Which song will be Christmas Number 1 in 2023? Singles and date

Wham!’s 1984 classic Last Christmas is the leader, but there has also been excitement building around fellow contenders The Pogues, Sam Ryder and Mariah Carey.

With LadBaby having pulled out of the Number 1 Christmas single race following their record-breaking five-year streak, this year's battle is shaping up to be the most unpredictable in years.

Comprised of Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, the LadBaby duo have consistently topped the charts around Christmas with their pastry-filled charity singles such as I Love Sausage Rolls and Don’t Stop Me Eatin’.

"We wanted to pass the baton over," Mark and Roxanne Hoyle said in a statement. "The public backing a sausage roll - only in Great Britain."

Read on for speculation about who could bag the 2023 Christmas Number 1, as well as the full list of contending songs.

When will we find out which song is the UK's Christmas Number 1?

The official Christmas Number 1 will be announced live from 4pm on Friday 22nd December 2023 on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart.

The full Official Christmas Singles and Albums Chart Top 100 will be published on OfficialCharts.com.

Which song will be Christmas Number 1 in 2023?

It's looking like a race between Sam Ryder’s You’re Christmas to Me, Wham!’s Last Christmas and Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You.

Wham's classic is currently the leader in the charts, while Ryder's You're Christmas to Me, which was released exclusively through Amazon Music, is the top new release.

Meanwhile, Carey’s hit was number three in last week’s chart, meaning she’s in with a shot at hitting Christmas Number 1 this year.

While Last Christmas has hit the top of the charts several times previously in 2021, 2022 and 2023, it has not actually been Christmas Number 1.

The song was famously kept off the top spot in 1984 by Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas.

The current bookies' favourite to be Christmas Number 1 in 2023, according to Bookies.com, is Last Christmas, while the second-favourite is Ryder's You're Christmas to Me.

Fairytale of New York by The Pogues (featuring Kirsty MacColl) is the current third-favourite.

However, this is not a bygone conclusion and there are many contenders battling it out for the crown.

The full list of contending songs for the 2023 Christmas Number One, as previously revealed by Official Charts Company, is as follows:

Charity Singles

• Nala the Station Cat – ‘Check Meowt’
• Sleaford Mods – ‘West End Girls’
• Rock Choir – ‘I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday’
• The Gleeman – ‘I Love Christmastime’
• Sooty – ‘I’m in the Mood for Christmas’
• The Celebs – ‘So Delicious’

Christmas Classics

• Slade – ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’
• Wham! – ‘Last Christmas’
• The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl – ‘Fairytale of New York’
• Mariah Carey – ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’
• Ed Sheeran & Elton John – ‘Merry Christmas’
• Elton John – ‘Step Into Christmas’
• Kelly Clarkson - 'Underneath the Tree'
• Ariana Grande - 'Santa Tell Me'
• Coldplay - 'Christmas Lights'
• East 17 - 'Stay Another Day'
• The Pretenders - '2000 Miles'

Political and social media campaigns

• AC/DC – ‘Thunderstruck’
• EMF featuring Stephen Fry – ‘Hello People’
• The Krackpots – ‘Proper Christmas’

New releases

• The Beatles – ‘Now And Then’
• Jack Harlow – ‘Lovin On Me’
• Mimi Webb – ‘Back Home for Christmas’
• Trickster – ‘Silent Night vs Santa Claus is Coming to Town’
• Cher – ‘DJ Play a Christmas Song’
• Ella Henderson & Cian Ducrot – ‘Rest of Our Days’
• Tate McRae – ‘exes’
• Andrea Bocelli – ‘Festa’
• Tyla – ‘Water’
• OneRepublic – ‘Dear Santa’

Retailer exclusives

Amazon Originals

• Sam Ryder – ‘You’re Christmas to Me’
• Jorja Smith – ‘Stay Another Day’
• Anne-Marie – ‘Christmas Without You’

Spotify Singles Holiday

• Ezra Collective – ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’
  

Apple Music’s Carols Covered

• Ella Henderson – ‘Stay Another Day’

Of course, we can't rule out any surprise twists or latecomers to the charts...

Read more:

• When is this year's Radio Times Christmas double issue on sale?
• Meet the cast of the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials 2023

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