This year’s X Factor winner won’t release their debut album until next autumn according to Simon Cowell. At yesterday’s X factor press conference Simon revealed that this year’s champion will follow in the footsteps of former winner’s Alexandra Burke and Leona Lewis and spend at least seven to nine months making their first album.

He said: “You can’t make a decent album in less than seven or nine months.

“We’ll do what we did with Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke and Susan Boyle – take longer and release it when The X Factor returns.”

Simon is also confident that whoever wins will be as popular in America as they are in the UK.

He said: “They ‘re the guy and girl next door. They haven’t come from ghastly stage school backgrounds, they haven’t had an awful lot of experience.”