- Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.co.uk
Kylie Minogue is thrashing her rivals Wham! In her bid to win the coveted Christmas number one spot.
Midweek figures reveal that Australian pop princess Kylie is ahead of the 80s duo by 75 per cent with her new single, XMAS.
Industry insiders expect her to be crowned top of the charts on Friday which will stop the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley‘s hit from coming top for the third time in a row.
Not far behind Wham, whose 1984 hit Last Christmas was number one both last year and the one before is Together for Palestine‘s hit Lullaby which has seen over 15 UK and Palestinian artists come together to send a message of hope and solidarity.
It is understood that rather than just streams, people are buying the record as it is raising money urgent, life-saving funds for the children of Gaza amid the war in the Middle East thanks to a supergroup featuring Bastille’s Dan Smith, Celeste, Neneh Cherry, Nadine Shah, Brian Eno and Little Mix‘s Leigh-Anne Pinnock among others singing it.
Kylie Minogue is thrashing her rivals Wham! In her bid to win the coveted Christmasnumber one spot (pictured in the music video for her song XMAS)
Industry insiders expect her to be crowned top of the charts on Friday which will stop the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley’s hit from coming top for the third time in a row (Last Christmas official video still)
Mariah Carey‘s 1994 hit All I Want For Christmas is currently sitting at number four, with the Pogues Fairytale of New York from 1987 is in fifth place.
One industry insider said: ‘Kylie had a tough job, beating Wham and Last Christmas was an uphill struggle, Last Christmas is one of the most played festive songs but Kylie’s is very, very catchy and it seems to have taken a life of its own.
‘She has also been very determined to get the Christmas crown.’
Indeed, she has. Kylie, 58, was watched by almost seven million people when she performed the hit on Sunday night’s Strictly, and on Friday morning she was on the Radio 2 breakfast show with Scott Mills.
And her quest has been helped by XMAS being an Amazon exclusive which means that is placed on playlists on Amazon branded speakers such as Alexa so it likely to be played a lot. Each time it is, it is a stream that counts towards the chart.
Changes in chart compilation methods – prompted by the decline in physical sales – mean that 100 streams now count as one sale.
This shift has dramatically altered the look of the Christmas charts, favouring established hits and streaming juggernauts.
Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, said: ‘Streaming has completely transformed the way the Christmas No1 is decided.
‘Classic songs have a real shot at returning to the top each year, thanks to their enduring popularity on playlists, which wasn’t possible in the era of physical sales.’
Mariah Carey’s (pictured) 1994 hit All I Want For Christmas is currently sitting at number four, with the Pogues Fairytale of New York from 1987 is in fifth place
