| Creator: | Simon Cowell |
| Presenter: | Andrea Serna (season 1-3) Karen Martínez (season 4) Laura González (season 5) |
| Judges: | Wilfrido Vargas Juan Carlos Coronel Marbelle José Gaviria Rosanna Piso 21 Carolina Gaitán |
| Language: | Spanish |
| Network: | RCN TV |
| Num Seasons: | 5 |
El Factor X is the Colombian television music competition to find new singing talent. It is the based on the original British competition The X Factor, created by Simon Cowell. It is the first version produced in Latin America.
The show started screening in September 2005. The judges were Marbelle, singer Juan Carlos Coronel, and José Gaviria, a producer who has worked with stars like Carlos Santana. The winner was Julio César Meza. A second season followed in 2006 won by Francisco Villarreal and a third one, after a 2-year hiatus, in 2009 won by the duo Siam.
All the first three seasons and versions of the show have been hosted by the Colombian TV host and top model Andrea Serna, produced by Teleset and broadcast on RCN TV.
The show had two spin-offs. One was the one-year series El Factor X: Batalla de las Estrellas (meaning the Battle of the Stars). It was broadcast in 2006 and was won by Luz Amparo Álvarez.
The other-spin off was the series El Factor Xs for children up to 15 years. To date there have been three seasons with the same judges and presented by same host Andrea Serna. The first season was broadcast in 2006 and was won by Andres Hurtado, a second season in 2007 won by Camilo Echeverry and a third in 2011 won by Shaira Selena Peláez.
"Juan Carlos Coronel"
"José Gaviria"
"Marbelle"
"Piso 21"
"Rosanna"
"Carolina Gaitán"
| Season | Air date | Winner | Judges | Winning mentor | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Julio César Meza | Enygma | Andrea Serna | Marbelle Juan Carlos Coronel José Gaviria | Juan Carlos Caronel | ||
| 2006 | Francisco Villarreal | Mario Marcelino Macuacé | Marbelle | ||||
| 2009 | Siam | Raza Pana | José Gaviria | ||||
| 2021 | José David Madero "Madeiro" | Karen Martínez Mauricio Vélez | José Gaviria Rosanna Piso 21 | José Gaviria | |||
| 2022 | Heyner Usprung | Laura González | José Gaviria Rosanna Piso 21 Carolina Gaitán | Piso 21 |
Participants and their respective mentors were:
| Jose Gaviria | Marbelle | Juan Carlos Coronel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16–24 years | Groups | 25 and Over | |
| Felipe Espinoza - | Sofia Pérez - | Paula Mantilla - | |
| Mirabay Montoya | Andrea Piñeros | Juanita Delgado | |
| Farina Pao Poucar Franco | Enigma | Julio César Meza | |
| Yina Gallego | Sin Limite | Jackson Mosquera | |
| Andres Monsalve | Las Hijas de Doña Diana | Estella Diaz | |
| María Elisa Camargo | Las Gemelas Botero | Anabella Arbeláez |
The winner of season one was Julio César Meza from solo-singers-aged-25+ category; the runners-up were Enygma (group made up of Ricardo García, Manuel Peña, Germán ‘Tito’ Núñez and Iván Peña) from vocal groups category and in third place was the controversial reggaeton-singer Farina (full name Pao Paucar Franco) from the solo-singers-aged-25-and-over category, famous for her quote Yo soy Farina! (from Spanish: I am Farina)
| Marbelle | Juan Carlos Coronel | Jose Gaviria | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 Years | Groups | 25 and Over | |
| Francisco Villarreal | Ébano | Mario Marcelino Macuacé | |
| Bryan Visbal | Natalia Y Marisol | Ángelo (Juan Carlos Ángel) | |
| Juan Manuel | 5 Latinos | Martha Trujillo | |
| Juanita Pérez | Violeta | Walter Daniel Martínez | |
| Lina María Uribe | Síntesis | Mary |
The second season was won by Francisco Villarreal. He was unsuccessful contestant in the first season but had learned how to read in the intervening period. The runner up was Mario Marcelino Macuacé and third-place went to Angelo (full name Juan Carlos Ángel). Angelo was considered by many to be the favorite.
After a hiatus of 2 years in which no more seasons were held, the program returned in 2009 with its third season. Big publicity campaign was held and Canal RCN and Teleset S.A., producers of the third series visited various cities to collect talents from all over the country. Judge mentors and the participants were:
| Juan Carlos Coronel | Jose Gaviria | Marbelle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 Years | Groups | 25 and Over | |
| Jorge Luis Medina Mosquera | Siam | Edgardo José Escobar de Castro | |
| Adriana Redondo Montero | Raza Pana | Juan Camilo Cordoba | |
| Luz Ángela Perez Espitaleta | Son3 | María Alejandra Diaz Huertas (Aleja) | |
| Juan David Becerra (Juanda) | Sexto Sentido | Natalia María Sierra Sanchez |
The competition was won by the group Siam, with Raza Pana another group as runner-up and Jorge (full name Jorge Luis Medina Mosquera) as third.
A "Battle of the Stars" celebrity version of the show was held only once in 2006. The winner of the celebrity series was Luz Amparo Alvarez.
"Men" category
"Women" category
"Groups" category
| Jose Gaviria | Marbelle | Juan Carlos Coronel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Females | Males | Groups | |
| Luz Amparo Álvarez | Jota Mario Valencia | Juan Y Andrés (Manuel Lenis and Andrés Sandoval) | |
| Yaneth Waldman | Marcelo Cezán | Los Intocables (Carlos Giraldo, Diva Jessurum and ‘La Negra Candela’) | |
| Lady Noriega | Lucas Velásquez | Fusión (Andrea Nocceti, Omar Murillo and Natalia Peralta) | |
| Amalin de Hazbun | Carlos Calero | Olé (Martha Restrepo and Juan Rafael Restrepo) | |
| Valerie Domínguez | ‘Paché’ Andrade | El Cocuyo (Salpicón and Guillermo Díaz Salamanca) |
El Factor Xs is a popular children's version of the show that was made in early 2006. "Xs" stand for "extra small". A second season of "Xs" followed in 2007 and after a lapse of 4 years, a third season in 2011. The inaugural season was won by Andrés Camilo Hurtado, season 2 by Camilo Echeverry Correa, and the final season by Shaira Selena Pelaez.
(All winners in bold)
"8-11 Years" category
"12-15 Years" category
"Groups" category
| Season | Air date | Winner | Judges | Winning mentor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Andres Hurtado | Huellas | Andrea Serna | Juan Carlos Coronel Marbelle José Gaviria | Juan Carlos Coronel | |
| 2007 | Camilo Echeverry | David | Marbelle José Gaviria Wilfrido Vargas | Jose Gaviria | ||
| 2011 | Shaira Selena Peláez | Salome Camargo | Juan Carlos Coronel Marbelle José Gaviria | José Gaviria | ||
| Juan Carlos Coronel | Marbelle | Jose Gaviria | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-11 Years | 12-15 Years | Groups | |
| Andres Hurtado | Jaider | Huellas | |
| Aldemar | Mariana | Encanto | |
| Nicolle | Oky | Dueto Armonico | |
| Juanjo | Beto | RK Kids | |
| Angie | Carlos | Piscis |
| Marbelle | Jose Gaviria | Wilfrido Vargas | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-11 Years | 12-15 Years | Groups | |
| Danna | Camilo Echeverry | AN3 | |
| Salome | David | ARL | |
| Mauro | Greeicy | Gaitambú | |
| Ingrid | Yuliann | Manakín | |
| Johan | Liyen | Impacto |
| Jose Gaviria | Juan Carlos Coronell | Marbelle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-11 Years | 12-15 Years | Groups | |
| Shaira Selena Peláez | Weider Figueroa | Benitez Brothers | |
| Salome Camargo | Dylan Fuentes | Almas Gemelas | |
| Laura Cardona | Luis Araque | Sol y luna | |
| Sofia Ortiz | Nicolas Fuentes | Resplandor | |
| Mateo Giraldo | Jesus Perez | Angeles de America | |
| Samuel Zuluaga | Valeria Celis | Encanto |