X Factor winner Louisa Johnson has wasted no time in making her mark, with her debut single racing to the top of the download singles chart just twenty-four hours after going on release.
The 17-year-old trumped duo Reggie N Bollie to scoop the top spot on the live final, becoming the youngest ever winner in the competition's history.
Johnson has been a front-runner in the competition since auditions began earlier this year, and she continued to impress the judges and audiences with strong vocal performances during Sunday evening's show.
Simon Cowell said, "Congratulations... we are witnessing the birth of a star."
She took almost 54% of the votes in last night's final and figures released by the X Factor show that she secured the most votes every week bar two, when she was beaten by the other two finalists Reggie N Bollie and Che Chesterman - though by only a very tiny margin.
After her win last night Louisa said:
I've imagined this day for so many years and you have no idea how much this means to me.
Louisa with jubilant mentor Rita Ora
The singer has landed a coveted record deal with Simon Cowell's label Syco, and now looks like a safe bet for this year's Christmas Number 1 with her cover of Bob Dylan's Forever Young already top of the iTunes chart in Ireland and the UK.
Can't describe how I feel! Forever Young is OUT NOW!!! What is happening 😳😬 https://t.co/3u94v0xXK7 pic.twitter.com/V6xompkkqC
— Louisa Johnson (@louisa) December 13, 2015
Louisa is strongly tipped for the Christmas no 1
Last night's runners up Reggie N Bollie, was graceful loosers and the pair seemed optimistic about their future
"We came here empty-handed and we're leaving fully loaded for the music industry!", they declared.
Reggie N Bollie were runners up
Sunday night's show featured some big name performances, including a show-stealing turn from Adele who performed a new song and showed off a shorter 'bobbed' hair do.
There were also performances from Coldplay and One Direction - one of the last chances to catch the band before their much-publicised hiatus. Simon Cowell said a heartfelt goodbye to his protégées, telling them they had been an "absolute pleasure" to work with.
Adele delivered a show stopping performance
However despite having some of the world's biggest acts performing on the show, the X Factor's final viewing figures were down compared to last year.
Viewing figures overall peaked at 9.9 million viewers, down from 10.5 million the year before. The Strictly Come Dancing results show peaked at 11.7 million on Sunday, as viewers tuned in to the semi-final to see Anita Rani leave the competition.
