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 series followed in 2006 won by Francisco Villarreal and a third one, after a 2-year hiatus, in 2009 won by the duo Siam. The show will come back in 2012 for a fourth season, again after a hiatus of another 2 years.
All 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. It was broadcast in 2006 and was won by Luz Amparo Álvarez.
The other-spinoff was the series El Factor Xs for children up to 15 years. To date there have been three series with the same judges and presented by same host Andrea Serna. The first series was broadcast in 2006 and was won by Andres Hurtado, a second series in 2007 won by Camilo Echeverry and a third in 2011 won by Shaira Selena Peláez.