X Factor creator and all-round music mogul Simon Cowell has conceded defeat in the race to Christmas number one.Gareth Malone’s Military Wives Choir, with their song Wherever You Are, is currently the bookmaker’s favourite to take the crown and Cowell wrote on his Twitter account this week that he expects the choir to win.
“Congrats to Little Mix & congrats to Military Wives. It’s a great cause & a worthy Christmas No.1,” he wrote.
Little Mix are already celebrating a number one single. Cannonball, the X Factor winner’s single, reached the top spot last weekend (December 18th). However, it has also been revealed that despite reaching number one and having the biggest first-week sales figures of 2011, it is the lowest-selling single from an X Factor winner since 2004.
A total of 210,000 copies were sold last week and the girl group will have to achieve even better sales figures in its second week in order to beat the Military Wives on Christmas Day.
Wherever You Are, which was composed by Paul Mealor, has beaten Little Mix’s total first-week sales in just two days of being released. Figures from the Official Charts Company show that 242,000 copies have been sold of the single, which is inspired by letters sent by military wives to their partners in Afghanistan.
The huge sales figures mean that the single is the fastest-selling release for six years, beating Shayne Ward’s That’s My Goal – an X Factor winner’s single – in 2005.
Even before its release, the Military Wives Choir broke a new online record by becoming the most pre-ordered music item on Amazon. Sales of the sheet music have also been a bestseller at Musicroom.
Proceeds from the single will also be donated to armed forces’ charities and MP Oliver Colvile this week called for the tax on the sale of the single to also be donated to the charities.