16 December 2022
Newsdesk
The battle for the 2022 Official Christmas Number 1 has begun.
2022 marks the 71st ever Christmas Number 1, and is the culmination of the 70th anniversary celebrations of the Official Singles Chart, which marked its 70th birthday on 14th November 2022. Once again we’ve got a whole spectrum of genres and characters putting their hat in the ring for the most coveted Number 1 placing of the year.
The winner will be exclusively on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders on Friday 23 December from 4pm.
Contenders
After earning a record-breaking fourth consecutive Christmas Number 1 last year, LadBaby has once again thrown his hat into the ring in an attempt to become the first act to ever have five Christmas Number 1 singles. This year Mark and his wife Roxanne have enlisted none other than money saving expert Martin Lewis for Food Aid, a new take on the Band Aid classic Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Youtube group Sidemen - comprising KSI, Simon, Harry, Tobi, Ethan, Vik, and Josh - have split into two teams for their Christmas Number 1 bids. One team (KSI, Vik and Tobi) were given a budget of £100,000 budget for festive track Christmas Drillings featuring JME, while group two (Simon, Harry, Ethan, Josh and producer Randolph) had just £100 to create their song This or That. Time will tell if a different brand of viral fame can get to the top of the charts this year…
The K**ts are also back for 2022 with their third go at the top spot with F**k The Tories, having gate-crashed the Official Chart Christmas Top 5 for the past two years with the ever-so-sweary Boris Johnson Is A F**king C**t in 2020, and its imaginatively titled sequel Boris Johnson Is Still A F**king C**t in 2021. Could it be third time lucky this week?
Of course the usual suspects, Last Christmas by Wham and All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (the current Number 1 single at time of writing) are set for another fight for the festive top spot; though they have both reached Number 1 in recent years, they have never quite managed to lock down the coveted Christmas Number 1. Plus Ed Sheeran & Elton John’s modern yuletide hit Merry Christmas is showing signs of becoming a festive classic, already back in the current Top 3 a year after its release.
RAYE is also a hot contender for this year’s crown with her first single as an independent artist, Escapism., riding high in the Official Singles Chart. Stormzy’s Firebabe is also enjoying strong numbers, as is Made You Look by Meghan Trainor.
Plus of course there are several charity bids for this year’s top spot, including the return of David McGovern – singer and owner of record shop Beyond Vinyl in Newcastle – who has teamed up with Batten Community Children’s Choir to release a cover of New Kids On The Block's This One's On The Children, once again in aid of the Batten Disease Family Association.
Ravi Adelekan, a young boy diagnosed with a benign brain tumour in 2021, has enlisted a range of huge artists including Paloma Faith, Bastille, Metronomy, The Big Moon and more for a cover of A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman. Proceeds will be donated to brainstrust and The Brain Tumour Charity.
Plus there are many more from some of the UK’s best and brightest entertainers, including the return of a Christmas Number 1 great…that’s right, Mr Blobby is BACK, thanks to the efforts of none other than Basil Brush with Boom! Boom! It’s Christmas Again! which also sees the cast of Rainbow, Muffin The Mule, and Santa Claus himself raising funds for Save The Children and Shooting Star Chase Children’s Hospice.
How is the Christmas Number 1 winner determined?
The only chart that counts, The Official Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company on behalf of the British music industry. First established in 1952, the Official Chart today surveys thousands of retailers and digital services daily to count UK physical sales, digital downloads, audio streams and video streams. The most comprehensive research panel of its kind, it captures 99.9% of the total UK singles market.
The Top 40 is counted down every Friday afternoon on BBC Radio 1 and the Official Singles Chart Top 100 is published in full on OfficialCharts.com from 5.45pm.
Who will win the Christmas Number 1 2022?
The Official Christmas Number 1 race 2022 kicks off today, Friday December 16, with sales and streams counting up until midnight (11.59pm) on Thursday, December 22. So whoever you’re backing, get behind them before then.
The winner will be announced exclusively on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart with Jack Saunders from 4pm on Friday December 23. The full Top 100 Official Christmas Singles Chart and Albums Chart will be published on OfficialCharts.com from 5.45pm.
