An emotional Louisa Johnson wins X Factor after wowing judges at Wembley

X FACTOR FINAL 2015: 17-year-old hopeful from Essex beat duo Reggie 'N' Bollie.

Louisa goes through bundle of emotions as she finds out she is winner

LOUISA Johnson has won the X Factor 2015.

The 17-year-old singer from Essex was crowned the winner in last night’s glitzy final at the SSE Arena in Wembley, where she beat off competition from fun-loving duo Reggie ‘N’ Bollie.

17-year-old Louisa wins singing competition

She will now release her own rendition of Bob Dylan’s Forever Young as her winner’s single.

But her success is no surprise to the millions of viewers who’ve been tuning in for the past three and a half months.

After being announced as the winner, she said: "I’ve imagined this day for so many years and you really have no idea how much this means to me.


Thank you so much. "I really can’t put it into words. It doesn’t even feel real. It’s just amazing. It’s just crazy and I just appreciate everyone so much for keeping me here, I really do. "I’ve got the most loyal supporters ever.

Winner is cradled by jubilant mentor Rita

 If I make a decision they’ll stick with it and I just can’t thank them enough. They’ve obviously done an amazing job and I’m just so happy."

Rita Ora was ecstatic at news her singer had won

And her mentor Rita Ora had nothing but praise for her as the teenager broke down in tears of joy. She gushed: "Oh my god can I just say thank you to everybody who voted and thank you to Louisa for being the cutest, most generous, most hardworking, gorgeous, gorgeous winner of X Factor 2015!"

The singing star wowed judges when she sang the Motown classic Who’s Lovin’ You at her first audition and has been the firm favourite to win for several weeks. However, her rocketing fame levels haven’t been without controversy after it was revealed she’d had plenty of success prior to the competition, prompting some to suggest the show is a fix.

Fans questioned her audition at Judges’ Houses after she was pictured wearing two different pairs of shoes and it was later revealed she had previously appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and had played big performances at Thorpe Park alongside names such as The Vamps and Professor Green. But the judges were huge fans of the youngster and after she performed the winner's song Simon Cowell described her progress in the competition as the "birth of a star".

He gushed: "You owned tonight. For someone so young, you brought just so much passion and so much talent and you turned a good song into a great one. I'm incredibly proud of you. And I really do believe we are witnessing, and I said it earlier, the birth of a star."

Earlier in the show she performed a rendition of It's A Man's Man's Man's World and had even more praise for the teenager. Simon said: "That, is what is called the X Factor. I mean, seriously. "I can honestly say that in all the years I've done this show, I have never ever heard anything as good as what you just did. It was the best. You're not human."

A breakdown of the voting figures on ITV2’s The Xtra Factor revealed Louisa was consistently voted top week by week. The 17-year-old won the most votes during weeks one to three, while Reggie ‘N’ Bollie came top in week four  but only beat Louisa by 0.1 per cent, then Che won week five’s vote, Louisa was back in top spot by week six, and then won week seven’s final.

By winning the show, she has secured a record deal with Simon's label Syco  which comes with an estimated £125,000 advance. She is set to earn £100,000 from the ITV talent show’s tour early next year, while a hit album could send future earnings into the millions.

Profits from the sale of Louisa’s single will go to children’s charities Together for Short Lives and Shooting Star Chase. Forever Young was made available to download immediately after last night’s final and will see Simon’s company Simco Limited donating 100 per cent of its profits.

The government has also agreed to donate the VAT raised by the single to the same two charities. Chancellor George Osborne said: “I am very happy to announce that the Government will refund all VAT on sales of the single. I urge people go out and buy it in great numbers this Christmas so that as much money as possible is raised to support the charities’ work.

"I hope it will help those families who are going through unimaginably difficult times, at a time of year that must be particularly difficult for them.” The money raised will be shared equally between the two charities.
Together for Short Lives works with youngsters who have life-threatening conditions, while Shooting Star Chase is hospice that cares for sick children and their families.

More than 8million viewers voted as fans tried to make sure their favourite won The X Factor last night