| Native Name: | |
| Creator: | Simon Cowell |
| Presenter: | Philipp Kirkorov Volodymyr Zelenskyy (2011) Alexey Chumakov (2012) |
| Judges: | Alla Pugacheva (head of jury) Lolita Milyavskaya Roman Emelyanov Boris Krasnov (2011) Igor Nikolayev (2012) |
| Language: | Russian |
| Runtime: | ~78 minutes |
| Num Episodes: | 22 |
| Num Seasons: | 3 (debut season in 2011) |
| Country: | Russia |
| Network: | Rossiya 1 Muz-TV (2011) |
Faktor A (Russian: Фактор А) is the second Russian version of The X Factor television talent show franchise. Having broadcast on Rossiya 1 from 2011 to 2013, the show is named Faktor A (rather than Faktor X), with the letter "A" chosen in honor of Alla Pugacheva, head of the jury. Faktor A debuted in 2011 as a new season 1.
See main article: Sekret Uspekha. Faktor A is considered a continuation of an earlier Russian show Sekret Uspekha, which was broadcast on Russia's RTR television station in contrast to Faktor A, courtesy of Russia-1.
There were two seasons of Sekret Uspekha. The first was in 2005[1] and the title was won by Vladimir Sapovsky. A second season was broadcast in 2007, and the title won by Nikolay Timokhin. The show was cancelled after two seasons because of the insufficient number of viewers.
Although similar in format, the new show Faktor A was considered a whole new series with season 1 starting in April 2011.
| Season | First aired | Last aired | Winner | Runner-up | Third Place | Winning mentor | Hosts | Chairs (order) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
| 1 | April 1, 2011 | June 11, 2011 | Erkin Holmatov | Artyom Kacharyan | Boris Krasnov | Philipp Kirkorov | Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Roman Emelyanov | Lolita Milyavskaya | Alla Pugacheva | Boris Krasnov | |
| 2 | March 10, 2012 | May 27, 2012 | Alexey Sulima | Ekaterina Leshcheva | Alexandr Balykov | Igor Nikolaev | Alexey Chumakov | Igor Nikolaev | ||||
| 3 | February 9, 2013 | April 21, 2013 | Mali | Yaroslav Dronov | Igor Nikolaev | Roman Emelyanov | ||||||
The new Faktor A show's main purpose was to find new singing talent. Contestants were chosen through public auditions. The show was hosted by Philipp Kirkorov and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The jury was made up of Lolita Milyavskaya, Boris Krasnov and Roman Emelyanov. Alla Pugacheva served as chairman of the jury. Milyavskya was the mentor for contestants aged 16 to 24, Krasnov for contestants over the age of 25, and Emelyanov for duos groups.
The auditions were held on 23 and 24 March 2011 in Moscow's Malaya Luzhniki Sports Arena. Then each judge selected their best three performers after trials from 25–27 March 2011.
The competition was split into three categories:
Each judge was assigned a particular category and was entrusted to mentor the competitors in that specific category.
- Winner
- Runner-up
| Category (mentor) | Acts | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16–25s (Lolita Milyavskaya) | Victoria Cherentsova | Erkin Holmatov | Artyom Kacharian |
| Over 25s (Boris Krasnov) | Philip Kruzhkov | Vladislav Tumanov | |
| Groups (Roman Emelyanov) | Mark Twain | DaKi | Sixth Sense |
Sergei Savin, who won the inaugural season, received a record deal for a solo album, a shooting of a music video and appearing on rotation on Russian radio station Avtoradio ("Авторадио"). The runner-up Erkin Holmatov received a cash prize of 30,000 Euros, the special prize "Golden Star of Alla" from main judge Alla Pugacheva, a 5-year scholarship to a music school in Gnessin.