in front of a studio audience and the judges, usually singing over a pre-recorded backing track. Dancers are also commonly featured. Acts are allowed to accompany themselves on guitar or piano. 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. Once the number of contestants has been reduced to three (season 1), these acts go on to appear in the grand final which decides the overall winner by public vote. 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. Both these acts perform again in a "final showdown", and the judges vote on which of the two to send home. They were able to pick new songs to perform in the "final showdown". 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 a deadlock, and the act who came last in the public vote is sent home. The actual number of votes cast and order for each of the bottom act are revealed, but not on the other non-bottom acts. After The X Factor Philippines The winner of The X Factor Philippines is awarded a recording contract and a cash prize of 4 million pesos. It is said to be the biggest prize in a Philippine singing competition. Development Before the program was officially announced, ABS-CBN showed The X Factor logo after the end of some of its programs; a new teaser was later revealed bearing the announcement of the Philippine version of the series. Auditions started in October 2011. Initial auditions are held in various cities, towns, and provinces in the Philippines. Major auditions were held in key cities from different parts of the country such as Baguio, Dagupan, Batangas, Quezon City, Naga, Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao. More than 20,000 people auditioned for the first season of The X Factor Philippines. ABS-CBN continued to advertise the show with its short