It was undoubtedly about the acts battling it out on stage, but two surprise audience members grabbed the public's attention too. Prince Harry and his girlfriend Chelsy Davy were one of the talking points of this year's X Factor final weekend.
The royal sweethearts, who rekindled their romance recently after splitting at the start of the year, are clearly happy to let the world know they're back together. They seemed content to be filmed during the Saturday night show as the camera focused on them while Olly Murs performed with Robbie Williams.
Harry and his South African love, who are huge X Factor fans, will no doubt have been watching from home the following day when Joe McElderry was crowned as the show's winner.
The 18-year-old from South Shields, who had performed with George Michael, looked stunned as his name was read out by host Dermot 'O Leary. He embraced his mentor Cheryl Cole, and eventually managed to say a few words: "Thank you so much everyone. I can't actually speak.
"I want to say thank you to my mentor Cheryl and all the judges for their comments and to everyone who voted." He is now hotly tipped to claim the Christmas number one spot with his version of Miley Cyrus track The Climb.
The show also featured performances from past winners Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke, and runners up JLS. Shortly before the winner was announced, Paul McCartney sang Drive My Car and was joined on stage by the 12 finalists, before moving to a piano to perform Bond theme tune Live and Let Die..
