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X Factor Italy 2026: judges finalize 12-act lineup in Last Call episode
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In brief
X Factor Italy's judges picked their final 12 contestants for the Live Shows during the Last Call episode, broadcast on Sky Uno on October 15, 2026. Francesco Gabbani, Irama, Jake La Furia and Paola Iezzi each formed a three-act team, and host Giorgia announced a new twist that lets eliminated contestants re-enter through a public vote.
X Factor Italy aired its Last Call episode on Sky Uno on Thursday, October 15, 2026, according to the broadcast recap published by AllMusicItalia and reporting by tg24.sky.it. The episode is the final selection round before the competition's Live Shows, which begin on October 22 at Teatro Repower in Milan.
Four judges took part in the selections: Francesco Gabbani, Irama, Jake La Furia and Paola Iezzi. Singer Giorgia hosted the episode. Each judge had three chairs to fill, and only the contestants who ended the night in a chair advanced to the Live Shows, AllMusicItalia reported.
How the Last Call selection worked
According to tg24.sky.it, the Last Call format places three empty chairs on stage for each judge. As acts perform for a third time — including any contestants who had received an 'X Pass' during Bootcamp — judges fill the chairs one by one. Once all three of a judge's chairs are occupied, the studio lighting turns red and a 'switch' mechanism is activated: to add a new act, a judge must remove one of the contestants already seated.
The site described the stakes in stark terms, noting every artist has only two possible outcomes by the end of the night — in the competition, or out of it. AllMusicItalia reported that 17 of the 29 contestants who performed during Last Call were eliminated, leaving 12 finalists split evenly across the four teams.
The final 12
The four completed teams, as confirmed by both tg24.sky.it and AllMusicItalia, are listed below.
| Judge | Contestant 1 | Contestant 2 | Contestant 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francesco Gabbani | Giacomo Calò | Scraffs | Alice Fregoso |
| Jake La Furia | Alìa | Alex Fontana | Veronica Bruganelli |
| Paola Iezzi | Mad Dog | Manù | Milla |
| Irama | Danny Anania | Le Distanze | Patrizia Napolano |
Giorgia's announcement
At the end of the episode, host Giorgia revealed a new feature for this season: two 'SKODA X-Pass' cards, which AllMusicItalia described as a first in the show's history. The cards give the public a chance to bring back an eliminated contestant through home voting during the first Live Show.
The public, with home voting, will decide which of the two [eliminated contestants] can re-enter the competition.
What comes next
The Live Shows start on October 22, 2026, at Teatro Repower in Milan, according to tg24.sky.it, which also reported that the season finale is scheduled for December 3, 2026, at the Unipol Forum in Assago, near Milan. The identities of the two contestants eligible for the public-vote re-entry had not been detailed in the sources reviewed for this article.
Questions
- Who are the judges on X Factor Italy 2026?
- The four judges are Francesco Gabbani, Irama, Jake La Furia and Paola Iezzi; singer Giorgia hosts the show, according to tg24.sky.it and AllMusicItalia.
- How many contestants made it to the X Factor 2026 Live Shows?
- Twelve contestants made the final cut, three per judge, after the Last Call episode eliminated 17 of the 29 acts who performed that night, per AllMusicItalia.
- What is the 'switch' mechanism in Last Call?
- Once a judge's three chairs are filled, the stage turns red and any new act added must replace a contestant already seated, as described by tg24.sky.it.
- What did Giorgia announce at the end of Last Call?
- Giorgia introduced two 'SKODA X-Pass' cards that let television viewers vote to bring back one eliminated contestant during the first Live Show, according to AllMusicItalia.
- When do the X Factor Italy 2026 Live Shows start and end?
- The Live Shows begin on October 22, 2026, at Teatro Repower in Milan, with the finale set for December 3, 2026, at the Unipol Forum in Assago, per tg24.sky.it.
How the world is telling it
- ItalianItalian outlets covered Last Call as a major live TV event, focusing on the drama of the chair-and-switch format, the full list of the 12 finalists by team, and framing Giorgia's X-Pass announcement as a historic first for the franchise in Italy.
Sources
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