List of UK singles chart Christmas number twos facts for kids

In the UK, every year there's a big competition for the top song on the music chart just before Christmas. This special honour is called the Christmas Number One. People in the UK love following the music charts, and lots of songs are bought in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. This race for the top spot has become a British tradition. People talk about it, guess who will win, and even place bets!

This page lists the songs that came in second place on the chart. These are known as the UK Singles Chart Christmas number twos.

The Christmas Music Chart Race

The Christmas Number One is a highly desired award in the UK. Even songs that don't win still get a lot of attention. This is like a "slipstream effect" where all the competing songs become more famous.

Famous Songs That Almost Won

Some of the most popular Christmas songs ever actually came in second place! For example, in 2010, a music rights group called PRS for Music listed the most popular Christmas songs. The top three were all songs that had been Christmas Number Two:

• "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl (1987). It lost to "Always on My Mind" by the Pet Shop Boys.
• "Last Christmas" by Wham! (1984). It was beaten by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". "Last Christmas" came second again in 2022, but finally became Christmas Number One in 2023!
• "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey (1994). This song is now a huge Christmas classic everywhere. But it lost to "Stay Another Day" by East 17. It even came second again in 2020, losing to LadBaby.

Sometimes, the Christmas Number One is a funny or silly song that isn't popular for long after Christmas. But the Number Two song might become a classic that people listen to every year. For example, in 1980, "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" by St Winifred's School Choir was Number One. It beat "(Just Like) Starting Over" by John Lennon, who had recently passed away. Lennon's song went to Number One the week after Christmas.

Artists Who Almost Made It

Only one group has ever had both the Christmas Number One and Number Two songs in the same year: The Beatles. They did this twice, in 1963 and 1967.

Some artists have appeared in both the first and second spots with different songs or groups:

• George Michael was part of Band Aid (Number One) and Wham! (Number Two) in 1984.
• Ed Sheeran appeared as a solo artist and with Eminem in 2017.
• Ed Sheeran and Elton John were a duo (Number Two) and also featured with LadBaby (Number One) in 2021. In 2021, they were the only artists to have different versions of the same song in first and second place. Their song "Merry Christmas" was Number Two, and its funny version, "Sausage Rolls for Everyone", was Number One.

Cliff Richard has had a Christmas Number Two song four times, which is more than any other artist!

The song that sold the most copies while being a Christmas Number Two is "Last Christmas" by Wham!. It's also the only song to be both a Christmas Number One and a Christmas Number Two in different years. The second highest selling Christmas Number Two is "She Loves You" by The Beatles.

How Reality TV Changed the Charts

The rise of reality television shows has also made the Christmas chart race even more interesting.

• In 2002, the show Popstars: The Rivals produced the top three songs on the Christmas chart.
• The Choir helped create the Christmas Number One in 2011 and 2015.

The X Factor's Big Impact

The TV show The X Factor had a huge impact on the Christmas charts. From 2005 to 2014, the winner of The X Factor was either Christmas Number One or Number Two every single year.

People who take bets on music charts started to notice this trend around 2007. They thought the X Factor song was almost guaranteed to be Number One. So, they began taking bets on which song would be Christmas Number Two instead!

Fan Campaigns and Charity Songs

The X Factor's strong hold on the charts also led to many online campaigns. Fans tried to stop the show's winner from reaching the top spot. Only one campaign was successful: in 2009, "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine became Number One instead of the X Factor winner.

Charity songs also pushed X Factor winners down to Number Two in 2011 and 2012. In 2013 and 2014, X Factor winners pushed two songs that sold over a million copies down to Number Two.

However, the popularity of The X Factor winning songs started to drop a lot after 2015. The show itself was cancelled in 2021.

List of Christmas Number Two Songs

Songs marked with an asterisk (*) reached Number One on the chart either just before or just after Christmas.

More Music Charts

• List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones