The X Factor (American TV series) season 3
season of the US television series
The third and final season of the American music competition television show The X Factor premiered on Fox on September 11, 2013, and ended on December 19, 2013. This season was hosted by Mario Lopez. Simon Cowell and Demi Lovato returned to the judging panel, while Kelly Rowland and Paulina Rubio joined the panel as replacements for the departing judges.
Producer auditions began on March 6, 2013, in Los Angeles, and ended on May 4, 2013, in Denver. The judges auditions, which are televised, began on May 21, 2013, in Charleston, and ended on July 12, 2013, in Los Angeles. New for this season is the removal of the boot camp and judges' houses rounds of the competition which have been replaced with a new middle section, more reminiscent of the live shows.
On December 19, 2013, Alex & Sierra won the show, as mentored by Cowell. On February 7, 2014, Cowell announced he was returning to the British show to judge the 2014 British series, which was followed by Fox announcing that they would not be renewing the show for a fourth season.
Alex and Sierra's victory on X Factor, along with three other wins: Candice Glover won American Idol season 12, Danielle Bradbery won season 4 of The Voice USA, Tessanne Chin won season 5 of The Voice USA, making those victories a quadruple for female artists, remained the last time that a female artist had won a season in any major singing competition in North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), excluding Got Talent franchises, until Alisan Porter won season 10 of The Voice USA in May 2016.
Judges and hosts
On October 22, 2012, it was announced that The X Factor would be returning for a third season, with Simon Cowell confirmed to be returning.
“The X Factor (American TV series) season 3” enters the record as season of the US television series. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Factor, American and series can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“The X Factor (American TV series) season 3” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Factor, American and series provides the most credible route into that argument.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7776445. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2012.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The X Factor (American TV series) season 3”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The X Factor (American TV series) season 3 primary sources, The X Factor (American TV series) season 3 archive and Factor research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The X Factor (American TV series) season 3”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The X Factor (American TV series) season 3” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.