Who has the official Christmas Number One is revealed at that time of year. Kylie and WHAM are in contention this year, but Daniel Bird’s writings are my favorites.
Every artist deserves a gong, but some artists should not have received it. The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl are the favorites to win the top spot this year, closely followed by the legendary Last Christmas by WHAM and Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.
As a music enthusiast, I aspires year after year to find out who has won the most popular role, and I’m relieved that musicians are finally being taken seriously. We’ve seen LadBaby consistently outperforming their parody covers, including We Built This City on Sausage Rolls, with “dad jokes” serving as their driving force.
That, in my opinion, is not what ought to be at the top of the charts. I can get behind their desire to raise money for charities and assist others, even though I don’t appreciate the “music.” I’m glad that LadyBaby themselves declared that the Christmas Number one baton was “hand over” in 2023. Other than Last Christmas, Fairytale of New York, and Band Aid, I’m not fussed about the classics. Don’t get me wrong, Mariah’s song is too overused and, to be honest, needs to be re-introduced.
I’ll now turn to the top five songs from the past 25 years, in my opinion. If I didn’t place Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground (2002) at the top of the charts, it wouldn’t be appropriate. They rose to fame on The Rivals, despite losing to One True Voice, to take the top spot.
The history of girlband music was forever changed by Sound of the Underground, in my opinion. It was a standout among the crowd because of the electric guitar’s immediate kick and “disco dancing with the lights down low” it had as a standout.
There was something about Sound of the Underground that made them compete with Blue, which featured Gareth Gates, S Club Juniors, and Pink. The song incorporated everything about the historic change, from Cheryl’s Geordie rasp to Sarah’s northern edge as she opened it.
The track, which was released on December 16 and topped the charts for four weeks, sold just over 213,000 copies in the same year. It’s undoubtedly one of my most popular songs all year long and always will be.
Last Christmas by Wham is held annually. finds its way back into the charts, and on a good time. One of the most memorable choruses I’ve ever heard of appears on the record, which was first released in December 1984. However, despite being played year after year, it only rose to the top in 2023 after LadBaby’s five-year reign as Number One, and it hasn’t changed since.
Last Christmas, in my opinion, sums up the entire holiday season. We see friends having fun together in the video. That is the essence of Christmas. This song has been poorly belted out numerous times for my chosen karaoke track with friends. It is marking the release of the bittersweet track on the 41st anniversary this year.
In under an hour, George Michael, a legendary singer, finished the song. He once said, “I thought it would be great to kick off the year with a Christmas song.” However, Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas, which also stars George, claimed the top spot in the year it was released, so he technically had the number one.
He made a donation to the Band Aid Trust from Last Christmas that year. It’s no surprise that it has more than five million chart sales combined, making it the third-largest single in the UK. My third favorite is now When We Collide by Matt Cardle. It was Cardle’s perfect performance on The X Factor, which he won in 2010 for.
The X Factor winner consistently topped the charts (aside from Joe McElderry, thanks to Rage Against The Machine), but Cardle always did so. Okay, so it’s a cover of Many of Horror by Biffy Clyro, but what else? Matt introduced the song to a new generation in a highly underappreciated manner.
Matt himself was pleased that there was a social media campaign at the time the song was released to reach Number One. Although it wasn’t the typical song for a talent show winner, it has stood the test of time and is still one of my all-time favorites.
My list could have been very different, given the number of X Factor winners. The Military Wives and Gareth Malone defeated Little Mix’s Cannonball cover in 2011. If the four-piece girl group had topped the charts, they would have easily occupied fourth place.
That’s My Goal by Shayne Ward, in keeping with my X Factor theme. What can I say? It is truly a masterpiece. In 2005, I vividly recall purchasing this song from Woolworths as a child. The show’s first winner, Manchester-based Shayne, made an original song his winning single.
It sold 313, 000 copies in its first two days, making it the year’s top-selling single, with an additional 429, 180 copies in the same four days, bringing it to No. 1. I can’t say I’m surprised that the song has since reached double platinum. It’s a timeless classic.
Finally, Band Aid 20, my fifth-favorite Christmas song ever, was released in 2004. featuring the likes of Ms. Dynamite, Busted, Sugababes, Will Young, Robbie Williams, Daniel Bedingfield, Dido, Sir Paul McCartney, Chris Martin, Bono, and Jonny Greenwood. The song’s biggest-selling single of the year was made possible by raising money for Sudan’s Darfur region.
The song’s only band members from the original Band Aid were Bono and Macca. Toby Blair, the then-prime minister, was seen picking up his physical copy at an HMV store in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the first 24 hours, the single sold 72, 000 copies before surpassing one million UK physical copies.
Band Aid 20 is undoubtedly the best, despite the constant rotation of the go-to classic. I’ll wait to see who will win this year’s crown, though. However, Kylie Minogue is my target.
Source: Mirror
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