The X Factor will return to stripped down auditions with no backing tracks or studio audience, The Sun can reveal.
The overhaul has been ordered by boss Simon Cowell to breathe life back into the show - which lost two million viewers last year.
Wannabes will have to face the judges in an “intimate setting” and perform a-cappella, just like in the show’s early days.
But they will then have to impress the judges at a SECOND audition in front of a live audience before getting put through to the Boot Camp stage.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm the audition rooms will be returning to the X Factor as one of a number of exciting changes.”
A senior show source added: “Fans wanted changes this year - and we’re giving them what they want. The a-cappella auditions were classic X Factor and really gave the judges an insight into whether acts were any good. It also better showcased some of the weird and wacky people we get, whose performances got lost in the arena auditions. The plan is to have the best of both worlds.”
X Factor chiefs axed the old audition format in 2009 as part of a bid to make the show more of an event. It worked well for the first couple of years, with the 2010 show finale - won by Matt Cardle won - watched by nearly 20 million, an X Factor record.
But viewers soon started switching off. The Sun first revealed the revamp plans after last year’s final - which received the lowest rating since 2005.
The new format was thrashed out at a meeting of top brass last week, where plans were also discussed to bring Sharon Osbourne back as a judge.
Other tweaks could see the show starting later - in early September.
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