This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/7794709.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Christmas double for Hallelujah | Christmas double for Hallelujah |
| (about 3 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. | 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 | 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. | Buckley finished at number two on downloads - with sales of 81,000. |
| Official Charts Company (OCC) 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 | 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. | 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 OCC, 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. |
| Chart history | |
| Sunday's single chart is the first time in almost 52 years that the same song has been at numbers one and two, according to the OCC. | |
| That was when Tommy Steele and Guy Mitchell held the top two spots with Singing The Blues in January 1957, it said. | |
| Others have claimed the situation arose again in 1965 when the Righteous Brothers and Cilla Black were at number one and number two respectively with You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. | |
| The confusion occurs because there were several competing charts available at the time. | |
| But the Record Retailer chart, which is considered "official" by the OCC and other chart historians, put The Righteous Brothers at number two with Black at number three. |