Race for Christmas number one reveals runaway favourite – and it’s bad news for Mariah Carey and Tom Grennan
The race for this year’s Christmas number one has revealed a runaway favourite – and it might not be what you expected.
Many Christmas music buffs were pinning their hopes on Mariah Carey‘s All I Want For Christmas Is You taking the number one spot this year.
And other music fans were hoping for Tom Grennan’s Amazon Original hit It Can’t Be Christmas to race ahead and take the top spot.
But now it looks like neither Mariah nor Tom will nab a Christmas number one, as another classic hit races ahead.
Wham!’s Last Christmas looks set to become Christmas number one for the second time in a row, and it’s safe to say that fans of the hit will likely be overjoyed.
According to Gambling.com, Wham! are 1/7 favourites to be this year’s Christmas number one, with the classic hit looking to be rather hard to overtake.
The bookies report that earlier this week, Wham!’s main contender was likely to be Tom Grennan’s It Can’t Be Christmas track and Mariah Carey’s festive classic All I Want For Christmas Is You.
The betting site has said that leading markets have Tom as the 14/1 second favourite and Mariah 20/1 third favourite.
Although American singer Gracie Abrams, who supported Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour earlier this year, is making a late push for the number one spot this Christmas with her viral hit That’s So True.
Gracie’s hit had been at the top of the Official Singles Chart for five weeks before being knocked off by Wham!’s Last Christmas last Friday.
That’s So True is now fairing as a 40/1 outsider to be the UK’s 2024 Christmas number one.
POSSIBLE CONTENDERS AND OUTSIDERS
Brenda Lee’s 1958 tune Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree is currently in the Top 10, but it’s a massive 100/1 that Brenda reaches the peak before the big day.
Meanwhile, The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York is a 66/1 outsider this festive season and Ariana Grande’s Santa Tell Me is 100/1.
Last year was the first year that Wham!’s Last Christmas reached the top spot at Christmas after 39 years of it being on our airwaves.
The beloved hit eventually got the Christmas number one slot in 2023 after almost four decades.
GEORGE MICHAEL’S LOVE FOR CHRISTMAS
In a new BBC Two documentary titled Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, it is revealed that the late George Michael had a special reason for considering Christmas the wonderful time of the year.
The UK's highest-grossing Christmas movies of all time
1. The Grinch (2018) – £424,000,000
2. Home Alone (1990) – £376,000,000
3. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) – £283,000,000
4. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000) – £273,000,000
5. A Christmas Carol (2009) – £256,000,000
6. The Polar Express (2004) – £250,000,000
7. Elf (2003) – £180,000,000
8. The Holiday (2006) – £162,000,000
9. The Santa Clause (1994) – £150,000,000
10. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) – £137,000,000
Figures accurate as of November 2024
At this week’s launch of the film, Shirlie, 62, said of George: “Christmas was bigger than him, so he could disguise himself in Christmas.
“That was one of the reasons he loved that time of year, and why he liked to go carol singing.
“Imagine if everyone had iPhones back then. Our Christmas Eves were the best.”
GEORGE’S SAD PASSING
Wham! singer and the writer of Last Christmas George Michael tragically died at his home at the age of 53 in 2016.
George died of natural causes on Christmas Day, with this year marking eight years since his passing.
Sadly, Last Christmas never made it to Christmas number one while George was alive.