Rage Against The Machine vs X Factors Joe McElderry.
In the battle of Rage Against The Machine and X Factor Joe McElderry’s bid for the UK Christmas number one, things are starting to get heated.
It just so happens that X Factor McElderry’s single, The Climb, is a cover of Miley Cyrus. I mean seriously? How is it even conceivable that it’s a contender for the number 1 spot?
It’s no wonder even Sir Paul McCartney backs Rage Against the Machine. The former Beatle said if the American rockers beat the X Factor winner to the coveted chart spot, it would “prove a point”.
Speaking to Sky News, McCartney, who performed on the ITV show’s final and sang with McElderry, he said: “Everyone expects Joe to do it. “If he goes to number one then good luck to him. He’s just some kid with a career ahead. I’ve got nothing against that, but it would be kind of funny if Rage Against The Machine got it because it would prove a point.
“It’s normally not that kind of record that makes it, it’s only every so often that something comes out of left-field. I haven’t heard the track but I’m into the idea and he “[thinks] that’s a cool aspect, don’t you?”
Today’s official figures showed that McElderry’s single, The Climb, a cover of the Miley Cyrus hit, is now just 9,000 sales behind Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name.
The rockers said they plan to donate all the royalties they receive from the campaign to charity. Now there’s some good old fashioned goodwill.
Guitarist Tom Morello said: “The people in the U.K. are tired of being spoon-fed one schmaltzy ballad after another and they want to back their own charts, and we are honoured that they have chosen our song to be the rebel anthem to try to topple The X Factor label.”
The official Christmas number one will be announced on tomorrow evening.
My money is on Rage Against winning. Actually I’m just futilely wishing they will, anything other than a cover of Miley Cyrus has to. Right? Right.
xx
yours in musical madness
Update: I was right. Thank goodness. Congratulations is in order to Rage Against The Machine who calimed the UK no.1 spot at 7pm today, selling 502,672 copies, ahead of Joe of the X Factors measly 450,838. Merry Christmas!
After a quick squiz at your 2009 top 10 list I was quite surprised to find your vote lay with Rage… after weeks of heated diplomatic debate with the opposition it’s refreshing to see that someone who I would have assumed would be on their side could actually see the wood for the tree’s and know why this was such an important win… You rock!
Admittedly my Top 10 was more a reflection of the top artists of the year, with a few of my personal favourites thrown in. I would have gone with any band that went against McElderry (as his single, The Climb, is a cover of Miley Cyrus-oh, the the horror).
That said, I do though have major respect for Rage’s Facebook campaign; it was truly original and it worked!