The X Factor (UK series 1)
| Broadcast from | 4 September – 11 December 2004 |
|---|---|
| Judges |
Simon Cowell Sharon Osbourne Louis Walsh |
| Presenter(s) | Kate Thornton (ITV) |
| Co-presenter(s) | Ben Shephard (ITV2) |
| Broadcaster |
ITV ITV2 (The Xtra Factor) |
| Steve Brookstein | |
| Origin | Camberwell, London, England |
| Song | "Against All Odds" |
| Genre(s) | Blue-eyed soul, jazz |
| Mentor | Simon Cowell |
| G4 | |
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent; the winner of which receives a £1 million recording contract with the Syco Music record label. The first series was broadcast from 4 September to 11 December 2004. The competition was split into several stages: auditions, bootcamp and live shows, with Louis Walsh, Sharon Osbourne and Simon Cowell as judges. Kate Thornton presented the show on ITV, whilst Ben Shephard presented spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2.
Auditions were held in Dublin, Newcastle, London, Leeds, Birmingham and Glasgow.
The series was won by Steve Brookstein, with Cowell as the winning mentor. Brookstein went on to have some chart success, with runners-up G4 achieving two platinum albums before splitting up in 2007.
Prior to the audition phase, advertisements appeared on ITV, in newspapers, and trade magazines, promising that the new show would encourage groups, and while the emphasis was on singing, would welcome those who played instruments and wrote their own songs. Thus the show would differentiate itself from its predecessor, Pop Idol.
For the first episode of auditions, which aired on 4 September 2004, the judges visited Leeds and London. For the second episode, which aired on 11 September 2004, the judges visited Newcastle. The third episode aired on 18 September 2004, the fourth on 25 September 2004 and the fifth on 2 October 2004.
After the initial auditions, each judge was randomly allocated a category:
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