JAHMENE Douglas has come a long way in a very short time.

Few people sitting in the Wyvern Theatre on Saturday, August 8, 2010, could have known quite how big a star the shy 19-year-old was going to be.

But they might have had an inkling when Jahmene wowed the judges of Swindon’s Got Talent with a soulful composition of his own, setting him on the road to stardom.

The Asda worker first entered the X Factor back in June when he got the VIP treatment, being given a suit to wear to perform his powerful rendition of Etta James’ hit At Last.

In July, Jahmene announced that he had made it through to the boot camp stage of the show, despite the ITV programme not being aired yet.

He was being tipped early on by judge Louis Walsh as a possible winner of the competition and received glowing praise from fellow judges Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger as he cruised through the early rounds, but by then he was remaining tight-lipped over whether he had made it through to the live finals.

X Factor fans got their first glimpse of Jahmene on Saturday, August 18, when his audition was aired on ITV for the first time. He described himself as a “stay-at-home kind of guy”, and went on to get a standing ovation, with Louis Walsh calling him “a revelation”.

The 22-year-old also won praise from Take That singer Barlow, who said the former New College student was the best singer he had ever heard. Nicole told him: “I wanna eat you up.”

Jahmene posted on Twitter after the show: “Wow!! This support is overwhelming. God Bless you all! Thank you! Remember to grab your dreams and make them reality. Much love.”

After his first performance Jahmene spoke to the Adver and said how life had been turned upside down. He said he already had paparazzi camped outside his home.

He said: “I felt the same kind of nervous watching it on Saturday as I was when I performed. There was screaming every time I was on TV.

“I love singing, it is my release, it is my way of expressing myself.”

Ahead of the boot camp stage of the show Jahmene became a favourite with the bookies to win. They had him at 5/1 to win the show, with nearest rival Ella Henderson at 7/1.

Viewers were kept on the edge of their seats the following week though, when Jahmene put in a lacklustre performance of Maroon 5’s Moves Like Jagger at boot camp. Ahead of the performance, he admitted he had never heard the song before and didn’t even know who sang it. He was pulled up on his performance by Walsh, who said “it just didn’t work”.

That piled the pressure on his next performance and it took its toll on the young vocalist, throwing his chances in the competition into question. Jahmene was seen complaining to producers that he didn’t feel well and may pass out.

He was comforted backstage by Scherzinger and Walsh, who told the performer that they still believed in him.

When he took to the stage he performed Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, which booked his place at the judge’s homes stage of the competition. He was given Scherzinger as his mentor.

Jahmene jetted off to Dubai where he stunned his mentor and her special guest American singer Ne-Yo with his performance of David Guetta’s Titanium to win his place in the live finals, along with fellow contestants James Arthur and Rylan Clarke.

Jahmene continued to wow judges throughout the live finals, performing a mixture of Motown and pop classics, never finding himself in the bottom two of the competition.

Jahmene was constantly told he was one of the strongest male singers the show had ever seen, and even gained some famous fans.

After he sang John Lennon’s Imagine, the former Beatle’s widow Yoko Ono tweeted: “I just saw and heard a recording of @JahmeneDouglas singing Imagine on X Factor UK – it was beautiful, Jahmene! I love you! Yoko.”

Front-runner Jahmene overcame a difficult time in the national press, with reports of his family’s past coming to light and the abuse of his mother at the hands of his father.

He came out fighting and delivered what was described as his best performance, Robbie Williams’ Angel, which he dedicated to his brother Daniel, who took his own life.

After making it through to the final three, Jahmene came home last Wednesday and was greeted by 28,000 people in Wharf Green.

He was joined by Scherzinger to help switch on the town centre lights.

He also visited the Asda store where he worked in North Swindonand sang with his choir at the Gorse Hill Community Centre.

Jahmene sung his heart out at the weekend as he performed in front of 10,000 people in Manchester.

On Saturday he made it through to the head-to-head final with James Arthur after singing an up-beat number, Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up, and later overcame microphone issues to belt out a duet of Greatest Love Of All with mentor Nicole.

He fell at the final hurdle though after his performance of Robbie Williams’ Angels and his take on The Beatles’ classic Let It Be were not enough to secure the X Factor crown.

Jahmene still has the X Factor tour to look forward to when he will be performing with the other finalists.