The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The fifth series was broadcast on
ITV from 16 August 2008 until 13 December 2008.
Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on
ITV, while
Fearne Cotton was replaced by
Holly Willoughby as presenter of spin-off show
The Xtra Factor on
ITV2.
Simon Cowell,
Louis Walsh and
Dannii Minogue returned to the judging panel.
Sharon Osbourne left after four series and was replaced by
Cheryl Cole. The fifth series was won by
Alexandra Burke, with Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges in June. The number of applicants for series 5 reached an all-time high with a reported 182,000 people auditioning. A number of well-established music acts from around the world, such as
Beyoncé,
Mariah Carey,
Britney Spears,
Girls Aloud,
Take That,
Il Divo, and
series 3 winner
Leona Lewis performed during the live stages of the show.