‘The X Factor’ UK: Winner James Arthur cheered by Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole

Even though neither Cheryl Cole nor Simon Cowell are on “The X Factor” anymore, the two were among the more high-profile personalities who congratulated James Arthur on his victory on the British singing competition Sunday. (The inclusion of Cole may even prove that she has no bad blood for the show despite suing the production company behind the American version of the show for her contractually-obligated season 2 salary.)

Simon is of course going to be one of the people responsible for helping James build his career moving forward, so it should certainly come as no surprise that the 24-year old singer specifically retweeted a message from the music mogul (who was rumored to be rooting for him to win) after the show:

“Congratulations James on winning X factor uk. You deserved this.”

Meanwhile, James also shared the following message from the Girls Aloud singer, who was a part of this season courtesy of helping out Gary Barlow with the Overs category at judges’ houses:

“Congratulations James Arthur, true talent!!”

So what is next for James? He will likely take a brief break over the holiday season to rest and recover, and start preparing his debut album while simultaneously going on the show’s tour early next year. The ideal release window would be just around the time the new season starts, that way he can use it to help launch his debut single and have a successful career from the get-go.

We’re going to have plenty more “X Factor” UK coverage in the coming days, including a story that hopes to answer the all-important question just where the series goes from here. If you want to read up on some of the latest drama revolving around Christopher Maloney’s exit hours before the finale, you can find out about it over at the link here.