The ninth season of the X Factor Romania talent show premiered September 11, 2020. Delia Matache and Ștefan Bănică Jr. kept their roles as judges while Loredana Groza and X Factor (Romanian season 3) winner, Florin Ristei, were the two new judges of the talent show. Răzvan Simion and Dani Oțil, the presenters of the morning show Neatza cu Răzvan și Dani returned as the show's hosts after an absence of one season. Crina Mardare was the only vocal coach of the season.
The aspiring artists were able to register online on the site of the show. From these, the producer selected the artists who are to enter the audition stage. This season had the motto #deneoprit () due to the fact that the whole show is filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Categories Colour key: Winner Runner-up Eliminated in the Semifinal Eliminated in the Duels Eliminated in the Bootcamp Wildcard Category(mentor)Top 40 artistsWildcardGirls (Ștefan)Andrada PrecupAlexandra SîrghiIoana ArdeleanAndra BarangăMelania CucAndreea DobreAna Paula Rada PanteaOana VeleaMarta VerrecchiaMarina VladBoys(Loredana)Adrian PetracheIulian SeleaEden LorenTheodor AndreiRobert BotezanDenis CosteaArthur HoreanuKashy (Gabi Gruici)Liviu PanaitDavid Adrian ȘtefanOver 24s (Delia)Sonia MoscaAlina DincăKalon RaeIulian CanafMehmet DuralOtilia GoguNaomi HedmanAustin HirthLakeetra KnowlesMihai MeiroșGroups (Ristei)Super 4Tiny TigersDiana & Ioana Conta4SUREHello (Teodora & Marian)Indrus (Oana & George Indru)It's US!RB QueensTrio EvaWest VladsAlfa Band
Auditions Auditions took place in Bucharest only, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming started on July 7, 2020.
According to the X Factor Romania - the ninth season regulations, each judges was assigned a category to mentor.
Boys between the ages of 14 and 24 - Loredana Groza Girls between the ages of 14 and 24 - Ștefan Bănică Jr. Artists over the age of 24 (mixed) - Delia Matache Groups - Florin Ristei
Each judge had the right to one vote for each contestant with: "YES" or "NO". Those who received 4 YES-es were advanced directly to the next stage. Those with 3 YES-es were put on the short list of the judge that mentored their category. The judge that mentored the groups category had the opportunity to form groups after the auditions; he could ask for each artist that received 3 YES-es. The judge that mentored the category of the respective artists decided if he will keep them in his category or if he will leave them for the group category.
Each judge completed his team with 10 artists/musical acts.
Episode 1 (September 11)
OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Ioana Ardelean20BucharestGirls"Still In Love"2Vlad Moigrădeanu30TimișoaraOver 24s"Blue Suede Shoes"—3Vlad Erdei30TimișoaraOver 24s"Something About the Way You Look Tonight"———4Vlad Erdei & Vlad Moigrădeanu30TimișoaraGroups"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"5Radu Brescan24BucharestOver 24s"Feeling Good""Foaie verde, foi de floare"— (after hearing the 2nd song)6Lavinia Jitaru16CraiovaGirls"Mercy on Me"7François Larocque34Paris, FranceOver 24sContestant decided to leave the competition8Romanița Duminică33BucharestOver 24s"Niciodată nu e prea târziu" (own song)—9Buffon01(Florin Doleanu)23BucharestBoys"Călător prin Europa" (own song)10Bianca Ionescu17BucharestGirls"Hello""You Don't Do It for Me Anymore"11Marius Amariei34SibiuOver 24s"Arată-i c-o iu..."12Alexandra Țiuleanu23CraiovaGirls"I Have Nothing"——13Adrian Petrache19BucharestBoys"Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)"14Giulian Ioan34BucharestOver 24s"Sway"15Jeni Ion33BucharestOver 24s"Cuvinte" Impossible to advance due to contestant's deafness
Episode 2 (September 18) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Iulia Perpelea17BucharestGirls"He Taught Me How to Yodel"2Alex Mica29TimișOver 24s"Pe-o margine de lume"3Izabela Maria Marin20Râmnicu VâlceaGirls"It's a Man's Man's Man's World""Something's Got a Hold on Me""Hit the Road Jack" alongside Florin Ristei——4Andrada Precup16BucharestGirls"Proud Mary"5Alexandra Moraru18TimișoaraGirls"Raggamuffin""Ce-ți cântă dragostea"6Lucian Pință57BreazaOver 24s"Smile"7Andra Ariadna Chitu25BucharestOver 24s"Revolution""Yesterday"8Cornel Munteanu17BucharestBoys"Umbrella"9Denis Iane29BucharestOver 24s"I Like It"10Super 4(Aurelio Fierro Jr., Gregorio Rega, Salvatore "Sabba" Lampitelli and Francesco Boccia)4 membersNaples, ItalyGroups"Un'emozione da poco" "Caruso"11Angelo Iancu19LugojBoys"I Put a Spell on You"12Carmen Belenesi46Cluj-NapocaOver 24s"Pasiune maximă" (own song)
Episode 3 (September 25) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Mistah White(Radu Deac)32BucharestOver 24s"Magie" (own song)2Alfa Band (Andrei, Florin, Mira & Bianca)4 membersCluj-NapocaGroups"The Sounds of Silence"No voteSent directly to Bootcamp as WILDCARD3Theodor Andrei15BucharestBoys"If I Can Dream"4Oana Velea16BucharestGirls"Praying"5Tomer "Tomy" Jack Weissbuch22BucharestBoysown song— 6Otilia Gogu & Adelina Gogu46 & 20MărășeștiGroups, Over 24s"Două inimi" 7Rawi Srouji23Nazareth, IsraelBoys"Tamally Maak" 8Bianca Sandu22TimișoaraGirls"Rather Be" — — 9Lucian Păscan40Miercurea-CiucOver 24s"N'oubliez jamais"10Ana Cernicova29Chișinău, MoldovaOver 24s"I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier Mama" "Ave Maria" (after hearing the 2nd song)(after hearing the 2nd song)(after hearing the 2nd song)11Eduard Crenganiș25IașiOver 24s"De-aș avea" (own song) — 12Naomi Hedman27London, United KingdomOver 24s"Fallin'" "If I Ain't Got You" alongside Florin Ristei (after hearing the duet) (after hearing the duet) (after hearing the duet) (after hearing the duet)
Episode 4 (October 2) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Alina Dincă30BucharestOver 24s"Love On The Brain"2Andi Horjea24BucharestOver 24s"Breathe Easy"3Alexia Andreea Lupea17GalațiGirls "Kill This Love" — — 4Ana Maria German29Târgu MureșOver 24s"Casa mea" — — — — 5Bianca Mihai 19BuzăuGirls"Something In The Way"6Mihai Spînu25SlatinaOver 24s"Copacul"✔ — 7Robert Botezan24SibiuBoys"Lucifer" (own song)8Apollo & Artemis Evanghelos19 & 19PloieștiGroups"Rămâi" / "Thelo Konta Sou Na Meino"9Andrei Dafin33SuceavaOver 24s"Interzis de dulce" (own song)— — 10Vasi Bistrae31ConstanțaOver 24s"At Last"11 Vasi Tiberiu Botezătoru26ConstanțaOver 24s"Andrei Radu" — 12Dominique Simionescu18SibiuGirls"Inimă nu fi de piatră" / "I Will Survive"13Ana Paula Rada Pantea19PortugalGirls"Granada"
Episode 5 (October 9) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Bogdan Mureșan23AradBoys"Mortal" (own song)2Alisia Ienei18OradeaGirls"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"3Mario Rosini56Gioia del Colle, ItalyOver 24s"L'infinità"4Dragoș Marian Calotă31TimișoaraOver 24s"Writing's on the Wall"5Chriss Casper 32BucharestOver 24s"Little Paris"6Sava Răgățeanu60BucharestOver 24s"Sărut, femeie, mâna ta"7Melania Cuc19GhiorocGirls"Never Enough"8Maria Andraș18Sfântu GheorgheGirls"Talking to the Moon"9Florentina Stan42BucharestOver 24s"November Rain" "Zombie" — — — —10Arthur Horeanu15AradBoys"I Don't Want to Be"11Sorin Ene39GratiaOver 24s"Fir-ai tu să fii de murg" — — — —12Sonia Mosca28Salerno, ItalyOver 24s"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" "Burn Baby Burn"
Episode 6 (October 16) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Denis Costea14BrașovBoys"Cruisin' for a Bruisin'"2Rareș Nicolae Iorga20ArgeșBoys"The Real Slim Shady"3Marina Vlad22CraiovaGirls"Fallin'"4Liviu Panait23AgigeaBoys"Stay"5Anna Turrei24Milan, ItalyOver 24s"Black Widow"6Marius Lemeni26OradeaOver 24s"Iubește-o sincer" — 7Tania Morales41BucharestOver 24s"Hasta la Muerte" (own song) "De-ar fi să vii"8Andreea Fabri16NădlacGirls"She Taught Me to Yodel"9 Jurgen Bonaccini41BucharestOver 24s"Perdere l'amore" — 10Ana Maria Ioana20SibiuGirls"I'll Take Care of You"11Alexandra Sîrghi18GalațiGirls"I Don't Think About You"12Marcelo Souza35BucharestOver 24s"??" — 13Cristina Teodorescu37BucharestOver 24s"My Heart Will Go On" —
Episode 7 (October 23) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Ioana Ilincescu17BucharestGirls"Into The Unknown"2Harmony Duo46 & 56ConstanțaGroups"Stumblin' In" "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Florin Ristei) (after hearing the 2nd song)(after hearing the 2nd song)(after hearing the 2nd song)3Stelian Savu30BucharestOver 24s"Compilation"4Maia Mălăncuș14 IașiGirls"Just Like Fire"5Monica Puiu36BucharestOver 24s"You Are the Reason" — 6Iulian Canaf 47IașiOver 24s"Please Accept My Love"7 Ferenc Zsolt Gál30Târgu MureșOver 24s"Best Days" (own song) — 8Kashy (Ștefan Gabriel Luca)19Moldova NouăBoys"Child in Time" (own song) "Child in Time"9Cristina Dăscălescu48BacăuOver 24s"Lágrima"10Maria Viorela Lupu19BucharestGirls"Pe când te iubeam" — 11Kalon Rae 33London, United KingdomOver 24s"Lately"
Episode 8 (October 30) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Carla Ioniță14Cluj-NapocaGirls"idontwannabeyouanymore"2David Adrian Ștefan 14BucharestBoys"Who's Lovin' You"3Maria Alexandra Voiculescu30SibiuOver 24s"You and I" —4Simona Smultea32TimișoaraOver 24s"Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" — — — —5Diana & Denisa Simion23 & 23FocșaniGroups"Dance Monkey" —6Vanessa Ion17BucharestGirls"Fallin'"7Costi Pucă19AradBoys"Puștoaico" (own song) — —8Andrada Ghiduruș15SloboziaGirls"I Dreamed A Dream"9Alexandru Stamate28Târgu JiuOver 24s"Superstition" —10Ioan Păduraru 32BacăuOver 24s"I Believe I Can Fly"11Cristina Gheorghe28BucharestOver 24s"We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off"12Mihăiță Liviu Stan31BrăilaOver 24s"Sus paharul" 13 Lakeetra Knowles 42Pavia, Italy / Little Rock, Arkansas, United StatesOver 24s"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
Episode 9 (November 6) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Sara Memba30Spain Over 24s"Mundo Bicolor"2Ana Maria Roșu24BucharestOver 24s"Ain't No Way"3Zila Mike(Mihai Negru)26BucharestOver 24s"King Zila" (own song)4Austin Hirth 28Cluj-Napoca / Florida, United StatesOver 24s"Budapest"5Jasmina Glodeanu31BucharestOver 24s"Chuva"6INDEPENDENȚII(Ștefan Bolnavu & Cătălin Heisanu)23 & 23Curtea de ArgeșGroupsown song7Beatrice Giurgiu38TimișoaraOver 24s"Mercy on Me"8Parascheva Burdjua23IașiGirls"If I Die Young" — 9Katarina Dyer 21BucharestGirls"Love on the Brain"10Cezara Daiana Niculcia22TimișoaraGirls"Te iubeam" — — 11Cătălin Valea47PetroșaniOver 24s"Say Something" — — 12Mihai Meiroș34BucharestOver 24s"Lady"13Marta Verrecchia 18Gaeta, ItalyGirls"Listen"
Episode 10 (November 12) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Andreea Dobre 18StrajaGirls"Murderer"2Tiberiu Gache33BucharestOver 24s"DROP" (own song)3Alexandra Căpitănescu17GalațiGirls"Am I The One"4Marian Vasilescu28BucharestOver 24s"Imagine"5Oana & George Indru28 & 21TimișoaraGroups"Give In to Me"6Nadia Shehabi26TimișoaraOver 24s"Elastic Heart"7Mihaela Condurache51BucharestOver 24s"She's Gone Out of My Life"8Ioana Cristodorescu21BucharestGirls"Drinking In The Day"9Roxana Ghiuzan16RomanGirls"I Put a Spell on You"10Mattia Perdeti31ItalyOver 24s"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
Episode 11 (November 13) OrderArtistAgeHometownCategorySong(s)RisteiDeliaLoredanaȘtefan1Ilinca Dinu15BucharestGirls"Am I The One"2Zoran Demian21TimișoaraBoys"Human"3Corina Badea51TulceaOver 24s"Ce are ea"4Iulian Selea21PiteștiBoys"You Are the Reason"5Alexandra Marin Raicu30BrăilaOver 24s"Rămâi și nu pleca" —6Ioan Gasparovici18BrașovBoys"Yesterday" 7Rania Kutkut17SuceavaGirls"Empire State of Mind"8Cristina Vasiu28BucharestOver 24s"Oameni" 9Răzvan Drăgan22BucharestBoys"Say You Won't Let Go" — —10Diana & Ioana Conta22 & 22TimișoaraGroups"lovely"11Zorana Samson17BucharestGirls"Toxic" 12Mehmet Dural33BucharestOver 24s"Cennet" "Drumurile noastre"
Episode 12 (November 19)