As expected,
18-year-old Joe McElderry from South
Shields has been crowned the new X
Factor winner. The bookies' hot
favourite, he picks up the title and a
record contract. Likeable and
personable, he beat Essex geezer Olly
Murs in the public vote. Magnanimous in
defeat, Olly paid a touching tribute to
Joe.

"He deserves every minute of it," he
said. Olly can take heart from JLS; they
have proved that it's possible to have
success even if you don't win. Joe beat
200,000
applicants to become the last man
standing. Overjoyed and overcome at his
victory, he hugged his mentor, fellow
Geordie Cheryl Cole, and said: "I can't
even speak, thank you so much everyone."
Both Joe and Olly had performed X Factor
single The Climb but it was soon clear
that the track suited Joe's voice
better. The result capped an eventful
night featuring a host of big star names
including: Sir Paul McCartney, George
Michael, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke
and JLS. In our gallery, we take a look
back at Saturday and Sunday's finales
and we also profile Joe, Olly and
Stacey's road to the X Factor final. The
views in this column/blog are those of
the author alone and not of MSN or
Microsoft.