X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' is an

Italian television Television in Italy was Timeline of the introduction of television in countries, introduced in 1939, when the first experimental broadcasts began. However, this lasted for a very short time: when fascist Italy entered World War II in 1940, all ...

music competition to find new singing talent; the winner receives a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

300,000 recording contract with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. Before the start of the auditions process it was announced that

Elio Elio is an Italian male given name. Origin A name of dual origin, Elio is primarily a revival of (Helios), the Greek god of the Sun. derives, through the Latin , from the Ancient Greek (), which is taken from the noun of the same and mean ...

Morgan Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...

and

Simona Ventura Simona Ventura (born 1 April 1965) is an Italian television presenter and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Italia 1988 and represented her country at Miss Universe 1988. She is the third woman to have presented the Sanremo Music Festiv ...

would be confirmed as judges and mentors, whilst

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname, and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footba ...

has been chosen for replacing

Arisa Rosalba Pippa (born 20 August 1982), better known by her stage name Arisa, is an Italian singer, actress, and television personality. Early life Arisa was born in Genoa. A week after her birth, her family moved back to their original hometown, ...

in the role; also

Alessandro Cattelan Alessandro Cattelan (born 11 May 1980) is an Italian television and radio presenter best known for presenting the Italian edition of ''Total Request Live'', broadcast by MTV Italia, and '' Le Iene'', broadcast by Mediaset's Italia 1. Cattelan al ...

returned as host. The seventh season aired on

Sky Uno Sky Uno () is an Italian entertainment television channel, based on the defunct reality television channel ''SKY Vivo'', both owned and operated by Sky Italia. It broadcasts Italian dubs of the shows ''The X Factor'', '' Got Talent'', '' The Ap ...

starting from 26 September 2013 to 12 December 2013. Auditions for season 7 took place in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in June 2013; bootcamp took place in Milan for two days, on 26 and 27 June. Unconfirmed rumors revealed that Elio will mentor the Over-25s, Morgan the boys, Mika the girls and Ventura the groups; they selected their final three acts during judges' houses.

Michele Bravi Michele Bravi (born 19 December 1994) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame after winning the X Factor (Italian season 7), seventh season of the X Factor (Italian TV series), Italian ''X Factor''. His coronation song, "La v ...

, a member of the category Boys and mentored by Morgan, was announced the winner of the competition on 12 December 2013. His winner's single, "La vita e la felicità", released immediately after the end of the show, was co-written by Italian singer-songwriter

Tiziano Ferro Tiziano Ferro (; born 21 February 1980) is an Italian pop singer and songwriter. He broke through in 2001 with his international hit single " Perdono" and has remained commercially successful since then, in several countries. Ferro has released ...

Judges, presenters and other personnel

During the sixth Live Show of the season,

complained about voting mechanism, and tossed allegations against

, accusing her of being «phony» in judging her acts. In February 2013, Sky Movies and Entertainment vice-president Andrea Scrosati announced in an interview to ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

'' that Arisa would not be confirmed as a mentor. At first, even

and

seemed intended to leave the show; newspapers and websites cited Malika Ayane,

Lorella Cuccarini Lorella Cuccarini Persili (born August 10, 1965) is an Italian singer, actress, dancer, and television presenter. Life and career Cuccarini was born in Rome. At nine years old, she started to attend the dance school of (choreographer and husb ...

and

Gigi D'Alessio Luigi "Gigi" D'Alessio (born 24 February 1967) is an Italian popular singer and singer-songwriter from Naples. In his career, he has sold over 30 million records. Camorra repentant Luigi Giuliano stated that D’Alessio success was initially fu ...

as possible replacements. On 23 April it was announced that

would be the first non-Italian mentor in the competition history; finally, on 12 and 19 May the presences of Morgan and Elio were confirmed.

has been confirmed to present the main show on Sky Uno HD in February 2013. Also vocal coaches Alberto Tafuri, Paola Folli and Gaetano Cappa, music-director

Lucio Fabbri Lucio Fabbri (born 25 March 1955) is an Italian composer, conductor, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Born in Crema, Lombardy, Fabbri graduated in violin and then in the early 1970s he was a member of the progressive rock groups Il ...

and art-director and choreographer Luca Tomassini were confirmed, whilst Mika chose Rossana Casale as the fourth vocal coach.

Applications and auditions

A preliminary phase of auditions was held: *at

Castel Sant'Elmo Castel Sant'Elmo is a medieval fortress located on Vomero Hill adjacent to the Certosa di San Martino, overlooking Naples, Italy. The name "Sant'Elmo" derives from a former 10th-century church dedicated to Sant'Erasmo, shortened to "Ermo" and ...

, from 12 to 14 May 2013; *at Unicredit Tower,

, from 25 to 27 May 2013. The judges auditions was held: *at 105 Stadium,

, on 1 and 2 June 2013; *at

Teatro Dal Verme The Teatro Dal Verme is a theatre in Milan, Italy located on the Via San Giovanni sul Muro, on the site of the former private theatre the ''Politeama Ciniselli''. It was designed by Giuseppe Pestagalli to a commission from Count Francesco Dal Ve ...

, from 17 to 19 June 2013. On 18 June auditions

Fedez Federico Leonardo Lucia (born 15 October 1989), better known by the stage name Fedez (), is an Italian rapper, singer-songwriter, social media personality, and businessman. In 2011, he released the albums ''Penisola che non c'è'' and ''Il mio pr ...

starred as guest-judge.

Bootcamp

Bootcamp took place at

Mediolanum Forum Unipol Forum (formerly the FilaForum, DatchForum and Mediolanum Forum; known as the Forum di Milano in events where commercial naming rights are prohibited) is an indoor sports arena that is located in Assago, a small town 3 km outside Milan, ...

Assago Assago ( sˈsaːɡo Milanese: ''Assagh'' ˈsɑːk ''Sagh'' ɑːk is a town and ''comune'' of 9 326 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. It is home of the headquarters of Nestlé's Italian ...

, over two days, on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 June.

Judges' houses

"Home visits" was broadcast on 17 October. Morgan mentored the Boys at E-Werk, Berlin, assisted by

Asia Argento Asia Argento (; born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento; 20 September 1975) is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with ...

; Mika took the Girls at

Slane Castle Slane Castle () is located in the village of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family seat of the Conyngham family since it was built in the late 18th century, on land first purchased in 1703 by ...

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, assisted by Marco Mengoni; Elio auditioned the Over 25s at Museo del Violino,

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

, with Linus, and Ventura tested the Groups at Officine Grandi Riparazioni,

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

with Davide Dileo. The twelve eliminated acts were: *Boys: Andrea Butturini, Marco Colonna, Alberto Galuppini *Girls: Chiara Grispo, Valentina Livi, Roberta Pompa *25+: Valeria Crescenzi, Sebastiano Di Santo, Adriana Salvadori *Groups: Dynamo, Extra, Mr. Rain & Osso In the second live show, the eliminated act of the home visits, Roberta Pompa was brought back, after a final showdown with Mr. Rain & Osso.

Contestants and categories

Key: : – Winner : – Runner-up : – Third place

Live shows

Results summary

The number of votes received by each act were released by

Sky Italia Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo, and Sky TG24. Pay TV services on the Sky ...

after the final. ;Colour key

Live show details

Week 1 (24 October 2013)

*Group performance: " Qualcosa che non c'è" (with

Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...

) *Celebrity performers: Chiara (" The Final Countdown"/"Il futuro che sarà"/" Purple Rain"/"L'esperienza dell'amore"/" Distratto"),

Francesca Michielin Francesca Michielin (, ; born 25 February 1995) is an Italian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame after winning the X Factor (Italian season 5), fifth season of the Italian talent show ''X Factor (Italian TV series), X Factor'', she published fiv ...

("Cigno nero"/" Due respiri"), Elisa ("L'anima vola") and

Icona Pop Icona Pop ( ) are a Swedish synth-pop duo that formed in 2009, with electro house and indie pop music influences. Its two members, Aino Jawo (born 7 July 1986) and Caroline Hjelt (born 8 November 1987), grew up in Stockholm and created what the ...

(" I Love It") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Ventura: Lorenzo Iuracà – backed her own act, FreeBoys. * Morgan: FreeBoys – backed his own act, Lorenzo Iuracà. * Mika: Lorenzo Iuracà – considered it appropriate to continue the project of an Italian boyband. * Elio: Lorenzo Iuracà – having revealed the difficulties in approaching the songwriting.

Week 2 (31 October 2013)

*Group performance: " Walk on the Wild Side" *Celebrity performers:

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer, songwriter, and activist. Born in Hereford and raised in Lyonshall, Goulding began writing songs at the age of 15. She released her debut single " Under the Sheets" through ...

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Elio: FreeBoys – backed his own act, Fabio Santini. * Ventura: Fabio Santini – backed her own act, FreeBoys. * Mika: FreeBoys – wanted to give Santini another chance. * Morgan: Fabio Santini – could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock. With both acts receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and a new public vote commenced for 200 seconds. FreeBoys were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 3 (7 November 2013)

*Theme: Songs from the

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American jets fly over burning oil fields in the 1991 Gulf War; the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World ...

*Celebrity performers: John Newman (" Love Me Again"), Mika and Chiara ("Stardust") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Elio: Alan Scaffardi – considered Aba the best singer in the competition * Morgan: Alan Scaffardi – found Aba's performances more convincing. * Mika: Aba – appreciated Scaffardi's passion. * Ventura: Alan Scaffardi – considered Aba had an untapped potential.

Week 4 (14 November 2013)

*Theme: Hell Factor (double elimination) *Group performance: " The Passenger" *Celebrity performers:

Luca Carboni Luca Carboni (born 12 October 1962) is an Italian singer-songwriter. He debuted in 1981 as guitarist in the band Teobaldi Rock, publishing his first solo album in 1984. He is also a painter and carpenter. Career Born in Bologna, in 1976, at ...

and

("Persone silenziose"),

Tom Odell Thomas Peter Odell (born 24 November 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. He released his debut extended play, ''Songs from Another Love'', in 2012. He won the 2013 BRIT Awards, BRITs Critics' Choice Award in early 2013. Odell's debut studio ...

(" Another Love") ;Judges' votes to eliminate (Part 1) * Mika: Fabio Santini – backed his own act, Roberta Pompa. * Elio: Roberta Pompa – backed his own act, Fabio Santini. * Morgan: Roberta Pompa – thought that Santini could have more chances in the music business. * Ventura: Roberta Pompa – considered Santini particularly original. ;Judges' votes to eliminate (Part 2) * Mika: Street Clerks – backed his own act, Gaia Galizia. * Ventura: Gaia Galizia – backed her own act, Street Clerks. * Elio: Street Clerks – considered Galizia particularly interesting. * Morgan: Gaia Galizia – could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock. With both acts receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Street Clerks were eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 5 (21 November 2013)

*Theme: Hell Factor (double elimination) *Group performance: "

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Bubber Miley, first published by Irving Mills. It is now accepted as a jazz standard, and jazz historian Gunther Schuller characterized i ...

" (with

Matthew Morrison Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer, and singer, best known for his role as Will Schuester on the Fox television show ''Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in multiple Broadway and off-Broadway produ ...

) *Celebrity performers:

("Nuvole di fango"/"Cigno nero"/"Alfonso Signorini (eroe nazionale)") and

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

(" A Ton of Love") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Elio: Gaia Galizia – backed his own act, Fabio Santini. * Mika: Fabio Santini – backed his own act, Gaia Galizia. * Morgan: Fabio Santini – found Galizia's performances more convincent. * Ventura: Fabio Santini – considered Galizia more deserving of staying in the competition.

Week 6: Quarter-final (28 November 2013)

*Theme: Dance performance (Round 1); Mentor's Choice (Round 2) *Group performance: "

Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, '' All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, ...

"/"

Bicycle Race "Bicycle Race" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released on their 1978 album ''Jazz'' and written by Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was released as a double A-side single together with the song " Fat Bottomed Girls", re ...

" (with Elio e le Storie Tese) *Celebrity performers: Marco Mengoni (" Non passerai"/" Pronto a correre"/" L'essenziale") and

Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence after participating on the sixth series of the television talent show ''The X Factor'' in 2009, where he finished as runn ...

(" Hand on Heart") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Mika: Ape Escape – backed his own act, Gaia Galizia. * Ventura: Gaia Galizia – backed her own act, Ape Escape. * Elio: Gaia Galizia – stated that he had preferred Ape Escape. * Morgan: Ape Escape – considered Galizia more interesting for the music business. With both acts receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Gaia Galizia was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 7: Semi-final (5 December 2013)

*Theme: Previously unreleased songs (Round 1); Mentor's Choice (Round 2) *Group performance: "Spirito e virtù" (with Morgan) *Celebrity performers:

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

Unconditionally "Unconditionally" is a song by American singer Katy Perry. It was released as the second single from her fourth studio album '' Prism'' (2013) on October 16, 2013, two days before the album was released. Inspiration for the song came primarily fr ...

") ;Judges' votes to eliminate * Morgan: Aba – backed his own act, Andrea D'Alessio. * Elio: Andrea D'Alessio – backed his own act, Aba. * Ventura: Aba – considered D'Alessio more original. * Mika: Andrea D'Alessio – could not decide so chose to take it to deadlock. With both acts receiving two votes each, the result went to deadlock and reverted to the earlier public vote. Andrea D'Alessio was eliminated as the act with the fewest public votes.

Week 8: Final (12 December 2013)

*Theme: Celebrity duets (Round 1); Previously unreleased songs (Round 2); "My song" (own choice, Round 3) *Group performance: "

Man in the Mirror "Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released in January 1988 as the fourth single from Jackson's seventh solo al ...

" (all X Factor acts with Mario Biondi,

Giorgia Giorgia is the Italian version of the female name Georgia. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment *Giorgia (singer), Italian singer, born ''Giorgia Todrani'' * Giorgia Fumanti, Italian-Canadian soprano and singer of operatic p ...

and Marco Mengoni) *Celebrity performers: Giorgia ("Quando una stella muore"), Mika and Morgan ("Altrove"/"

Relax, Take It Easy "Relax, Take It Easy" is the debut single by British singer-songwriter Mika, from his debut album '' Life in Cartoon Motion''. In the UK, it failed to chart upon its original release in October 2006, but after " Grace Kelly" topped the charts ...

"/"Altre forme di vita"/" We Are Golden"),

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, were an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group consisted of Niall Horan, Zayn Malik (until his departure in 2015), Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson. The group sold o ...

(" Story of My Life"), Elisa ("Ecco che")

References

External links

''X Factor Italia''
{{X Factor (Italy) 2013 Italian television seasons Italian music television series Italy 07 X Factor (Italian TV series)