You gained’t consider what WHAM! simply did for Christmas – it’s a record-breaking victory!
Shut-up of antique vinyl listing quilt unmarried with well-known Wham Final Christmas music in adorned fir tree (focal point on quilt proper of middle.)
Credit score: Shutterstock, Ralf Liebhold
Did anyone say WHAM!? You wager your saucy boots they did.
Everybody’s favorite Christmas music to hum in a high-pitched voice when no person’s having a look is again – and this time, it’s again with a vengeance! WHAM! are best of the pops once more, claiming Christmas No 1 for the second one yr in a row, simply in time for the music’s fortieth anniversary.
It’s Christmas, and WHAM! have pulled off without equal festive feat. Their iconic hit Final Christmas has now not simplest bagged the 2024 Christmas Quantity 1, nevertheless it’s additionally made chart historical past through turning into the first-ever monitor to win the identify two years operating.
In a yr the place vacation tunes have been combating teeth and nail for the crown, Final Christmas has stood tall, dominating each streaming and bodily gross sales. With 12.6 million streams and the best-selling bodily unmarried of the week – because of a spread of surprising fortieth anniversary vinyls and restricted version CDs – it was once transparent the country’s love for George Michael’s Christmas vintage wasn’t fading.
Final Christmas: A mythical music from a mythical duo
Andrew Ridgeley, part of WHAM!, celebrated the instant with authentic satisfaction. Talking to Professional Charts, he mirrored at the lengthy adventure of Final Christmas to the highest spot, noting that it took 37 years to achieve No 1 and 39 years to clinch the coveted Christmas No 1. He added that George Michael would were thrilled through the music’s enduring recognition, which has now develop into as iconic to Christmas as festive treats like mince pies, turkey, and pigs in blankets.
And he’s now not incorrect. Final Christmas is now undeniably Britain’s favorite Christmas music, after making an unusual 39-year adventure to say the highest spot in 2023. The music, which was once as soon as thwarted through Do They Know It’s Christmas? in 1984, has after all discovered its position within the vacation corridor of reputation.
WHAM! now sign up for an elite team of artists with more than one Christmas Quantity 1s. Along legends like Queen, Cliff Richard, and The Beatles, they’ve cemented their position in festive chart folklore.
Wham! thieve the thunder of oh so shut Tom Grennan
Whilst Final Christmas claimed the crown, there have been some shut contenders. Gracie Abrams’ That’s So True made a last-minute surge, maintaining robust at Quantity 2, whilst Mariah Carey’s 30-year-old All I Need For Christmas Is You settled for Quantity 3.
However the true festive drama got here from Tom Grennan, who, after going all-in with a daring Christmas No 1 tattoo, got here heartbreakingly shut. His new monitor, It Can’t Be Christmas, noticed a non-public ideal at Quantity 4. Smartly,
Christmas 2024: A chart stuffed with surprises together with the arguable ‘Freezing this Christmas’
The remainder of the festive chart was once full of surprises, as Apt through ROSÉ and Bruno Mars rounded out the highest 5, whilst new faces like Lola Younger made waves along with her first-ever Best 10 unmarried, Messy, at Quantity 7.
There was once additionally a robust presence from 2024’s chart dominator Sabrina Chippie, who noticed her monitor A Nonsense Christmas climb into the Best 20, undoubtedly because of the excitement surrounding her Netflix particular.
In other places, there was once extra vacation cheer from vintage tracks, with Do They Know It’s Christmas? at Quantity 12 and Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everybody at Quantity 14.
And in a twist you gained’t need to pass over – Freezing This Christmas through Sir Starmer & Granny Harmer made a dramatic look within the Best 40. This protest monitor, which has been making waves because of a grassroots marketing campaign and well-liked YouTube video, clinched the best-seller identify for the week, topping the Professional Obtain Chart.
With Final Christmas making historical past and a number of contemporary tracks lighting fixtures up the charts, Britain’s love for Christmas tune is alive and kicking. And with WHAM! proceeding to dominate, it kind of feels we’ll be listening to that festive vintage for future years. So, carry your glass, it’s some other WHAM! Christmas victory.
Merry Christmas to all – and right here’s to bringing again Best of the Pops!
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