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And Finally Artist News
LadBaby top the Official Trending Chart as the race to Christmas number one continues
By Andy Malt | Published on Wednesday 22 December 2021
With only a couple more days to go before the UK’s Christmas number one is announced, the Official Charts Company has published its weekly Trending Chart. It shows which songs are rising up the charts the fastest. And what does it tell us? Well, to be honest, not a lot beyond what we said on Monday. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to contrive DRAMA!
Atop the Official Trending Chart are LadBaby, Elton John and Ed Sheeran with ‘Sausage Rolls For Everyone’. In the midweeks, that track was ahead of the song it is parodying – ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ by Elton John and Ed Sheeran. Does this latest stat revelation mean that it is still on course to be number one in the Official Singles Chart on Friday? Almost certainly yes.
Number two in the Trending Chart is ‘Boris Johnson Is Still A Fucking Cunt’ by The Kunts. Number two! What an achievement. But does that mean that it’s going to be the Christmas number two? No, it does not. For starters, assuming LadBaby knocks it off the top spot, John and Sheeran’s ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ will likely end up in second place.
Meanwhile, in the last full singles chart update, ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham! was at number three and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ was sitting at number four. Neither appear in the Trending Chart, which means they aren’t moving up the list, but they could be standing still.
That doesn’t mean it’s assured they’ll be ahead of The Kunts when the final Christmas chart is published on Friday. Though, they did both chart higher than the band’s effort last year – ‘Boris Johnson Is A Fucking Cunt’ – with Carey at number two, Wham! at number three and The Kunts at number five on the 2020 Christmas chart.
Also ahead of The Kunts last year was Jess Glynne, at number four, with ‘This Christmas’. That song isn’t even in the top 40 this year. But is there another contemporary act challenging The Kunts for a place in the top five this year?
Why, yes there is. Little George Ezra is at number three on the Trending Chart with ‘Coming Home For Christmas’, which was at number fifteen last week. This does mean that The Kunts are still outselling him though. But can they keep it up?
None of the other trenders are looking like contenders for the top five. The closest rival is Olivia Dean with ‘The Christmas Song’. She’s looking set to jump a whopping 20 places on this Friday’s chart, but that will only get her number eighteen.
Asked if he’s feeling confident about getting his fourth Christmas number one in a row – raising money for food bank charity The Trussell Trust in the process – LadBaby’s Mark Hoyle tells the Official Charts Company: “I never feel positive about it until it’s over – I just can’t start to believe because the pain of believing and then having it taken away is almost worse”.
“This week we’ll keep going until the last moment and assume it might not happen”, he adds, noting that it’s not just his mates John and Sheeran who are serious competitors.
“You never know with impending restrictions potentially coming into play from the government, and the constant discontent with Boris Johnson”, he goes on. “There’s definitely a third song in the running should the guidelines change”.
Well, it is now looking like we’ll get to celebrate Christmas with loved ones this year, preventing any last minute lockdown-based surge for The Kunts, which possibly bodes well for LadBaby.
“Another thing that makes me laugh is how far [our track] drops the following the week, which may well have broken a record at some point as well”, he adds. “I think it’s brilliant – it’s great that people back it for one week for Christmas, and then it’s gone, Christmas is over, and then real music takes over again. I love that it’s silly, but also helps keep the foodbanks open – this is what it’s all about”.
Anyway, isn’t this exciting? We’ll find out what this year’s Christmas number one single is on Friday at 4pm when it’s announced on BBC Radio 1.
