When is X Factor back? All we know about the 2014 series so far

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As we hurtle towards the end of August, one TV show is looming large in the not-so-distant horizon. The X Factor.
Forget all that Big Brother nonsense and soggy bottom silliness on Bake Off. Cowell and Cheryl are back in town and they mean business.

1. When is it back?
Very, very soon. The X Factor has traditionally started in August (ever since series two) and it looks likely that it will return on Saturday, August 30 this year. That is one day earlier than series ten, which kicked off with ratings of 8.78 million.
No doubt Simon Cowell will be wanting to increase those ratings figures in 2014 now that he*s back at the helm. He wouldn*t want to come off second best to Gary Barlow.
2. The Judges
Simon is back. Nobody mention X Factor USA.
He*s managed to persuade Cheryl back. And Peter Dickson is getting very confused about what to call her.
Mel B*s been hired after impressing with a guest stint on the UK show two years ago and with her work on Australia*s X Factor and America*s Got Talent.
And yes, of course, there*s Louis. Because it wouldn*t be The X Factor without him.

3. The Format
The big changes appear to have come with the personnel rather than the format.
Audition rooms, followed by a second stage of arena auditions with an audience, remain as the first hurdle for the wannabe popstars.
The dreaded Voice knock-off Six-Chair Challenge is also back at Boot Camp, giving the second round of the competition even more tears and spice than before.
Last year, it was described by some viewers as "inhumane", "cruel" and "nasty". With Cowell involved in the process this year, it should be even more brutal in 2014. Ofcom can expect some calls that week.
4. The Guest Mentors
Usually the Judges Houses guest mentor rumours don*t start until much later in the year, but we already have a full set of possibles who look pretty likely to be swanning off somewhere hot and sunny for a two-minute cameo.
Louis is expected to be bringing back his old pal Tulisa, giving his former co-star and mucker a chance to relaunch her pop career.
Cowell will apparently be joined by Paula Abdul and, yup you guessed it, Sinitta. Someone hide the palm leaves.
Cheryl has apparently picked Sia Furler (?!).
原文缺..........
And everyone is hoping that Mel B picks Victoria Beckham, but the current rumour is that it*s actually Jason *Jason Derulo* Derulo.
All of these have been reported by the Daily Star, so don*t necessarily take them all as gospel. Apart from Sinitta. She*ll be there. She always is.

5. The Categories
Which judges had got which category used to be kept under lock and key, but as the Six-Chair Challenge takes place with an audience, the producers don*t even bother trying to keep it a secret anymore.
This year, Mel B has the Boys, Simon has the Over 25s, Cheryl has the Girls (again!) and Louis, poor Louis, has the Groups. Let*s hope he can find another Bad Lashes.
6. The Hosts
Dermot will return with
even tighter trousers*** and serious hugs, but there are big changes over on ITV2 with The Xtra Factor.
Sarah-Jane Crawford, who first found fame on Shipwrecked in 2001, is the new host. Her credits include My Camp Rock 2 on the Disney Channel and the MOBO Awards, and she*s a regular on 1Xtra.
***Not actually confirmed.
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7. Special Guest Performances
Some incredible scooping and snooping from The Sun newspaper suggests that the targets for this year*s live shows will include Madonna, Adele, Gary Barlow and Take That, Cheryl Cole, U2 and - it wouldn*t be a series of X Factor without her - Rihanna.
Whether these rumours are based on anything other than speculation based on who has new records out (and Dermot O*Leary really needs to know when) remains to be seen. We quite like the idea of Madonna chilling with Louis Walsh though.
8. Backstage rumours
Apart from some inevitable "frostiness" between Cheryl and Louis - you know, he used to manage Girls Aloud right? - the judges for the time being appear to be getting on swimmingly.
Obviously, that*s par for the course during the auditions and come the live shows we can no doubt expect security holding apart Mel B and Chezza backstage and Simon splashing water over Louis in the studio.
Probably the biggest and strangest rumour is that there will be a fifth judge at the Live Shows. It was reported in Metro at the start of July that the show would be getting another star in for a last minute Wildcard category.
It sounds like a logistical nightmare - how long would the show be with an extra judge and category? 4 hours? - and nothing has been mentioned about it since it was reported, so it*s either: i) complete nonsense; ii) some sort of gimmick to promote the latest X Factor fan app; or iii) Dannii Minogue*s coming back and we*re all going to look stupid for ever doubting it.
We also asked Simon Cowell about the fifth judge rumour on the red carpet recently and he was untypically coy. The old cad.
9. The acts
There are the usual amount of familiar and returning faces for the new series.
Sadly, four-time reject Melanie McCabe is not one of them, as she appears to have finally taken the hint and not bothered this year. Watching her come back year after year has become a morbid piece of entertainment over the years, so we will miss her. Maybe she*ll be back again in 2015.
However, not everyone has been put off from giving it one last crack. Some familiar faces you can expect to see this year include:
1. Steph Nala from The Luminites
2. Lydia Lucy
3. Chloe-Jasmine from The Face
4. Jake Quickenden
5. Paul Akister

第五位评审说不定真的是观众 使用app的方式

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