The latest X Factor winner Sam Bailey has opened up an early lead in the race for the UK’s traditional Christmas Number One.
Figures released by the Official Charts Company show Bailey outselling her nearest rival, Pharrell Williams and ‘Happy‘, by two copies to one.
“Sam Bailey is out of the blocks and into a strong lead in the race to become this year’s Official Christmas Number 1,” Martin Talbot, Official Charts Company chief executive, says. “But as we’ve seen time and time again, this is certainly not the week of the year to become complacent.”
“With a host of acts snapping at Sam’s heels, including Pharrell, Leona, and the growing AC/DC campaign, anything could still happen between now and Sunday’s final whistle.”
The ‘growing AC/DC campaign’ referred to by Talbot is a Facebook-led initiative aiming to get the band’s single ‘Highway To Hell‘ to the top spot in time for Christmas. It is currently standing at #4.
Simon Cowell’s show dominated the Christmas Number One in Britain during the middle part of the last decade before an online campaign successfully put Rage Against The Machine on top in 2009, ending a run of four consecutive triumphs for X Factor winners in the process.
Although Matt Cardle returned the ‘talent’ search to the summit in 2010, the past two years have seen charity releases from The Military Wives and The Justice Collective take #1 in time for December 25th.