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The X Factor is a British television music competition in which aspiring singers compete in public auditions to identify new singing potential. The show was created by Simon Cowell and premiered in September2004. Since then, it has shown annually from August/September through December. Thames from FremantleMedia and SYCOtv from Simon Cowell produce the show. It is televised in the United Kingdom on ITV and in Ireland on TV3, with a spin-off behind-the-scenes show called The Xtra Factor airing on ITV2. It is the creator of the international reality show The X Factor. The X Factor was created to replace the extremely successful Pop Idol, which was canceled after its second season, largely because Cowell, who was a judge on Pop Idol, wanted to begin a show for which he controlled the broadcast rights. The perceived similarity between the two shows later led to a legal battle. The title's "X Factor" refers to an intangible "something" that distinguishes star status. Cowell, Sharon Osbourne, and Louis Walsh were the original judging panelists. In series4, Dannii Minogue joined the panel, and after Osbourne's departure in series5, Cheryl Cole took her place. Cowell and Cole both left after Series 7 to judge the American version of the program, while Minogue left due to commitments on Australia's Got Talent. After that, Kelly Rowland, Tulisa Contostavlos, and Gary Barlow joined Walsh on the judging panel for Series8, though Rowland declared that she would not be returning for Series 9 and was replaced by Nicole Scherzinger. Osbourne later returned in 2013, taking over for Contostavlos. Dermot O'Leary, who replaced original host Kate Thornton in2007, has hosted the show since 2007. The show is divided into several stages, with the candidates being followed from auditions until the grand finale. Contestants sang in front of just the judges in an audition room during the show's first broadcast audition round. Auditionees sing in front of the judges and a live audience starting in season 6 onwards. Successful auditionees advance to "bootcamp" and then to "judges' houses," where judges filter down the performers in their category to three or four to mentor for the live shows, where the public votes for their favorite acts after weekly live performances by the competitors.