Last Christmas has held steady at the summit of the Official Singles Chart, taking its fifth non-consecutive week at Number 1 overall since it finally managed to top the charts for the first time in January 2021.
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley just have to hold out for the next seven days to claim the coveted official Christmas Number 1 single for the first time. And, with Wham! releasing Last Christmas on CD for the first time in the UK today, along with a limited edition green vinyl, the track is likely to see further recovery in the coming days.
Today, the race for Christmas Number 1 has begun in earnest. and we can already name a few contenders to watch out for as the race unfolds…
Jumping three places to Number 2 this week, Noah Kahan's Season Stick makes a surprise move into the heart of the Christmas conversation at Number 1, and of course we can't count out the Queen of Christmas herself, Mariah Carey, with All I Want For Christmas You in number 3.
Congratulations to Sam Ryder, who scored his second Top 10 single with You're Christmas To Me this week (10). Amazon Music Original is up two this week. It joins Sam's other Top 10 hit, 2022's SPACE MAN (2), and declares the Eurovision hero one to watch in the #XmasNo1 race.
Elsewhere in the Top 5, Kirsty MacColl's Fairytale of New York, The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, once again shows its annual popularity (5). With a brand new vinyl release of Dublin Simon's community-assisted Fairytale of New York arriving next week, could the 1987-era staple finally claim the Christmas Number 1 for the first time?
Meanwhile, in the Top 10, we find Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran and Elton John (6), Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree (7) and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (8) by Michael Bublé, which was recently named by Official Charts as the biggest Christmas song of the 21st century.
As her sophomore album THINK LATER enters the Top 5, Tate McRae returns to the Top 10, a greedy five places (9) and former 12 back in the Top 40 (39).
Lyrical Lemonade – aka music video director Cole Bennett – makes his UK Top 40 debut as an artist, with Stop Giving Me Advice featuring Jack Harlow and Dave debuting at Number 29, while Fred.. and Baby Keem's leavemealone reaches Number 30.
In total today, 28 Christmas songs are in the Top 40 of the Official Singles Chart, with these songs increasing each week: Andy Williams' It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (14), Elton John's Step Into Christmas (16), Jorja Smith Stay Another Day (20), Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime (25), The Ronette's Sleigh Ride (26), Wizzard's Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (27), Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody (33), Leona Lewis's One More Sleep ( 34 ) and Justin Bieber's Mistletoe (36).
