The X Factor (UK series 5)

Broadcast from	16 August – 13 December 2008
Judges	Simon Cowell Dannii Minogue Cheryl Cole Louis Walsh
Presenter(s)	Dermot O'Leary (ITV1)
Co-presenter(s)	Holly Willoughby (ITV2)
Broadcaster	ITV ITV2 (The Xtra Factor)
Alexandra Burke
Burke during her All Night Long Tour in 2011.
Origin	Islington, London, England
Song	"Hallelujah"
Genre(s)	R&B, pop, soul
Mentor	Cheryl Cole
JLS
◀ 2008 ▶

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008. Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV, while Fearne Cotton was replaced by Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show The Xtra Factor on ITV2. Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel. Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by Cheryl Cole. The fifth series was won by Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Girls Aloud, Take That, Il Divo, and series 3 winner Leona Lewis performed during the live stages of the show.

Burke's prize, as winner, was a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music (a subsidiary of Sony BMG). Her debut single, "Hallelujah", written by Leonard Cohen, was released for digital download at 00:01 on 14 December 2008, with the physical format following on 17 December. It was later announced that her single had become the fastest selling song of all time.