20 year old Londoner Alexandra Burke, the winner of this year’s X Factor last weekend, has predictably gone straight in at No.1 in the UK with her cover of Leonard Cohen’s anthemic classic Hallelujah. This is perhaps the most obvious thing to have happened in what is otherwise a very odd looking Christmas top ten.

 

Alexandra previously entered the competition in 2005 but was sent out in the ‘judges house’ stage of the competition by Louis Walsh in the same category as eventual winner Shayne Ward. She returned this year and was instantly installed as the favourite at the beginning of the series before falling behind to fellow Cheryl Cole mentored acts, Diana Vickers and Laura White. As the contest progressed, Alexandra was one of the few unscathed participants and like every other X Factor winner, she never ended up in the bottom two, unlike fellow finalists, boyband JLS. Amongst her memorable winning performances last weekend was her take on the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah. Her version blows the success of 2007 winner, Leon Jackson’s When You Believe, out of the water, selling well over half a million copies in her first week, the first single to achieve this sort of sale since Leona Lewis’ debut hit, A Moment Like This, passed the milestone in its first week.

 

In a surprise twist, Alexandra’s success has had a knock on effect on the Jeff Buckley version of the song, recorded in the early 1990s and previously only a cult hit in the UK. His cover, arguably the most famous of them all, made its first UK top forty appearance last week when it debuted at No.30 but it soars up to No.2 this week. A number of groups were set up on the social networking website Facebook to encourage people to simultaneously download this song this week to try to prevent Alexandra from topping the chart, and although the result is an overwhelming success for Jeff Buckley’s version of the song, it was never going to be able to stop the X Factor juggernaut. What this does mean of course is that Simon Cowell has the Christmas No.1 and the knowledge that without his influence, people would not have bought the Jeff Buckley version of the track in their droves. So it is a win-win situation for Simon Cowell’s wallet and ego and results in the first instance of the top two being the same song since 1957 when Guy Mitchell was at No.1 with Singing The Blues ahead of a version at No.2 by Tommy Steele which it had been knocked off by and then subsequently replaced at No.1. In the 1950s though, it was a common occurrence for two or more versions of the same song to be released by different singers. The closest example of this happening before in recent times is when in 2005, Australian dance act Cabin Crew took Star To Fall to No.4 and British dance act Sunset Strippers followed the next week with a No.3 hit Falling Stars, both songs sampling the 1988 No.9 hit Waiting For A Star To Fall by US duo Boy Meets Girl. It does finally bring mainstream attention to American singer Jeff Buckley though who died in 1997 after drowning. His only studio album, Grace, remains to this day one of the most critically respected albums of the 1990s.

 

Simon Cowell is responsible also for No.3 as 2006 X Factor winner Leona Lewis drops from No.1 with her single Run, a cover of the Snow Patrol track from 2004. It is still selling in huge quantities online but ultimately could not keep up with the two versions of Hallelujah this week and despite clocking up over 70,000 downloads once again, Run is the first No.1 single to drop below No.2 since Mint Royale’s Singin’ In The Rain went 1-8 in June. The eleven chart toppers in between have all eased down to No.2 after their stint at the top. Leona has now appeared in the Christmas top three for three consecutive years with A Moment Like This (#1, Xmas 2006), Bleeding Love (#3, Xmas 2007) and Run (#3, Xmas 2008). Last year, she was pushed to No.3 by the late Eva Cassidy whose duet with Katie Melua, What A Wonderful World, was No.2 behind Leon Jackson this time last year and this year she is beaten to No.2 by another posthumous hit from Jeff Buckley.

 

Outside the Christmas 2008 top three made up exclusively of cover versions, there are other chart oddities, many of which were influenced once again by the X Factor. Beyoncé’s former No.1 single, If I Were A Boy, had been on its way down the chart, going as low as No.9 last week, but after a very well received performance of the track on last weekend’s X Factor final the song soars back to No.4 this week and is well on its way to becoming her biggest selling solo single to date in the UK. In at No.5 is the second hit for Peter Kay’s latest creation, Geraldine McQueen. The follow up to the No.2 debut hit, The Winners Song, Once Upon A Christmas Song was also co-written by Kay and Take That frontman Gary Barlow. Although many expected it to challenge for Christmas No.2, it falls short due to the X Factor influence but is nevertheless a second top five success for the singer, far better than Pop Idol series 2 winner Michelle McManus managed, that singer being an obvious inspiration for the Geraldine campaign and artwork.

 

Another song shooting up the charts at No.6 is also due to Saturday prime time TV but for once, not the X Factor. British singer/songwriter James Morrison performed his Nelly Furtado duet, Broken Strings, on last weekend’s ITV special ‘The Girls Aloud Party’, with the girls singing Nelly’s parts. This week, the song finally lifts off properly and soars twelve places from No.18 to No.6 this week to give James a fourth UK top ten hit after You Give Me Something (#5, 2006), Wonderful World (#8, 2006) and You Make It Real (#7, 2008). It is Canadian singer Nelly Furtado’s eighth credited appearance on a UK top ten single. Kings Of Leon would have quite easily stayed inside the top three on a normal week but the Christmas chart is no normal week and Use Somebody, last week’s No.2, dips to No.7 this week on its third week inside the top ten despite only a minimal sales decrease.

 

Listen, Beyoncé’s song from the soundtrack to the film Dreamgirls, peaked at a lowly No.16 in early 2007 in between the mega hits Irreplaceable and Beautiful Liar. However, thanks to the diva performing the track with Alexandra Burke on last weekend’s X Factor final, it sensationally re-enters the top forty at a new peak of No.8 this week and is the star’s eleventh UK top ten single outside Destiny’s Child. Take That slide four places this week with the former chart topper Greatest Day, the first single from The Circus, which slides four places to No.9. Rounding off the top ten is Womanizer by Britney Spears. Womanizer has proved a much more successful comeback single than last year’s Gimme More, and slides to No.9 on its seventh week inside the top ten. This week’s top ten therefore features four British acts, five songs by American artists, and one British/Canadian duet.

 

With everyone busy buying what they heard on the X Factor, it has not been a good week for Christmas songs, with many oddly seeing a chart reversal this week, and performing far less well than this time last year. Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl is up just a place to No.12, marking the first time since 2004 that the song has not featured inside the Christmas top ten. Little Drummer Boy/Peace On Earth by Bandaged, or Sir Terry Wogan and Aled Jones, plummets 3-13, Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You drops five places to No.17 whilst one of the few Christmas climbers is Warm This Winter by Australian singer Gabriella Cilmi. The soundtrack to the Christmas campaign of supermarket, The Co-Operative, it jumps up seven places to No.22 this week. Wham’s Last Christmas is down a place from No.26 to No.27, Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday slides two places to No.33, Basshunter’s Jingle Bells (Bass) climbs three spots to No.35 after a physical release whilst Slade and Shakin’ Stevens leave the top forty completely. Apart from the new Christmas singles, the others were very much higher last year and we may see them lower still as each year progresses . What is interesting however is that The Pogues, Mariah Carey, Wham and Wizzard have all lined up in exactly the same popularity order as this time last year.

 

Other, non Christmas related action inside the top forty is as follows. Beyoncé scores a third simultaneous top twenty hit this week with Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), which as returned to No.1 in the US. It climbs four places to No.20 disproving the theory that acts can not have more than one hit at a time in the UK. Basshunter also has simultaneous hits this week with two singles that were both physically released on Monday. With his Christmas offering Jingle Bells (Bass) at No.35, the fourth single to be taken from his UK album, Now You’re Gone – The Album, I Miss You, enters at No.32 this week. It has been a fantastic year for the Swedish producer, I Miss You marking his fifth top forty hit of the year.

 

Leonard Cohen, the man responsible for the original version of the week’s most talked about song, Hallelujah, enters the top forty himself with the song this week at No.36 marking the third appearance of the track in this week’s chart. His version marks its first top forty appearance this week despite having been recorded in 1984. Duffy’s Rain On Your Parade is back into the top forty at No.37 following her performance of the song on The Royal Variety Performance which was televised during the week. Finally, Girls Aloud enter the top forty at No.38 this week with The Loving Kind, the second single to be taken from their chart topping album, Out Of Control. The track, which was co-written by electronic pop duo the Pet Shop Boys, is their twentieth single and will look to follow the first nineteen into the top ten in the new year, particularly as they are having a hugely successful era with the Out Of Control project.

 

The album chart is far less eventful for Christmas with Take That’s The Circus sticking at No.1 for a third week to give them a second Christmas chart topping album in three years after 2006’s Beautiful World. Leona Lewis’ 2007 Christmas No.1 album is at No.2 for 2008, staying at No.2 this week ahead of Only By The Night by Kings Of Leon which moves back up a place to No.3 and Day & Age by The Killers which slides a place to No.4. Girls Aloud’s Out Of Control gets a boost from The Girls Aloud Show as it climbs back to No.5 and marks the second successive week of chart topping albums ruling the top five. The Priests’ eponymous debut album is back up a place to No.6 whilst The Stereophonics slide a spot to No.7 with their Best Of album, A Decade In The Sun. Il Divo drop to No.8 with The Promise whilst Beyoncé completes an amazing week by reaching a new peak of No.9 with I Am…Sasha Fierce, which leaps up from No.24 last week. Duffy completes the top ten with 2008’s best selling album, Rockferry, which returns to the top ten, up a place from No.11 to No.10 this week.

 

Despite very few new releases on Monday, next week’s chart should see some major changes as the ‘X Factor effect’ wears off and the ‘iTunes gift card effect’ kicks in and will likely push some of 2008’s biggest hits back up and into the top forty whilst songs boosted by the X Factor should start to fall. Alexandra Burke should hold onto the No.1 spot for a second week although Jeff Buckley’s version could continue to grow in momentum. Should everyone get sick of Hallelujah, there is always the possibility for a return to the top for Leona Lewis. Being the week after the Christmas chart, few acts are releasing anything physically, although with shops open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Christmas on Thursday, Hot Chip and The Fratellis will look to get hits with physical releases, although it is unlikely that either of these acts will reach the top forty. Ultimately though the chart will be a mash up of the current chart and ‘the hits of 2008’ until the new releases from Lady Gaga, Girls Aloud, Kid Cudi vs. Crookers and Lily Allen filter through in January. There are albums out on Monday from David Cook and Jimmy Cliff, neither of which will probably make the chart, which will still be topped by Take That, Leona Lewis, The Killers and Kings Of Leon until the January sales inevitably skew the chart in two weeks time before 2009’s release schedule kicks in.

 

Thanks to Polyhex, EveryHit, ManicKangaroo and Play.com for various information and resources

Great commentary :D

 

Informative as always!

Sunset Strippers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cabin Crew IMO! I even bought Sunset Strippers :wub:

 

Great read as always Rich! :wub:

I completely disagree Johnjo, I bought Cabin Crew and far prefer their version...

 

Sunset Strippers version had the same weird pulsating effect that hurt my ears, the same effect that made me hate Call On Me by Eric Prydz :o

I completely disagree Johnjo, I bought Cabin Crew and far prefer their version...

 

Sunset Strippers version had the same weird pulsating effect that hurt my ears, the same effect that made me hate Call On Me by Eric Prydz :o

HAHA! I actually bought Call On Me too! Was my fave Dance song of 2004 :heart:

Another great commentary.

 

I may not always post, but I always read every week.

 

Thanks as always and Merry Christmas to you.

Thanks for a great commentary as usual Gooddelta. Always a fab, interesting read. Keep up the good work in 2009 and Merry Christmas to you.

Excellent, Rich. I forgot about Cabin Crew and Sunset Strippers. I think I preferred SS at the time, but bought both!

Yes, these commentaries are a fascinating read, many thanks for keeping us up to date with why the chart looks as it does.

HAHA! I actually bought Call On Me too! Was my fave Dance song of 2004 :heart:

Not Lola's Theme then? :P

 

Great as usual! Merry Christmas :D

This week, the song finally lifts off properly and soars twelve places from No.18 to No.6 this week to give James a fourth UK top ten hit after You Give Me Something (#5, 2006), Wonderful World (#8, 2006) and You Make It Real (#7, 2008)

 

I'm amazing at the consistency :o . Never knew Wonderful World was so big either.

Edited December 21, 200816 yr by Harve

Gooddelta's commentaries each week are much better and more detailed than Music Week's and that guy Masterston's.

 

Great read again Rich although i noticed a spelling mistake you mentioned both Take That & Britney as down to 9 :lol: but great nethertheless ;)

thanks for all of the kind comments this week :D

Not Lola's Theme then? :P

 

Great as usual! Merry Christmas :D

I'm amazing at the consistency :o . Never knew Wonderful World was so big either.

God Know :puke: 'Lola's Theme' is AWFUL! IMO!

 

'Undiscovered' (The single) deserved to be big :cry:

God Know :puke: 'Lola's Theme' is AWFUL! IMO!

 

'Undiscovered' (The single) deserved to be big :cry:

You spelt "no" wrong :P

 

I know about your hate for Lola's Theme, which is why i said it, i'm sure half the forum does :lol:

You spelt "no" wrong :P

 

I know about your hate for Lola's Theme, which is why i said it, i'm sure half the forum does :lol:

Really? Where have i had to bring that up? :unsure:

 

:drama: back to the spelling classes for me then :drama:

Really? Where have i had to bring that up? :unsure:

 

:drama: back to the spelling classes for me then :drama:

I'm not sure, i'm sure you've mentioned it twice though. :unsure:

 

Ooh found it in about 5 minutes :o

 

http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=2161536

 

EDIT: Again! http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=2258219

 

EDIT2: http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=2150176

 

2004

06 Lola's Theme - Shapeshifters

6/10 for an awful song. You must be bipolar :thinking:

:P

Edited December 22, 200816 yr by Harve