Wham! break new record as they beat Tom Grennan and Mariah Carey to Christmas No1
THEY finally landed their Christmas No1 last year – and now WHAM! have done it again.
Last Christmas was the most streamed and most physically purchased track of the week and is now the only song in history to have been the festive chart-topper twice in a row.
And it is perfect timing, as the song is celebrating its 40th birthday.
They ended up 10,000 sales ahead of Gracie Abrams’ That’s So True, which is at No2, and saw off competition from Mariah Carey and Tom Grennan who also put in valiant seasonal efforts to score the prestigious Yuletide top spot.
Last Christmas first got to No1 the week after Christmas in 2021.
Andrew Ridgeley, who was one half of the legendary pop duo with George Michael, told Official Charts: “Thirty-seven years to get to No 1, 39 years to Christmas No1, and then like London buses they all come along at once!
“I’m especially pleased for George, he would have been utterly delighted, his fabulous Christmas composition has become such a classic, almost as much a part of Christmas as mince pies, turkey and pigs in blankets.
“It’s testament to a really wonderful Christmas song that, in a lot of people’s minds, evokes and represents Christmas as we would all wish it to be.”
However, there isn’t such a cause for celebration when it comes to the albums chart.
It used to be a time of eye-watering sales figures as people rushed out to get the latest releases on CD as presents for their loved ones.
But this week has seen the lowest album sales ever for the week leading up to Christmas.
Sea change
SABRINA CARPENTER has returned to No1 for the first time since September with her album Short n’ Sweet, but sold just 15,220 copies to reach the top spot.
Part of that is down to the fact that hardly any big acts have released new albums in the last couple of months.
This is a sea change from a few years ago when big acts such as Adele, Harry Styles and Coldplay would target this time of year to rack up bumper sales.
Let’s just hope there are some big sellers on the way in 2025.
Top tatt Tom
TOM GRENNAN fell short of his festive No1 goal but he’s not giving up just yet.
He is holding on to the hope he can climb to the top spot by next Friday, despite being 20,000 copies behind WHAM! with his song It Can’t Be Christmas.
Tom has got a tattoo which says “Christmas No1 2024 is . . . ” but is going to wait a week before completing it as he reckons he’s got another shot next week.
In an exclusive catch-up on Thursday evening, before the result was revealed, he said: “We’ve got another week, so it turns out there’s two shots at the title.
“I’m leaving this blank for tomorrow and then the week after is where I’ll fill it in.
“But if it’s, for example, Wham!, then I will stick to my word and I’ll get George Michael on my thigh.
“But if it’s me, I’m just going to get me. Not a picture of myself, just the word ‘me’.
“I really believe the British public want a new Christmas song and I think this is the song.
“I think it deserves that No1 spot at some point. But it took Wham! 39 years. So if it’s on my debut, I’ll run around town like a madman.”
If that happens, it’ll be well-deserved indeed.
Zoe Balls out over exit
THINGS got emotional for Zoe Ball as she bid farewell to the Radio 2 breakfast show after six years yesterday.
She wept after playing a recap of her best bits, but promised she will be back on air for projects in the spring.
Zoe said: “It’s been such a gift to do this show . . . cool to be the first lass to host, remember girls, you can do anything.
To the biggest stars of our breakfast show, the listeners, young and old, and those in the middle, thank you.
“We’ve been through life’s highs and lows, and I really hope we’ve managed to bring some light when you’ve needed it, a daft distraction from the harder stuff.”
Scott Mills will take over in the New Year, and on Monday, the cast of Gavin & Stacey will host the show ahead of their BBC One Christmas special.
Lilly’s ad enough of movie
SEEING a former lover move on is tough, so spare a thought for the ex-wife of Ethan Slater, who can’t seem to escape the actor’s new relationship with Wicked co-star Ariana Grande.
Dr Lilly Jay split from Ethan after giving birth to their first child and moving to England so he could shoot the film.
He later got together with Ariana, inset. Writing for The Cut in the US, Lilly said: “I never thought I would get divorced.
“Especially not just after giving birth to my first child and in the shadow of my husband’s new relationship with a celebrity.”
But the hype over Wicked has been particularly hard for Lilly to bear.
She said: “Days with my son are sunny. Days when I can’t escape the promotion of a movie associated with the saddest days of my life are darker.” Ouch.
Danny’s boxing clever
IT’S not just brides who want to look good for their wedding day – just ask Danny O’Donoughue.
The Script frontman has taken up boxing to get into shape and has been training at a Sheffield gym set up by late Irish boxing legend Brendan Ingle.
Pals told me that Danny had been having one-on-one sessions with Brendan’s son Dominic, who took over the venue following his dad’s death.
“Danny wants to be fighting fit for his big day and absolutely loves boxing,” a friend told me.
“He is looking ripped and is a popular guy in the gym.”
We revealed Danny had popped the question to his girlfriend Anais Niang back in August.
Now all he has to do is avoid getting a shiner before he gets wed.
Ash is looking peachy
ASHLEY ROBERTS ruffled some feathers in this tiny dress as she partied at Katy Perry’s Night Of A Lifetime concert.
Stars including Jess Glynne, Alex Scott and Olivia Attwood were also at Central Hall Westminster for the gig, which airs on ITV1 tonight.
Later, celebs were invited backstage for an after-party while Katy went for dinner with fiance Orlando Bloom.
Bizarre’s Howell and Jack were in the audience and said it was an incredible show.
If you’re a fan, make sure you tune in at 6:30pm.
SHAKIRA says that Coldplay’s Chris Martin supported her during her split from footballer Gerard Pique.
The pair broke up in 2022, amid claims that he had cheated.
She said: “Chris was there for me when I got separated and was heartbroken.
“He was checking in every day to see how I was doing, sending me words of strength and wisdom.”
Cynth’s a total shoe-in
AFTER finally washing off the green face paint from playing Elphaba Wicked, Cynthia Erivo is back in front of the camera again.
She modelled two designer dressers for Elle Magazine along with some feathery shoes that look like they could double as mops.
Londoner Cynthia stars in Wicked alongside Ariana Grande and has just finished a brutal promotional schedule plugging the Blockbuster.
Opening up in the mag, Cynthia said that she had finally come into her own in her thirties, adding: “When I walk into a room, I’m not pretending.
“I’m going to come in with my nose ring, I’m going to come in with my earrings and my many piercings and my nails, and I made that decision a long time ago to just, like, be.”
Lizzo so hurt by claims
SEXUAL harassment claims have cast a huge shadow over one of my favourite pop stars.
But Lizzo has come out swinging against the allegations made by backing dancers, 16 months after a lawsuit was filed against her.
The Truth Hurts singer teared up when she revealed that the claims, had “completely blindsided” her.
Lizzo said: “I was literally living my dream, and then the tour ended, and three ex-dancers just completely blindsided me with a lawsuit.
“I was very deeply hurt because they weren’t on the tour. They didn’t finish the tour out with us.
“Regardless of that, these were people that I gave opportunities to. I liked and appreciated them as dancers. So I was like, what?
“But then I heard all the other things like sexual harassment, and I was like, I don’t know what they’re trying to do, but these are the types of things that the media can turn into something that it’s not.”
On the Baby, This Is Keke Palmer podcast, she dismissed many of the claims as “silly” and added: “Let’s be clear, I did nothing wrong.”
Some elements of the case were dismissed earlier this year, but proceedings are set to begin in January, so it’s far from over.