Essex-based X Factor winner Matt Cardle is celebrating reaching number one – marking the talent show's return to the top of the Christmas charts.
The 27-year-old former painter and decorator faced competition from acts including Rihanna and The Trashmen but his debut single When We Collide won the battle, selling 439,000 copies in six days.
Last year's X Factor winner Joe McElderry saw his dreams of a Christmas number one snatched away by rap metal act Rage Against The Machine.
The band topped the singles chart with their expletive-laden 1992 hit Killing In The Name after an anti-Cowell internet campaign. But Mr Cardle suffered no such upset after attracting fans of all ages in their droves. His version of the track by Mercury Prize-nominated rock trio Biffy Clyro sold over 300,000 more copies than Rihanna ft Drake's What's My Name, which finished in second place.
This represented a record weekly total for a non-charity release this year, the Official Charts Company said.
The third placed single in this year's Christmas chart was Surfin' Bird by 1960s US rock act The Trashmen, which sold 70,000 copies after a Facebook campaign to make it number one. It did however become the highest-ranked Facebook campaign single of the year.
Another contender, Cage Against The Machine's version of 4'33" by composer John Cage, dragged far behind at number 21. The song, which sold just under 16,000 copies after a separate campaign on the social networking site, consists of four minutes and 33 seconds of silence, and was recorded by a host of famous musicians for charity.
The only other new entry to the top 10 was the Biffy Clyro version of When We Collide, going by its original name Many Of Horror, which fans of the band urged music-lovers to buy instead of Mr Cardle's cover. The track sold about 40,000 copies to finish eighth.
Mr Cardle, who was announced winner of the ITV show last Sunday, said it was "mind-blowing" to have reached the top of the charts. He said: "I can't believe it. As if winning wasn't enough. I honestly didn't think I'd even make it on to the live shows, let alone win and now be the Christmas number one. I can't even begin to describe how if feels. It's nuts, crackers and crazy. To think that many people have supported me and bought the record is absolutely mind-blowing."
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot described Mr Cardle's sales figures as "a truly impressive achievement". He said: "Besides being a record for a non-charity single this year, it might even have been higher given the freezing conditions which have gripped the UK in the past couple of days and which have kept many consumers off the high streets."