Christmas number one: X Factor’s Sam Bailey tops chart

X Factor winner Sam Bailey has claimed this year’s Christmas number one, with her debut single Skyscraper.

The former prison officer outsold her nearest rival, Pharrell’s Happy, by two to one to become one of the fastest selling singles of the year.

Bailey, 36, said topping the festive chart was the “icing on the cake”.

Robbie Williams’ Swings Both Ways held onto number one in the album chart after a close battle with One Direction and Take That band mate Gary Barlow.

Leona Lewis had the highest charting Christmas song, with her original track One More Sleep staying steady at number three.

AC/DC scored their first ever UK top 10 single, with Highway To Hell at number four after a social media campaign to try and keep this year’s X Factor winner off the top spot.

“Being number one is absolutely amazing,” said mother-of-two Bailey, who beat 16-year-old Nicholas McDonald in the X Factor final last Sunday.

She said that the fact proceeds from the single are going to two charities, Great Ormond Street Children’s Charity and Together For Short Lives, made it “extra special”.

Figures from the Official Charts Company show Bailey sold 149,000 copies of Skyscraper this week, a cover of a track by Demi Lovato.

Last year’s X Factor winner James Arthur sold 490,000 copies of his debut Impossible in the first week, but missed out on the Christmas number one as his track topped the chart a week earlier.

(Source: BBC News)