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X Factor winner looks unrecognisable 15 years after show win after launching podcast
The talent show champ looked worlds away from his rise to fame back in 2009
X FACTOR winner Joe McElderry looks unrecognisable 15 years after show his show victory.
Joe, 33, might have won over the nation with his singing voice, but he's taken his career down a new path in recent times.
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Just last month, he announced his podcast alongside his grandma Hilda.
In footage shared to social media, the talent show champ is seen chatting away with his relative in their bid to storm the podcast charts.
He's also active on social media, often posting to Instagram from his concerts and acting gigs.
When he was just a fresh-faced teen in 2009, Joe managed to see off Olly Murs to snatch the X Factor crown in the show's high-flying heyday.
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He was mentored to the top spot by Cheryl at the time.
The TV star has been keeping a toe in showbiz for years by performing in panto, and enjoying a long run of musical turns, including appearing in the title role of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
He has also starred in reality shows including Popstar To Operastar, and The Jump.
The South Shields lad got a record deal with Simon Cowell's Syco as part of the prize and he went on to release five Top 20 albums, after incredibly duetting with George Michael on The X Factor.
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However, he was dropped by the label in 2011, after his single Someone Wake Me Up only sold a reported 7,000 copies.
In 2012, Joe became a victim of stalking after being tracked and followed to his home by an obsessed fan.
Unrecognisable X Factor heartthrob Joe McElderry soaks up the sun in Barbados 14 years after show
The stalker bombarded Joe with tweets, sat on the front row at one of his shows and harassed his mum Eileen and was handed a five-year restraining order.
And, in 2022, Joe appeared on Steph's Packed Lunch and surprised viewers with his mature look.
Fans were delighted to see him on their screens at the time, particularly when he belted out a tune, tweeting: "Wow Joe McElderry still has an amazing voice!"
Joe told host Steph McGovern and Denise Van Outen about the moment he duetted with George Michael on The X Factor.
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