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Artist News
X-Factor winner slightly ahead in Christmas number one race
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 19 December 2012
While ‘X-Factor’ bosses basically withdrew from the Christmas number one race last year by releasing their winner’s single a week earlier, a move repeated this time too, most recent ‘X’ champion James Arthur could still have the festive chart topper this year with his debut release ‘Impossible’. Though The Justice Collective’s ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’, raising monies to fund the legal costs still being incurred by families of those killed in the 1989 Hillsborough tragedy, is a close second.
According to the Official Charts Company, Arthur’s single, which shifted 490,000 units last week, has so far sold 76,000 further copies this week. That puts it just over 3000 units ahead of the all-star Justice Collective’s cover of The Hollies classic, which has been bookies’ favourite to be Christmas number one in recent weeks. Both tracks are in aid of charitable causes, with profits from the ‘X’ song going to Together For Short Lives.
Commenting on this year’s Christmas number one race, OCC boss Martin Talbot said these words: “While James Arthur has an early lead over The Justice Collective after just two days of sales, it is exceptionally tight – especially with Christmas gift purchases likely to impact on both releases as the week progresses. It looks like being an extremely exciting race for this year’s Official Christmas number one”.
UPDATE 12.15PM 19/12/12: The Official Charts Company has just issued an update announcing that The Justice Collective has taken the lead in the race for Christmas number one. As of midday today, ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ had sold 109,700 copies so far this week, compared to 106,300 for ‘Impossible’.
OCC boss Martin Talbot told CMU: “This really is the closest number one battle we can remember – even closer than the legendary 2009 battle between Rage Against The Machine and Joe McElderry. The poll concludes at midnight on Saturday night (22 Dec), so there is a long way to go yet – but this one looks like going down to the wire”.
