# X Factor (Kazakhstani TV series) series 1

X Factor is a Kazakh music talent show for aspiring pop stars across the nation and is based on the international franchise. The first season in Kazakhstan started in January 2011. Auditions were held in 12 Kazakh cities and started on 2 October 2010. The Judges were the three music producers Nagima Eskalieva, who was the already the chairwoman of the panel of SuperStar KZ, Sultana Karazhigitova and Alexander Shevchenko.
On 22 May 2011, the back then-22-year-old Daria Gabdull (Дария Габдулл), labeled by the judges as the "Kazakh Beyoncé", won the show ahead of the trio Spasibo. Gabdull won a two-years-contract with Sony Music.

## Selection process
### Judges' houses and wildcards

After the auditions, twenty-four candidates were chosen, eight in each of three categories. They were:
* 16-24s: Daria Akparova, Ruslan Berdimatov, Eliza Dzhakereeva, Alexander Filatov, Daria Gabdull, Louise Karimbaeva, Abdulkarim Karimov, Ruslan Krivenkov
* 25 and over: Maral Dzhusupova, Asel Karsybaeva, Eldar Myrzakhanov, Yuri Mukhortov, Gulzhiyan Ospanova, Julia Pereima, Dmitry Tsoi, Margarita Tumanyan
* Vocal groups: Musaev sisters, Vladimir Kim & Marina Beysehanova, Ansari, Dee Kree, Spasibo, Sweet, National, Faith Kahn & Serik Salmakeev
The twelve eliminated acts were:
* 16-24s: Eliza Dzhakereeva, Alexander Filatov, Louise Karimbaeva, Ruslan Krivenkov
* 25 and over: Maral Dzhusupova, Eldar Myrzakhanov, Julia Pereima, Dmitry Tsoi
* Vocal groups: Musaev sisters, Vladimir Kim & Marina Beysehanova, Ansari, Sweet
Although they were eliminated in the judges' house stage, Musaev Sisters, Eldar Myrzahanov and Ruslan Krivenkov were brought back as wildcards.

## Contestants

After the wildcards were revealed in the first live show, the final fifteen acts were confirmed as follows:
Key:
    – Winner
    – Runner-up
    – Third Place
| Category (mentor) | Acts | Acts | Acts | Acts | Acts |
| 16-24s (Shevchenko) | Daria Akparova | Ruslan Berdimatov | Daria Gabdull | Abdulkarim Karimov | Ruslan Krivenkov |
| Over-25s (Eskalieva) | Asel Karsybaeva | Yuri Mukhortov | Eldar Myrzahanov | Gulzhiyan Ospanov | Margarita Tumanyan |
| Groups (Karazhigitova) | Astana | Dee Kree | Musaev Sisters | National | Spasibo |

## Live shows
### Results summary
#### Colour key

| – | Contestant was in the bottom two/three and had to sing again in the final showdown |
| – | Contestant was in the bottom three but received the fewest votes and was immediately eliminated |
| – | Contestant received the fewest public votes and was immediately eliminated (no final showdown) |
| – | Contestant received the most public votes |
Weekly results per contestant :
| | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 |
| Daria Gabdull | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner (Week 11) |
| Spasibo | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-Up (Week 11) |
| Asel Karsybaeva | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | 3rd | Eliminated (week 10) |
| Ruslan Krivenkov | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 4th | Eliminated (week 9) | Eliminated (week 9) |
| National | Safe | Bottom three | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 8) | Eliminated (week 8) | Eliminated (week 8) |
| Yuri Mukhortov | Bottom three | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 7) | Eliminated (week 7) | Eliminated (week 7) | Eliminated (week 7) |
| Abdulkarim Karimov | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 6) | Eliminated (week 6) | Eliminated (week 6) | Eliminated (week 6) | Eliminated (week 6) |
| Musaev Sisters | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 5) | Eliminated (week 5) | Eliminated (week 5) | Eliminated (week 5) | Eliminated (week 5) | Eliminated (week 5) |
| Eldar Myrzahanov | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom two | Eliminated (week 4) | Eliminated (week 4) | Eliminated (week 4) | Eliminated (week 4) | Eliminated (week 4) | Eliminated (week 4) | Eliminated (week 4) |
| Margarita Tumanyan | Safe | Safe | Bottom three | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) |
| Daria Akparova | Safe | Safe | 11th | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) | Eliminated (week 3) |
| Gulzhiyan Ospanova | Safe | Bottom three | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) |
| Dee Kree | Safe | 13th | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) | Eliminated (week 2) |
| Ruslan Berdimatov | Bottom three | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) |
| Astana | 15th | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) | Eliminated (week 1) |
| Final showdown | Ruslan Berdimatov, Yuri Mukhortov | Gulzhiyan Ospanova, National | Asel Karsybaeva, Margarita Tumanyan | Eldar Myrzahanov, Yuri Mukhortov | Abdulkarim Karimov, Musaev Sisters | Abdulkarim Karimov, Yuri Mukhortov | National, Yuri Mukhortov | Asel Karsybaeva, National | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone |
| Shevchenko's vote | Yuri Mukhortov | Gulzhiyan Ospanova | Margarita Tumanyan | Eldar Myrzahanov | Musaev Sisters | Yuri Mukhortov | Yuri Mukhortov | National | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone |
| Eskalieva's vote | Ruslan Berdimatov | National | None (refused) | None (refused) | Musaev Sisters | Abdulkarim Karimov | National | National | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone |
| Karazhigitova's vote | Ruslan Berdimatov | Gulzhiyan Ospanova | Margarita Tumanyan | Eldar Myrzahanov | Abdulkarim Karimov | Abdulkarim Karimov | Yuri Mukhortov | Asel Karsybaeva | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone | No final showdown or judges' vote: results are based on public votes alone |
| Eliminated | Astana | Dee Kree | Daria Akparova | Eldar Myrzahanov 2 of 2 votes | Musaev Sisters 2 of 3 votes | Abdulkarim Karimov 2 of 3 votes | Yuri Mukhortov 2 of 3 votes | National 2 of 3 votes | Ruslan Krivenkov | Asel Karsybaeva | Spasibo |
| Eliminated | Ruslan Berdimatov 2 of 3 votes | Gulzhiyan Ospanov 2 of 3 votes | Margarita Tumanyan 2 of 2 votes | Eldar Myrzahanov 2 of 2 votes | Musaev Sisters 2 of 3 votes | Abdulkarim Karimov 2 of 3 votes | Yuri Mukhortov 2 of 3 votes | National 2 of 3 votes | Ruslan Krivenkov | Asel Karsybaeva | Daria Gabdulla |

### Live show details
#### Week 1 (12/13 March)

* Theme: American Songs
A summary of the contestants' performances on the first live show and results show, along with the results. :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Ruslan Krivenko | 1 | "It's My Life" | Safe |
| Margarita Tumanyan | 2 | "New York, New York" | Safe |
| Astana | 3 | "This Love" | Eliminated |
| Abdulkarim Karimov | 4 | "Love To See You Cry" | Safe |
| Spasibo | 5 | "Hit the Road Jack" | Safe |
| Asel Karsybaeva | 6 | "Run To You" | Safe |
| Daria Gabdull | 7 | "If I Were a Boy" | Safe |
| Yuri Mukhortov | 8 | "Puttin On The Ritz" | Bottom Three |
| National | 9 | "Tears in Heaven" | Safe |
| Ruslan Berdimatov | 10 | "Baby" | Bottom Three |
| Eldar Myrzahanov | 11 | "End of the Road" | Safe |
| Musaev Sisters | 12 | "It's Raining Men" | Safe |
| Gulzhiyan Ospanova | 13 | "Left Outside Alone" | Safe |
| Dee Kree | 14 | "Beautiful Liar" | Safe |
| Daria Akparova | 15 | "Lady Marmalade" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Yuri Mukhortov | TBA | TBA | Safe |
| Ruslan Berdimatov | TBA | TBA | Eliminated |

##### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Nagima Eskalieva: Ruslan Berdimatov, backed her own act
* Sultana Karazhigitova: Ruslan Berdimatov
* Alexander Shevchenko: Yuri Mukhortov, backed his own act

#### Week 2 (19/20 March)

* Theme: TBA
A summary of the contestants' performances on the second live show and results show, along with the results. :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Gulzhiyan Ospanova | 1 | "Crank" | Bottom three |
| National | 2 | TBA | Bottom three |
| Daria Gabdull | 3 | TBA | Safe |
| Dee Kree | 4 | "Sun" | Eliminated |
| Eldar Myrzahanov | 5 | "Семь тысяч над землей" | Safe |
| Daria Akparova | 6 | "Fashion Girl" | Safe |
| Musaev Sisters | 7 | "Solitude" | Safe |
| Yuri Mukhortov | 8 | TBA | Safe |
| Abdulkarim Karimov | 9 | TBA | Safe |
| Spasibo | 10 | TBA | Safe |
| Margarita Tumanyan | 11 | TBA | Safe |
| Ruslan Krivenkov | 12 | "Boombox" | Safe |
| Asel Karsybaeva | 13 | "Best" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Gulzhiyan Ospanova | TBA | TBA | Eliminated |
| National | TBA | TBA | Eliminated |

##### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Nagima Eskalieva: National, backed her own act
* Sultana Karazhigitova: Gulzhiyan Ospanova, backed her own act
* Alexander Shevchenko: Gulzhiyan Ospanova

#### Week 3 (26/27 March)

* Theme: Kazakh Songs
A summary of the contestants' performances on the third live show and results show, along with the results. :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Yuri Mukhortov | 1 | TBA | Safe |
| Daria Gabdull | 2 | TBA | Safe |
| Musaev Sisters | 3 | TBA | Safe |
| National | 4 | TBA | Safe |
| Ruslan Krivenkov | 5 | TBA | Safe |
| Eldar Myrzahanov | 6 | TBA | Safe |
| Margarita Tumanyan | 7 | "TBA" | Bottom Three |
| Asel Karsybaeva | 8 | TBA | Bottom Three |
| Daria Akparova | 9 | TBA | Eliminated |
| Abdulkarim Karimov | 10 | TBA | Safe |
| Spasibo | 11 | TBA | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Margarita Tumanyan | TBA | TBA | Eliminated |
| Asel Karsybaeva | TBA | TBA | Eliminated |

##### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Nagima Eskalieva: refused to vote
* Sultana Karazhigitova: Margarita Tumanyan
* Alexander Shevchenko: Margarita Tumanyan

#### Week 4 (4/5 April)

* Theme: Movie Songs
A summary of the contestants' performances on the fourth live show and results show, along with the results. :
| Act | Order | Song | Movie | Result |
| National | 1 | "Men in Black" | Men in Black | Safe |
| Asel Karsybaeva | 2 | "Stop!" | 9½ Weeks | Safe |
| Ruslan Krivenkov | 3 | "She's Like The Wind" | Dirty Dancing | Safe |
| Spasibo | 4 | "The Money Song" | Cabaret | Safe |
| Abdulkarim Karimow | 5 | "(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story" | Love Story | Safe |
| Eldar Myrzahanov | 6 | "About Hares" | The Diamond Arm | Bottom two |
| Daria Gabdull | 7 | "Unchained Melody" | Ghost | Safe |
| Yuri Mukhortov | 8 | "You Never Can Tell" | Pulp Fiction | Bottom two |
| Musaev Sisters | 9 | "Jimmy Jimmy" | Disco Dancer | Safe |
| Final showdown details |||||
| Eldar Myrzahanov | TBA | TBA | N/A | Eliminated |
| Yuri Mukhortov | TBA | TBA | N/A | Safe |

##### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Nagima Eskalieva: Eldar Myrzahanov
* Sultana Karazhigitova: Eldar Myrzahanov
* Alexander Shevchenko: refused to vote