Sunday 16 December 2007

Leon Jackson Wins X Factor



Leon Jackson has been crowned X Factor winner, beating Rhydian Roberts in a "shock" result.

The win means the Scotsman has landed a £1 million record contract and a shot at this year's Christmas No 1.

Bookies had put Welsh contestant Rhydian Roberts as red hot 1/3 favourite to win the ITV1 show.

Ladbrokes spokesman Nick Weinberg, said: "Leon's win is the biggest shock in the history of reality TV betting."

The Scot, a 6/1 outsider going into the final, saved the bookies from a mammoth payout.

In tears, a stunned-looking Leon said: "It just means the world... I love singing."

Earlier, host Dermot O'Leary told viewers there was just one per cent between Rhydian and Leon in terms of votes.

Leon's songs included the Bing Crosby classic White Christmas.

Judge Sharon Osbourne told him he had transformed in the competition from a shy boy to a confident young man.

The final pitted nation against nation, with Rhydian representing Wales, Same Difference England and Leon Scotland.

Earlier, brother and sister duo Same Difference were announced as the act with fewest votes, putting them in third place.

The result meant that Dannii Minogue was automatically the winning judge on the ITV1 show, as she mentored both Rhydian and Leon.

Leon performed a duet which saw the Minogues keeping it in the family, with Kylie Minogue taking to the stage with the West Lothian 18-year-old.

The pop princess wore a show-stopping skin-tight black lace outfit as she sang her hit Better The Devil You Know.

Ladbrokes spokesman Mr Weinberg said Leon's win had "saved us from a bumper payout. He'll definitely be top of our Christmas card list".

The youngster is now seen as a shoo-in for the Christmas No 1 and the bookies have stopped taking bets.

William Hill saw one of the busiest nights in reality TV betting history with £50,000 bet in the last 10 minutes of trading before the winner was announced.

Eighteen-year-old Leon has always said he went on the show to make a better life for his mum.

But he nearly blew his chances in the first show when his jazzy rendition of The Beatles Can't Buy Me Love was described as a disaster by Louis and a "complete and utter nightmare" by Simon.

His subsequent performances often split the judges, but he proved popular with viewers.

By Show 6, when he sang You Don't Know Me, he had become the "dark horse" of the competition, and by Show 7, his version of Crazy Little Thing Called Love had Louis saying: "You are the most improved person in this competition."

One of the highlights of his X Factor journey was performing with Michael Buble at Wembley. Buble said of him: "You watch - he's gonna sell millions of records. I said to him at Wembley remember this dude when I could use a break."

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