The X Factor final: should Little Mix have won?

Little Mix are the new X Factor champions – the first group to ever win the competition, this country's next big girl group and quite possibly the walking, talking saviours of mankind itself. How did they manage this extraordinary feat? By spurning sexiness for accessibility. And, to a lesser extent, by making a tedious Damien Rice ballad sound marginally less unlistenable than their remaining rival Marcus Collins did. You didn't bother learning any of their names, but you voted for them. Long live Little Mix!

But were Little Mix worthy X Factor winners? Of the three acts to go into the final weekend, yes. Amelia Lily, who came third, spent most of the series on the sidelines waiting for Frankie Cocozza to self-destruct, so it would have been slightly unfair on the others for her to win. Marcus Collins, despite his energy and stage presence, seemed unable to get through any song without whooping like a knackered ambulance. And that left Little Mix, who quickly learned the value of appealing to teenage girls. That, more than anything else, might have been their masterstroke.      More