Col1967

Well I appreciate that, but my point was all three have already been big hits. I guess It all depends if the fact the track hasn't already been at no.1 is an important part of your campaign to oust the X-Factor winner. I suspect that will probably be lost on most potential buyers who want to protest at the X-Factor so you might as well choose what is probably the best known Christmas single ever, well apart from 'White Christmas'. Bing Crosby for no.1? Hmmmm... Now *there's* a thought.....

The two tracks you mention have also had all the recognition they could want, they were big hits in their day and re-appear every Christmas, so I can't see any big difference between those and Slade. Of course I'd prefer there to be genuine competion for the Christmas no.1 without the need for specific campaigns. But no 'normal' track is ever going to approach the sales of a first week X-Factor winner's single.

I would agree with that. Last year it was John Cage's 4'33" in the 'Cage against the machine' campaign. *Very* clever name but it didn't exactly get it very far. Never mind Smells Like Teen Spirit, why not just have a campaign to download the most obvious Christmas record of all, namely Slade?

Well it sold 82k or something last week. I know there was an X-Factor boost in there, but Saturday X-Factor boosts are split across two chart weeks so there will still be some of that in this week's sales total. For a track that has sold so consistently for so many weeks I just can't see a sudden drop from over 80k to just 60k, 70k would be the minimum I see it selling.

She is Midge Ure's daughter.

Rihanna with that sneaky mid-week release was the real sickener though. It would have *cruised* there otherwise. Still, it will be one of the bestsellers of the year, sell a million early next year and far outsell all the 6 tracks it was thwarted by, except for Rihanna which will reach a pretty good total, even by year end. MLJ must still be shifting 70-75k for this week. This track won't be gone from the top 40 for a *very* long time......

I hope it's no.2 as well, but I don't think the record is 'unwanted'. Even the most rabid MLJ fan will have given up on it ever being no.1 now, so it might as well equal that quite extraordinary chart feat.

I always thought that Maria Carey managed to do what should be impossible, that is managing to make a Christmas song sound bland. And you say this version is *worse*? <shudder>

Combined, Maroon 5 will already be no.2 with the other version of MLJ being at no.124.

That's very interesting, but how do the sheet music chart positions & singles chart positions compare when both charts were running at the same time?

By this I assume that you are saying that the sheet music chart & the singles chart correlated very closely when they were running concurrently, so it's a reasonable assumption to make that what was no.1 on one chart would be no.1 on the other?

Not so. I like it.

I was thinking about The Beatles, but the earlier stuff compared to the more, how should I put it, 'progressive' material you might find on Sgt. Pepper. I mean surely just about everybody likes 'She Loves You'.

YMCA

It's by no means my favourite Oasis song, but I don't hate it. A tad overrated perhaps. However this seems to be the Oasis track that seems to be regarded as their 'classic' song.

It's amazing chart run is the only noteworthy thing about it. It's indescribably dull & dreary, it just drones on and on, never actually going anywhere. it's a comtemptible thing!

I loath & detest it.

As this was no.2 on the first chart *ever* it is quite possible that had records been taken prior to this it could have been no.2 in previous weeks or even no.1, but we will never know.... This song has been mentioned quite a few times recently but I wonder if anybody actually knows what it sounds like? Well here she is, Jo Stafford. It's OK to be honest, for what it is, although obviously utterley alien to anything that could make the charts today. But I'm still glad rock 'n' roll happened a few years later :)

I wasn't being entirely serious there, just suggesting a possible scenario. But I am surprised at how fast Rihanna is falling. Obviously Matt's X-Factor appearance tonight will be critical, most likely he will cruise to no.1 soon after and be no.1 overall next week. Whether M5 outsells Rihanna or not next week will be irrelevant as regards the no.1 spot. But you never know.....

Well combined it's now 81.2% Now imagine if Rihanna makes no.1 this week (as I think she will) and Matt Cardle doesn't make the impact many people think. Maroon 5 for no.1 *next* week!

It just shows how far Lady G has fallen in that it takes a 59p promotion to get her latest single to scrape into the iTunes top 20.

How long did it take Bucks Fizz to shake off the Eurovision tag? Not too long I think but they continued having big hits for quite a while. And then there was that Swedish group.....

So he wants to distance himself from the show, yet is quite happy to appear on it and accept the sales boost? Seems a tad hypocritical to me.

I went for Rihanna 501-1000 copies, but I hope it's Maroon 5. I know it got an X-Factor boost but Rihanna was so far ahead for several days that I can't quite see M5 clawing it all back.

If this gives it the boost required, then that's great. One week at no.1, that's not too much to ask surely for a track that has been stuck at no.2 for 5 weeks and in the top 3 for 7.