The MN Factor

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The MN Factor
The MN Factor Logo (2022).png
Genre Reality television
Created by Scott Larson
Creative directors
Presented by
Judges
Composer Scott Larson
Country of origin MusicNation
No. of seasons 7
No. of episodes 69
Production
Executive producers
  • Casey Broderick
  • Scott Larson
  • Shane Leathers
  • Katy Di'Minico
Production locations Los Angeles, California, United States
Production companies
  • CBS Television Studios
  • Larson Entertainment
  • 20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network CBS
Release February 18, 2013 (2013-02-18) –
November 10, 2017 (2017-11-10)
Network Fox
Release October 8, 2018 (2018-10-08) –
November 9, 2019 (2019-11-09)
Network Movie Nation Plus+
Release October 14, 2022 (2022-10-14) –
present (present)
Related

The MN Factor (a.k.a. The MusicNation Factor) is a television music competition to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. Created by Scott Larson, the show began in 2013, and since September 2013, has aired annual in the fall months of each calendar year. The show is produced by CBS Television Studios and Larson Entertainment, with distribution by CBS Television Distribution. It is broadcast on the CBS network, with simulcast on several international broadcast networks. For years prior to its television debut, the series was long-speculated to be in-development under different production companies and television networks.

The original judging panel consisted of Brody and Charisma Chandler, Nicole Jordan and Picasso. Singer-songwriter Jeremy Grove replaced Brody Chandler during the second cycle. The third cycle saw Hunter James and Simone Benson take the places of Jordan and Grove, respectively on the judging panel. Suite 44 frontman Brad Yelchin and Jazmine Henderson joined the panel during the fourth cycle, as replacements by Benson and Charisma Chandler, the latter of whom was dismissed from her position, the first judge to be dismissed ever from the series. The fifth cycle saw the re-introduction of Jordan, and welcomed new judge, Tom Quincy. In the sixth cycle, Quincy was replaced by Haylie Thomas. The seventh cycle welcomed the return of Charisma Chandler and introduction of Van Macdonald. The first two cycles were presented by British television personality Steve Jones, with Henderson replacing Jones for the series' third cycle. Benson also joined the series during its second cycle, as the show's first-ever media consultant in an attempt to revamp the series; the social media consultant position was eliminated with the introduction of the third cycle, following ill-reception from fans and critics alike. Since the fourth cycle, Jones was reinstated as presenter of the series, alongside Dermot O'Leary, becoming the first dual-presenters for the series. Sean Berton took claim as presenter for the seventh cycle.

There have been seven winners of the series to date: Ana Simpson, Rose Thorne, Pierre Van Heusen, Leah Barton, Melanie Brown, Girls Attack and Daniel Dennison. For the first three cycles, winners received a recording contract with Elite Music Group's Ensemble Entertainment, worth a combined total of $10 million dollars (USD). Beginning with the fourth cycle, winners receive a recording contract with Music Nation Label Group Inc's Music Nation Label Group, a deal that is still worth $10 million dollars (USD). Upon winning their cycle, each winner releases their end-of-the-year single for the last charting week of the calendar year in each nation. Both Simpson and Van Heusen obtained the number one position in their native nation, while cycle two winner Thorne ultimately did not release her winner's single.

On January 29, 2015, CBS renewed the series for an additional two-year deal, renewing The MN Factor until 2016. The show was given an additional one-year renewal through 2017, after it was announced that CBS would lose its rights to air and produce the series the same year. In December 2016, it was announced that 20th Century Fox Television and FremantleMedia Group had picked up the series for production and distribution rights, respectively, following the end of CBS' two-year deal. In January 2017, it was announced that Fox had acquired the rights to air the series, and that their broadcast would begin in 2018. In 2020, Fox announced it had cancelled the series after two subsequent seasons. In February 2022, it was announced the series had been revived via Movie Nation Plus+.

History

In March 2011, conceptual ideas for The MN Factor began to develop, with singer-songwriter Jude Harrison in-talks to be involved as both a judge and executive producer to the series. Harrison confirmed in May 2011 that she was indeed invited to begin production on the series, however declined the position, citing that she felt “not qualified” for the job. In the months following, online rumors continued to circulate over potential judges for a planned competition. In November 2012, CBS announced they had acquired the rights to create and produce The MN Factor as their own series. Industry executive Scott Larson is credited as the creator of The MN Factor, with his own company, Larson Entertainment, serving as one-half of the production company support. Larson further served as executive producer of the series alongside producer Katy Di'Minico. In 2015, it was confirmed that Di'Minico would depart the series, leaving Larson as sole executive producer. At the 2016 CBS-TV Upfront Presentations that the network would lose its rights to air the series after 2017. During the 2016 CBS Television Critics Association press event, Larson confirmed that the series would cease airing on CBS in 2017 following its sixth cycle season, citing a failure in contract negotiations, however, hoped for other networks to potentially pick the series up. He also noted for fans and viewers to expect several shakeups for the forthcoming cycle season, and to expect a variety in live show themes. In December 2016, Variety reported that 20th Century Fox Television had picked up rights to produce the series and FremantleMedia Group had picked up distribution rights, following the end of CBS' two-year deal.

In January 2017, the Television Critics Association held its winter press tour. On January 9, CBS announced they had special plans for the series' final season on the network. Two days later, on January 11, Fox announced they had acquired the air rights to the series, and would begin their broadcast of the series in 2018, alongside 20th Century Fox Television and FremantleMedia Group. Following the completion of the eighth cycle, Fox announced their decision to cancel the series. In January 2022, it was announced the series would return for a third time, this time streaming exclusively on Movie Nation Plus+.

Format

Categories

The show is primarily concerned with identifying singing talent, though appearance, personality, stage presence and dance routines are also an important element of many performances. Each judge is assigned one contestant from each of the currently active nations and compromised of one female, one male and one group, no matter their nation of location. Through the live shows, the judges act as mentors to their category, helping to decide song choices, styling and staging, while judging contestants from other categories.

Stages

2013

There are five stages to the competition for the first two cycles of the series:

  • Stage 1: Producers' auditions (these auditions decide who will sing in front of the judges)
  • Stage 2: Judges' auditions
  • Stage 3: Bootcamp
  • Stage 4: Judges' houses
  • Stage 5: Live shows (a.k.a. finals)

2014–2019

There are four stages to the competition for the competition, since the third cycle of competitions:

  • Stage 1: Producers' auditions (these auditions decide who will sing in front of the judges)
  • Stage 2: Judges' auditions
  • Stage 3: Four-chair challenge
  • Stage 4: Live shows (a.k.a. finals)

Auditions

The show is open to solo artists and vocal groups aged 12 and above, with no upper age limit. The auditions take place initially in front of producers from each of the three nations. Following producers' auditions, the contestants are flown to Los Angeles, California, U.S. to audition for the judges in front of a live studio audition of their peers.

A selection of the auditions in front of the judges – usually the best, the worst and the most bizarre – are broadcast over the first few weeks of the show. The judges' auditions are held in front of a live audience and the acts sing over a backing track. A majority of the judges, in this case, at least three judges have to say "yes" then the act goes through to the next stage, otherwise they are sent home.

Bootcamp and judges' houses

The contestants selected at auditions are further refined through a series of performances at "bootcamp", and then at the "judges' houses", until a small number eventually progress to the live finals . The houses the contestants visit may not actually belong to the judges, but are sometimes rented for the purpose. During these stages, the producers allocate each of the judges a category to mentor. At bootcamp, the judges collaboratively choose 24 acts and then cut again to 12 acts for the next round, and only then are told by the show's producers which contestants they have to mentor. The contestants did not know who their mentor was until they revealed themselves at the house.

The judges then disband for the "judges' houses" round, where they further reduce their acts on location at a residence (often collectively spanning the globe) with the help of a celebrity guest. Beginning with the third cycle of competitions, Bootcamp and judges' houses were replaced by the four-chair challenge.

Live shows

The selected finalists move into shared accommodation at the Hollywood Hills to take part in the show.

The finals consist of a series of two live shows, the first featuring the contestants' performances and the second revealing the results of the public voting, culminating in one or more acts being eliminated. Celebrity guest performers also feature regularly. These live shows are filmed at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. The performance shows are broadcast on Thursday nights and the results show on Friday nights.

Performances

The show is primarily concerned with identifying a potential pop star or star group, and singing talent, appearance, personality, stage presence and dance routines are all important elements of the contestants' performances. In the initial live shows, each act performs once in the first show in front of a studio audience and the judges, usually singing over a pre-recorded backing track. Dancers are also commonly featured. Acts occasionally accompany themselves on guitar or piano. Beginning as of season two, pre-recorded backing tracks were eliminated in favor of live bands.

Each live show has had a different theme; each contestant's song is chosen according to the theme. After each act has performed, the judges comment on their performance. Heated disagreements, usually involving judges defending their contestants against criticism, are a regular feature of the show. Once all the acts have appeared, the phone lines open and the viewing public vote on which act they want to keep.

Results

Before the results are announced, the results show occasionally begins with a group performance from the remaining contestants. The two acts polling the fewest votes are revealed. "Double elimination" took place in some of the results show, where the bottom three acts were revealed and the act with the fewest votes was automatically eliminated.

Ties are possible as there are four judges voting on which of the two to send home. In the event of a tie the result goes to deadlock, and the act who came last in the public vote is sent home. The actual number of votes cast for each act is not revealed, nor even the order. Once the number of contestants has been reduced to four, the act which polled the fewest votes is automatically eliminated from the competition (the judges do not have a vote; their only role is to comment on the performances).

Twists
The MN Factor twists
Cycle Twist
1 During the course of the live shows, several double eliminations arose, as subject from the judges' tie vote. Several of the double eliminations happened back-to-back creating even more surprise for both the contestants, judges and audience viewers.
3 For the live shows, double eliminations became a mandatory practice, leading to the loss of two acts per week from a bottom three vote.
4 With the introduction of live rounds, the competition was condensed into a one-night event, with eliminations happening immediately at the end of each episode.
5 A new element was added in the live rounds; judges were given one "save", allowing each judge to select one individual on an opposing team who was eliminated by the public vote.

After The MN Factor

The winner of the competition is awarded a recording contract with Ensemble Entertainment in association with Elite Music Group, which would include cash payments totaling $10 million USD. A press release on behalf of the show on November 7, 2012, called the recording contract one of the largest contracts to potentially ever be drawn up for a signed artist, or potentially signed artist. The costs of recording and marketing the winning artist will be paid for separately from the initial contract payment. The $10 million will be paid directly to the winner in five annual installments of $2 million. Beginning with the third cycle, conditions of the artist's pay-off changed. In order for an artist to begin their payment, they must release the mandatory winning single, and release their debut album within a calendar year of winning their cycle. Beginning with the fourth cycle, winners were warded a recording contract with Music Nation Label Group.

Series overview

     Team Picasso
     Team Brody
     Team Charisma
     Team Nicole
     Team Jeremy
     Team Simone
     Team Hunter
     Team Jazmine
     Team Brad
     Team Tom
     Team Haylie
     Team Van
     Team Sam
     Team Krystal
     Team Lilly
     Team Vincent

The MN Factor series overview
Cycle Start Finish Winner Runner-up Third place Winning mentor Presenters Sponsors Main judges Guest judges Network
1 February 28, 2013 May 17, 2013 Ana Simpson Justice Jones Orlando King Brody Chandler Steve Jones N/A N/A CBS
2 October 17, 2013 December 20, 2013 Rose Thorne Ashley Gallner Lyric Charisma Chandler
  • AT&T Wireless
  • Pepsi
  • Twitter
Roman Graham[b]
3 October 2, 2014 November 7, 2014 Pierre Van Heusen Oliver O'Day Drew Tanner Charisma Chandler Jazmine Henderson
  • AT&T Wireless
  • Twitter
N/A
4 October 2, 2015 (2015-10-02) November 6, 2015 (2015-11-06) Leah Barton Hayden Tazewell Caymon Adams Brad Yelchin
  • Steve Jones
  • Dermot O'Leary
  • AT&T Wireless
  • Glacéau Smartwater
  • iTunes
  • Twitter
  • Picasso
  • Jazmine Henderson3
  • Hunter James
  • Brad Yelchin
N/A
5 October 7, 2016 (2016-10-07) November 28, 2016 (2016-11-28) Melanie Brown Clay Capehart Embry Harel Picasso
N/A
6 October 6, 2017 (2017-10-06) November 10, 2017 (2017-11-10) Girls Attack New Republic Mason Travis Brad Yelchin
N/A
7 October 5, 2018 (2018-10-05) November 9, 2018 (2018-11-09) Jayne Michaels Cole Rowder Ryan Dawson Brad Yelchin Sean Berton
  • AT&T Wireless
  • Glacéau Smartwater
  • Apple Music
  • Instagram
N/A Fox
8 October 4, 2019 (2019-10-04) November 8, 2019 (2019-11-08) Daniel Dennison Sophie Ollerton Isaac Hems Brad Yelchin N/A

Notes

  1. Simone Benson served as the social media consultant for the second cycle.
  2. Roman Graham served as a guest judge during auditions due to prior work commitments made by Picasso.
  1. ^
  2. ^
  3. ^ Jazmine Henderson joined the judging panel during the London auditions, officially replacing dismissed judge Charisma Chandler.

Judges and presenters

Since 2011, speculated judges included: Jude Harrison, ELECTRA, Chris Kane, Vincent, Lilly Smith, DeJonay Banks and Nicole Jordan. For the first cycle, the judges of MN Factor were the aforementioned Jordan, pop entertainers Brody and Charisma Chandler, and music producer Picasso. Following the completion of the first cycle, it was confirmed that all of the judging panel confirmed their return, aside from Brody Chandler. A rep for the series confirmed his departure, saying, “Brody did not wish to continue with the series, feeling it the right time for him to exit. And we respect his decision. The door will always be open to return in any capacity he sees fit in the future.” Rumors immediately began of who would serve as a possible replace for Brody Chandler, including the likes of Vincent, Sam Berton, Marques and Champagne, the latter of whom served as a judge during the Judges' Houses stage of the competition alongside Jordan.

On May 23, 2013, it was announced that singer-songwriter Jeremy Grove was hired to replace Brody Chandler on the judging panel. Due to prior work commitments, Roman Graham served as temporary judge for Picasso for several auditions during the second cycle. Speculation arose in early 2014 over further judging line-up changes for production of the series' third cycle. CBS announced during their 2014 Upfront Presentations on May 14 that both Jordan and Grove had decided to not return to the judging panel for the then-upcoming cycle of competition; teen sensation Hunter James and singer Simone Benson were enlisted to replace Jordan and Grove, retrospectively on the panel. Due to illness, Charisma Chandler was absent from majority of the auditions for the third cycle, she did however return during the Four-Chair Challenge part of the competition.

Again, speculation began to arise over judging line-up changes. Original judge Charisma Chandler confirmed during the red carpet of the 5th Annual GRAMMY Awards that she was "in-talks" with producers to return to the judging panel. In April 2015, James announced would be returning as a judge for the show's fourth season. CBS announced at the 2015 Upfront Presentations on May 13 that Benson had chosen to depart the series after two years, and would be replaced by Suite 44 frontman Brad Yelchin. Following the Los Angeles auditions in May 2015, it was announced by CBS that Charisma Chandler was dismissed from her position as a judge, and would be replaced by former host Jazmine Henderson as the fourth judge; Henderson began her judging duties during the London auditions in June 2015. Charisma Chandler's dismissal served as the first time a judge had ever been let go from the series. In November 2015, James announced she would be departing the series, in order to focus on her own music career, feeling she had given all she could to her position as a judge and mentor. At the 2016 CBS-TV Upfront Presentations, the network announced that Henderson would not return to her judging position, instead deciding to focus on her music career; it was subsequently announced that original judge Jordan would return to the panel, and that record producer Tom Quincy would join as the fourth judge for the fifth cycle lineup. On May 15, 2017, Quincy announced that he would not return for the sixth series, instead deciding to pursue his producing career further. Two days later, on May 17, it was announced that singer Haylie Thomas would serve as a judge for the series' sixth cycle season, alongside the returning Picasso, Jordan and Yelchin. In October 2017, Jordan announced her departure from the series.

In April 2018, Charisma Chandler announced her return to the series. The following month, on May 14, at the Fox Upfronts, it was announced that Picasso and Yelchin would return for their seventh and fourth cycles, consecutively; additionally, music producer Van Macdonald would join the series as the fourth judge.

Presenters and other personnel

Hosts of The MN Factor
Steve Jones (l.) served as presenter of the first two cycles, returning during the fourth cycle and was joined by Dermot O'Leary (c.) as co-host. Sean Berton (r.) joined as sole host for the seventh cycle.

For the first two seasons of the series, British television personality Steve Jones served as presenter, signing a two-year deal with the series and its production team, covering his services for the first three seasons of the show. In July 2013, it was announced that singer and actress Simone Benson had been brought onto the series as the official social media correspondent for the show, the first for the series. On May 14, 2014, it was confirmed that Jones had been relieved from his position, ultimately ending his two-year deal and Benson would not return as the social media correspondent. Henderson was tapped to take over for Jones, while the social media correspondent position was eliminated from the competition. In June 2015, Henderson was relieved of her position in order to become part of the judging panel. That same month, CBS announced that Jones would return as a presenter, with Dermot O'Leary joining him a co-presenter, becoming the first dual-presenters for the series. In May 2018, it was announced that both Jones and O'Leary would not return for the series' Fox incarnation; former Berton Brothers singer Sean Berton was announced as their replacement.

Former executive producer Di'Minico served as creative director for the series, until her departure in the fourth cycle. Lollipop Records CEO and music producer James Ford was confirmed as Di'Minico's replacement, effective in the series' fourth cycle.

Judges' categories and their finalists

In each season, each judge is allocated a category to mentor and chooses small number of acts (three per cycle) to progress to the live finals. This table shows, for each cycle, which acts each judge put through to the live finals.

Key:

     – Winning judge/category. Winners are in bold, eliminated contestants in small text.
The MN Factor judges and finalists
Cycle Picasso Brody Chandler Charisma Chandler Nicole Jordan
1 Tyler St. James
Natalie Logan
The Electroniks
Ana Simpson
Christopher Wallace
Adrenaline
Justice Jones
Blair Meyers
Wildflower
Orlando King
Chloé Jade
Rebel Station
2 Picasso Jeremy Grove Charisma Chandler Nicole Jordan
Lyric
Jackson Bradshaw
Vivien Charlotte
Romeo Simmons
Jenni Garza
Colton Bleu
Rose Thorne
Cassie Rogers
Henry Porter
Ashley Gallner
Jasper Bello
Enzo Slater
3 Picasso Simone Benson Charisma Chandler Hunter James
Ryleigh Cavanaugh
Shawn Rollins
James Winthrop
Monroe
Vanessa LaPointe
Oliver O'Day
Pierre Van Heusen
Ebony Reese
Mateo Soza
Ava Gordon
Nikki Newton
Drew Tanner
4 Picasso Brad Yelchin Jazmine Henderson Hunter James
Bliss Devonshire
Nate Isaackson
Noah Woods
Leah Barton
Caymon Adams
Isabella Francisco
Rogue
Bianca Morgan
Josiah Tucker
Imani
Phillip Santos
Hayden Tazewell
5 Picasso Brad Yelchin Tom Quincy Nicole Jordan
Melanie Brown
William Grammer
Emilie Holmes
Cade Braun
Camila López
ROMO
Clay Capehart
Stassi Granath[1]
Adam Rush
Malorie Taylor
Embry Harel
Stassi Granath1
Victor Morales
6 Picasso Brad Yelchin Haylie Thomas Nicole Jordan
Amanda Lee-Jones
Reign
Mason Travis
Girls Attack
Jakob Johnston
Courtnee Wright
New Republic
Nomi Jade
Theo Martin
Cherish Lawson
Manuel Rojas
Billie Xhepa
7 Picasso Brad Yelchin Charisma Chandler Van Macdonald
Karlie Moss
OTP
Ryan Dawson
Jayne Michaels
Brett Clarkson
Kimber Tone
Liza Lane
OTHER
Hannah Seymour
Cole Rowder
Zoë Murati
Swiss Army Romance
8 Picasso Brad Yelchin Charisma Chandler Van Macdonald
Preston & the Pistols
Antonia Chaplin
Charlie Dennan
Daniel Dennison
Celia Machado
Nicole Wilkins
Zannovia
Lexi Ravens
Isaac Hems
Kenya Deniece
Social Outcast Club
Sophie Ollerton
9 Vincent Sam Berton Krystal Hayes Lilly Smith
Shell Ruin
Syd Wolfe
Anders McCarthy
Ivy Noir
Montero
Isaiah Santos
Mayhem Guy Knox
OZ Army Romance

Notes

  1. ^ Stassi Granath was originally eliminated from Team Nicole; she joined Team Tom once Quincy used his "Save".

The MN Factor Logo S1 (2013).png The MN Factor Logo S2 (2013).PNG The MN Factor Logo C3 (2014).png The MN Factor Logo C4 (2015).png The MN Factor Logo (2018).png
2013 2013 2014 2015–2017 2018–2019

International broadcast

The MN Factor international broadcasts
Country Station Years
Asia STAR World 2015–2019
Australia Nine Network 2013–2019
Canada Global TV 2013–2014
Yes TV 2015–2019
France NRJ 12 2013–2019
Germany VOX 2013–2019
Italy Rai 2 2013–2019
New Zealand TV3 2013–2019
United Kingdom Channel 4 2013–2017
BBC One 2018–2019
United States CBS 2013–2017
Fox 2018–2019

Revenue and commercial ventures

The dominance of MN Factor in the ratings has made it the most profitable show on television in many years. The the series' fourth cycle, it was pulling in a combined total of $750 million dollars (USD) from its ad revenue alone, not including ancillary sponsorship deals and other income. Sponsors that bought fully integrated packages can expect a variety of promotions of their products on the show, such as product placement, adverts and product promotion integrated into the show, and various promotional opportunities

Media sponsorship

Pepsi served as the series' first sponsor, with AT&T Wireless and Twitter joining in the second cycle as the series' second and third official sponsors. Pepsi ultimately ended its sponsorship amid winner Rose Thorne's void of fulfillment with the company after only one-cycle of partnership with MN Factor. With the inception of the fourth cycle, Apple iTunes announced their plans to premiere contestant's performances following each competitive week during the live rounds of the competition, as well as Glacéau Smartwater joining as official beverage sponsor for the series.

MN Factor Live!

With the inception of the fourth cycle, CBS announced their partnership with Live Nation touring company to endorse a one-month concert tour, which would feature the finalists of each cycle across each nation. Glacéau Smartwater confirmed they would also serve as the official tour sponsor.