Faktor A

Faktor A (in Russian Фактор А) is the Russian version of the The X Factor television talent show franchise. It is broadcasts on Russia 1 television station. 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 series 1.

Sekret Uspekha

Main article: Sekret Uspekha

Faktor A is considered a continuation of an earlier Russian show Sekret Uspekha (Russian: Секрет Успеха; English: Secret of Success) that was broadcast on RTR. There were two series of Sekret Uspekha. The first was in 2005 and title was won by Vladimir Sapovskiy. A second series was broadcast in 2007, and title won by Nikolay Timokhin. The show was cancelled after two series because of insufficient number of viewers.

Although similar in format, the new series Faktor A is considered a whole new series with season 1 starting 2011.

Series Format

There are four stages to Секрет Успеха competition:

• Stage 1. Auditions
• Stage 2. Boot camp
• Stage 3. Visits to judges' homes
• Stage 4. Live shows (finals)

The competition is split into three categories:

• Singers aged 16 to 25
• Singers over 25
• Groups (including duos).

Each judge assigned a particular category and entrusted to mentor the competitors in that specific category

Season 1 (2011)

The new Faktor A show is a musical talent show whose main purpose is to find and develop talent singing contestants. Contestants are chosen through public auditions. The show is hosted by Leading the project: Philipp Kirkorov and Vladimir Zelenski. The jury is made up of Lolita Milyavskaya, Boris Krasnov and Roman Emelyanov. Alla Pugacheva serves as chairman of the jury. Milyavskya is mentoring the 16-25s, Krasnov the over 25s and Emelyanov the groups

The auditions were held on 23 and 24 March 2011 in Moscow's Malaya Luzhniki Sports Arena. Then each judge selected his best three performers after trials on 25, 26 and 27 March 2011.

Finalists

  – Winner

  – Runner-up

  – Third Place

Category (Mentor)	Acts
16–25s (Lolita Milyavskaya)	Victoria Cherentsova	Erkin Holmatov	Artem Kacharian
Over 25s (Boris Krasnov)	Philip Krishkov	Sergei Savin	Vladislav Tumanov
Groups (Roman Emelyanov)	Марк Твен (Mark Twain)	ДаКи (Ducky)	Шестое чувство (Sixth Sense)

Shows

• Show 1 (1 April 2011) - first stage of auditions
• Show 2 (8 April 2011) - second stage of auditions and deciding the 9 finalist
• Show 3 (15 April 2011) - first live show (Theme: "Soviet Popular Songs")
• Show 4 (22 April 2011) - second live show (Theme: "Songs from the movies"). Vladislav Tumanov originating from Ekaterinburg was eliminated finishing 9th
• Show 5 (19 April 2011) - third live show (Theme: "World Hits"). Philip Krishkov originating from Moscow eliminated eliminated finishing 8th
• Show 6 (6 May 2011) - fourth live show (Theme: "Songs of Love"). Group Шестое чувство ("The Sixth Sense") from Moscow eliminated finishing 7th.
• Show 7 (13 May 2011) - fifth live show (Theme: "Songs about cities and countries). ДаКи ("Ducky") from Kaluga was eliminated finishing 6th.

Five finalist remain for the rest of the series vying for first ever Faktor A title.