Here we go again: the race for 2014's Christmas Number One is now on, with this weekend's chart champion due to reign supreme over the festive period.
Of course, X Factor winner Ben Haenow is the bookies' favourite to take the title - and he's already fired out of the traps with an early lead on the iTunes rankings, which contribute a huge amount to the final overall tally. But can he hold on for the duration of the week? Will someone else overthrow him? Let's consider the contenders...
Ben Haenow - 'Something I Need'
The X Factor has contributed to the Christmas Number One for all bar four of its ten series so far (Steve Brookstein and Joe McElderry entered at No2 while Little Mix and James Arthur released a week earlier), and Haenow could well be the seventh champion to scoop the feat. It wouldn't be that surprising: despite relatively low ratings for last night's finale, the show is still watched by a huge number of record-buying people who have quick access to stores like iTunes on their phones. Factor in CD sales later this week and he'll be hard to beat.
(Photo: WENN)
But could he lose momentum midweek? Will he enjoy a healthy burst of sales for the next few days but tail off as the weekend draws near? This is the first Christmas chart since streaming data was merged with sales figures - will that hold him back? It's not unlikely; it's just a question of whether this initial wave will be enough to put him at the top on Sunday. Both of the previous winners from the Over 25s category have the lowest-selling winners' singles: Sam Bailey's 'Skyscraper' sold 149,000 in its first seven days last year, while Steve Brookstein's 'Against All Odds' fell just short of 130,000 when it lost to Baid Aid 20 on release-week in 2004. OH LOOK, it's EntWise's handy bar graph... how will Ben compare?
(Photo: Packshots/EntertainmentWise)
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars - 'Uptown Funk'
It'll be ironic if this beats the X Factor winner to No1; purely because it was only released earlier than its original January 2015 release date after Fleur East's semi-final performance of it sent demand skyrocketing. The track, which has already been a hit internationally, is the defending No1 after selling 118,000 downloads last week. It'll need more than that to beat Ben this week - which will be tough, but if any song can stop him, it'll likely be this one - especially considering its massive power on streams.
Olly Murs featuring Demi Lovato - 'Up'
With last week's video premiere and a special live performance on The X Factor final, this song has seen its sales skyrocket and is now No4 on iTunes, at time of writing. With heavy rotation on several key radio stations, can it continue to flourish? To be honest we can't see it going all the way to the summit this week, but it certainly could be a frontrunner.
The Peace Collective - 'All Together Now'
The Justice Collective were the Christmas champs two years ago with a cover of 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' - and now this second incarnation is having another crack of the whip. At time of writing, the charity track has yet to crack the Top 100 on iTunes, so is surely now very much an outsider.
Band Aid 30 - 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'
Downloads of this track have dwindled since its release last month, but the release of the physical CD last week helped vault it back to No3 on the charts - and with a big cover spread on today's Independent newspaper and some more words of encouragement from Sir Bob Geldof, it could stand to chart highly this week.
(Photo: VEVO)
Iron Maiden - 'The Number of the Beast'
Destroying Simon Cowell was the basic mission statement of this Rage Against The Machine-style campaign, but with a current ranking of No57 on iTunes, it's going to need to find a LOT of momentum over the course of the week if it's going to stop Ben Haenow's celebrations...
Ed Sheeran - 'Thinking Out Loud'
With continued monumental popularity on streams and a Top 3 place on iTunes, Ed's chart behemoth has been at the top end of the charts for MONTHS - and this week will likely be no exception. Regularly clocking up streaming counts of over a million a week, it certainly could be a dark horse contender to nab the crown this Sunday.
Who are you backing?
