I'm so tirLeona is the first female winner of The X Factor! The only contestant never to be in the bottom two, she beat off competitor and gentleman Ray Quinn to win the title.
Ray was relegated to runner-up but had nothing but compliments for fellow contestant Leona, claiming that she was "fantastic and deserved to win".
In a close contest, with over eight million votes cast, Leona's selection of power ballads, including 'I Will Always Love You', 'All By Myself' and 'A Million Love Songs' (with Take That!) was a winning combination. The judges loved every performance!
The Show
Surprisingly Ray kicked off the show with �My Way� after choosing to go first. This may have been a poor judgement as going second would have meant he closed the show with a bang. Leona followed with �I Will Always Love You� and the judges were in awe of both performances.
In a surprise appearance we have to commend Sean Rogerson for a fantastic performance of �Right Here Waiting�. Sean had major nerves during the final auditions and didn�t make it through (everyone was hoping he would, but he wasn�t ready). Now times have changed and from his performance yesterday we think he will be auditioning next year with a new found voice and confidence. Go on Sean!
Both contestants followed with their duets. Ray sang �That�s Life� with Westlife and seemed to relish the moment in every way! Leona belted out �A Million Love Songs� with Take That. Both performances were fantastic but at this point our money was on Ray.
It was a little strange that producers chose to call on Take That - come on, they are the band of the moment, the number one act! Whichever act sang with them may have been seen as favoured. Audience members had a few raised eyebrows at this point and the rumours of show fixing raised their head again.
Regardless of who sang with which band, Rays personality shone through. Next he turned out a great performance of �Fly me to the moon� but Leona flawlessly performed �All By Myself� � It was a showstopper and the votes must have flooded in for her.
Another surprise performance came with the return of the final twelve auditionees. They sang �That�s What Friends Are For� and it was great to see them all back. Many got cheers from the crowd, though it was no surprise that Roberts entrance received rapturous applause. He should get a record deal he was the personality of the show this year.
Disappointingly the rumours were true and the song selected for final release was Kelly Clarkson�s American Idol song �A Moment Like This�. Controversy had been raised by third-placed Ben about this in previous shows, who claimed the show was being fixed in favour of a female winner.
It undoubtedly suits a female voice and is not a male song at all. Ben was right. Ray gave it his all, but the arrangement was just too different, you couldn�t recognize the song at the beginning. Hearts went out to him as Leona took to the stage and belted out a �more recognisable� arrangement. It was unbelievably perfect. She nailed it.
The votes were in, and the winner� Leona!
Ever the gent Ray lifted her up to the sky and said, "I�m so happy for Leona she deserves it." Not surprisingly Leona was "speechless".
Simon Cowell, like fellow judges Sharon Osbourne and Louis Walsh, thought that the former receptionist would be able to have global success. "I've worked in America for a long time now and I've been told there will be never singer that can represent Britain on a worldwide stage," he told her. "You have proved them wrong."
Simon added, "After eight million votes and a close race that means that Ray has around four million people voting for him. He has a fan base. He has a career."
After the result was announced, a teary Leona said, "Thankyou so much, everyone for voting for me. You've all made my dream come true."
Considering she has already had 50,000 downloads of the song already � she�s heading for number one. Well done missus!
The judges were asked after the show if �A Moment Like This� suited Leona�s voice better? Sharon said �she owned the stage and the song� but all judges avoided the question with similar answers. A controversial end to the X Factor.
After the public and press have spent time questioning Leona's personality and whether she has the nerve to battlewith the big guns, will she have longevity, does she need some oomph! Will Ray's personality and talent send him to stardom? Will he triumph as many have by not winning the X Factor and contracting the curse that seems to come with it?
What do you think?
Visit our forum
http://www.entertainmentwise.com/forum/topic.asp?topic_id=405&whichpage=4
Entertainment News