Prince and David Bowie will be honoured with themed weeks on 'The X Factor'.

David Bowie

David Bowie

The late music icons - who both passed away this year - will be remembered during the competition's live shows when contestants sing a song from each of them and the whole thing was returning judge Louis Walsh's idea.

A source told The Sun: "Simon Cowell is a big fan of Bowie and has never held back his admiration for him.

"But it's actually Louis who has been pushing this. He thinks it would be a fitting tribute to both Prince and David who both sadly left us this year.

"Also, both have a huge repertoire of hits so it'll give the contestants a wide range of songs to choose from."

David died in January at the age of 69 after a secret cancer battle, while Prince, 57, passed away in April from an accidental fentanyl overdose.

Meanwhile, Louis who was dropped from the panel last year and replaced with DJ Nick Grimshaw, recently lashed out at last year's 'The X Factor' judges Rita Ora and Nick for their lack of experience.

The 63-year-old music manager is glad show boss Cowell decided to hire him, Sharon Osbourne and Nicole Scherzinger for this year's show because he felt the last series lacked enough music knowledge and expertise.

He explained: "Sharon and I are old, but that means we're far more experienced, unlike the young whippersnappers on last year's panel who didn't know a thing about talent."

Louis and Sharon were the first to receive their contracts for the forthcoming series and worked hard to persuade Simon to take on Nicole because they were worried Rita would make the programme more about "fashion" than vocal talent.

He explained: "Sharon and I pushed for Nicole, we didn't want Rita Ora. It turned into a fashion show. The panel didn't have the right credentials. They were lightweight."