The race to Christmas No.1: Ed Sheeran and Elton John battle against ABBA, Adele and Gary Barlow & Sheridan Smith to bag the top spot

Ed Sheeran and Elton John are set to battle against ABBA, Adele, and Gary Barlow and Sheridan Smith to be Christmas number one this year. 

For the past three years the spot has gone to comedic act LadBaby – also known as Mark Hoyle –  but a slew of other artists are in the run to take the top spot. 

The coveted title will be released on Christmas Eve this year with prestigious names battling it out with new singles in the coming weeks. 

Who will take the top spot? Ed Sheeran and Elton John are set to battle against ABBA, Adele, and Gary Barlow and Sheridan Smith to be Christmas number one this year

Ed and Elton released their contribution Merry Christmas on Friday, with a hilarious video which saw the pair act out iconic festive scenes. 

The song has been tipped for number one ever since Ed hinted at the new release earlier this year.  

Meanwhile, Swedish band ABBA have released Little Things, after 40 years away from the music scene. 

The race begins: The coveted title will be released on Christmas Eve this year with prestigious names battling it out with new singles in the coming weeks

New release: Swedish band ABBA (pictured, 2021) have released Little Things, after 40 years away from the music scene

Elsewhere, Gary Barlow and Sheridan Smith have performed together on the track How Christmas Is Meant To Be. 

Making a comeback to be a contender this year, Adele will also be in the running for the hotspot with any of her new songs from her album 30. 

According to Official Charts, The Lathums have released their take on the Christmas song with their anti-festive track Krampus, which may also take number one. 

What a pairing! Elsewhere, Gary Barlow and Sheridan Smith have performed together on the track How Christmas Is Meant To Be

Craig Revel Horwood and his Strictly pal Rietta have released the upbeat It’s Christmas, Merry Christmas! for their contribution to the festive music scene while George Ezra has covered Charles Brown’s Come On Home For Christmas. 

Newcomers such as Olivia Dean have also put themselves forward, as she releases her cover of The Christmas Song, originally sung by Nat King Cole.  

Older tracks such as All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, which was released in 1994, should not be out of the running as last year, the song got close to hitting number one in the charts as it held the top spot on December 18 but missed out to LadBaby’s Don’t Stop Me Eatin’ on the big day.

Holding the title: For the past three years the spot has gone to comedic act LadBaby (pictured) – also known as Mark Hoyle – but a slew of other artists are in the run to take the top spot

Currently, number one is Easy On Me by Adele, number two is abcdefu by Gayle, number three is All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, and number four is Last Christmas by Wham!. 

Bookies have Elton and Ed have cut to evens (from 6-5) by Coral. The duo have just LadBaby ahead of them in the betting at 5-6 on Friday according to the bookmaker. 

Other odds include 8-1 Adele, 16-1 ABBA, and 20-1 any other track. 

Fun! According to Official Charts , The Lathums have released their take on the Christmas song with their anti-festive track Krampus, which may also take number one

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