# X Factor (Romanian TV series) season 2

X Factor is a Romanian television music competition that aims to find a new music talent to become a star. The second season aired in fall 2012 on Antena 1. The winner received a prize of €200,000.
The hosts are the same as in the first season: Răzvan Simion and Dani Oțil, who are also known for hosting a well known morning show on Antena 1. The X Factor producers decided to change the entire group of judges. The first mentor announced for the season was Dan Bittman On 16 June, Antena 1 announced the other two members of the jury: singer Delia Matache, and Cheloo, member of the hip-hop band Paraziții.
The registration started for the second season in May 2012. Antena 1 made changes on the list for the audition cities: Constanța was dropped, Sibiu and Craiova were added.

## Judges

* Delia Matache – singer, celebrity
* Dan Bittman – singer
* Cheloo – rapper

## Selection precess
### Auditions

The first auditions took place at Craiova, on 15 June, and hundreds of people entered the contest for the chance to win the big prize. They then took place in Sibiu, on 18 June in Timișoara on 21 June 2012, on 27 June in Iași and concluded on 1 July 2012 in Bucharest.
Summary of auditions :
| Audition city | Date |
| Craiova | 15 June 2012 |
| Sibiu | 18 June 2012 |
| Timișoara | 21 June 2012 |
| Cluj-Napoca | 24 June 2012 |
| Iași | 27 June 2012 |
| Bucharest | 1 July 2012 |

### Bootcamp

Filming for bootcamp was held in Bucharest. 196 people who received 3 yes entered bootcamp. The groups Sens Unic, Nord X, Station 4, Red, 2B, HOT and 4 Mix were formed from eliminated contestants from the 16–24, Overs 25 and Groups categories in bootcamp. After the bootcamp period, there were 26 acts left.
The 26 acts who reached the Judges' Houses:
* 16–24s: Ráduly Botond, Vasi Bistrae, Tudor Toduț, Nadir Tamuz, Ioana Anuța, Iulia Manolache, Sânziana Nicolae, Alexandra Broinaș and Diana Cazan
* Groups: Sens Unic, R Family, Nord X, Station 4, 2B, Red, Soul Music Art, HOT and 4 Mix
* Over 25s: Ioan Mann, Lidia Glavu, Csaba Engi, Corina Chirilă, Natalia Selegean, Tudor Turcu, Dragoș Udilă and Iulia Glăvan

### Judges houses

The judges received news of their categories. Cheloo mentored the Over 25's in Valea Doftanei, assisted by Bitză, Matache took the Groups to Delta Dunării with Mitză and Bittman had the 16-24s in Bucharest with Edi Petroșel.
The eleven eliminated acts were:
* 16–24s: Vasi Bistrae, Sânziana Nicolae, Alexandra Broinaș, Diana Cazan
* Groups: Soul Music Art, HOT, 4 Mix, Sens Unic
* Over 25s: Lidia Glavu, Csaba Engi, Corina Chirilă

## Finalists

The 15 finalists were confirmed as follows;
Key:
    – Winner
    – Runner-up
    – Third place
| Category (mentor) | Acts | Acts | Acts | Acts | Acts |
| 16-24s (Bittman) | Ioana Anuța | Ráduly Botond | Iulia Manolache | Nadir Tamuz | Tudor Toduț |
| Over-25s (Cheloo) | Iulia Glăvan | Ioan Mann | Natalia Selegean | Tudor Turcu | Dragoș Udilă |
| Groups (Matache) | 2B | Nord X | R Family | Red | Station 4 |

### Results summary
#### Color key

| – | Contestant was in the bottom 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 :
| Contestant | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 7 |
| Contestant | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Round 1 | Round 2 |
| Tudor Turcu | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner |
| Ioana Anuța | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Runner-up |
| Natalia Selegean | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 3 | Bottom 3 | 3rd | Eliminated (Week 7) |
| Red | Safe | Safe | Bottom 3 | Safe | Safe | Bottom 3 | Eliminated (Week 6) | Eliminated (Week 6) |
| Dragoș Udilă | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 3 | Safe | 5th | Eliminated (Week 6) | Eliminated (Week 6) |
| Ioan Mann | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 3 | Eliminated (Week 5) | Eliminated (Week 5) | Eliminated (Week 5) |
| Iulia Manolache | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | 7th | Eliminated (Week 5) | Eliminated (Week 5) | Eliminated (Week 5) |
| Nord X | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 3 | Eliminated (Week 4) | Eliminated (Week 4) | Eliminated (Week 4) | Eliminated (Week 4) |
| Tudor Toduț | Safe | Bottom 3 | Safe | 9th | Eliminated (Week 4) | Eliminated (Week 4) | Eliminated (Week 4) | Eliminated (Week 4) |
| Nadir Tamuz | Safe | Safe | Bottom 3 | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) |
| Ráduly Botond | Safe | Safe | 11th | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) | Eliminated (Week 3) |
| Station 4 | Bottom 3 | Bottom 3 | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) |
| 2B | Safe | 13th | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) | Eliminated (Week 2) |
| Iulia Glăvan | Bottom 3 | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) |
| R Family | 15th | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) | Eliminated (Week 1) |
| Final showdown | Iulia Glăvan, Station 4 | Station 4, Tudor Toduț | Nadir Tamuz, Red | Dragoș Udilă, Nord X | Natalia Selegean, Ioan Mann | Natalia Selegean, Red | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins |
| Bittman's vote to eliminate | Iulia Glăvan | Station 4 | Red | Nord X | Natalia Selegean | Red | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins |
| Matache's vote to eliminate | Iulia Glăvan | Tudor Toduț | Nadir Tamuz | Dragoș Udilă | Ioan Mann | Natalia Selegean | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins |
| Cheloo's vote to eliminate | Station 4 | Station 4 | Nadir Tamuz | Nord X | Ioan Mann | Red | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins | No judges' vote or final showdown: public votes alone decide who is eliminated and who ultimately wins |
| Eliminated | R Family Public vote | 2B Public vote | Ráduly Botond Public vote | Tudor Toduț Public vote | Iulia Manolache Public vote | Dragoș Udilă Public vote | Natalia Selegean Public vote to win | Ioana Anuța Public vote to win |
| Eliminated | Iulia Glăvan 2 of 3 Votes Majority | Station 4 2 of 3 Votes Majority | Nadir Tamuz 2 of 3 Votes Majority | Nord X 2 of 3 Votes Majority | Ioan Mann 2 of 3 Votes Majority | Red 2 of 3 Votes Majority | Natalia Selegean Public vote to win | Ioana Anuța Public vote to win |

### Live shows

Owing to the addition of four wildcard contestants, two acts were eliminated from the series' first results show. The three acts with the fewest votes were announced as the bottom three and the act with the fewest public votes was then automatically eliminated. The remaining two acts then performed in the final showdown for the judges' votes.

### Week 1 (11 November)

* Theme: Live Band
* Group performance(s): "Party Rock Anthem", "We Found Love", "Give Me Everything", "The Edge of Glory"
* Musical Guest: Alesha Dixon ("The Boy Does Nothing", "Scandalous")
Contestants' performances on the first live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Red | 1 | "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" | Safe |
| Tudor Toduț | 2 | "Viva la Vida" | Safe |
| Iulia Glăvan | 3 | "Give It to Me Right" | Bottom three |
| Station 4 | 4 | "Use Somebody" | Bottom three |
| Ioana Anuța | 5 | "Do It Like a Dude" | Safe |
| Dragoș Udilă | 6 | "Haven't Met You Yet" | Safe |
| R Family | 7 | "Tubthumping" | Eliminated |
| Ráduly Botond | 8 | "Whataya Want from Me" | Safe |
| Ioan Mann | 9 | "Only Girl (In the World)" | Safe |
| 2B | 10 | "Playing with Fire" | Safe |
| Nadir Tamuz | 11 | "Breakeven" | Safe |
| Tudor Turcu | 12 | "How You Remind Me" | Safe |
| Nord X | 13 | "Somebody That I Used to Know" | Safe |
| Iulia Manolache | 14 | "Set Fire to the Rain" | Safe |
| Natalia Selegean | 15 | "Born This Way" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Station 4 | 1 | "What Makes You Beautiful" | Safe |
| Iulia Glăvan | 2 | "I'm Outta Love" | Eliminated |

#### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Cheloo: Station 4 – backed his own act, Iulia Glăvan
* Matache: Iulia Glăvan – backed her own act, Station 4
* Bittman: Iulia Glăvan – thought they have many flaws and Iulia has a great voice, Station 4 should be given a chance because they are young and inexperienced

### Week 2 (18 November)

* Theme: Love and Hate
* Group performance(s): "Sweet Child o' Mine", "Crazy Crazy Nights", "Highway to Hell", "We Will Rock You", "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"
* Musical Guest: Loreen ("Euphoria", "My Heart Is Refusing Me")
Contestants' performances on the second live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Natalia Selegean | 1 | "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" | Safe |
| Nadir Tamuz | 2 | "Valerie" | Safe |
| Red | 3 | "Free Your Mind" | Safe |
| Tudor Turcu | 4 | "Here Without You" | Safe |
| Iulia Manolache | 5 | "Euphoria" | Safe |
| 2B | 6 | "Nobody Wants to Be Lonely" | Eliminated |
| Dragoș Udilă | 7 | "Roxanne" | Safe |
| Ioana Anuța | 8 | "Crazy" | Safe |
| Station 4 | 9 | "I'll Be There for You" | Bottom three |
| Tudor Toduț | 10 | "You Give Love a Bad Name" | Bottom three |
| Ioan Mann | 11 | "She's the One" | Safe |
| Ráduly Botond | 12 | "Pink" | Safe |
| Nord X | 13 | "Smells Like Teen Spirit" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Station 4 | 1 | "Call Me Maybe" | Eliminated |
| Tudor Toduț | 2 | "Jar of Hearts" | Safe |

#### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Cheloo: Station 4 – He complained that two of the band members have a lack of talent
* Matache: Tudor Toduț – backed her own act, Station 4
* Bittman: Station 4 – backed his own act, Tudor Toduț

### Week 3 (25 November)

* Theme: Dance Music
* Group performance(s): "Rain Over Me", "Starships", "Only Girl (In the World)", "Moves like Jagger"
* Musical Guest: Alexis Jordan ("Happiness", "Good Girl")
Contestants' performances on the third live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Ráduly Botond | 1 | "Let Me Entertain You" | Eliminated |
| Ioana Anuța | 2 | "Where Have You Been" | Safe |
| Nord X | 3 | "Perfect" | Safe |
| Dragoș Udilă | 4 | "Rolling in the Deep" | Safe |
| Nadir Tamuz | 5 | "Yeah!" | Bottom three |
| Tudor Turcu | 6 | "Are You Gonna Go My Way" | Safe |
| Red | 7 | "Don't Stop the Music" | Bottom three |
| Iulia Manolache | 8 | "Titanium" | Safe |
| Ioan Mann | 9 | "Everything" | Safe |
| Tudor Toduț | 10 | "Paparazzi" | Safe |
| Natalia Selegean | 11 | "Dance Again" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Nadir Tamuz | 1 | "The Girl Is Mine" | Eliminated |
| Red | 2 | "Cannonball" | Safe |

#### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Cheloo: Nadir Tamuz – gave no reason
* Matache: Nadir Tamuz – backed her own act, Red
* Bittman: Red – backed his own act, Nadir Tamuz

### Week 4 (2 December)

* Theme: Romanian music
* Group performance(s): "Miorița", Medley songs Holograf
* Musical Guests: Margareta Pâslaru ("Libertate"), Paraziții ("Arde", "Toate-s la fel"), Stela Enache ("Ani de liceu"), Class ("Adu-i doina", "Toată lumea")
Contestants' performances on the fourth live show :
| Act | Order | Song | Result |
| Tudor Turcu | 1 | "Nunta" | Safe |
| Ioan Mann | 2 | "Ochii tăi" | Safe |
| Red | 3 | "De-ar fi să vii" | Safe |
| Ioana Anuța | 4 | "Pleacă" | Safe |
| Tudor Toduț | 5 | "Dac-ai ști" | Eliminated |
| Natalia Selegean | 6 | "Focul" | Safe |
| Dragoș Udilă | 7 | "Am bani de dat" | Bottom three |
| Nord X | 8 | "Fata din vis" | Bottom three |
| Iulia Manolache | 9 | "Dragostea rămâne" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||
| Dragoș Udilă | 1 | "Get Up, Stand Up" | Safe |
| Nord X | 2 | "We Are Young" | Eliminated |

#### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Cheloo: Nord X – backed his own act, Dragoș Udilă
* Matache: Dragș Udilă – backed her own act, Nord X
* Bittman: Nord X – stated that Dragoș Udilă had delivered better performance throughout the night

### Week 5 (8 December)

* Theme: Michael Jackson vs. Elvis Presley
* Musical Guests: Bonnie Tyler ("It's a Heartache", "Total Eclipse of the Heart"), Craig Harrison ("Bad", "Smooth Criminal")
Contestants' performances on the fifth live show :
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
| Tudor Turcu | 1 | "Jailhouse Rock" | 8 | "Black or White" | Safe |
| Dragoș Udilă | 2 | "The Way You Make Me Feel" | 9 | "Heartbreak Hotel" | Safe |
| Ioana Anuța | 3 | "Blue Suede Shoes" | 10 | "Billie Jean" | Safe |
| Red | 4 | "You're Not Alone" | 11 | "It's Now or Never" | Safe |
| Natalia Selegean | 5 | "Suspicious Minds" | 12 | "Give in to Me" | Bottom three |
| Iulia Manolache | 6 | "Thriller" | 13 | "Can't Help Falling in Love" | Eliminated |
| Ioan Mann | 7 | "Always on My Mind" | 14 | "Human Nature" | Bottom three |
| Final showdown details ||||||
| Ioan Mann | 1 | "Mandy" | "Mandy" | "Mandy" | Eliminated |
| Natalia Selegean | 2 | "Soulmate" | "Soulmate" | "Soulmate" | Safe |

#### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Matache: Ioan Mann – backed Natalia Selegean "as a woman"
* Bittman: Natalia Selegean – stated that Ioan Mann was the only contestant who made him cry
* Cheloo: Ioan Mann – stated that Ioan Mann's path had to end here

### Week 6 (16 December)

* Theme: Free Choice / Mentor's Choice
* Group performance(s): "Celebration", "We Are Family", "Boogie Wonderland", "I Will Survive"
* Musical Guest: Johnny Logan ("Hold Me Now", "What's Another Year"), Delia Matache ("Someone like You")
Contestants' performances on the sixth live show :
| Act | Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result |
| Dragoș Udilă | 1 | "Gone till November" | 6 | "Zaraza" | Eliminated |
| Red | 2 | "Le Le" | 7 | "Empire State of Mind" | Bottom three |
| Ioana Anuța | 3 | "Epilog" | 8 | "Lady Marmalade" | Safe |
| Natalia Selegean | 4 | "So What" | 9 | "Tu n-ai avut curaj" | Bottom three |
| Tudor Turcu | 5 | "Dincolo de nori" | 10 | "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" | Safe |
| Final showdown details ||||||
| Red | 1 | "Stand Up for Love" | "Stand Up for Love" | "Stand Up for Love" | Eliminated |
| Natalia Selegean | 2 | "You and I" | "You and I" | "You and I" | Safe |

#### Judges' votes to eliminate

* Cheloo: Red – backed his own act, Natalia Selegean
* Matache: Natalia Selegean – backed her own act, Red
* Bittman: Red – stated that Natalia Selegean was more impressive

### Week 7 (23 December)

* Theme: Audition Songs, Christmas songs, Duet songs
* Group performance(s): "Merry Christmas Everyone"
* Musical Guest: Paula Seling & Al Bano ("Figlio delle Ande", Medley-"Sharazan", "Ci sarà", "Felicità"), Lexter ("Freedom to Love", "Peace & Love"), Diana Cazan ("La Viflaim, colo-n jos")

#### Round 1

Contestants' performances on the seventh live show :
| Act | Order | Audition Song | Order | Duet song | Result |
| Natalia Selegean | 4 | "Holding Out for a Hero" | 1 | "Hallelujah" (with Elena Gheorghe) | Third Place |
| Ioana Anuța | 2 | "Halo" | 5 | "Broken Strings" (with Andrei Leonte) | Safe |
| Tudor Turcu | 6 | "Dacă ploaia s-ar opri" | 3 | "Proud Mary" (with Delia Matache) | Safe |

#### Round 2

Contestants' performances on the final live show :
| Act | Christmas song | Result |
| Ioana Anuța | "All I Want for Christmas Is You" | Runner-up |
| Tudor Turcu | "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" | Winner |

## Ratings

| Ep | Title | Date | National | National | National | Urban | Urban | Urban | Source |
| Ep | Title | Date | Average (thousands) | Rating (%) | Peak (thousands) | Average (thousands) | Rating (%) | Peak (thousands) | Source |
| 1 | Auditions 1 | 23 September 2012 | 1,660 | 8.7 | 2,590 | 1,144 | 10.9 | 1,760 | |
| 2 | Auditions 2 | 30 September 2012 | 1,466 | 7.7 | 2,215 | 1,040 | 9.9 | 1,511 | |
| 3 | Auditions 3 | 7 October 2012 | 1,433 | 7.5 | 2,260 | 987 | 9.4 | 1,510 | |
| 4 | Auditions 4 | 14 October 2012 | 1,320 | 6.9 | | 894 | 8.5 | 1,429 | |
| 5 | Auditions 5 | 21 October 2012 | 1,469 | 7.7 | | 973 | 9.3 | 1,429 | |
| 6 | Auditions 6 | 22 October 2012 | 1,500 | 8.1 | | 988 | 9.4 | 1,352 | |
| 7 | Bootcamp 1 | 28 October 2012 | 959 | 5.0 | | 639 | 6.1 | | |
| 8 | Bootcamp 2 | 29 October 2012 | 1,145 | 6.0 | | 779 | 7.4 | | |
| 9 | Judges' houses | 4 November 2012 | 927 | 4.9 | | 606 | 5.8 | | |
| 10 | Live show 1 | 11 November 2012 | 844 | 4.4 | | 600 | 5.7 | | |
| 11 | Live show 2 | 18 November 2012 | 810 | 4.3 | | 578 | 5.5 | | |
| 12 | Live show 3 | 25 November 2012 | 983 | 5.2 | | 654 | 6.2 | | |
| 13 | Live show 4 | 4 December 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Live show 5 | 8 December 2012 | 932 | 4.4 | | 573 | 4.9 | | |
| 15 | Semifinal | 16 December 2012 | 858 | 4.5 | | 591 | 5.6 | | |
| 16 | Final | 23 December 2012 | 1 241 | 6.5 | | 794 | 7.6 | | |