Cast your mind back ten years... Remember when X Factor was one of the most entertaining - and ridiculous - shows on TV? Oh, how times have changed… Now we’re all far more interested in what happens on Love Island, but once upon a time, X Factor was the nation’s #1 talking point. Whether they stuck to singing or not, it’s all too easy to forget that the show birthed some of our biggest celebs. (Rylan and Stacey Solomon, we’re looking at you.)
Sadly, the show is kind of now dead in the water. After 15 series, it simply ran its course. Like Big Brother, and like what will probably happen to Love Island in the distant future, the format has become a little bit tired.
In an effort to revive the series, regular X Factor didn't even happen last year, with Simon Cowell relaunching Celebrity X Factor (ICYMI, TOWIE's Megan McKenna won). X Factor All Stars - a line-up of the most memorable previous acts (aka the talent they could book) - was supposed to happen too, but it was switched out for X Factor: The Band because TV's Mr Nasty threw his toys out the pram when he realised that Little Mix - who have since cut ties with Syco - were launching their own talent show, The Search, to find a group.
To be honest, maybe X Factor: All Stars is what the show needs - but only if you can book the show’s most iconic acts. Here are our all-time favourites.
The Most Iconic X Factor Acts
1 of 15Jedward
More divisive than marmite, whether you loved or hated them, you really can't deny how entertaining it was watching them wind Simon Cowell week in, week out. They are also responsible for the most iconic X Factor moment of all time, when Calvin Harris ran across the stage with a pineapple on his head - he was appearing on Xtra Factor - and then got banned from the show. The twins are now quarantining with Celebrity Big Brother housemate Tara Reid in LA, which is far cooler than how any of us are spending lockdown. Fair play.
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2 of 15One Direction
Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne were merely dollar signs in Simon Cowell's eye when they auditioned for X Factor separately in 2010, but added together they produced the kind of hysteria that hasn't been seen since Beatlemania. Alas, the band are no more - but they've grown up… Two (soon to be three) of them are dads and Harry Styles retains his title as The Coolest Man Alive.
3 of 15Alexandra Burke
Famously sang one of the best singles post X Factor of all time, Bad Boys featuring Flo Rida. Also famously claimed she brought the phrase 'elephant in the room' to the UK from America.
4 of 15Cher Lloyd
It's easy to forget just how talented Cher Lloyd is, when she famously sang the lyrics, 'swagger jagger, swagger jagger, you should get some of your own'.
5 of 15Wagner
Given the wildcard by Louis Walsh to make the live shows - and consequently add some fun to the show when ratings mattered - Wagner, with his tone-deaf performances of Love Shack and She Bangs somehow made it to the quarter finals. Can you believe? That's even though he had to leave the house because he kept on falling out with other house members. X Factor used to be more dramatic than Casa Amor on Love Island.
6 of 15Stacey Solomon
Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod, Stacey Solomon was only 19 when she appeared on X Factor. Fast forward 11 years, and sometimes we forget that the Loose Woman originally shot to fame singing. Now she's one of the country's most-loved TV personalities.
7 of 15Rylan
Again, sometimes we forget that Rylan - who is genuinely now one of the country's most successful presenters - started his illustrious career by breaking down in Nicole Sherzinger's lap. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?
8 of 15Katie Waissel
For some reason, Katie Waissel was pilloried by the media and the public when she appeared on the show in 2010. In her chaotic audition, she said to Louis Walsh: 'please let me sing at last'. She returned to the show in 2014 for a Greatest Hits performance in the final and (allegedly, it looks like) mouthed 'you owe me' at Simon Cowell. Legend.
9 of 15Sam Bailey
Mainly on this list because she SUPPORTED BEYONCE AND JAY-Z ON TOUR after winning series 10.
10 of 15Little Mix
No list would be complete without Little Mix. Kelly Rowland was really on to something when she put these girls together. Let them continue to rule the world, please.
11 of 15Diana Vickers
Diana Vickers - with her quite frankly bizarre raspy singing style - didn't have to win the show to get her own number one single. Remember Once? According to her Wikipedia page after the show she made a foray into fashion designing, acting and singing. A multi-hyphenate career woman if ever we saw one.
12 of 15Honey G
Probably the last memorable X Factor 'joke' act - but she still came fifth, yes, fifth on the show. So who's laughing now.
13 of 15Fleur' East
Fleur's performance of Uptown Funk was one of the best in X Factor history. Sax was also one of the best post-show singles, even if it sticks in your head for days. She's since opted for a career switch, and is now a successful radio presenter.
14 of 15Same Difference
The brother and sister duo - hated by Louis Walsh - gave High School Musical's Ryan and Sharpay a run for their money.
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15 of 15Leona Lewis
She won series three, released smash worldwide hit Bleeding Love, and then became the show's first international superstar, setting the blueprint for everyone else.
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