X Factor (Italian season 6)

Judges, presenters and other personnel

Selection process

Applications and auditions

• at Fiera del Levante, Bari, on 5 and 6 May 2012;
• at MiCo, Milan, from 19 to 21 May;
• at Foro Italico, Rome, from 26 to 28 May.

• at 105 Stadium, Rimini, on 9 and 10 June 2012;
• at Palazzetto dello Sport, Andria, on 16 and 17 June;
• at Teatro Nazionale, Milan, on 23 and 24 June.

Bootcamp

• On the first day, judges reviewed the audition tapes and sent home 1/3 of the acts before they had another chance to sing, soon after their arrival in Milan;
• the remaining 65 acts were then put into groups and took part in a sing-off: each group was assigned a song to prepare for the next morning. Members of the groups could choose which part of the song to sing, in agreement with the other components. After each performance, the judges decided which acts to keep and which to eliminate. The number of acts was reduced to 41;
• the acts had only 4 hours to choose one song from a list of 100 and perform it in front of the judges. Later, the judges decided which 24 acts to put through to judges' houses.

Judges' houses

• Boys: Alessandro Mahmoud, Francesco Vecchio, Carmelo Veneziano Broccia
• Girls: Gaya Misrachi, Marta Pedoni, Lucrezia Rossetti
• 25+: Didie Caria, Michele Grandinetti
• Groups: Brutte Abitudini, Diamond Sisters, Up3Side

  Finalists and categories

Boys

• Nicola Aliotta is a student from Rome. Before X Factor 6, he previously appeared in the television music competition Ti lascio una canzone. He sang "Come il sole all'improvviso" at the judges auditions in Andria obtaining 4 "yes's", "Without You" at the Bootcamp and "Nessun dolore" at the Home Visits, where he and Alessandro Mahmoud had to perform again before Simona Ventura could make a final decision. He sang "Solo per te".
• Daniele Coletta was born in Rome, and he's unemployed. Before X Factor 6, he previously appeared in the television music competition Ti lascio una canzone. He sang "21 Guns" at the judges auditions in Rome obtaining 4 "yes's", "Don't Stop Me Now" and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" at the Bootcamp and "I Can't Stand the Rain" at the Home Visits.
• Davide Merlini was born in Marostica, Veneto, and he works as boiler maintener technician. He sang "Avrai" at the judges auditions in Rimini obtaining 4 "yes's", "Vent'anni" at the Bootcamp and "Tracce di te" at the Home Visits.
• Alessandro Mahmoud was born in Milan. He's of Egyptian descent. He sang "Black and Gold" at the judges auditions in Milan obtaining 4 "yes's", "Turning Tables" at the Bootcamp and "Walk On By" at the Home Visits, where he and Nicola Aliotta had to perform again before Simona Ventura could make a final decision. Mahmoud sang "Marzo " and lost to Nicola Aliotta; in the second live show, on October 25, he won the wildcard and entered as a finalist since November 1.

  Girls

• Cixi is a fashion-design student from Chieri, Piedmont; her real name's Eleonora Bosio. She performed "History Repeating" at the judges auditions in Rimini obtaining 3 "yes's" from Elio, Morgan and Arisa and one "no" from Ventura. She sang "Turning Tables" for the group performance at the Bootcamp and "Tutto quello che un uomo" at the Home Visits.
• Yendry Fiorentino is a fashion model. Born in Santo Domingo, she lives in Turin. She performed "Video Games" at the judges auditions in Milan obtaining 4 "yes's". She sang "Price Tag" and "Una poesia anche per te" at the Bootcamp and "Le tasche piene di sassi" at the Home Visits, where she and Gaya Misrachi had to perform again before Elio could make a final decision. She sang "I'd Rather Go Blind".
• Nice is a Foreign Languages student from Turin; her real name is Noemi Lucco Borlera. She sang "Dog Days Are Over" at the judges auditions in Rimini obtaining 4 "yes's", "Hey, Soul Sister" and "Piece of My Heart" at the Bootcamp and "Abitudine" at the Home Visits.

  25+

• Romina Falconi is a singer from Rome. In 2007 she competed in Sanremo Music Festival and in 2009 she worked as choirgirl during Eros Ramazzotti's World Tour. She sang "Fortissimo" at the judges auditions in Rimini obtaining 4 "yes's", "Cuore scoppiato" at the Bootcamp and "Crazy" at the Home Visits.
• Chiara Galiazzo is a finance trainée from Padua. She sang "Teardrop" at the auditions in front of the judges, in Milan, who acclaimed her for the performance. She sang "Back to Black" and "The World Is Not Enough" at the Bootcamp and "Shake It Out" at the Home Visits.
• Ics is a rapper from Bologna who previously published some of his works through independent circuits with the stage nome of Morgan Ics. He sang "La crisi" at the judges auditions in Rimini obtaining 3 "yes's" from Elio, Morgan and Arisa and one "no" from Ventura. He later performed "Price Tag" and "Notorious" at the Bootcamp and "Nessun dorma" at the Home Visits.

  Groups

• Akmé is a group formed by Rosa D'Aprile, Vitantonio Boccuzzi and Vito Marchitelli in the Province of Bari. They sang "21 Guns" at the judges auditions in Milan obtaining 4 "yes's", and "Otherside" at the Home Visits.
• Donatella is a group formed by twin-sisters Giulia and Silvia Provvedi, from Modena. They performed "Il mare d'inverno" at the judges auditions in Bari, with the stage name "Provs Destination", obtaining 4 "yes's"; later they sang "Folle città" at the Bootcamp and "Snow on the Sahara" at the Home Visits.
• Frères Chaos is a group formed by sieblings Fabio and Manuela Rinaldi, from Magliano di Tenna, Marche. Manuela Rinaldi previously appeared on talent show Ti lascio una canzone. They performed "Altrove" at the judges auditions in Rimini, obtaining 4 "yes's"; later they sang "Sally" and "Love the Way You Lie" at the Bootcamp and "Seven Nation Army" at the Home Visits.

  Live shows

Results summary

Live show details

Week 1 (18 October 2012)

• Celebrity performers: Francesca Michielin and Robbie Williams

• Simona Ventura: Yendry Fiorentino – backed her own act, Nicola Aliotta.
• Elio: Nicola Aliotta – backed his own act, Yendry Fiorentino.
• Arisa: Nicola Aliotta – found him too much scholastic in his way of singing.
• Morgan: Nicola Aliotta – felt he was not ready to be a popstar.

  Week 2 (25 October 2012)

• Celebrity performers: Club Dogo

• Arisa: Akmé – felt they were not ready to be popstars.
• Morgan: Akmé – was in line with the decision of their mentor.
• Ventura: Akmé – considered Frères Chaos particularly interesting.
• Elio was not required to vote because there was already a majority, but confirmed he would have eliminated Akmé.

Week 3 (1 November)

• Theme: Let's Band!
• Celebrity performers: Scissor Sisters and One Direction

• Ventura: Romina Falconi – backed her own act, Alessandro Mamhoud.
• Morgan: Alessandro Mahmoud – backed his own act, Romina Falconi.
• Elio: Alessandro Mahmoud – thought that Falconi could have more chances in the music business.
• Arisa: Alessandro Mahmoud – found Falconi more convincent in the final showdown.

  Week 4 (8 November)

• Theme: Hell Factor
• Celebrity performers: Arisa and Emis Killa

• Arisa: Yendry Fiorentino – backed her own act, Donatella.
• Elio: Donatella – backed his own act, Yendry Fiorentino.
• Morgan: Donatella – recognized Yendry's superiority voice.
• Ventura: Yendry Fiorentino – could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock.

• Ventura: Romina Falconi – backed her own act, Daniele Coletta.
• Morgan: Daniele Coletta – backed his own act, Romina Falconi.
• Arisa: Daniele Coletta – found Romina's voice more emotional.
• Elio: Romina Falconi – recognized Coletta's superiority in the performances.

Week 5 (15 November)

• Theme: Hell Factor
• Celebrity performer: Malika Ayane and Alanis Morissette

• Ventura: Nice – backed her own act, Daniele Coletta.
• Elio: Daniele Coletta – backed his own act, Nice.
• Arisa: Daniele Coletta – found Nice's voice extraordinary.
• Morgan: Nice – was not satisfied with Nice's performance of the night.

Week 6: Quarter-final (22 November)

• Group performance: "I Will Survive"
• Celebrity performer: Conor Maynard
• Theme: Dance performance ; Mentor's Choice

• Ventura: Frères Chaos – backed her own act, Davide Merlini.
• Arisa: Davide Merlini – backed her own act, Fréres Chaos.
• Morgan: Davide Merlini – found Fréres Chaos strongly communicative.
• Elio: Frères Chaos – did not appreciate their style.

Week 7: Semi-final (29 November)

• Group performance: "Your Song"
• Celebrity performer: Mika
• Theme: Previously unreleased songs ; Mentor's Choice

• Ventura: Cixi – backed her own act, Daniele Coletta.
• Elio: Daniele Coletta – backed his own act, Cixi.
• Arisa: Daniele Coletta – loved Cixi's voice.
• Morgan: Cixi – preferred Coletta.

Week 8: Final (6/7 December)

• Group performance: "Who Knew"/"Stand by Me"/"The Edge of Glory"/"I Will Always Love You"
• Theme: "My song" ; tribute to Lucio Dalla; previously unreleased songs
• Celebrity performer: Kylie Minogue, DJ Fish

• Group performance: "Terra promessa"/"We Will Rock You"
• Theme: Celebrity duets, previously unreleased songs, "Best of" and "a cappella" performance
• Celebrity performer: Eros Ramazzotti and Skye Edwards