2004 – Steve Brookstein (1) Steve became the first ever X Factor winner in 2004, and scored a #1 with his first single. He was dropped from his record label after eight months, and has since been very public about his feud with Simon Cowell, describing X Factor as: "It’s one big theatre, killing music and turning music into the WWF."

2004 – G4 (2) Although coming second to Brookstein, G4 went on to outsell the singer after the competition ended and signed a £1.5 million album deal with Sony BMG when the show ended.

2004 – Tabby Callaghan (3) After The X Factor, Callaghan participated in a fly-on-the-wall ‘rockumentary’ titled What Tabby Did Next which was shown on ITV in August 2005, coinciding with the release of his debut single in Ireland, which reached #7. He hasn’t been heard of since then.

2005 – Shayne Ward (1) He has sold over 3 million records worldwide and has had #1 albums and singles in nine countries. Despite being dropped by Simon Cowell’s label Syco in 2010, it has been confirmed that Ward will star in the West End production of musical Rock Of Ages later this year.

2005 – Shayne Ward (1) He has sold over 3 million records worldwide and has had #1 albums and singles in nine countries. Despite being dropped by Simon Cowell’s label Syco in 2010, it has been confirmed that Ward will star in the West End production of musical Rock Of Ages later this year.

2005 – Andy Abraham (2) The runner up of 2005’s The X Factor has released three albums since leaving the show, charting at #2, #20 and #67. Abraham went on to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2008. He finished equal last of the 25 entries.

2005 – Journey South (3) In March 2006 their debut album entered the charts at #1, selling 216,000 albums in its first week. Their second album ‘Home’, was released in October 2007 and reached #43. In February 2008 a second single, ‘Reconcile Our Love’, was released but failed to chart.

2005 – Chico (5) A surprise star of the series, in 2006 Chico had a #1 hit on the British charts entitled ‘It's Chico Time’. In 2008, he appeared on the reality TV show CelebAir in which he placed third. He also released the charity single ‘It’s England Time’ to coincide with the 2010 World Cup.

2006 – Leona Lewis (1) The most successful of all The X Factor contestants, Lewis is a multi-platinum selling artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee. Her most successful single, ‘Bleeding Love’, reached number one in over 30 countries around the world. She is currently set to release her third album later this year.

2006 – Ray Quinn (2) Since finishing second in 2006’s X Factor series, Quinn went on to win the 2009 series of Dancing on Ice. He also appeared as victimised teenager Anthony Murray in the Channel 4 soap Brookside and performed in West End musicals Grease and Dirty Dancing.

2006 – Ben Mills (3) He signed a five-album record deal with Sony BMG after his X Factor performances, but was dropped after the release of his album ‘Pictures Of You’. His last notable performance was at Pontins Holiday Camp in Prestatyn, Wales in May 2009.

2007 – Leon Jackson (1) Probably one of the least successful X Factor winners of all time, his debut album ‘Right Now’ sold 130,000 copies and resulted in Jackson being dropped from the Sony BMG label. He is currently unsigned and working on his follow-up second album.

2007 – Rhydian Roberts (2) Rhydian has gone on to tour the UK and performe at Galas at the Royal Albert Hall, London. He has also starred in musical theatre, completing a European arena tour of The War of the Worlds - Alive On Stage! in 2010 and is currently touring the UK in We Will Rock You.

2007 – Same Difference (3) Siblings Sean and Sarah Smith released their debut single, ‘We R One’ in November 2008, and their debut album, ‘Pop’, followed in December. In November 2009, it was announced that Same Difference had been dropped from Sony and had signed a new record deal with PopLife Records. Their second album was released on 7 February 2011, but failed to chart.

2008 – Alexandra Burke (1) Burke is only one of two female X Factor winners and is currently signed to Epic Records, Syco Records and RCA Records. Burke is currently the second most successful winner of the show, after Leona Lewis and has a second album scheduled for later in 2011.

2008 – JLS (2) The most successful group to emerge from The X Factor, JLS have gone on to win Brit Awards for British Breakthrough and British Single (‘Beat Again’) They even have their own range of condoms. Their current single ‘She Makes Me Wanna’ Featuring Dev was their fifth #1 single.

2008 – Eoghan Quinn (3) Quigg was due to be signed by Simon Cowell, but was instead signed to RCA after Cowell pulled out. The album charted poorly in the UK, only making #14 and spending only 3 weeks in the top 100. Following disappointing album sales, Quigg was dropped by RCA Records in July 2009 and currently remains unsigned.

2008 – Diana Vickers (4) From October 2009 to January 2010, Vickers played the title role in a West End revival of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice for which she won the award for ‘London Newcomer of the Year’ at the Theatregoers' Choice Awards. Her 2010 debut album went to #1. Vickers is currently co-writing material for a second album, which is planned for release in 2012, despite being dropped by her original record label.

2009 – Joe McElderry (1) His debut single ‘The Climb’ reached #1, but only after a facebook campaign to get RATM’s ‘Killing In The Name Of’ to the Christmas Number One instead succeeded. In April 2011 his contract with Syco expired and was not renewed, due to low album sales. McElderry went on to be crowned the winner of the second series of Popstar to Operastar in 2011.

2009 – Olly Murs (2) Olly Murs released his self-titled debut album in November 2010, which reached #2 in the charts. He is due to release his second album in November 2011, and is also set to present The X Factor’s spin-off show The Xtra Factor with Caroline Flack during this year’s series.

2009 – Stacey Solomon (3) After her successful appearance on The X Factor, Solomon went on to appear in and win I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2010. Solomon released her autobiography entitled ‘Stacey: My Story So Far’ earlier this year, and is currently recording her debut album, which is set to be released in late 2011.

2009 – Jedward (6) Dropped by Sony after just one single, Jedward, who were called John & Edward while on the show, are now signed to Universal Records. In August 2010, Jedward appeared in an ITV2 documentary, entitled Jedward: Let Loose and the duo also represented Ireland Eurovision Song Contest in 2011, achieving 8th place.

2010 – Matt Cardle (1) He received a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music  and his debut #1 single ‘When We Collide’ was released immediately after he won. It sold 439,000 copies in its first week to become the Christmas #1. What happens next remains to be seen…

2010 – Rebecca Ferguson (2) The London runner up hasn’t released any material yet, but has reportedly signed a record deal with Epic after this year’s lengthy X Factor Live tour. A year after the show, Ferguson has made more headlines for dating One Direction’s 18-year-old Zayn Malik than she has for her singing.

2010 – One Direction (3) Following The X Factor, the group have signed a £2 million record contract with Syco, released two official books and toured on The X Factor Live tour. The band will release their debut single, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ on 11 September 2011.

2010 – Cher Lloyd (4) Lloyd’s debut single, ‘Swagger Jagger’, received its first airplay on 20 June after it had been leaked onto the internet. It was released on 31 July 2011 and reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart on 7 August 2011 whilst competing with ‘She Makes Me Wanna’ by former X Factor entrants JLS. Her debut album will be released in November 2011.