19 December 2016
Newsdesk
The tables have turned on this year’s race for the Official Christmas Number 1, with three acts now battling it out for the festive top spot, OfficialCharts.com can reveal.
Reigning chart toppers Clean Bandit are currently leading the midweek charge with Rockabye, performing strongly across both sales and streams, but it’s not home and dry just yet - the trio will need to hold off competition through to Friday from rising star and BRITS Critics Choice winner Rag ‘n’ Bone Man who trails by less than 4,000 copies with his track Human.
If they do manage it, Clean Bandit will join several other acts to have already spent time at the top of the chart with their song ahead of clinching the Christmas Number 1 title, including the likes of Human League’s Don't You Want Me (1981), Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You (1992), East 17's Stay Another Day (1994), and even Mr Blobby, who hit Number 1 in early December 1993, before being toppled by Take That’s Babe, only to then reclaim the top spot in time for Christmas.
Meanwhile, Little Mix have appeared as a late challenger for the Christmas Number 1; their latest single Touch has zoomed 20 places since last week and currently sits at Number 3, while just 9,000 copies separate the entire Top 10 at this stage.
The news comes after there was an early sales boost over the weekend from Christmas Number 1 contenders Inspiral Carpets’ Saturn 5 (at Number 20 today) and The London Hospices Choir’s The Living Years (33).
New entries and high climbers
With just six more shopping days until Christmas, seven festive songs are on course to finish inside this week’s Top 40: Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You (7), The Pogues ft. Kirst Maccoll’s Fairytale Of New York (15), Wham’s Last Christmas (16), Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone (25), Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (28), Chris Rae’s Driving Home for Christmas (35), and Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas (39).
Further down, three more contenders for this year’s Official Christmas Number 1 are inside the Top 100: You Can’t Always Get What You Want by Friends Of Jo Cox (59), released in memory of the late politician who was tragically murdered earlier this year in Birstall, West Yorkshire, Everley Pregnant Brothers’ rework of Kings of Leon’s Sex On Fire, called Chip Pan (73), and Our Superhero (A Christmas Wish) by Liv ‘N’ G (100), a track released to raise funds for the much-needed cancer treatment of 5 year-old Bradley Lowery.
