Fox's highly anticipated singing competition, The X Factor, and YouTube have partnered
to offer fans the opportunity to audition for the show exclusively on the video-sharing website
until June 9.
Online entries will open doors for those who would
otherwise be unable to audition for a chance to win The X Factor's $5 million record-breaking recording contract with
Syco/Sony Music.
The YouTube auditions require the artist(s) to sing a
cappella for up to 2 minutes, with a 30-second introduction. The videos will
not be made public, viewed only by X
Factor team and judged similarly to live auditions. Those chosen to advance
in the competition will be offered the opportunity to continue the audition in
front of the judges.
"With the largest guaranteed prize in television history
at stake, we've got to make sure that every potential superstar in the country
has an opportunity to audition for The X
Factor," said Mike Darnell, president of alternative entertainment, Fox
Broadcasting Company. "YouTube allows us to broaden our talent search beyond
our audition cities to the tens of millions of YouTube users in the U.S."
As The X Factor's
official sponsor, Pepsi will use its multiple platforms to encourage
submissions on its own YouTube page and other social networking sites including
Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter.
