They said it couldn’t be done but James Arthur did it anyway.

The Middlesborough native broke the curse of the bottom two, becoming the first X Factor act to survive the sing off and go on to win the competition. He beat Asda worker Jahmene Douglas to claim the crown on Sunday night in front of a crowd of over 10,000 at Manchester Central.

Arthur had been a firm favourite with fans throughout the competition and was consistently supported by judges Gary Barlow and Tulisa Contostavlos. He narrowly evaded elimination from the competition just weeks from the final, when he and Ella Henderson received the lowest number of votes from the viewers.

Arthur’s winner’s single is a cover of Barbadian recording artist Shontelle’s Impossible and is available for download on iTunes.