I'm delighted about this. I absolutely loathe The X Factor and the crappy, bland, karaoke style of pop music it promotes. Every year it has completely spoiled the race for the Christmas number 1, which I had always enjoyed every year as a bit of fun regardless of whether the song getting there was good or not (and it usually wasn't). It has made this year's race fun again and got a great song to number 1.
And, in the process, it raised £70,000 for charity. But don't expect this to happen next year. Too many people will start their own campaigns, the sales will be split, and X Factor will hit number one again.
McElderry will get his number one hit next week and will then disappear into anonymity like so many of his talent show forerunners. This just delayed the inevitable.