No. 1

[I Don't Need A Name]

So I might as well make a thread about it.
Facebook finally has 1 victory under it's belt:
Joe McElderry (X-Factor UK 09's winner)with his cover of Miley Cyrus's (terrible) song The Climb lost out to Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name for christmas number one.
Who else is thrilled to bits with this result!?
Extra facts:
A facebook group was started before X-Factor actually finished. The content of the group was to make Rage Against The Machine christmas number one. This is because, since 2004, every single Christmas number 1 has been the X-Factor winner that year, regardless of how bad the song/singer is (in most cases, terrible on at least 1 count). Said group gained lots of support over a short amount of time, along with the support of people such as Dave Grohl, Sir Paul McCartney (dispite him appearing on the X-Factor final), Stephen Fry and Bill Bailey. The ideals of the group actually succeded today in managing to crown RATM as Christmas Number 1, with Joe coming 2nd. Also, some of the sales money is being donated to charity

[Dreddz]

Yeah, I was following this as well. I don't care much for RATM but I like the message they have sent (or rather, the public) that we won't put an X Factor winner at the top of the charts just because we feel like they're entitled to it.

[I Don't Need A Name]

X-Factor winners don't deserve it. Just because they have a cute voice and can sing a few ballads doesn't entitle them to a number one. At least this gives Rage what they deserve, for actually having worked to even get on a record label and win fans without being splashed across TV reality shows.

[charliepanayi]

I'm not sure whether to be amused or bemused by this. On balance, it's pretty funny. I suppose it says it all when it takes something like this to make Christmas No. 1 (or indeed any chart battle) a contest and put it in the news.

Maybe try something like Nine Inch Nails next year?

[Moon Rabbits]

Uhm what? I'm so confused. What does facebook have to do with this. What is this about even. What? WHAT?

[charliepanayi]

Uhm what? I'm so confused. What does facebook have to do with this. What is this about even. What? WHAT?

Yeah it's pretty confusing for anyone who isn;t in the UK.

In the UK every year being No. 1 in the UK singles chart on the Sunday before Christmas makes you the Christmas No. 1. It's become a running thing over the years for people to try and battle for that spot, and often a lot of daft novelty songs top the charts on that week. You certainly don't get acts like Rage Against the Machine getting that No. 1 spot. For the last four years, the winner of The X-Factor (UK equivalent of American Idol) has released their debut song and easily obtained the Christmas No. 1 spot, making the whole thing rather pointless and one-sided. The X-Factor gets 10-20 million viewers here and a lot of media publicity hence why a No. 1 song is almost inevitable. This year some people on Facebook set up a group and started a campaign for people to download Killing in the Name by Rage Against the Machine and make that Christmas No. 1 instead. Last year there was an unsuccessful attempt to get Hallelujah by Jeff Buckey to No. 1 for Christmas. The group for RATM wound up getting over 900,000 members, the whole thing snowballed (even the band got involved a bit) and got lots of publicity, and today it was confirmed that Rage Against the Machine had got the Christmas No. 1 spot. Which was a bit of a surprise really.

[I Don't Need A Name]

I've edited to the opening post to give some of that paragraph at the start :jess:

[Chloe.]

I like Joe. :(

[PeneloRatsbane]

i'm so pleased, Joe is alright but not great and that "the climb" song is simply dreadful!! so glad things were shaken up for once

[Iceglow]

It's just damn good to see that people still have the power to unite to achieve a decent goal. If we done this to politicians and the government we might actually end up with a non-corrupt and beneficial to all state...

Still I'd love to hear what would have happened if Top Of The Pops was still around "Uhh we'd love to bring you the Xmas number 1 however we can't legally play the video due to the content of the song...So heres a cute bunny pic instead"

[Psychotic]

It's ironic that a song which screams "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me" got to number 1 because a Facebook group told people to buy it. :p

But yeah the X-Factor and everything it has produced is dire. Killing in the Name is a lot better.

[Madame Adequate]

imo should have been a monologue by Terry Wogan but what are you going to do. RATM beats X-Factor.

[charliepanayi]

It's ironic that a song which screams "smurf you I won't do what you tell me" got to number 1 because a Facebook group told people to buy it. :p

But yeah the X-Factor and everything it has produced is dire. Killing in the Name is a lot better.


Yeah, but it was still people choosing to buy the song. Said group only started the idea, it didn't twist people's arms into buying the song, or use hypnosis. Well, I don't think it did :D

[Old Manus]

I never understood the whole XFACTOR MUSTN'T TOP CHARTS FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL. The song selling the most copies coming out on top is how democracy works, I'm afraid.

I still thought it was pretty funny though.

[charliepanayi]

I never understood the whole XFACTOR MUSTN'T TOP CHARTS FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL. The song selling the most copies coming out on top is how democracy works, I'm afraid.

I still thought it was pretty funny though.

I think it was more the way it was hogging the Christmas No. 1 spot for the last few years (killing off all competition) that was what provoked the whole thing. If the song came out in January or any other time of year I don't think anyone would have cared as much. Plus it's easy to sell the most copies when you have blanket media coverage and publicity after all, so there was the idea of levelling the playing field a bit this time. In the end it was all a bit of fun, and anyone who takes it all too seriously is misguided. It's no musical revolution or any such rubbish.

[Shattered Dreamer]

I was so happy the X Factor didn't make it too number 1 for a fifth year running. Reality tv show winners have far too much of a share of the music industry these days & what annoys me most is none of them earned it! Spending a month or so surrounded by vocal coaches & PR people doesn't give you a define right to the Christmas No. 1.

I don't like RATM because their lead singer is an over opinionated douche bag but for once people decided they didn't have to buy this years X-Factor garbage just because Simon Cowell & co used their media connections to ram it down peoples throats!

But I the thing I would like most is for the Christmas No 1 to be a smurfing Christmas song!!!!

[charliepanayi]

I don't like RATM because their lead singer is an over opinionated douche bag

That's hardly rare in lead singers, or indeed musicians in general.

Barely anyone attempts Christmas songs in recent years, Mariah Carey in the mid-90s (which got to No. 2, East 17 got the No. 1 that Christmas) is probably the only Christmas song from the last two decades to get played much these days. Especially since The Darkness were (thankfully) erased from musical history.

[Shattered Dreamer]

I don't like RATM because their lead singer is an over opinionated douche bag

That's hardly rare in lead singers, or indeed musicians in general.

Barely anyone attempts Christmas songs in recent years, Mariah Carey in the mid-90s (which got to No. 2, East 17 got the No. 1 that Christmas) is probably the only Christmas song from the last two decades to get played much these days. Especially since The Darkness were (thankfully) erased from musical history.

Zack De La Roche actually thinks he is a communist revolutionary sent to save the world from capitalism! That puts him in at least the top 5 biggest douche bags in music but he still falls behind Chris Martin, Tom Yorke or Bono:D

[charliepanayi]

Thom Yorke and Zach de la Rocha can be complete tossers for all I care, the music is great enough for it not to matter. See also: Damon Albarn.

[demondude]

My dad almost ran over Thom Yorke whilst teaching one of his pupils to drive. True story! And yeah i was pretty happy when RATM beat Joe.

[NorthernChaosGod]

What do their personalities have to do with the music? RATM is awesome, in spite of, or because of, his attitude.

And this is pretty sweet, I like saying a RATM song is the number 1 Christmas single.