Gennaro Castaldo Watch: Charity collection

Back before the Simon Cowell charity single in aid of a good cause was released, Gennaro Castaldo was preparing himself for something big:

Gennaro Castaldo, of HMV, said: "We've seen a surge in demand for the Helping Haiti single online, where it's our No1 music pre-order, and you get a real sense that a groundswell of interest is building.

"Everybody Hurts could dominate the charts over the next few weeks and looks set to be one of the biggest releases of the past decade. Like everyone else, HMV will be donating profits from its sale."

That's pretty unequivocal. How's it working out?

According to The Sun:

THE Sun's Helping Haiti single has become the fastest-selling charity song of the century so far.

Which is impressive, and does mean a few hundred thousand for the campaign - more or less what Cowell could have given straight by handing over one pay cheque from American Idol, in other words.

But it's quite a drop from 'one of the biggest releases of the past decade' to 'fastest-selling charity song of the century' - like going from 'Premiership title hopeful' to 'hoping to avoid the drop to the Championship', isn't it? What's it really competing with? Peter Bloody Kay? The One World Project?