The X Factor 1

Four-chair challenge
For this season of The X Factor, Cowell confirmed that the boot camp and judges' houses sections of the competition, which traditionally followed the audition rounds, had been dropped and replaced with a brand new stage called "The Four-Chair challenge". Speaking on the change, he said "It [boot camp and Judges' houses] was the one element of the show I wasn't happy with, and it looked too similar to what everybody else is doing." He went on to describe the new "middle section" as "really dramatic, very tough on us and the contestants, and very high pressure", and compared the new round as similar to the live shows.

This season, the categories will not follow the age-based format from season two but rather the format from season one: Boys, Girls, Over 25s and Groups. Rowland will mentor Over 25s, Lovato the Girls, Rubio the Boys, and for the second season in a row, Simon Cowell will mentor the Groups.

Key:
 * – Contestant was immediately eliminated after performance without switch
 * – Contestant was switched out later in the competition and eventually eliminated
 * – Contestant was not switched out and made the final four of his/her/their own category