Will Sam Ryder win the Christmas number one race?
The British star is hoping to beat Mariah Carey, Wham! and The Pogues
Eurovision star Sam Ryder has emerged as an unlikely contender to be crowned 2023's Christmas number one.
The singer-songwriter's track, You're Christmas To Me, is battling festive classics by Mariah Carey, Wham! and The Pogues to claim the coveted chart spot.
The star has said he hopes to pull off a "Christmas miracle", but does he stand a chance? Here's everything we know about this year's battle.
Who is Sam Ryder?
Sam Ryder is a 34-year-old musician from Essex who found fame in 2020 by covering songs on TikTok during the COVID lockdown. His videos caught the attention of stars including Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys and Sia, and he has accumulated 14 million followers – more than any other UK artist on TikTok.
He represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 with his track Space Man, an Elton John-style power ballad. He finished second, behind Ukraine's entry Kalush Orchestra – the UK's best result since Katrina and the Waves took the crown in 1997.
His debut album, There's Nothing but Space, Man!, topped the UK chart last year. Earlier this year he brushed shoulders with royalty by performing at King Charles' Coronation concert, as well as Prince Harry's Invictus Games closing ceremony.
Will he become Christmas number one?
Ryder's track You're Christmas To Me has shot up the UK singles charts since being released on 7 November, peaking at number 10 last week. The song is exclusive to Amazon Music, meaning it cannot be streamed on rival services such as Spotify and Apple Music, and is taken from the soundtrack for Prime Video rom-com Your Christmas or Mine 2.
The contest was blown wide open after YouTube duo LadBaby decided not to release a new song. The social media stars secured five straight festive chart-toppers, more than any other act in history, between 2018 and 2022.
Wham!'s 1984 synthy ballad Last Christmas is the bookmakers' pick this time around, having topped last week's chart, with Ryder the second-favourite.
Other contenders include Mariah Carey's 1994 classic All I Want For Christmas is You, and Ed Sheeran and Elton John's 2021 collaboration Merry Christmas. Also in the running is The Pogues' Fairytale of New York, which was first released in 1987, and has seen a surge of support since the death of singer Shane MacGowan last month.
What has Sam Ryder said?
The track is Ryder's first release since he parted ways from his record label, Parlophone, to become an independent artist.
Ryder told BBC Breakfast: "We've done 26 performances in the last six days, doing everything we possibly can to make this Christmas miracle come true because it's not often you find yourself in a chart race against the almighty Wham!
"But, with massive respect to those absolute legends, there's always room for new music and new artists coming through and attempts at putting new Christmas music out there."
Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, said the Yuletide battle "feels much more exciting than it has done for a few years". He told the BBC that people are "keen to see something a bit fresh and a bit new" after LadBaby's recent chart domination.
He added: "We've obviously got the classics that are coming back into the charts, we've got the usual run of charity records driven by ordinary people who just want to raise some money for for good causes, and we've also got one or two really interesting releases as well, like Sam Ryder."
When will the Christmas number 1 be announced?
The Christmas number one will be announced live on Radio 1's chart show tomorrow, Friday, 22 December, from 4pm. Today is the final day for sales and streams to count towards the race.
You're Christmas To Me by Sam Ryder is out now
