Brit Sweep: December 22, 2013...
Hey gang, it's time to head across the pond to the UK to check out the new songs making the official sales chart this week. This week is the coveted "Christmas Week" chart, where there always is a race to see who'd be #1. In the past couple of years, there's been campaigns to bring back old songs to the top mostly to piss off Simon Cowell and keep his X Factor winner from going to the top. It's worked before, when Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name" topped the list, while a more appropriate entry from the Military Wives also kept the X Factor out of the top spot (for at least a week). This year, although campaigns on Facebook for AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" and Altern-8's "Activ-8 (Come With Me)" to reach the top, in the end they were no match for 35-year-old prison guard Sam Bailey from Leicester, who took the tenth X Factor crown with her cover of Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper". The record is a benefit for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Demi's original made it to #7 last year, and reenters the chart at #37 this week..
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Another charity record that had a chance to be the Christmas #1 was a cover of Wizzard's "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" by the Big Reunion cast of 2013, which gathered vets of pop bands Blue, Atomic Kitten, Five, B*witched, 911, Liberty X, and Honeyz who appeared on the Bands Reunited-style show to benefit a bunch of charities including TXT Santa. The original version, led by Roy Wood of ELO who was in Wizzard, originally peaked at #4 in 1974, though it's been a staple ever since, dropping this week from #31 to #41...
Beyonce' enters the top 100 with two songs this week. First at #57 is "Drunk In Love" with husband Jay-Z....
The follow-up to Gary Barlow's #2 hit "Let Me Go" is "Face To Face" with Elton John, which comes in at #80, and is my "Brit Pick of the Week"...
Another charity single, this time for the victims of a helicopter crash in Scotland which killed 10 people at the end of November, comes in at #84. Credited to Clutha Appeal, "Won't Forget" featured vocals by Britain's Got Talent winner Jai McDowall...
The other entry from Beyonce this week is "Mine" featuring Drake, at #89...
Idina Menzel's version of "Let It Go" from the Disney movie Frozen debuted last week at #67, where it sits today as well. Meanwhile, Demi Lovato's take on the song arrives on the top 100 at #92....
Londoner Ella Eyre, who sang on Rudimental's #1 hit "Waiting All Night", arrives at #93 with her first solo single "Deeper"...
The last song making its first appearance on the chart is a Christmas classic from 60s girl-group the Ronettes, "Sleigh Ride". 50 years ago they went to #4 with "Be My Baby"...
That's it for this week's Xmas chart madness...I'll be back tomorrow with another song of the day, I'll pick my recap of the biggest songs of 2013 back up, and I'll have my "robbed hit" of the week from a British pop/punker...
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