 4 | 4 April 2016 | 8 July 2016 | Andreas Leontas Boys 16-24s | Ian Stratis Boys 16-24s | Stereo Soul Groups | Tania Breazou Girls 16-24s | Giorgos Theofanous | Sakis Rouvas | Evangelia Aravani | Thodoris | Tamta | Peggy | Giorgos T. |
| 5 | 27 April 2017 | 20 July 2017 | Panagiotis Koufogiannis Over 25s | Soula Evagelou Girls 16-24s | Dee Vibes Groups | Vasilis Porfyrakis Over 25s | Giorgos Mazonakis | Sakis Rouvas | Evangelia Aravani | Babis | Giorgos P. | Tamta | Giorgos M. |
| 6 | 11 September 2019 | 19 December 2019 | Giannis Grosis Boys 16-24s | Dimitris Papatsakonas Boys 16-24s | AC² Groups | Konstantinos Stinis Over 25s | Christos Mastoras | Despina Vandi | Aris Makris | Michael | Christos | Melina | Giorgos T. |
| 7 | 18 March 2022 | 10 July 2022 | Katerina Lazaridou | Aggelos Archaniotakis | Elena Panagiotidou | Christos Adamopoulos | Christos Mastoras | Andreas Georgiou | Ilias Bogdanos Katerina Lioliou | Stelios | Michalis | Christos | Mariza |

## Judges' categories and their contestants

Key:
    – Winning judge/category. Winners are in bold, other contestants in small font.
| Series | Nikos Mouratidis | Katerina Gagaki | George Levendis | Giorgos Theofanous |
| 1 | Over 25s Kelly Kaltsi Konstantinos Tsimouris Giorgos Klakoumanos Vasiliki Tsiomi | Boys 16-24s Loukas Yorkas Nikolas Metaxas Louis Georgiou Christos Kalliatsas | Girls 16-24s Ioanna Protopappa Eirini Papadopoulou Polyxeni Bifsa Anthi Simiou | Groups Triimitonio Kokkina Halia Juke Box Crowns |
| 2 | Boys 16-24s Stavros Michalakakos Hovig Demirjian Nikiforos Dimitris Maniatis | Over 25s Eleni Alexandri Polina Christodoulou Elena Andreou Harikleia Charitsavvidou | Groups 48 Ores Pale Faces 360 Moires X-odos | Girls 16-24s Nini Shermadini Ivi Adamou Eleftheria Eleftheriou Giouli Tassou |
| 3 | Over 25s Alexandros Notas Grigoris Georgiou Elena Anagiotou Patrick Guibert | Girls 16-24s Nikki Ponte Maria Katikaridou Kirki Katsarou Elena Georgiou | Boys 16-24 Haris Antoniou Dimitris Theodorakoglou Kostantinos Anastasiadis Alexis Zafeirakis | Groups T.U The Burning Sticks Revolt Tik Tok |
| 4 | Thodoris Marantinis | Tamta | Peggy Zina | Giorgos Theofanous |
| 4 | Groups Stereo Soul Aftoi & Afti N.M.A. Gazoza | Girls 16-24 Tania Breazou Christiana Mpounia Christina Zanti Eleni Koskina | Over 25s Noena Alexandros Pitsanis Pilatos Kounatidis Giorgos Stefanou | Boys 16-24 Andreas Leontas Ian Stratis Antonis Fokas Giorgos Papanastasiou |
| 5 | Babis Stokas | Giorgos Papadopoulos | Tamta | Giorgos Mazonakis |
| 5 | Groups Dee Vibes Coda Project Radiowaves Human Factory | Girls 16-24 Soula Evagelou Thalia Tsiatini Marianna Plachoura Kassiani Dalia | Boys 16-24 Konstantinos Notas Alexandros Sagouris Savas Savidis Angelos Provelegiadis | Over 25s Panagiotis Koufogiannis Vasilis Porfyrakis Marianna Georgiadou Alexandra Matsi |
| 6 | Michael Tsaousopoulos | Christos Mastoras | Melina Aslanidou | Giorgos Theofanous |
| 6 | Girls 16-24 Zoi Misel Bakiri Konstantina Aresti Mary Vassiliadou Viky Mariolou | Boys 16-24 Giannis Grosis Dimitris Papatsakonas Giannis Tergiakis Giorgos Papanastasiou | Over 25s Konstantinos Stinis Lila Trianti Giannis Antzouris Nektarios Rigas | Groups AC² Ano Kato Liak and the Cover DAF |
| 7 | Stelios Rokkos | Michalis Kouinelis | Christos Mastoras | Mariza Rizou |
| 7 | Elena Panagiotidou Thanos Lambrou JCJO Decho | Giname Giannis Onisiforou Miltos Charovas Ioli Pedara | Katerina Lazaridou Konstantinos Ntasios Borek Aristea Alexandraki | Aggelos Archaniotakis Christos Adamopoulos Evelina Katsiakou Case Zero |

## Series overview
### Series 1 (2008–2009)

The first series of the Greek X Factor started airing in October 2008 on ANT1 and was hosted by singer Sakis Rouvas. The judges were Giorgos Levendis, songwriter Giorgos Theofanous, marketing executive of ANT1 TV, Katerina Gagaki and music critic Nikos Mouratidis.
The winner of the 1st X-Factor was Loukas Yorkas from Cyprus who released his debut EP album in September 2009.

### Series 2 (2009–2010)

A second series of X Factor was broadcasteby ANT1 TV. The live shows debuted on October 30. The host and the judges remain the same as in the first series. The winner of the 2nd X-Factor was Stavros Michalakakos from Cyprus.

### Series 3 (2010–2011)

A third season of X Factor was broadcast from October 2010 to February 2011. The third series of X Factor was won by Haris Antoniou from Cyprus. The program was broadcast by ANT1 TV and the host and the judges remained the same as the previous year.

### Series 4 (2016)

A fourth season of X Factor was broadcast from 4 April to 8 July 2016 on Skai TV. The host Sakis Rouvas remained with Evaggelia Aravani in backstage. Giorgos Theofanous remained from the judges of the past seasons with Peggy Zina, Tamta and Thodoris Marantinis from Onirama being the new judges. The winner of this series was Andreas Leontas from Cyprus.

### Series 5 (2017)

A fifth season of X Factor was broadcast from April 27 to July 20, 2017 on Skai TV. The host Sakis Rouvas remained with Evaggelia Aravani in backstage. Tamta remained from the judges of the past seasons with Giorgos Mazonakis, Giorgos Papadopoulos and Babis Stokas being the new judges. The winner of this series was Panagiotis Koufogiannis from Cyprus.

### Series 6 (2019)

A sixth season of X Factor began broadcast from 11 September 2019 on Open TV. The judges are Giorgos Theofanous, who returned for his fifth series as judge, former The Voice of Greece coach Melina Aslanidou, former Rising Star judge Christos Mastoras and Athens DeeJay Michael Tsaousopoulos. Despina Vandi will be the host, replacing Sakis Rouvas. Aris Makris is presenting the Backstage of Live Shows, replacing Evaggelia Aravani. This was the first edition in which a contenstant from Greece managed to win as in all previous editions the winner was a singer coming from Cyprus.

### Series 7 (2022)

A seventh season of The X Factor began broadcast from 18 March 2022 on Mega Channel. Christos Mastoras, returned for his second season as judge, and with the three new judges, Mariza Rizou, Stelios Rokkos and Michalis Kouinelis. Andreas Georgiou hosted the live shows. Ilias Bogdanos and Katerina Lioliou were presenting the backstage of Live Shows.