The X Factor Israel is the Israeli version of the British television music competition The X Factor. The fourth season run between October 30, 2021, and February 5, 2022, on Reshet 13, airing in prime time.

On April 6, 2021, it was announced that the winner of this season would represent  in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Michael Ben David was the selected entrant with the song "I.M".

Judges and hosts 
 hosts the fourth season. All the members of the judging panel changed from the previous season: Mizrahi singer Margalit Tzan'ani, singer-songwriter Aviv Geffen, singer and Eurovision 2018 winner Netta Barzilai, while a fourth and fifth judges revealed to be Ran Danker and Miri Mesika, making it the first season of X Factor Israel to feature five judges instead of four.

Show creator Simon Cowell was originally announced as a judge for the season before pulling out.

Auditions 
The auditions started on October 30, 2021, and ended on December 12. Contestants need to get "yes" from at least four of the five judges in order to qualify.

Among the contestants were: Inbal Bibi, a competitor of season 1 of The X Factor Israel; Adi Cohen and Liron Lev, a finalist and a competitor of Kokhav Nolad season 2; Linet, a singer who participated in the ; Sapir Saban, who won in season 4 of The Voice Israel; Shachar Adawi, a competitor of Rising Star ; the hip hop duo Ido B Zooki; Amit Ben Zaken, the brother of The X Factor Israel season 1 contestant Eden Ben Zaken; Gai Sims, the son of basketball player Willie Sims; Shira Atias, the cousin of representor of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Nadav Guedj; Shimi Tavori, a singer who participated in the  and 1993; Yifat Ta'asa, the ex-wife of singer ; Eli Huli, another contestant of The Voice Israel season 4; songwriter Maya Simantov; Ahtaliyah Pierce, a competitor of the second season of The Voice Israel; Zohar Raziel, a competitor of American Idol and Rising Star ; basketball player brothers Ben and Nimrod Altit; Daniel Pruzansky, a member of Kids.il, the band that represented Israel in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2012; Maor Titon, a competitor of season 1 of The Voice Israel; Yohai Moreno, the brother of late Lieutenant colonel Emmanuel Moreno; Michael Rose (formerly Misha Soukhinin), a member of rock band Distorted Harmony which was also a competitor of the second season of The Voice Israel; Inbar Yochananof, a member of the Voca People; Shalva Berti, a singer who participated in the , 1992 and 1995; Hadar Lee, a competitor of season 2 of The X Factor Israel; and Danna Reuveni, the granddaughter of poet Ehud Manor. TV host Guy Zu-Aretz participated in the auditions as well, but only as a cameo.

Judge Houses 
The Judge Houses have begun on December 14, 2021. The judges had to choose from each of their categories 4 out of their 8 members (asides the Groups and Over 25's group, which consists 9 members). 

Key:
 – Eliminated in the judges' house

Chairs

Key:
 – Received a chair and passed to the Live Shows
 – Received a chair, was later replaced and eventually eliminated
 – Didn’t receive a chair and was eliminated

Live shows
Live shows began on December 26, 2021.

Results summary 

Color key

Live show details

Week 1

Sunday (December 26)

Thursday (December 30)

Week 2

Sunday (January 2)

Thursday (January 6)

Week 3

Sunday (January 9)

Tuesday (January 11)

Week 4

Sunday (January 16)

Tuesday (January 18)

Week 5

Sunday (January 23)

Thursday (January 27)

Song selection round 
Each of the four finalists was given two songs as selected from a public submission by a six-member committee (made up of the director of IPBC/Kan's radio stations, three radio representatives, one television representative and one representative of Reshet 13). The assessment to choose the songs began by mid-November 2021.

On 30 January 2022, the eight songs that qualified for the selection were revealed. Viewers were invited to vote on one of two songs given to each finalist, with voting open to the public on Kan's website and app. On 3 February 2022, each finalist performed both songs they were given during a special selection show, alternatively titled  ("Our Song for Eurovision"), which was broadcast on Kan 11, Kan Gimel and Kan's digital platforms. The finalists' chosen songs were determined by the viewers (50% of the vote), the judges (25% of the vote) and the professional committee (25% of the vote).

Final 
The final was held on 5 February 2022 and took place in the following format: in the first stage, the four finalists performed a special cover version of an existing song they have chosen. Immediately after the first performance, one finalist was be eliminated. In the second stage, the remaining three finalists performed the song that was chosen for them to perform at Eurovision. The results are determined by the viewers (50% of the vote), the judges (25% of the vote) and the professional committee (25% of the vote).

References

External links 
 

2021 Israeli television seasons
2022 Israeli television seasons
Israel
Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest