# X Factor (Romanian TV series) season 4

X Factor is a Romanian television music competition that aims to find a new music talent to become a star. The fourth season began airing on 19 September 2014 on Antena 1.
The hosts are the same as in the first three seasons: Răzvan Simion and Dani Oțil, who are also known for hosting a well known morning show on Antena 1. Singer Delia Matache returned to the judging panel, while Horia Brenciu and Ștefan Bănică, Jr. joined the panel as replacements for the departing judges.
On December 26, 2014, the season concluded with Adina Răducan winning the Final, she was mentored by Brenciu. Alexandra Crișan, mentored by Bănică finished in second place.

## Auditions

Audition process was based on the British and American version. First up were "The Producer's Audition", where the producers chose singers to proceed to the second phase which was "The Audition before the Judging panel". The first auditions took place at Craiova, on 24 May. They then took place in Sibiu, on 26 May, in Arad, on May 28 in Cluj Napoca on May 30, 2014, on June 2 in Iași, on June 5 in Galați and concluded on June 7, 2013 in Bucharest.
Summary of auditions :
| City | Auditions date | Venue |
| Craiova | May 24, 2014 | Craiova University |
| Sibiu | May 26, 2014 | |
| Arad | May 28, 2014 | Hotel Parc |
| Cluj Napoca | May 30, 2014 | Iulius Mall |
| Iași | June 2, 2014 | Palas Mall |
| Galați | June 5, 2014 | Hotel Faleza By Vega |
| Bucharest | June 7, 2014 | Children's Palace |

## Judges

In February 2014, rumours began circulating that Cheloo would not be returning for the fourth series, because of his aggressive behavior. When it was announced that The X Factor would be returning for a fourth season, Dan Bittman was linked to the role. In May 2014, it was confirmed that Delia Matache would return. Before the auditions began, Cheloo and Bittman were replaced by pop singer Horia Brenciu and rock star Ștefan Bănică, Jr.

## Bootcamp

Complete Teams

### Color key

    – Eliminated in Six-chair challenge
    – Eliminated in Duels
    – Finalist
    – Wildcard
| Category (mentor) | Top 38 acts | Top 38 acts | Top 38 acts | Top 38 acts | Top 38 acts | Top 38 acts | Top 38 acts |
| Under 20s (Brenciu) | | | | | | | |
| Under 20s (Brenciu) | Adina Răducanu | Cristian Goaie | Monica Sannino | Denis Borovină | Diana Căldăraru | Nicholas Sealey | Sabrina Stroe |
| Under 20s (Brenciu) | Sorina Rostaș | Rafaelo Varga | Melisa Tolea | Sergiu Vonvea | Octavian Broșteanu | Miruna Buză | Teodora Ciocănea |
| Groups (Matache) | | | | | | | |
| Groups (Matache) | Contrast | R-Twins | Trupa 69 | Adelina Damian & Victor Sas | Adelina Damian & Victor Sas | Afina & Daniel | Afina & Daniel |
| Groups (Matache) | Black & White | Black & White | Studio 7 | Divas | Diana & Andrei Liță | Diana & Andrei Liță | Envi |
| Over 20s (Bănică) | | | | | | | |
| Over 20s (Bănică) | Alexandra Crișan | Alex Florea | Nicoleta Nucă | Sergiu Braga | Pavel Denisiuc | Iuliana Dobre | Alessio Paddeu |
| Over 20s (Bănică) | Helena Abegaz | Maria Cojocaru | Ovidiu Anton | Dorina Vasilashkco | Stela Boțan | Florin Șchiopu | Mihaela Belous |

### Six-chair challenge

For this season of The X Factor, the producers confirmed that the boot camp and judges' houses sections of the competition, which traditionally followed the audition rounds, had been dropped and replaced with a brand new stage called "The Six-Chair challenge".
This season, the categories follow the age-based format from season three. Brenciu mentored the Under 20s, Bănică the Over 20s and for the second time, Matache mentored the Groups.
Before the Six-chair challenge began, Vlad Simon left the competition because of health problems. Simon was replaced by Florin Șchiopu.

#### Color key

    – Contestant was immediately eliminated after performance without switch
    – Contestant was switched out later in the competition and eventually eliminated
    – Contestant was not switched out and made the final six of their own category

### The Duels

After the Six-chair challenge, each mentor had six contestants for the Duels. The contestants were not told who they were up against until the day of the Duels. Each contestant sang a song of their own choice, back to back, and each duel concluded with the respective mentor eliminating one of the two contestants; the three winners for each mentor advanced to the Live shows.

#### Colour key

- Artist won the Duel and advanced to the Live shows
- Artist lost the Duel and was eliminated
Notes
    ^ 1. Daniel was not present in the "Six-Chair Challenge", due to a personal problem.
    ^ 2. After the performances of Monica and Adina from the Under 20s category, their mentor, Brenciu couldn't decide between both of them, so the producers decided that Brenciu's decision will be taken after all his acts perform.

## Wildcard

It was announced on 3 December 2014 that there would be a wildcard twist on the live shows. The judges selected the wildcard acts from other categories. The wildcard acts were announced in the first live show with Sergiu Braga chosen by Brenciu for the Under 20s category, Alessio Paddeu chosen by Matache for the Groups and Miruna Buză chosen by Bănică for the Over 20s category.

## Finalists

The final 12 finalists were confirmed as follows:

### Color Key

    – Winner
    – Runner-up
    – Third place
| Category (mentor) | Acts | Acts | Acts | Acts |
| Under 20s (Brenciu) | Sergiu Braga | Cristian Goaie | Adina Răducan | Monica Sannino |
| Over 20s (Bănică) | Miruna Buză | Alexandra Crișan | Alexandru Florea | Nicoleta Nucă |
| Groups (Matache) | Contrast | Alessio Paddeu | R-Twins | Trupa 69 |

## Live shows

The live shows will have a change in this season. Only four live shows will take place. In the first two live shows, each category will have its own final showdown, the result of which is decided solely by its mentor. The outcome of the third show will only rely on the public vote and will have two eliminations (one of which will happen halfway through of the show, when the voting will have been frozen). The final will have four contestants. Two of the finalists will be eliminated halfway through the final show, when the voting will have been frozen. The winner is still determined by the public vote.

### Results summary
#### Color key

| – | Winner |
| – | Contestant was in the bottom two and had to sing again in the final showdown |
| – | Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown) |
Weekly results per contestant :
| Contestant | Week 1 | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 4 |
| Contestant | Wildcard | Elimination | Week 2 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Round 2 |
| Adina Răducan | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| Alexandra Crișan | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-Up |
| Trupa 69 | — | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 3rd | Eliminated (Week 4) |
| Alessio Paddeu | Returned Week 1 | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Safe | 4th | Eliminated (Week 4) |
| Nicoleta Nucă | — | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | 5th | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) |
| Sergiu Braga | Returned Week 1 | Safe | Bottom two | 6th | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) |
| Alexandru Florea | — | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) |
| Contrast | — | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) |
| Cristian Goaie | — | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) |
| Miruna Buză | Returned Week 1 | Bottom two | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) |
| R-Twins | — | Bottom two | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) |
| Monica Sannino | — | Bottom two | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) |
| Final showdown | None | Cristian Goaie, Monica Sannino | Cristian Goaie, Sergiu Braga | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated |
| Final showdown | None | R-Twins, Contrast | Contrast, Alessio Paddeu | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated |
| Final showdown | None | Alexandru Florea, Miruna Buză | Alexandru Florea, Nicoleta Nucă | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated |
| Brenciu's vote to eliminate | None | Monica Sannino | Cristian Goaie | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated |
| Matache's vote to eliminate | None | R-Twins | Contrast | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated |
| Bănică's vote to eliminate | None | Miruna Buză | Alexandru Florea | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated |
| Eliminated | None | Monica Sannino by Brenciu | Cristian Goaie by Brenciu | Sergiu Braga Public vote | Nicoleta Nucă Public vote | Alessio Paddeu Public vote | Alexandra Crișan Public vote to win |
| Eliminated | None | R-Twins by Matache | Contrast by Matache | Sergiu Braga Public vote | Nicoleta Nucă Public vote | Alessio Paddeu Public vote | Alexandra Crișan Public vote to win |
| Eliminated | None | R-Twins by Matache | Contrast by Matache | Sergiu Braga Public vote | Nicoleta Nucă Public vote | Trupa 69 Public vote | Adina Răducan Public vote to win |
| Eliminated | None | Miruna Buză by Bănică | Alexandru Florea by Bănică | Sergiu Braga Public vote | Nicoleta Nucă Public vote | Trupa 69 Public vote | Adina Răducan Public vote to win |
| Reference(s) | | | | | | | |

### Live show details
#### Week 1 (December 5)

* Theme: Romanian music
* Musical guests: Ștefan Bănică, Jr. (Medley from: ( "Am Uitat", "Ziua", "Bubulina Gospodina", "O Seară De Mai"), "Alerg Printre Stele", "S-o Facem Lată")
Contestants' performances on the first live show :
| Act, | Order | Song | Result |
| Monica Sannino | 1 | "Acasă" | Bottom two |
| Cristian Goaie | 2 | "Mă-ntorc La Tine Mare Albastră" | Bottom two |
| Adina Răducan | 3 | "Iartă" | Safe |
| Sergiu Braga | 4 | "Eminescu" | Safe |
| R-Twins | 5 | "Dana" | Bottom two |
| Contrast | 6 | "Îți Arăt Că Pot" | Bottom two |
| Trupa 69 | 7 | "Vreau Sărutarea Ta" | Safe |
| Alessio Paddeu | 8 | "Caruso" | Safe |
| Alexandra Crișan | 9 | "Ochii Tăi" | Safe |
| Alexandru Florea | 10 | "Numai Una" | Bottom two |
| Nicoleta Nucă | 11 | "România" | Safe |
| Miruna Buză | 12 | "Cântă Cucu" | Bottom two |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Under 20s ||||
| Cristian Goaie | 1 | "Sărutări Criminale" | Safe |
| Monica Sannino | 2 | "Beautiful" | Eliminated |
| Groups ||||
| R-Twins | 1 | "Rude" | Eliminated |
| Contrast | 2 | "The Monster" | Safe |
| Over 20s ||||
| Alexandru Florea | 1 | "Bed of Roses" | Safe |
| Miruna Buză | 2 | "Ploaie În Luna Lui Martie" | Eliminated |

##### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Brenciu: Monica Sannino, stated that he will go further, in the contest, with the most spectacular act.
* Matache: R-Twins, gave no reason.
* Bănică : Miruna Buză, stated that he saw more determination in the other act.

#### Week 2 (December 12)

* Theme: Famous Voices
* Group performance(s): Medley from: ("Happy", "Bang Bang", "Baby Don't Lie")
* Musical guests: Horia Brenciu ("Hello", "Inima Nu Vrea", "Azi Am Chef De Mare", "Seara Ta De Crăciun", "Fac Ce-Mi Spune Inima")
* Judge guest : Cristian Minculescu
Contestants' performances on the second live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Adina Răducan | 1 | "Clown" | Safe |
| Cristian Goaie | 2 | "Jelem, Jelem" | Bottom two |
| Sergiu Braga | 3 | "Ploaia" | Bottom two |
| Contrast | 4 | "Noi Simţim La Fel" | Bottom two |
| Alessio Paddeu | 5 | "I'm Not the Only One" | Bottom two |
| Trupa 69 | 6 | "Locul Potrivit" | Safe |
| Nicoleta Nucă | 7 | "Chandelier" | Bottom two |
| Alexandru Florea | 8 | "Let Me Entertain You" | Bottom two |
| Alexandra Crișan | 9 | "Say You Love Me" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Under 20s ||||
| Cristian Goaie | 1 | "Billionaire" | Eliminated |
| Sergiu Braga | 2 | "All by Myself" | Safe |
| Groups ||||
| Alessio Paddeu | 1 | "Love of My Life" | Safe |
| Contrast | 2 | "Wrecking Ball" | Eliminated |
| Over 20s ||||
| Alexandru Florea | 1 | "One" | Eliminated |
| Nicoleta Nucă | 2 | "The Edge of Glory" | Safe |

##### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Brenciu: Cristian Goaie, Brenciu stated that with the other act, he will win the contest.
* Matache: Contrast
* Bănică : Alexandru Florea, Bănică stated that he will go further with the act, that he thinks, will make a career in music.

#### Week 3 (December 19)

First Round
* Theme: Duets
* Group performance(s): Medley from: ("Wiggle", "Shake It Off", "Can't Hold Us")
* Musical guests: Delia Matache ("Pe Aripi De Vânt" feat. Florin Ristei, "Cine Iubește Și Lasă")
Contestants' performances on the third live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Alexandra Crişan | 1 | "Empire State of Mind" (with CRBL) | Safe |
| Trupa 69 | 2 | "Ipotecat" (with Dragoş Udilă) | Safe |
| Adina Răducan | 3 | "Colaj De Sâmbătă Seara" (with Daniel Buzdugan) | Safe |
| Nicoleta Nucă | 4 | "One Sweet Day" (with Florin Ristei) | Safe |
| Sergiu Braga | 5 | "Zaraza" (with Nelu Ploieșteanu) | Eliminated |
| Alessio Paddeu | 6 | "Say Something" (with Lora) | Safe |
Second Round
* Theme: Semifinal
* Musical Guests : Delia Matache
Contestants' performances on the third live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Alexandra Crişan | 1 | "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" | Safe |
| Trupa 69 | 2 | "Price Tag" | Safe |
| Adina Răducan | 3 | "Bună Seara, Iubite" | Safe |
| Nicoleta Nucă | 4 | "Something's Got a Hold on Me" | Eliminated |
| Alessio Paddeu | 5 | "When I Was Your Man" | Safe |

#### Week 4: Final (December 26)
##### Round 1

* Theme: Final
* Group performance(s): "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
* Musical guests: What's Up - "Taxi", Corul Naţional de Cameră "Madrigal" - Carols Medley
Contestants' performances on the fourth live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Order | Song | Result |
| Alessio Paddeu | 1 | "Meravigliosa Creatura" (with Delia Matache) | 6 | "Oameni" | 4th Place |
| Alexandra Crişan | 2 | "Mai Frumoasă" | 5 | "Strânge-mă În Brațe" (with Ștefan Bănică, Jr.) | Safe |
| Adina Răducan | 3 | "Mi-e Dor De Tine" (with Horia Brenciu) | 8 | "Galbenă Gutuie" | Safe |
| Trupa 69 | 4 | "Te Pup, Pa Pa!" | 7 | "Prietena Ta" (with Delia Matache) | 3rd Place |

##### Round 2

* Theme: Final
* Musical guests: Voltaj - "De La Capăt"
Contestants' performances on the final live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Adina Răducan | 1 | "One Moment In Time" | Winner |
| Alexandra Crişan | 2 | "Someone Like You"/"Too Much Love Will Kill You" | Runner-Up |

## Ratings

| Ep | Title | Date | National | National | Urban | Urban | 18-49 | 18-49 | Source |
| Ep | Title | Date | Average (thousands) | Rating (%) | Average (thousands) | Rating (%) | Average (thousands) | Rating (%) | Source |
| 1 | Auditions 1 | 19 September 2014 | 1 413 | 7.6 | 927 | 9.2 | 480 | 9.6 | |
| 2 | Auditions 2 | 26 September 2014 | 1 490 | 8 | 944 | 9.4 | 490 | 9.7 | |
| 3 | Auditions 3 | 3 October 2014 | 1 398 | 7.6 | 843 | 8.4 | 483 | 9.6 | |
| 4 | Auditions 4 | 10 October 2014 | 1 424 | 7.7 | 930 | 9.2 | 498 | 9.9 | |
| 5 | Auditions 5 | 17 October 2014 | 1 424 | 7.7 | 881 | 8.8 | 476 | 9.4 | |
| 6 | Auditions 6 | 24 October 2014 | 1 392 | 7.5 | 912 | 9.1 | 480 | 9.6 | |
| 7 | Auditions 7 | 31 October 2014 | 1 180 | 6.4 | 697 | 6.9 | 416 | 8.2 | |
| 8 | Auditions 8 | 7 November 2014 | 1 187 | 6.4 | 757 | 7.5 | 407 | 8.1 | |
| 9 | Auditions 9 | 14 November 2014 | 1 120 | 6 | 704 | 7 | 353 | 7 | |
| 10 | Auditions 10/Six-chair challenge 1 | 21 November 2014 | 1 072 | 5.8 | 654 | 6.5 | 360 | 7.2 | |
| 11 | Six-chair challenge 2 | 28 November 2014 | 862 | 4.7 | 538 | 5.3 | 310 | 6.2 | |
| 12 | Six-chair challenge 3 /The Duels | 29 November 2014 | 1 233 | 6.7 | 753 | 7.5 | 378 | 7.5 | |
| 13 | First Live Show | 5 December 2014 | 888 | 4.8 | 607 | 6.0 | 310 | 6.2 | |
| 14 | Second Live Show | 12 December 2014 | 895 | 4.8 | 542 | 5.4 | 302 | 6 | |
| 15 | Third Live Show | 19 December 2014 | 892 | 4.8 | 538 | 5.3 | 292 | 5.8 | |
| 16 | Final Live Show | 26 December 2014 | 1 016 | 5.5 | 735 | 7 | 374 | 7.5 | |

## Controversy

In the "Six-chair challenge", Brenciu shocks everyone, even the presenters, by eliminating Miruna Buză, a girl with "excellent vocal technique". Despite getting great reviews from the other mentors, the girl received unexpected criticism from her mentor : "I thought you will surprise us today with something else...Miruna, you have to go home".