Teen singer-student Louisa Johnson wins 2015 ‘The X Factor’ UK

Louisa Johnson emerged as the grand champion in this year’s X factor UK early Monday (Philippine time) on a night celebrating the best of British music.

Being an early favorite by bookies and viewers, the 17-year-old singer-student from Essex garnered 53.9 percent of the votes, beating her rival rappers Reggie N Bollie.

“I’ve imagined this day for so many years and you have no idea how much this means to me,” Johnson said after she was declared the winner.

During the performance show on Sunday, Johnson sang Christina Aguilera’s “Fighter,” R-Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly” and Jennifer Hudson’s “And I’m Telling You” (duet with Rita Ora).

Johnson also sang her version of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” as the winner’s single and “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” as her favorite song during the results show.

“That is what is called The X Factor. I know I’m prone to exaggeration, I can honestly say in all the years I have done this show, I have never heard anything as good as what you just did… you are not human,” judge Simon Cowell told her after the performance.

Reggie N Bollie, the duo from Ghana, performed their mash-up rendition of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful” and Reel 2 Real’s “I Like To Move It.”

“I’ve believed in you from day one, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you so much,” said their mentor Cheryl Fernandez-Versini.

The duo later expressed gratitude to their fans who showed their support since day one: “We want to say thank you to everyone supporting us, thank you to the judges—thank you for making us live our dreams, thank you Cheryl for your belief, we really appreciate it.”

Filipino girl group 4th Impact, together with the finalists, opened the show with a special mash-up of Petula Clark’s and Macklemore’s “Downtown.”

Coldplay, the first guest performer of the night, sang their new song “Adventure Of A Lifetime” before the ecstatic crowd inside the Wembly Arena in London.

Meanwhile, One Direction, who would reportedly be taking a short break on their careers for at least a year, performed their songs “Infinity” and “History.”

READ: One Direction to take an extended hiatus in March—reports

“It’s been the most amazing five years… we want to thank Simon, The X Factor… we are sad to be going away for a little while but we need it, thank you to all the fans who’ve supported us over the years,” member Liam Payne said.

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The audience were also treated with a special performance by Grammy-award winning singer Adele. She sang her newest single “Hello” as her new bob hairstyle greeted her followers.

After singing, she told host Olly Murs: “Honestly I’ve been waiting half my life to do this. I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for having me, I loved it. I wanted to burst out laughing, I did at the end.”

She also gave an inspiring message to the contestants, saying: “Always go with your own instinct. I’ve always gone on what I thought.” RAM

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