Leon Jackson Could Lose his Voice

More bad news for Leon - after cancelling a series of gigs due to tonsillitis the X Factor winner could now lose his singing voice forever.

The family of the Scot fear his voice will change after an operation to remove his tonsils.

'Leon has come under a lot of criticism for canceling gigs but he is very ill,' reveals a friend to the Sunday Mail.

'His doctor has told him he must stop using his voice until he is fully better or he will have to have the op.

'In singers, this can lead to a permanent change in voice and difficulty in pronouncing some words.

In other X Factor news - Rhydian has signed a £1million record contract.

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Leon Jackson Recovering After Week Off For Wee Cough

X FACTOR winner Leon Jackson has spent the week at home in Whitburn recovering from tonsillitis.

The singer, who claimed the Christmas number one with his debut single, If You Believe, celebrated his 19th birthday on Sunday catching up with old friends in Glasgow's Tiger Tiger nightclub. But after leaving early with a sore throat he was then forced to cancel a planned appearance at Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party, when doctors ordered him to rest up or face losing his voice.

He also cancelled shows in Falkirk and Dunfermline, leading to criticism from members of the public and even fellow singers.

He has spent the last week at home with his mum, and is expected to be back performing within the next few weeks.

A spokesman for Leon said: "He's having a quiet week at home this week to recover."

Leon Jackson celebrates birthday atop charts

"X Factor" winner Leon Jackson celebrated his 19th birthday on Sunday with a second week at the top of the pop charts for his debut release "When You Believe".

The single, already the fastest selling of the year, has sold 395,000 copies in the two weeks since Jackson won the ITV talent show this month.

Jackson, from West Lothian in Scotland, will cap his chart success with a performance on Monday night opening Edinburgh's Hogmanay street party celebrations alongside rock band Kasabian and singer Calvin Harris.

Last year's "X Factor" winner Leona Lewis was close behind at number two with "Bleeding Heart" -- itself a former number one -- and topped the album charts for a seventh week with "Spirit".

Elsewhere in the singles charts American rapper Soulja Boy Tellem rose two places to number three with "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", while American producer Timbaland and Colorado rock band OneRepublic were six higher at number four with "Apologize".

Reformed boy band Take That climbed two places to number five with "Rule The World".

Producer Mark Ronson also rose two places to number six with "Valerie" featuring Amy Winehouse.

The highest climber in the top 10 was "Goodbye Mr A" from indie band The Hoosiers, which jumped 19 spots to claim 10th place.

In the album charts boy band Westlife were steady at number two with "Back Home".
Take That's "Beautiful World" climbed to number three from eighth place, while Amy Winehouse's best-selling "Back to Black" rose five places to number five.

X Factor's Leon Bags Christmas No1

X Factor winner Leon Jackson has capped an "amazing year" by claiming the coveted Christmas number one.

The Scottish star's debut single When You Believe was predicted to out-sell its rivals and 275,000 copies were snapped up this week - more than the top ten combined.

Jackson's release was also the fastest-selling single of the year despite the controversy surrounding his win over Rhydian Roberts on the ITV show.

The 18-year-old from West Lothian said: "I'm absolutely over the moon. It's the best Christmas and birthday present ever. Having the Christmas number one is an amazing ending to an amazing year and I'm overwhelmed and thrilled. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me."

This time last year the former shop assistant was working late night shifts at a Gap clothes store before auditioning for the television talent show.

Celebrity Dannii Minogue, Jackson's mentor during the X Factor, said: "It's amazing to have been a part of 'The Leon King's' success story. He totally deserves this Christmas number one as the nation have been with him every step of the way since we fell in love with him at his first X Factor audition. It's been a pleasure to nurture Leon's raw talent and I know he will deliver a debut album we will all be proud of."

Jackson's release is the third consecutive X Factor winners' single to top the Christmas chart and follows in the footsteps of A Moment Like This, last year's festive hit from Leona Lewis, and Shayne Ward's 2005 track That's My Goal.

Katie Melua and the late Eva Cassidy's cover of What A Wonderful World fell one slot to number two and next was Lewis' latest release Bleeding Love which also fell a place.

Up four to number four was the old Pogues and Kirsty MacColl hit Fairytale Of New York which was given a boost by the furore surrounding Radio 1's ill-fated decision to censor the lyrics,

Despite singer Amy Winehouse's personal problems the Mark Ronson track Valerie which features her vocals is up three to number eight.