A long running show called the X Factor, which was created by Simon Cowell (I'm sure you have all heard of him), and usually culminates a couple of weeks prior to Christmas week, and for the past five years, the winner of the X Factor, which is a singing competition, has gone on to be the Christmas Number One, which has aggrevated many.
Now, I'm all for a novelty Christmas song being number one, you know the type, Wizard's 'I wish it could be Christmas everyday' - I think it should be an annual Christmas songs chart rather than a competition winner, or for what has happened this year, a Facebook campaign against the X Factor, which has seen Rage Against the Machine's 'Killing in the Name' song become the chart topper for 2009's Christmas chart.
This was started off by a husband and wife who were so cheesed off by the X Factor grabbing the number one slot each year, that they began a campaign to see the Rage song beat Joe McElderry - the X Factor winner - and over the last few weeks it gathered pace, and last night, it was announced that the Rage song had sold 50,000 more copies than Joe's single.
The controversy is that the song 'Killing in the Name' is full of foul language, and many - including myself - do not believe that it should be where it is for Christmas, any other time of the year fine, and whilst agreeing that a competition winner should not always be the number one slot over the festive period, a better song could have been picked to rival it.
The question is, will the same happen next year, with another campaign to run a song against the X Factor, or will it be the end of the X Factor as we know it?
What are your views on this?
I triumph for the music snobs. Here's to THEM telling us what to listen to, as opposed to Simon Cowell. Or not.
ReplyDeletehttp://plentymorefishoutofwater.blogspot.com/
PS we haven't had a good Xmas No.1 for years - even way before X-Factor
Simon loves this controversy!
ReplyDeleteI think its pretty funny on several levels.
ReplyDeleteThe politics of Rage have previously been hijacked by angry teenagers screaming "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me!" at their parents, and now by the disgruntled record-buying public. People re-appropriating an anti-authoritarian tirade against police brutality and establishment oppression for a whinge about an over-exposed talent competition is quite amusing.
I also find it amusing that there are enough people against the MOR production-line of the X-Factor to make a stand and make something with a bit of an edge go down in chart history.
The fact that the christmas no. 1s list will forever contain a profane, angry, shouty racket for this year is also amusing to me.
I also heard that both Joe McElderry and Rage are signed to Sony or summat, so the money all goes to the same place anyway. That's quite funny.
I could go on and on about this, but the basic gist of it is: I think its pretty funny.