Little Mix crowned X Factor winners

Little Mix have been crowned this year's X Factor winners - the first group to win the singing contest.

The band, made up of Jade Thirlwall, 18, Perrie Edwards, also 18, Jesy Nelson, 20, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 19, beat Marcus Collins to take the title.

After being announced the winners of the ITV1 show, Nelson said: "This is never going to sink in."

Their first single, a cover of Damien Rice's Cannonball, will be released digitally from Monday.

Little Mix - who come from London, Essex and Tyne and Wear - had never met before being put together as a band during the bootcamp stage of the X Factor auditions.

They were stunned by their win from the public vote.

"We are just so so grateful and thankful to everyone who voted and to everyone backstage," Thirlwall said.

Their mentor, judge Tulisa Contostavlos, added: "I think I wanted them to win more than they did."

In defeat, Liverpudlian Collins, 23, said: "I'm really proud of myself and these girls really deserve it, they're amazing."

'Biggest girl band'

The two acts battled it out in the second part of the show's final, after fellow contestant Amelia Lily had been voted out on Saturday.

They both sang their favourite song from the series so far, a Christmas song and their versions of the winner's single in front of a 10,000-strong audience at London's Wembley Arena.

In defeat, Collins said Little Mix "really deserve" to win the show

Little Mix chose to once more perform their rendition of En Vogue's Don't Let Go and the Christmas carol, Silent Night.

After they sang, judge Louis Walsh Walsh predicted the group would be the biggest girl band in the UK "by a mile".

"You've the vocals, you've got the chemistry, you've got the work ethic, you've got Tulisa and the public are going to love you," he added.

Collins sang Jackie Wilson's Higher and Higher, accompanied by a gospel choir, and Wham's Last Christmas.

Walsh described the singer as "a born little pop star" with fellow judge Gary Barlow calling it "an amazing performance".

"In the history of the X Factor I can't remember a finalist or a winner that takes hold of a stage like you do," he said.

Cowell prediction

Saturday's show saw the finalists and Amelia Lily duet with their mentors with Collins singing Billy Joel's She's Always A Woman with Barlow.

Little Mix performed an Alicia Keys medley with Tulisa and Amelia Lily sang Ike and Tina Turner's River Deep - Mountain High with Kelly Rowland.

However the performance was not enough to keep the 17-year-old from Middlesbrough in the competition as she received the fewest votes from the public.

Speaking on The Xtra Factor after the first instalment of the final, Simon Cowell - who left the judging panel this year to front a US version - called the show "absolutely amazing - one of the best finals I've ever seen".

When asked who he thought would win the competition, Cowell replied: "Without a doubt, Little Mix won the night.

"[They are] a revelation and if a girl group was to win this show it kind of makes history and maybe something special is going to happen."

Sunday's show also featured performances from Westlife, Coldplay and the final 12 X Factor finalists perform a mash up of some of this year's bigest pop hits.