Not quite content with their assault on Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ two years ago, the powers that be at X-Factor have dubiously decided to release Damien Rice’s ‘Cannonball’ as the winner's single this year.

Last night saw the first girl group to ever win the show, Little Mix, perform the song in a tearful climax after Dermot O’Leary crowbarred an early plug for the single into the introduction.

Their version starts with an a cappella solo before breaking into four-part harmony at the chorus. But the real fun starts as the pop beat kicks in and, yes, there’s even a key change with well-timed pyrotechnics for the last refrain.

Damien Rice's management have said they were not informed of the decision, but reiterated that "anyone can cover any song they want". They also told Hot Press that they haven't yet been able to get a comment from Damien himself as he is currently in the recording studio. On the subject of being Christmas No.1, they said: "They chose that song and good luck to them. They have a lot of support on the show - there's a lot of power behind it."

Little Mix member Jade Thirlwall (18) insisted that the song revealed their true colours. "People got to see our personalities and got to see who we are as people,” she said, “I think we chose the right songs, and we showed what kind of artists we wanted to be."

After suggestions that Simon Cowell has earmarked them for Spice Girls-like stardom, she went on to say: "We would love to do that... We really look up to the Spice Girls."

Up against the system this Christmas will be a re-release of Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and the Twitter charity single ‘Winter Song’. Both have claimed their release is an attempt to distract sales from the X-Factor dominated market.

You can listen to Little Mix’s version of the song below – and, to cleanse your soul, we’ve also added Damien’s powerful performance at Other Voices in 2002.