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Here's a small, twinkly piece of Christmas beauty - Karla Adolphe's version of Do You Hear What I Hear. This is one of the Christmas songs that hasn't been done to death, probably because it's not an easy one to sing well. Which makes Karla's version even more brilliant:
If you like Karla Adolphe's voice, there's a whole album's worth of free download magic at her website.
CBC shares 10 Things You Didn't Know About Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack. Including how Coca-Cola screwed up the original:
7. In the original Peanuts special, the end chorus to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” trails off oddly. This is because Coca-Cola sponsored the original broadcast, and this was the point where a voiceover would say, “Brought to you by the people in your town who bought Coca-Cola.”
It's been the best part of two years since The Wanted managed to have a number one single. We Love Pop magazine offered Max George some sort of Faustian pact:
When asked to pick between Christmas and a number one song, Max told We Love Pop magazine: ''Christmas. Sorry, but it is. I do The Wanted all year and Christmas is the one time I get to see my family and I love seeing them so much. Sorry boys!"It's an unfair deal, as George doesn't seem to have grasped that Christmas is something that happens every year, and will happen in the future come what may; and Wanted number one singles are things that don't happen any more, and probably won't happen in the future no matter what happens.
Heartbreaking times at the Trafford Centre in Trafford, as Brian McFadden gets stuck in traffic on the motorway and fails to turn up to do a couple of songs at the Christmas lights switch-on:
He was due to take the stage at 6:20pm bosses said but didn't arrive at the centre until shortly after 7pm by which time the lights had been switched on and bosses said it was too late for him to perform.It's almost as if the management of the mall didn't really want McFadden to play - presumably if he'd turned up on time, a caretaker would have been sent down to suck teeth and say 'no, sorry, mate, not in those shoes on this surface'.
He has now apologised and pledged to return in the near future.
He tweeted: "Sorry to everyone at the trafford lights. Took 6 1/2 hours from london. Arrived 3 minutes late but trafford centre wouldnt wait. Sorry"
The lights were switched on by Coronation Street Natalie Gumede who is currently appearing in the latest series of Strictly Come Dancing.You can imagine once you've sat through The Hoosiers and The Overtones you might start to be cooling on the idea of hearing anyone else sing again, ever.
She was joined at the event by her dance partner in the show Artem Chigvintsev.
Earlier there were performances from bands The Hoosiers and The Overtones as well as Richard and Adam from Britain's Got Talent.
It might only be June, but already people in the music industry are working hard on plans to spoil Christmas.
In the list of 'things the world really doesn't need', how high is the idea of a Rod Stewart Christmas album? Seriously, there's no way that idea could be any worse.
The festive record will apparently include several all-star duets, including a collaboration with crooner Michael Buble.I stand corrected.
The news that Seal is to divorce from Heidi Klum is like journalistic viagra to Gordon this morning. Why? Because it allows him to wheel out the tabloid's favourite old trope:
[Other divorcing celebs] may have valid reasons but neither can compete with a national rivalry that's sparked two world wars and two semi-final defeats on penalties.I suppose the grinding out of world wars and football is relatively restrained; if Piers Morgan was still in charge of the Bizarre telephones, it'd doubtless be photoshopped pointy helmets and 'for you Fritz, ze marriage is over'.
Seal said: "We certainly have differences of opinion. I mean, she's German and I'm English, so if I said we didn't have differences of opinion, no one would believe that."
He said: "One of the things that we disagree over is Christmas, she opens presents on the December 24.When Seal last checked Christ's date of birth - he did it online, because the opening hours at Bethlehem Registry Office are really poor - the certificate clearly stated "December 25th 0BC". Which proves that you have to open presents on that day.
"I just don't see the logic in it, it's Christmas, ie, Jesus Christ? And last time I checked, Christ was born on 25 December. But you know what, pick your battles. That's one I don't bother with."
Cowell admitted: "I was disappointed with Jai. He wasn't what I was looking for.Obviously, the guy had the charisma and talent of one of those small bags of salt you used to get in a packet of crisps, albeit without the versatility. But fair's fair, Cowell: if you make people jump through your hoops, then you should at least give them a fair crack of the whip. You've created a monster; it's your poop to own.
"You want a Diversity or Susan Boyle, someone who is a genuine star. He is talented but the show can do better. None of the finalists were up to scratch."
Cowell blamed 2011 judges David Hasselhoff, Michael McIntyre and Amanda Holden and "possibly" show producers too.
Poor George Osborne. He turned up to switch on the Christmas lights in Knutsford, only - as Gordon reports it - to be booed.
Gordon claims that the audience had been led to expect that Harry Styles out of One Direction was going to flick the switch, and the booing was in response to Osborne turning up.
To be fair, I think Osborne is quite capable of turning a crowd into a hissing mass of discontent without having to not be Harry Styles.
Mariah Carey has ruined Christmas once. Now, she's ruining it all over again:
JUSTIN Bieber is living every girl's dream – he's recording a Christmas song with Mariah Carey.Because the original wasn't shrill enough.
The teen star will feature with the diva on a new version of her 1994 hit All I Want For Christmas Is You.
At least Justin will have a couple of new places to hang his tinsel.Oh, yes. You've managed it.
Ooh, I wonder who rang the Sun and had a word? After last week's fair enough bit pointing out how poorly the new "Jackson" album is doing, today there's a piece tacked on the end of a story about Mat Cardle which looks like an attempt to try and make it sound like a great sale:
Michael, the King Of Pop's new album, got to No4.Yes, but that's only because it's Christmas week and people are buying gifts - and because everything since Dangerous was either a repackaging or stillborn. There are going to be so many people opening packages on the 25th saying "oh... thanks, Gran... you remembered I loved Michael Jackson" and swallowing back the words "when I was six years old."
It's MICHAEL JACKSON's biggest-selling album in terms of opening week sales in the UK since Dangerous in 1991.
Is there anyone in the forces, or recently demobbed, who doesn't have a single out this Christmas?
Latest bloke nipping out the guardhouse is Xander Rawlins, who unlike James Blunt is combining soldiering with making a record. And he's pitching for Christmas number one.
Does he have a chance? Who can tell us?
“If anyone can challenge the might of Simon Cowell and the X Factor, then it may well be an artist from this background… we can see the beautiful '1000 Miles Apart' as a potential dark horse for the Christmas No.1." said Gennaro Castaldo, Head of Communications at HMV.Head Of Communications? Has someone got a new job title?
Rupert Adams, a spokesman for the bookmaker [William Hill] said "We believe that a forces related song is the most likely song to beat the X Factor for the Xmas No. 1 and Xander fits the bill big time!”Really? So, William Hill believes he's in with a chance, then?
William Hill has offered odds of 25-1 on the single reaching the top spot.Ah, yes, they're so convinced they're prepared to offer you £2500 if you stake £100 on him being number one.
It's an unlikely headline from the Telegraph:
Bing Crosby to challenge X Factor for Christmas number oneBing Crosby. Throwing down a challenge from beyond the grave, is he?
Bing Crosby is going to challenge the X Factor for the Christmas number one spot with a remake of his classic seasonal hit White Christmas.
Despite selling millions of records, the late singer - who died 33 years ago - never released a number one single.You don't actually release a number one single, do you? You have one; you release a single you might hope goes to number one. But still, carry on:
But his classic Christmas hit has been reworked into a duet with the opera star Bryn Terfel.Ah, so when the Telegraph says "Bing is challenging", they mean that the moneygrubbers who own the copyright in his recording are besmirching the memory in a bid to make a few quid. Perhaps they couldn't fit that in the headline, though.
HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: ''Last year we saw how the internet and social media could be used to great effect to determine the Christmas number one.Well, given that most years the number one at Christmas has nothing to do with Christmas, and - if you don't count Band Aid - the only real traditional Christmas song that has been number one at Christmas was Boney M's cover of Mary's Boy Child - probably anything might be more traditional. To be honest.
''People might assume the same will happen again, but I think it's unlikely we'll see such a co-ordinated campaign for a while, so it's entirely possible that a more conventional song will top the charts this Christmas - and what could be more traditional that a wonderful cover of a festive classic."
Gordon's got a really weird interview with Rage Against The Machine this morning. Reading it - if you didn't know any better - you might assume that RATM had somehow come up with last year's Christmas number one campaign rather than just having been the recipients of other people's hard work.
Rather queasily, the band are now building on what happened last year as part of their promotional framework, thereby validating the idea that Simon Cowell is central to the music industry. You know, the idea that other people were supposedly buying their record to disprove:
Zack told The Sun: "I really hope there are no hard feelings with Simon.
"He seemed to think that it was a bullying campaign but the truth is the British people wanted a change.
"I don't think anybody has heard anything of that Joe guy since Christmas, but we have nothing against him.
"The truth is Simon's shows occasionally produce talent.
"We love Susan Boyle, she is hot.
"To show there are no hard feelings we would like her to perform with us on stage this summer.
"She is a great vocalist and we would love to perform Killing In The Name with her. Everybody knows her in the US and she can add her vocals to anything. It would be an honour for us."
For no apparent reason, Gordon decides to kick Charlotte Church around a bit this morning:
It will be a while before we hear an album from her as she is looking for a new record deal. But I hear she has been writing songs in LA and is touting them around.
Meanwhile, Channel 4 have shelved The Charlotte Church Show. It was last aired in 2008.
I reckon the problem can be summed up in two words... KATHERINE JENKINS, her sexy Welsh chart rival.
The Geordie lad performed the 1981 ballad twice on The X Factor. And I'm not alone in thinking it could have got him the Christmas No1 if he'd released it.
(Some of this might be more on the iPlayer than actually useful now. But it's Christmas.)
9.00am Radio 2 - Junior Choice
Yes, with Ed Stewpot Stewart and everything. Perfect for Christmas morning. Unless you've got actual, 21st Century Children.
10.00am 6Music - Derek Smalls
Made-up pop star takes the morning slot on 6Music. In a bit of a missed scheduling opportunity, the programme goes on until 12.
10.00am Radio 1 - The Tinsel Takeover
This is quite a nice idea - the day is parceled up into 24 bits, and each fifteen minute segment is given to a listener to present. Nobody uses the opportunity to pretend they're sharing a cracker with Pete Tong and Westwood, sadly.
12.30 Sky One - Girls Aloud Out Of Control
Footage of Cheryl Cole in the bathrooms
1.00 6Music - Beth Ditto
Beth does what she does best (i.e. anything other than making records.)
2.00 BBC1 - Top Of The Pops
Fearne Cotton and Reggie Yates are both fully-fledged Radio One djs now. And yet you still find yourself wondering if someone couldn't have put in a call to Simon Bates.
6.30 ITV4 - The Blues Brothers 2000
Even people who liked The Blues Brothers thought this was going a bit too far.
8.00 ITV - All Star Mr & Mrs Christmas Special
The 'special' tag is an indication that they've actually got some proper stars on. Well, Joan Collins and Emma Bunton, anyway. NB: They're not married to each other.
8.00 Sky Arts 1 - ELO Live At Wembley
Don't worry, it'll be on again when you're not being forced to play Jenga with your nan.
9.00 Five - The Abba Years
Five are spending Christmas night thinking about Abba. The TV equivalent of spending Christmas trying to heat up a microwave meal for one over a lightbulb.
12.30am BBC2 - Never Mind The Buzzcocks Where Are They Now?
The not-entirely viewer friendly scheduling suggests that the highlights show from this series might be a bit more soggy sprouts than bread sauce
Same bounce, possibly the same sheets of paper with the lyrics on (do you really need to read the 'merry Christmas' refrain?), Martha Wainwright live in Toronto in 2008:
Two posts about Bros in a day, and the fact it's Christmas Eve...
Go on, then:
However do we go on without them?
That noise? That's the sound of the dislocated jaw of HMV Chart Wrangler Gennaro Castaldo, who literally cannot believe his eyes at Rage Against The Machine being number one:
Gennaro Castaldo, from high street retailer HMV, said it was a "truly remarkable outcome - possibly the greatest chart upset ever".
"Everyone thought the momentum was with Joe going into the weekend, but, clearly, off the radar a whole load of people were downloading the Rage track right up to the last minute as they sensed they might pull off a shock.
"It's not so much that Joe lost the race - sales of his single have matched those of recent X Factor winners, and he shouldn't take this personally; this is all about the stunning impact of the Rage Against The Machine internet campaign in galvanising music fans to protest against the dominance of the reality show in recent years."
Today's slice of musical highlights from TV and Radio
3.00 Radio 2 - Sounds of The 70s
Johnnie Walker hosts Noddy Holder. Are you counting the number of appearances Noddy makes over Christmas week?
5.30 6Music - Stuart Maconie's Freakzone
Can we have that first half-hour back now, please, 6Music? This week's is a children's music special, although sadly without David Ryder onboard.
6.55 ITV2 - About A Boy
They dumped the Kurt Cobain bit from the book, presumably to stop the film looking dated. Although really, if you wanted to prevent that, you might not have got Badly Drawn Boy in to do the soundtrack. Don't you wish Four Poofs And A Piano had done Santa's Magic Sleigh when Hugh Grant was on Rossy last week?
7.00 Sky Arts 1 - The Music Instinct
Trot through the science of music, packing quite a bit in to its two hours, waving at string theory, innate appreciation of music and Bobby McFerrin.
8.00 Sky One - Got To Dance
Or Look, Davina, I'm Sure We Can Cook Up Something For You. How About A Dance Programme? They're Quite Hot. Or Were, Anyway.
8.00 Sky Movies Modern Greats - The Breakfast Club
Says everything that Absolute Radio 80s tries to.
8.20 Dave - QI
Featuring Richard E Grant, who we've always quite liked since he posted a defence of his Argos ads in our comments section
9.00 Sky One - George Michael Live In London
It's recorded, so you don't need to worry if he'll be driving home at 10.
9.10 BBC4 - Cardigans At Christmas
Or How We Used To Live. A welcome repeat for the amiable amble through the Doonican and Como Christmases of the past
10.00 Blighty - When Louis Met Max Clifford
If Simon Cowell is such a smart cookie, why does he need to employ Max Clifford to handle his public image for him? Louis Theroux doesn't ask.
10.00 BBC4 - The Andy Williams Christmas Show
10.30 BBC4 - Your Date With Val
You know you want to. It's alright. They're made to enjoy.
11.20 BBC4 - Queens Of British Pop
Rerun of the quite-good (until it reaches recent years and has to pretend Kylie counts in a bid to offset the dreadful choices made) history of British women in pop, which almost makes up for the hoary old tradition of treating having a vagina as if it's a genre in its own right.
2.10am BBC4 - The Sandie Shaw Supplement
Nowadays, we get JLS In Their Own Words. Try telling me we're living through a golden age.
It's like David Bowie turning up on the Bing Crosby show, as the two titans of filling media space come together to mark the most magical time of the year. Even Gordon Smart knows that if you need an inarguable but unilluminating quote about record sales, it's a call to HMV you need:
Gennaro Castaldo, of music chain HMV, said: "Rage has taken a slight lead, as you'd expect given the size of the Facebook campaign.
"But we believe Joe's cover of The Climb will come storming back over the next few days.
"Chances are that the best part of half a million copies of the X Factor single will be sold over the rest of this week."
