Jamaican wins British reality music show X Factor

Jamaican Dalton Harris has won British reality television music competition X Factor UK.

He emerged victorious last night after performing a duet, The Power of Love, with James Arthur in the finale at The Wembley Arena in London, walking away with a £1 million (US$1.3 million) recording contract with Sony-owned Syco Music.

After being announced winner, the 24-year-old bent over with emotion before being congratulated by judge and mentor Louis Tomlinson, second placed winner Scarlett Lee and her mentor, judge Simon Cowell, even as the audience screamed and applauded.

“Ohhhh!” he shouted before crouching, after the show’s host Dermot O’Leary asked him how he was feeling.

This morning, in his first official television interview after winning the competition, Harris said the victory had not yet sunk in.

Back in Jamaica, Harris, who won Digicel Rising Stars in 2010, was congratulated by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips on social media.