Leona Lewis’s 2013 track One More Sleep has been named the most streamed 21st century British Christmas song, according to the Official Charts Company. The song, which peaked at number three on the UK singles chart, has amassed over 190 million streams in the UK, beating festive hits from Coldplay, Lily Allen, and Ed Sheeran.
Coldplay’s Christmas Lights took second place, followed by Lily Allen’s cover of Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know, famously used in the 2013 John Lewis Christmas advert. Ed Sheeran and Sir Elton John’s Merry Christmas came fourth, while Alexandra Burke’s 2008 X Factor winners single Hallelujah rounded out the top five.
However, when both streams and sales are combined, Burke’s Hallelujah is the biggest 21st century Christmas song overall. Martin Talbot, chief executive of Official Charts, praised the emergence of modern classics, saying: “It is great to see modern classics joining the festive hall of fame – with Leona Lewis’s One More Sleep the runaway leader as the biggest new British Christmas cracker of them all.”
The rest of the top ten includes The Darkness’s Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End), Sam Smith’s Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Jess Glynne’s This Christmas, George Ezra’s Come On Home For Christmas, and Sam Ryder’s You’re Christmas To Me. The announcement follows the reveal of this year’s contenders for the UK Christmas number one single, including Taylor Swift, Denise Welch, and Tom Fletcher’s One Of Us.
