Christmas Number One UK 2021: Top contenders, date, and latest odds

It’s finally December, and that means the Christmas playlists are reigning supreme in homes, pubs and offices, whether you like it or not.

For the next four weeks, regular music all but disappears as people get into the festive spirit by listening to Slade, Wizard, Jona Lewie and all the other names that only ever emerge in the run-up to Christmas.

For years, the death-grip the X Factor had on the country meant that every Christmas number one was pre-determined as being by whoever won the singing competition.

But the past few years has seen new contenders take to the stage – most notably comedian LadBaby, whose charity parody songs have seen him take the number one spot for the last three years in a row.

And 2021 has some very interesting names in the running for the year’s Christmas Number One, including Swedish pop group Abba, after their explosive return with their first original album in 40 years.

Of course, this year also saw the phenomenal return of Adele, after taking a back seat for the past five years; the singer smashed all sorts of records with the release of her newest album 30, and it would be insanity to rule her out.

Then again, maybe this year’s Christmas number one hasn’t even been released yet – but for now, these are the top tracks in the running for the title.

So, who will have the UK Christmas number one for 2021 and who is in the running?

But as for who is in the running, first up we have Ed Sheeran & Elton John, who teamed up for a new track, Merry Christmas.

Their track has been tipped for number one glory since Ed revealed they had recorded a Christmas song earlier this year.

While the dream team of Sir Elton and Ed may be hard to beat, their competition is not to be laughed at: Abba released their first-ever Christmas single this year, a song called Little Things, with the music video set to be released very soon.

But as we know, not every Christmas number one has to be a Christmas song (Who could forget the year of Killing In The Name?), and Adele’s record-breaking album 30, has multiple hits continuing to soar in the charts – don’t rule her out.

The UK Christmas number one for 2021 could just as easily be a wildcard, however – Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood has announced he will be releasing a Christmas single and said Ed and Sir Elton ‘have no chance…it’s going to be a number one’.

Then, of course, there’s LadBaby, who, if he clinches another Christmas number one he will be tied with The Beatles’ record, and would be the first to claim four in a row.

The comedian hasn’t yet confirmed whether he’ll be releasing a new charity single, but did tell Metro.co.uk to ‘never rule out a sausage roll at Christmas’!

Meanwhile, according to Official Charts, Gary Barlow & Sheridan Smith’s single The Dream of Christmas is in the running, as well as The Kunts’ new single – yet to be announced – and new British rock band The Lathums with their anti-festive song Krampus.

Gypsy Pistoleros’ Livin La Vida Loca is a ‘surprise contender’, according to the charts, while Olivia Dean’s The Christmas Song may break through for chart success.

Of course we can also never rule out the classics – Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You hit the number one spot on December 18 in 2020, for the fist time since its release in 1994.

What do the bookies say?

Some bookies have LadBaby ahead of Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John for the Christmas number one spot, despite the fact the comedian hasn’t released a song.

Betway has offered the following odds for the 2021 Christmas number one:

LadBaby 4/5

Sir Elton John & Ed Sheeran 11/8

Adele 10/1

Abba 20/1

The Lathums 20/1

Abba 25/1

Mariah Carey 33/1

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