Joe McElderry has been named the 2009 winner of The X Factor.
The result was no surprise, as the teenager from South Shields had been favourite to win thanks to his cheeky charm and pitch perfect vocals.
After the result was announced, the youngster could only smile and say "thank-you" as he was congratulated by mentor Cheryl Cole and show host Dermot O'Leary.
It was left to runner-up Olly Murs to comment on his victory. He led the applause for his fellow contestant and said: "Joe's been phenomenal. He's breathless with his vocal every week, and he deserves every minute of it."
There were more than 10 million votes cast for the two finalists. Joe's first single - The Climb - will be on sale from tonight as a download, and will be in the shops on Wednesday. If previous shows are any indication, it looks certain to be the Christmas No 1.
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As he sang the song once more to celebrate his victory, he was joined on stage by all the finalists, who hugged and kissed him.
Afterwards his mentor Cheryl said: "I'm feeling over the moon! The right person won. Joe, I'm so proud of you. The North East is going to be going nuts!"
Simon Cowell was gracious in defeat: - "I'm gutted for Olly, I'm thrilled for you because you're brilliant."
Joe himself said: "I can't actually speak. I just want to say thank-you to Cheryl, she's been an amazing mentor. To all the judges for your comments. To everybody at home that have voted. I just really appreciate it."
