Who are the frontrunners for Christmas number one? Odds including LadBaby, Sidemen and Tom Grennan

Many choose between having an angel or a star on top of their tree for the Christmas period, but for music artists they are hoping that they will be picked to be on top of the UK music charts.

The countdown to declaring the coveted Christmas number one has begun and artists are sharing their entries in a time where building a community and happiness is a priority.

One of the frontrunners for the 2022 top spot is LadBaby, who have clinched number one for the past four years putting them in line with The Beatles for most Christmas number ones.

The people behind the Youtube channel, Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, announced their plans for a fifth consecutive single to combat the rising pressure on food banks by helping the Trussell Trust.

LadBaby’s latest single was released on 16 December called ‘Food Aid’ with half of their proceeds going to UK food banks amid a worsening cost of living crisis and the other half of funds raised going to Band Aid.

The Youtube family teamed up with money-saving expert Martin Lewis as the first people allowed to rework Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ after securing permission from Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

As Band Aid has reached the number one spot themselves, and with LadBaby’s successful history, does this mean they are almost guaranteed to win?

This year, LadBaby is up against some tough competition with other YouTube group the Sidemen sharing two musical entries with their 17.4 million subscribers, Tyson Fury releasing his own version of Sweet Caroline for charity and comedian Jason Manford producing his own ‘Assembly Bangers’.

One cannot forget timeless classics that consistently fight for number one including Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas’ and WHAM’s ‘Last Christmas’, and at time of writing, Elton John and Ed Sheeran, who both previously teamed up with LadBaby in 2021, are sitting near the top of the charts vying for the top pedestal.

Other names that have a foot in the ring are Lewis Capaldi, Taylor Swift and Raye, however, a keen competitor is Bedford-born Tom Grennan who has entered his bid for number one, with ‘the most personal song’ he has written, aptly named ‘You Are Not Alone’.

He said: “This isn’t just another single to me, it’s far more than that… While Christmas can be a happy time for many, it can also be a time when people feel a deep sense of loneliness, and I hope this songs talks to that feeling and gives you that warm hug that you might need right now. Now, more than ever, we need to look after each other.”

As musical acts, old and new, continue to battle for Christmas number one, an important thing to take away is that all of the new entries are hoping for a better present and future for people in the UK right now.

Despite whoever gets the spot on 23 December, all competitors are our stars at the top of the musical charts tree.