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Christmas double for Hallelujah | Christmas double for Hallelujah |
(about 9 hours later) | |
X Factor winner Alexandra Burke has taken the Christmas number one slot with Hallelujah, beating Jeff Buckley's version of the song into second place. | |
Burke's single became the fastest-selling by a female solo artist, with 576,000 copies sold. | |
Buckley, who drowned in an accident in Memphis in 1997 at the age of 30, recorded his version in 1994. | |
Leonard Cohen, who wrote the hit more than 20 years ago, also hit number 36 with his original version. | |
CHRISTMAS TOP FIVE 1. Hallelujah - Alexandra Burke2. Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley3. Run - Leona Lewis4. If I Were A Boy - Beyonce5. Once Upon A Christmas Song - Geraldine Source: Official Charts Company | |
Buckley finished at number two on downloads - with sales of 81,000. | |
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: "It is a particularly amazing week for Alexandra Burke who has broken a string of records to announce her arrival in spectacular style. | Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: "It is a particularly amazing week for Alexandra Burke who has broken a string of records to announce her arrival in spectacular style. |
"And, chart placings at 1, 2 and 36 are remarkable for a 25-year-old song which has never previously reached the top 40." | "And, chart placings at 1, 2 and 36 are remarkable for a 25-year-old song which has never previously reached the top 40." |
HMV's Gennaro Castaldo said: "It was pretty much a given that Alexandra Burke's cover of Hallelujah would dominate the race for this year's Christmas number one, but it's been such a strange year that we thought the charts would throw up some kind of a surprise, and the twist came in the form of the Jeff Buckley cover. | HMV's Gennaro Castaldo said: "It was pretty much a given that Alexandra Burke's cover of Hallelujah would dominate the race for this year's Christmas number one, but it's been such a strange year that we thought the charts would throw up some kind of a surprise, and the twist came in the form of the Jeff Buckley cover. |
"It's ironic that it's taken the X Factor to get a lot more of us to appreciate the music of Leonard Cohen and the talent of Jeff Buckley." | "It's ironic that it's taken the X Factor to get a lot more of us to appreciate the music of Leonard Cohen and the talent of Jeff Buckley." |
Buckley's Hallelujah is widely regarded as the definitive version | |
Burke's victory pushed 2006 X Factor winner Leona Lewis off the top after two weeks. She is at number three with her cover of Snow Patrol's Run. | Burke's victory pushed 2006 X Factor winner Leona Lewis off the top after two weeks. She is at number three with her cover of Snow Patrol's Run. |
The reality TV theme continued in the charts after comedian Peter Kay's spoof reality TV singer Geraldine entered the top 10 at number five with Once Upon A Christmas Song. | |
Comeback kings Take That claimed Christmas number one in the album chart with The Circus. | Comeback kings Take That claimed Christmas number one in the album chart with The Circus. |
The album is the fastest-selling album in the UK so far this millennium, according to the Official Charts Company, and the second biggest-selling album of 2008. | The album is the fastest-selling album in the UK so far this millennium, according to the Official Charts Company, and the second biggest-selling album of 2008. |
Duffy's Rockferry was the year's runaway biggest seller so far, with 1.5 million copies sold in 2008 to date. | Duffy's Rockferry was the year's runaway biggest seller so far, with 1.5 million copies sold in 2008 to date. |