Joe McElderry found it hard to take in his victory after being named the latest winner of The X Factor.
But while the South Shields teenager struggled to put into words his feelings about winning, he found it much easier to thank his mentor, fellow Geordie Cheryl Cole.
The Girls Aloud star, who has described Joe as being like a "younger brother" after their time together during the show, could not hide her pride, saying "I could burst".
Even rival judge Simon Cowell was gracious in defeat after his act Olly Murs was named runner-up to Joe.
"I'm gutted for Olly (but) I'm thrilled for you," he told a shaken Joe after the result.
And Simon joked he was irritated that Cheryl - who won last year with Alexandra Burke - had once again come up trumps by mentoring Joe.
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"I have a mixture of emotions. This one (Cheryl) is going to be so smug, it's going to be so annoying," he laughed.
But he added: "They actually deserved to win so well done."
Joe once again put in a perfect performance with his two songs in the final - a repeat of Journey's Don't Stop Believin' and the X Factor single The Climb.
He came out top with the public, and it was later revealed on The Xtra Factor that he had been top with the viewers for most of the second half of the series.
Speaking to Holly Willoughby he said: "What has just happened? I can't believe it!
"I sat and watched it last year when Alexandra won and I voted for her, watched her when she sang with Beyonce, and now I've done the same thing.
"I feel like I'm floating. I feel like jelly."
Mentor Cheryl was delighted - not least because she has looked after the last two winners - a 100 per cent record on the show.
When asked how Simon would be feeling about this, she smiled and said "fuming".
When asked if she was now aiming for a hat-trick of winners, she said "I'll give it a go", before adding: "For the first two years I've had amazingly talented artists. It's down to them really. They're the ones that have to get up and sing, not me."
Joe meanwhile summed up his time on The X Factor: "I've had the best experience of my life and I've met some brilliant people. And (turning to Cheryl) I can't thank you enough for what you've done. You've supported us right the way through, song choices, everything and you've made me feel comfortable and I can't thank you enough."
Joe now releases his debut single The Climb, which could well be heading for the Christmas No 1 spot.
The CD will also feature two bonus tracks - Somebody To Love and Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - two audience favourites from Joe's time on the show.
The 18-year-old student, the youngest of the 12 finalists this year, has received praise by the bucketload throughout the show's run for his vocal talents and boy-next-door charm.
His performance of Whitney Houston's Where Do Broken Hearts Go impressed the judges, including Simon who said it was "note-perfect", while he was given more standing ovations for his renditions of Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word on the seventh and eighth live shows.
It seems Joe was a popular winner with certain celebs too, who have been discussing the result on social networking site Twitter.
Radio 1 DJ and TV presenter Fearne Cotton tweeted: "Good for joe. Gorgeous voice and seems like a sweet heart. he'll be on top of the pops this xmas. We're recording it tomorrow."
Model Daisy Lowe just had two words: "YES JOE".
