The 18-year-old from Newcastle branded 'Killing In The Name' “dreadful” on Friday and added “I hate it!”

After hearing about the result this evening, McElderry said: “It's been exciting to be part of a much-hyped battle and they definitely deserve congratulations."

He added: “This time last year I never thought for one minute that I'd win The X Factor, never mind about having a debut single out, so I'm just delighted to be in the charts.

"It's been such an incredible couple of months and I got the best Christmas gift I could ever have asked for in winning The X Factor."

Meanwhile, Simon Cowell praised Jon and Tracy Morter for their Facebook campaign.

He told the BBC: "I am gutted for Joe because a number one single meant a lot to him but I have to congratulate Jon and Tracy, who started the Facebook campaign.

"I called Jon on Saturday to congratulate the two of them that, win or lose, they turned this into a very exciting race for the Christmas number one.

"I am proud of Joe - he worked really hard this week, but he has a great year ahead of him."

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(by Scott Colothan)