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Former British School of Bahrain pupil and X Factor winner James Arthur is number two in the UK pop charts and just misses out on the prestigious accolade of the Christmas number one in the ‘closest-ever’ battle.
The Justice Collective’s version of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother sold more than 269,000 copies, outselling James’ debut single Impossible by 45,000, according to figures from the Official Charts Company on Sunday.
The charity song was performed by a collection of huge stars – including some X Factor finalists – with Robbie Williams, Mel C, Rebecca Ferguson, Paloma Faith and Holly Johnson all on the record, raising funds for the current Hillsborough tragedy legal battles.
Both contenders have raised vital funds for their designated charities with the proceeds of Impossible going to the children’s charity, Together for Short Lives.
It’s unlikely that the number two position will upset James too much. Earlier in the week, James had taken to the social networking site Twitter to urge his followers to make the Hillsborough tribute song this year’s festive number one, tweeting: ‘Platinum single baby! Not a bad start :) thanks to all who bought it now make sure the Hillsborough tune is number 1!! #LOVE”
After the chart was officially announced on BBC One Radio, he once again tweeted: ‘He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother the deserved Xmas number 1. Beautiful song and a very worthy cause. Bless all affected by the disaster.’
Regardless, the 24-year-old who became the ninth winner of X Factor earlier this month, scored his first number one with the cover of Shontelle’s ballad and proved nothing is impossible when it became the fastest-selling single of the year. The track is also the fastest-selling song since former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke’s debut effort Hallelujah, which was released in 2008 after her own series victory.
Impossible was leading what has been described as the closest battle officials can remember. The song sold 224,000 copies in its second week to bring the total sales of the winner’s single to an impressive 713,000 since release after the final.
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: “This is really the closest No.1 battle we can remember – even closer than the legendary 2009 battle between Rage Against the Machine and Joe McElderry. Congratulations to The Justice Collective on becoming the 2012 Official Christmas Number 1 with He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.
They fought a sterling campaign against one of the biggest singles of the year in James Arthur’s Impossible and are worthy winners – in aid of a very worthy cause.”
The Christmas number one is a wanted accolade in UK music. Being at the top of the charts when Santa comes to town is a big deal for musicians as the volume of record sales in the UK peaks at Christmas, with the number one spot being considered especially prestigious, more so than any other time of year.
From 2005 to 2010, the winners of the X Factor took the number one spot on five occasions.
James is not the first X Factor champion to miss out on the Christmas number one – and it is the second year running that it has not been snapped up by an X Factor star. In 2011 Little Mix peaked a week early with their debut Cannonball, which was dispatched from the top of the Christmas chart by the Military Wives’s Wherever You Are.
