All the X Factor winners EVER: But where are they now? - Mirror Online
TV
All the X Factor winners EVER: But where are they now?
With the final fast approaching, let's take a look at the illustrious line-up of previous X Factor winners
 Share
Get celebs updates directly to your inbox
+ Subscribe
Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email
Video Loading
Click to play Tap to play
The video will start in 8Cancel
Play now
Share this video
Watch Next
The X Factor ends this weekend with three contenders battling it out to be crowned winner.
Bookmakers put Fleur East ahead of the other two finalists Ben Haenow and Andrea Faustini.
But when the excitement dies down, how many of the show's winners have turned their TV success into a viable music career?
Let's take a look at some of the X Factor 's past winners, to see how they've done since.
Which X Factor Winners have been most successful?
X Factor winners' top 40 singles
Leona Lewis has clearly had the biggest success in terms of top 40 singles, leaving rivals Little Mix and Alexandra Burke in the dust.
If we don't count Sam - who's only a year into her career and is (at present) still signed, Steve doesn't come out of this very well.
X Factor winners' number 1 singles
Surprisingly, very few contestants have had number one singles beyond their winner's single. Only Leona, Alexandra and Little Mix have topped the chart more than once.
It should perhaps be noted that One Direction , who came third in the 2010 X Factor, have had three number ones and 11 top 40 singles, leaving all of the winners in the dust.
Steve Brookstein
1
Top 40 singles
Steve was the very first winner of the X Factor, back in 2004. Fresh from his victory, his winner's single, a cover of Phil Collins' Against All Odds was pipped to Christmas number one by the Band Aid 20 revamp of Do They Know It's Christmas?
But Steve's debut climbed to number one in its second week on the chart.
His debut album, Heart and Soul went in at number one, but that was his last taste of success. He was dropped by SonyBMG just eight months into his contract and became embroiled in a feud with Simon Cowell over his treatment on the show.
Shayne Ward
6
Top 40 singles
Shayne Ward , who won the second series in 2005, bagged the X Factor's first Christmas number one, and to date is the only winner to launch his career with an original song.
That's My Goal sold 313,000 copies on its first day, making it the third fastest-single of all time.
He was given a million-pound contract with Cowell's Syco label, who released his debut album in 2006, which was certified four times platinum in Ireland, and platinum in the UK.
His follow-up album, Breathless, was an even greater success in Ireland, but peaked at number two in the UK. The lead single from Breathless, No U Hang Up, not only hit the top spot in Ireland, but has an undeniably great title.
He was dropped by Syco in 2011 after poor sales of third album Obsession, and went on to appear on Dancing on Ice and star in 80s-themed West End musical Rock of Ages.
Leona Lewis
13
Top 40 singles
Leona is generally considered the X Factor's first bona-fide star. She began to study at London fame academy the Brit School, but left aged 17 to "get out there."
After winning the 2006 series, she released a cover of Kelly Clarkson's A Moment Like This, which made it to Christmas number one selling more copies than the rest of that week's top 40 combined.
Her first post- X Factor single, Bleeding Love stayed at number one for seven weeks, and also topped the chart in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Swizerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States.
Since then she's had a string of hit singles and albums, recorded the theme song for Avatar and embarked on two world tours. She's currently working on her fifth studio album.
Leon Jackson
2
Top 40 singles
Pint-sized Scottish crooner Leon Jackson charmed his way to winning the 2007 season of X Factor.
An outsider to win the show, his victory over rival Rhydian Roberts was described as "the biggest shock in the history of reality TV betting." His winner's single, an arrangement of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston's duet When You Believe, was Christmas Number one that year, reportedly selling 40 copies a minute in Woolworths at its peak.
But that was his last taste of the top spot. Follow-up single Don't Call This Love peaked at number three, and debut album Right Now only made it to number four.
The album's poor sales prompted Syco to unceremoniously drop Jackson, and he was voted the second biggest reality TV flop in a national survey - only losing out to Steve Brookstein.
Since then he's kept writing and recording, and did an acoustic tour in 2010, but further hits have failed to materialise.
Alexandra Burke
8
Top 40 singles
Alexandra Burke was hotly tipped to be the next Leona, and although she hasn't had quite the rampant success, she's done better than most.
After beating JLS to win the X Factor, her winner's single, a cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah was the 2008 Christmas number one, despite a campaign to have Jeff Buckley' version of the song beat her to it.
Since then she's had a string of hits, several BRIT and MTV award nominations and toured with Beyonce.
On top of her UK success she bagged a £3.5m, five album US deal with Epic records.
Joe McElderry
4
Top 40 singles
Joe's winner's single, a cover of Miley Cyrus' The Climb, was caught up in one of the X Factor's biggest controversies - and was the first to be beaten to the Christmas top spot for four years.
It was kept off the top by Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name, after a Facebook campaign in protest against the show's grip on the Christmas number one tradition.
His debut album, Wide Awake, peaked at number three and dropped out of the top 40 within three weeks. In total, the album had sold just over 100,000 copies by December 2010. His contract with Syco expired in 2011 and wasn't renewed.
He's since spoken of his unhappiness about his time with Syco, but that the split was "amicable."
A consummate reality TV star, Joe also won Popstar to Opera in 2011 and The Jump in 2014.
Matt Cardle
4
Top 40 singles
Essex heartthrob Matt Cardle triumphed in the 2010 X Factor. His winner's single - a cover of Biffy Clyro's only ballad, Many of Horror (retitled When We Collide) - regained Syco's grip on the festive top spot, where it stayed for three weeks.
His debut album, Letters, stayed on the chart for 16 weeks, peaking at number two. Unfortunately, follow-up singles fared less well and he parted ways with Syco and Columbia records in 2012.
Since then he's released a couple of moderately well received albums and continues to tour, but he's not seen the same success as the act that came third in 2010 - a little group called One Direction.
Little Mix
3
Top 40 singles
James Arthur won series nine of the X Factor, and his winner's single Impossible hit the number one spot, selling more than 1.25million copies in the UK.
He was knocked off the top spot by the Justice Collective's Hillsborough Disaster charity single He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, which was that year's Christmas number one.
His eponymous debut album debuted at number two in the UK, but after that, the wheels started to fall off. He became involved in a number of controversies, most notably about the use of homophobic lyrics in a song , which led to high profile Twitter face-offs with celebrities including Frankie Boyle and Matt Lucas.
And there's not many careers that can come back from iTunes offering refunds on your album due to public outcry.
1
Top 40 singles
Sam Bailey beat rivals "little" Nicholas McDonald and Luke "hairy" Friend to victory in last year's X Factor. Her winner's single, a cover of Demi Lovato's Skyscraper was the first since 2010 to take the Christmas number one spot.
Since then, she's supported Beyonce at a live show in Birmingham and had the first X Factor number one album since Alexandra Burke's 2009 debut.
There was some controversy about her previous music industry experience. Despite being billed as a prison warden, she was revealed to have performed on cruise ships, in clubs and at music festivals for years before hitting big on the reality show.
She's due to go out on her first headline tour in January and her autobiography is due out in November.
Ben Haenow
Ben Haenow won the X Factor in 2014
Ben was victorious in the 2014 series, but - despite enjoying a Top 10 album on the notorious Syco label - he was mercilessly dropped by the start of 2016. Even a duet with Kelly Clarkson, Second Hand Heart, couldn't save him after it stalled at Number 21.
The handsome crooner hasn't given up the ghost, though - he's embarking on a nationwide UK tour in March, which will see him on the road for much of the Spring.
Fans haven't completely deserted him though - he still has 300,000 + followers on Twitter.
Louisa Johnson
Louisa Johnson (Photo: Rowan Griffiths/Daily Mirror)
Billed as the 2015 series winner from early-on, Louisa Johnson wowed fans with her amazing vocals and matching confidence - despite being just 17 at the time, making her the programme's youngest-ever victor.
Her debut single, Forever Young, entered the charts at number nine, and became the lowest ever position on entry for a debut single from an X Factor winner.
Her follow-up, So Good, fared even worse and peaked at Number 13. It's the first track from her debut LP, which is yet to see the light of day.
So who is your favourite X Factor winner?
poll loading