X Factor is an Albanian television music competition to find new singing talents. The second season began on 28 October 2012 on TV Klan.
Based on the British format, the competition consists of auditions, in front of producers and then the judges with a live audience; bootcamp; judges' houses and then the live finals.X Factor format Auditions for the show began in August and concluded in September 2011. The show is hosted by Albanian singer Alketa Vejsiu, while the judging panel consists of the biggest Albanian artists. Albanian famous writer, composer and TV presenter Pandi Laço, Albanian Macedonian pop singer Altuna Sejdiu, Soni Malaj and the Albanian superstar Alban Skënderaj. The season was won by Arilena Ara of the Girls category.
Judges This year, Juliana Pasha and Vesa Luma were replaced by the new judges, Altuna Sejdiu and Soni Malaj. The reason that Pasha and Luma did not continue their mentoring job, was generally due to their music commitment. Altuna Sejdiu, the new judge, was a part of last year's X Factor auditions in Tirana, replacing Vesa Luma. After the withdrawal of Pasha and Luma, it was rumoured that Altuna Sejdiu will be a part of the show. Together with her, Kosovo-based Albanian singer, Eliza Hoxha was also rumoured to be a judge. However, a few days before the show aired, TV Klan held a press conference explaining the procedure and the new judges. Bojken Lako was also a guest-judge in the auditions.
Judges' houses
The 13 eliminated acts were: Boys: Amadeo Gjura, Bekim Elezi, Enur Pakashtica, Xhustino Hasani Girls: Daniela Kola, Ersona Cakaj, Sanja Fajkoja, Silvana Rusi Over 23s: Arta Selimi, Francesko Methoxha Groups: Crazy Mix, Rapsodi, The Extrems
After the judges' houses stage, Arilena Ara and Kanita Suma were put into the live shows as wildcards.
Contestants The top 18 contestants were confirmed as follows;
Key: – Winner – Runner-up
Category (mentor)Acts Boys (Malaj)Aldo Bardhi Herri Beluli Petro Xhori Sardi Strugaj Girls (Sejdiu) Antonela ÇekixhiArilena Ara Elisa Salla Shkelqesa Sadiku Xhina Kelmendi No Limit (Laço) Egzona Ademi Ina Torba Kanita Suma Rezart Saliasi Suela Malasi Groups (Skënderaj) Foxy Ladies KSAL Natyral Soul Sisters
Live shows
Results summary
Color key –Contestant was in the bottom two/three and had to sing again in the final showdown –Contestant was in the bottom three but received the fewest votes and was immediately eliminated –Contestant received the most public votes
+ Weekly results per contestant Contestant Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Round One Round Two Arilena Ara Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe SafeWinner (week 16) Aldo Bardhi Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Safe 3rd SafeRunner-Up (week 16) Natyral Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 3rd Eliminated(week 16) Kanita Suma Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 4th 4th Eliminated (week 15) Antonela Çekixhi Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Safe Safe Bottom two Safe 5th Eliminated (week 14) KSAL Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 7th Safe Bottom two Eliminated (week 13) Sardi Strugaj Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 12th Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Eliminated (week 12) Egzona Ademi Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 8th Eliminated (week 11) Soul Sisters Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 11th Safe Safe Bottom two Eliminated (week 10) Petro Xhori Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Bottom two Eliminated (week 9) Elisa Salla Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Eliminated (week 8) Xhina Kelmendi Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe 12th Eliminated (week 7) Herri Beluli Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two 13th Eliminated (week 6) Suela Malasi Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom two Eliminated (week 5) Shkelqesa Sadiku Safe Bottom two Safe Bottom two Eliminated (week 4) Foxy Ladies Bottom three Bottom two Eliminated (week 2) Ina Torba Bottom three Eliminated (week 1) Rezart Saliasi 18th Eliminated (week 1) Final showdown Foxy LadiesIna Torba Foxy LadiesShkelqesa Sadiku Elisa SallaShkelqesa Sadiku Herri BeluliSuela Malasi Herri BeluliSardi Strugaj Soul SistersXhina Kelmendi Elisa SallaPetro Xhori Antonela ÇekixhiPetro Xhori NatyralSoul Sisters Egzona AdemiKSAL Antonela ÇekixhiSardi Strugaj Aldo BardhiKSAL Antonela ÇekixhiKanita Suma Aldo BardhiKanita Suma No final showdown or judges' vote:results are based on public votes alone Judges voted to eliminate: Eliminate Skënderaj's vote to eliminate: Ina Torba Shkelqesa Sadiku Suela Malasi Herri Beluli Xhina Kelmendi Elisa Salla Petro Xhori Soul Sisters Egzona Ademi Sardi Strugaj Aldo Bardhi Kanita Suma Kanita Suma Sejdiu's vote to eliminate: Ina Torba Foxy Ladies Shkelqesa Sadiku Suela Malasi Sardi Strugaj Soul Sisters Petro Xhori Petro Xhori Soul Sisters Egzona Ademi Sardi Strugaj KSAL Kanita Suma Aldo Bardhi Malaj's vote to eliminate: Ina Torba Foxy Ladies Shkelqesa Sadiku Suela Malasi Sardi Strugaj Xhina Kelemendi Elisa Salla Antonela Çekixhi Soul Sisters KSAL Antonela Çekixhi KSAL Antonela Çekixhi Kanita Suma Laço's vote to eliminate: Foxy Ladies Foxy Ladies Shkelqesa Sadiku Herri Beluli Herri Beluli Soul Sisters Elisa Salla Petro Xhori KSAL Sardi Strugaj KSAL Antonela Çekixhi Aldo Bardhi Eliminated Rezart Saliasi Public Vote Foxy Ladies 3 of 4 votes Majority None Shkelqesa Sadiku 3 of 4 votes Majority Suela Malasi 3 of 4 votes Majority Herri Beluli 2 of 4 votes Deadlock Xhina Kelmendi 2 of 4 votes Deadlock Elisa Salla 3 of 4 votes Majority Petro Xhori 3 of 4 votes Majority Soul Sisters 3 of 4 votes Majority Egzona Ademi 2 of 4 votes Deadlock Sardi Strugaj 3 of 4 votes Majority KSAL 3 of 4 votes Majority Antonela Çekixhi 2 of 4 votes Deadlock Kanita Suma 2 of 4 votes Deadlock Natyral Third Place Aldo Bardhi Runner-Up Ina Torba 3 of 4 votes Majority Arilena Ara Winner
Live show details
Week 1 (16 December 2012)
+ Contestants' performances on the first live show Act Order Song Result Soul Sisters 1 "Purple Rain" Safe Elisa Salla 2 "All I Could Do Was Cry" Safe Sardi Strugaj 3 "Here Without You" Safe Kanita Suma 4 "Someone like You" Safe Arilena Ara 5 "Man Down" Safe KSAL 6 "Beggin'" Safe Ina Torba 7 "The Boy Does Nothing" Bottom three Petro Xhori 8 "Callin' U" Safe Rezart Saliasi 9 "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" Eliminated Shkelqesa Sadiku 10 "Beautiful" Safe Suela Malasi 11 "We Are" Safe Aldo Bardhi 12 "I Believe I Can Fly" Safe Foxy Ladies 13 "Just Dance" Bottom three Xhina Kelmendi 14 "Love You Like a Love Song" Safe Herri Beluli 15 "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" Safe Egzona Ademi 16 "You Know I'm No Good" Safe Antonela Çekixhi 17 "Proud Mary" Safe Natyral 18 "End of Time" SafeFinal showdown details Ina Torba 1 "You Lost Me" Eliminated Foxy Ladies 2 "DNA" Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate Alban Skenderaj: Ina Torba Pandi Laço: Foxy Ladies Altuna Sejdiu: Ina Torba Soni Malaj: Ina Torba
Week 2 (23 December 2012)
+ Contestants' performances on the second live show Act Order Song Result Natyral 1 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Safe Arilena Ara 2 "Walking on Sunshine" Safe Petro Xhori 3 "Jingle Bells" Safe Elisa Salla 4 "We Will Rock You"/"The Show Must Go On" Safe KSAL 5 "What Goes Around... Comes Around" Safe Shkelqesa Sadiku 6 "Firework" Bottom two Kanita Suma 7 "Hallelujah" Safe Suela Malasi 8 "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Safe Xhina Kelmendi 9 "Kiss Me" Safe Foxy Ladies 10 "Buttons" Bottom two Herri Beluli 11 "This Christmas" Safe Sardi Strugaj 12 "Eye of the Tiger" Safe Soul Sisters 13 "Crazy" Safe Aldo Bardhi 14 "Silent Night" Safe Antonela Çekixhi 15 "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" Safe Egzona Ademi 16 "Amazing Grace" SafeFinal showdown details Shkelqesa Sadiku 1 "Suus" Safe Foxy Ladies 2 "Black Heart" Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate Pandi Laço: Foxy Ladies Alban Skënderaj: Shkelqesa Sadiku Altuna Sejdiu: Foxy Ladies Soni Malaj: Foxy Ladies
Week 3 (1 January 2013)
+ Contestants' performances on the third live show Act Order Song Result Arilena Ara 1 "It's Raining Men" Safe Herri Beluli 2 "Wild World" Safe Soul Sisters 3 "Respect" Safe Kanita Suma 4 "Nobody's Perfect" Safe Egzona Ademi 5 "Big Spender" Safe Shkelqesa Sadiku 6 "At Last" Safe Suela Malasi 7 "Hot Stuff" Safe Natyral 8 "Roc' the Life" Safe Xhina Kelmendi 9 "My Only Wish (This Year)" Safe Sardi Strugaj 10 "Run Rudolph Run" Safe KSAL 11 "Your Song" Safe Petro Xhori 12 "Pop" Safe Elisa Salla 13 "River Deep – Mountain High" Safe Aldo Bardhi 14 "Read All About It" Safe Antonela Çekixhi 15 "I Will Follow Him" Safe No Final Showdown
Week 4 (6 January 2013)
+ Contestants' performances on the fourth live show Act Order Song Result Soul Sisters 1 "One" Safe Xhina Kelmendi 2 "Skinny Love" Safe Petro Xhori 3 "Airplanes" Safe Shkelqesa Sadiku 4 "Perfect" Bottom two Aldo Bardhi 5 "When I Get You Alone" Safe Kanita Suma 6 "Girl on Fire" Safe Suela Malasi 7 "Sober" Safe Antonela Çekixhi 8 "Survivor" Safe Herri Beluli 9 "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Safe Natyral 10 "Another Way to Die" Safe Elisa Salla 11 "I Have Nothing" Bottom two Egzona Ademi 12 "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" Safe KSAL 13 "Rule the World" Safe Arilena Ara 14 "Always" Safe Sardi Strugaj 15 "We Could Be the Same" SafeFinal showdown details Shkelqesa Sadiku 1 "Euphoria" Eliminated Elisa Salla 2 "Lovin' You" Safe
Judges' votes to eliminate Altuna Sejdiu: Shkelqesa Sadiku Soni Malaj: Shkelqesa Sadiku Pandi Laço: Shkelqesa Sadiku Alban Skenderaj: It was not necessary to vote for Shkelqesa already had the votes necessary for elimination.
Week 5 (13 January 2013)
+ Contestants' performances on the fifth live show Act Order Song Result Natyral 1 "One and Only" Safe Arilena Ara 2 "Satellite" Safe Egzona Ademi 3 "Ancora ancora ancora" Safe Aldo Bardhi 4 "Impossible" Safe Xhina Kelmendi 5 "Hey There Delilah" Safe Soul Sisters 6 "Total Eclipse of the Heart" Safe Herri Beluli 7 "Diamonds" Bottom two Suela Malasi 8 "Black Velvet" Bottom two Sardi Strugaj 9 "Hard Rock Hallelujah" Safe Elisa Salla 10 "Stop!" Safe Kanita Suma 11 "Valsi i lumturisë" Safe Petro Xhori 12 "Bleeding Love" Safe KSAL 13 "Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely" Safe Antonela Çekixhi 14 "The Best" SafeFinal showdown details Herri Beluli 1 "Sleepwalker" Safe Suela Malasi 2 "Karma" Eliminated
Judges' votes to eliminate Soni Malaj: Suela Malasi Pandi Laço: Herri Beluli Alban Skenderaj: Suela Malasi Altuna Sejdiu: Suela Malasi
Week 6 (20 January 2013)
+ Contestants' performances on the sixth live show Act Order Song Result Soul Sisters 1 "Do You Love Me" Safe Egzona Ademi 2 "Family Portrait" Safe Arilena Ara 3 "Titanium" Safe Kanita Suma 4 "Russian Roulette" Safe Sardi Strugaj 5 "I Don't Want to Talk About It" Bottom two Elisa Salla 6 "Bound to You" Safe Natyral 7 "We Are Young" Safe Xhina Kelmendi 8 "Soon We'll Be Found" Safe Petro Xhori 9 "4 Minutes" Safe Herri Beluli 10 "Shpirti im Binjak" Bottom two Aldo Bardhi 11 "Hello" Safe Antonela Çekixhi 12 "Dirty Diana" Safe KSAL 13 "Gambling Man" SafeFinal showdown details Sardi Strugaj 1 "Smells Like Teen Spirit" Safe Herri Beluli 2 "Whataya Want from Me" Eliminated Judges' votes to eliminate Pandi Laço: Herri Beluli Altuna Sejdiu: Sardi Strugaj Alban Skenderaj: Herri Beluli Soni Malaj: Sardi Strugaj
Week 7 (27 January 2013)