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Blighty Beat
CHRISTMAS IN BLIGHTY
12/3/15

The battle for the coveted title of Her Majesty’s Christmas #1 single this year has started, with a number of contenders set to give Simon Cowell a run for his money. X Factor winners have dominated the scene that was once saved for songs about mistletoe, wine and festive cheer over the last decade (SYCO has hit #1 seven times out of 10 since 2005), but a few other names could throw a spanner in the works.

First up is a Christmas theme from Norwegian production team Stargate (the masterminds behind Beyonce, Rihanna and Katy Perry hits), Kylie Minogue and Chris Martin. Taken from Minogue's latest holiday album Kylie Christmas, "Every Day’s Like Christmas" will be out via Miles Leonard's Warner label Parlophone in Blighty on 12/4.

This year's X Factor finale is on Sunday, December the 13th. A cover of "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan will be released by the winner at 10pm that evening, with four days to chart in time for 12/18. However, topping the chart on Christmas day is the ultimate feat that Jason Iley’s Sony U.K. is hoping for, and the X Factor song will either need to hold on, or rise up, to the top spot for a second week.

It’s also worth putting Def Jam’s Justin Bieber into the mix, who has been dominating the singles chart recently, boasting three out of the top four spots in the U.K. midweeks on Monday. Looked after by David Joseph's Universal U.K. label Virgin EMI (helmed by Ted Cockle) in Blighty, Bieber’s streaming is also through the roof with more promo to come for Purpose.

And following X Factor contestant Lauren Murray’s performance of Leslie Gore’s 1963 classic "You Don’t Own Me" on last weekend’s show, Grace and G-Eazy’s version of the song (released in June on Sony U.K.’s RCA) is on track to make its Top 40 debut this week, shooting up 38 places to #6 in the midweeks. The slow burner soundtracks the House of Fraser Christmas ad campaign and could be another potential yuletide hit.

Finally, the outsider for the Christmas #1 is, yes, you're reading this right, the Star Wars theme (Sony BMG). In 2009, a Facebook campaign caused LA band Rage Against The Machine to beat Cowell to #1, and the same team are backing the new version of their original idea. The campaign already has 430k fans on Facebook and press in the Sun, Express and various online outlets. With the new Star Wars movie The Force Awakens out on 12/17, will the force be with Iley, Joseph or Leonard this Christmas? Of course, if Adele decides to drop another single before 12/25, there's little hope for anyone else. Stay tuned.

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