Joe McElderry was named the X Factor 2009 winner after going up against 26-year-old Olly Murs in the tense second night of the final tonight (Sunday).
The 18-year-old from South Shields was victorious in the competition after months of hard work, auditions and nerve-wracking live performances.
Overcome with emotion, the singer told host Dermot O'Leary: "I can't even speak, thank you so much everyone." He then thanked his mentor Cheryl as well as everyone who voted for him.
A very proud Cheryl said: “I feel over the moon I’m absolutely delighted. The right person won. Joe I’m so proud of you. The north east are going to go nuts.” And a gracious Simon added “I’m gutted for Olly (but) I’m thrilled for you because you are brilliant.”
Olly Murs, who was in Simon's Over 25s group, told Dermot: "I’m massively proud (of how well I've done) and Joe has been phenomenal every week…he deserves every minute of it.”
Mentored by Cheryl Cole in the Boys category, Joe had long been a favourite throughout the competition to lift the crown after giving stunning performance after stunning performance.
Throughout the show, the singer gave polished performances and note-perfect renditions of songs including the Whitney Houston song Where Do Broken Hearts Go and the Lion King song Circle of Life.
On tonight’s show he gave another two fantastic performances, kicking off with the Journey hit Don’t Stop Believin’, followed up by his version of the winner’s single, the Miley Cyrus hit The Climb, which is from Hannah Montana: The Movie.
On last night’s show he performed Luther Vandross' Dance with my Father, followed up by a duet with none other than George Michael on his hit Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me. The trio of songs was then concluded with Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word.
And all of Joe’s flawless performances have finally paid off, with the public voting to make him 2009’s X Factor champion.
This is the second year in a row that Cheryl’s act has won the competition. Cheryl herself has only been part of The X Factor for two years, but despite her success on the show, the judge is rumoured to be considering leaving the show to focus on her own music career, after her debut album proved to be a massive hit.
Joe's version of The Climb will go on sale from midnight tonight and will be in shops from Wednesday, in time for the Christmas chart, and will no doubt reach the number one spot. But not all people seem keen to see The X Factor single become the Christmas number one again - a Facebook group has been set up calling for people to buy Rage Against the Machine’s 1992 hit Killing in the Name instead.
Check out all the X Factor gossip on stv.tv here. Missed the show this weekend? Catch up using the STV Player to see all the action.
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