The X Factor winner Alexandra Burke has made history after her version of Hallelujah became the UK’s fastest selling download single of all time.

The 20-year-old broke the record that X Factor poster girl Leona Lewis set when she won the show in 2006 and released the ballad A Moment Like This.

Burke sold 105,000 copies on Sunday, following her tear-soaked victory on Saturday night, compared to the now internationally successful Lewis’s 82,000.

The slew of sales proves the ITV talent show wields a power that even the world’s biggest pop acts can’t match. When Take That released their No 1 single Greatest Day last month, it sold 9,488 downloads on its first day, while X Factor judge Cheryl Cole’s group Girls Aloud shifted 7,600 copies when it released The Promise.

Pushing competition for the Christmas No 1 aside, Burke will share her success with Leonard Cohen, who penned Hallelujah. The Canadian luminary is expected to receive £1 million in royalties off the back of Burke’s version of the epic 1984 track.

Previously covered by Bob Dylan, k. d. Lang, Rufus Wainwright, and the late Jeff Buckley, Burke has come in for criticism from some of the feted foursome's fans.

Following Burke’s win, one viewer commented on Times Online: “I happened to listen to Jeff Buckley's singing Halleluljah on Friday and was almost moved to tears as I often am when I listen to his version.

“I have just listened to the Alexandra Burke version and this time I was most definitely moved to tears. Her interpretation is criminal.”

But most said they cried for different reasons: “The voice of an Angel, who brought me to tears with shivers and goosebumps,” said Cass of Canterbury, Kent.

Burke’s X Factor win secured her a £1 million contract with judge Simon Cowell’s record label Syco Music.

Her first major live performance will be on New Year's Eve when she shares the stage at London's 02 Arena with Elton John.

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