WHO'S UP FOR CHRISTMAS #1?
The contenders for the U.K. race for Official Christmas #1 are in the starting gate.
Among those vying for the coveted title are charity singles from Ravi Adelekan & Friends, whose “A Million Dreams” will benefit brainstrust and The Brain Tumour Charity; The Half Timers’ World Cup-themed Christmas track “Coming Home for Christmas” for FareShareUK; Basil Brush f/Mr Blobby & Rainbow’s “Boom! Boom! It's Christmas Again!” for Save the Children and Shooting Star Chase Children's Hospice; and Ruby Whittle’s “Getting Ready for Christmas” for Derian House Children's Hospice.
Other new releases include Sam Smith’s “Night Before Christmas,” Stormzy’s “Firebabe,” Cliff Richard’s “Heart of Christmas,” JVKE’s “golden hour,” Meghan Trainor’s “Made You Look,” Lauren Spencer Smith’s “Single on the 25th,” The Vamps’ “Seat at the Table,” Becky Hill’s take on Yazoo’s 1982 hit “Only You” and a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” by boxer Tyson Fury.
Baddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds have reworked their soccer anthem with a holiday theme, titling it “Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas),” hoping to capture World Cup fever and holiday cheer in a single song. Another World Cup contender is Joel Corry f/Tom Grennan’s “Lionheart (Come On England),” which has been heading up the Official Singles Chart for the past four weeks.
And don’t count out LadBaby, winner of four Christmas crowns, including last year’s #1. It has yet to announce a new charity release for this year, but if it does, it will be attempting to surpass The Beatles’ record of four Christmas #1s.
Of course, the winner could be a perennial such as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” or Wham!’s “Last Christmas” or, considering the current political climate in Blighty, an out-of-left-field entry such as The K***s’ “F*ck the Tories” or Trickster & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Thank F**k It's Christmas.”
The Official Christmas #1 race kicks off 12/16 with sales and streams counted until midnight on 12/22.
