‘The X Factor’ UK final review: Is James Arthur or Jahmene Douglas the winner?

We’ve had a great deal of fun watching “The X Factor” UK this season, and even with some of the controversy it will go down as a show that is far superior than its American counterpart. As we said during the preview article we posted earlier in the day, it is ultimately rather hard to be upset to be upset about either Jahmene Douglas or James Arthur winning. They’re both likable guys with huge talents, and either one of them could feasibly be recording stars based on the people they work with and the songs they choose to record.

Sure, there were a plethora of performances during the hour (including One Direction, Rihanna, and Emilie Sande), but we are going to keep the focus here primarily on the contestants. Jahmene and James started things off with a performance of a song from earlier this season, and then they transitioned into what will be their winners’ single if they go on to claim the prize.

Jahmene Douglas, “Let It Be” – What a smart selection for a winners’ single here. Beatles classics are cherished in Britain, and Jahmene ripped the roof off of the place with a stirring, powerful rendition of one of the Fab Four’s most-famous songs ever. This could genuinely be a hit on the charts right away, though we are more than tired of this point of hearing Louis Walsh say that he has “so much soul.”

James Arthur, “Impossible” – There’s no question in our mind that Jahmene has the better winners’ single here. James’ cover of the Shontelle hit is not necessarily terrible by any means, but it did not really show off his vocal range or some of his urban roots. We’ve been pulling for James all season long, but we don’t really think the choices he and Nicole Scherzinger made during the final were as great as they could have been.

So who ended up taking the victory? We had predicted that Jahmene would be victorious courtesy of the fact that he had never been in the bottom two … and it was James! This has to be one of the most deserving victories in the recent history of singing shows, and it is also a bit of a shock given that he has been in the bottom before.

Did the right person win in your eyes? Be sure to vote in the poll below! If you want to look at yesterday’s performance show, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: ITV