Rage Against The Machine UK Xmas Number 1
haha take that simon cowell, im sick of x factor and pop idol and all other of these crap tv shows promoting talentless people and feeding the masses with crap,
Fuck you i wont buy what you tell me!
Fuck you i wont buy what you tell me!
Replies
Just wanted to stick it to cowell and the masses
Facebook: Buy RATM
Angry, middleaged people: Ok!
Congratulations. You now are the masses
This won't make a dent in Simon Cowell. He's already a gazillionaire and superultramega famous. This won't stop XFactor, Britains Got Talent, or Pop Idol because they're based on viewer numbers, not how many singles Sony sell to the masses.
The only person you've really fucked is that new Joe McElderry kid, who was kind enough to congratulate the American Rage Against the Machine.
Farcical.
The band's single, Killing In The Name, sold 500,000 downloads beating X Factor winner Joe McElderry's The Climb by 50,000 copies to clinch the top spot.
Their success followed a Facebook campaign designed to prevent another X Factor number one.
One retailer said it was a "truly remarkable outcome - possibly the greatest chart upset ever".
McElderry, 18, praised the campaign, adding: "It's been exciting to be part of a much-hyped battle and they definitely deserve congratulations."
Thanking all the fans who bought his single, he said: "This time last year I never thought for one minute that I'd win The X Factor, never mind about having a debut single out, so I'm just delighted to be in the charts.
"It's been such an incredible couple of months and I got the best Christmas gift I could ever have asked for in winning The X Factor."
The common belief was that the race for Christmas number one had been destroyed by the X Factor.
For the last four years the winning act has been top of the festive charts by a landslide. Bookmakers only took bets on who would be number two.
This year the corporate might of Simon Cowell has been defeated by a husband and wife's Facebook campaign.
The result is 'Killing In The Name', which most parents would be pretty reluctant to play to their children. It contains 17 uses of the F-word.
This chart shock is right up there with Spiller's 'Groovejet' derailing the start of Victoria Beckham's non-Spice Career in 2000 or crooner Engelbert Humperdink ending The Beatles' run of 11 number ones in a row
Two other points - this could become an annual event - the public deciding on a track with which to take on the X Factor winner.
Secondly there is still every chance Joe will reach number one next week.
The Rage Against Machine campaign was designed for one week only so Joe could get the top spot, saving him the indignity of being the first ever X Factor winner not to hit number one with their debut single.
Despite earlier in the week calling the campaign "stupid", X Factor judge Simon Cowell offered his congratulations to the couple behind it, Jon and Tracy Morter.
He said: "I am gutted for Joe because a number one single meant a lot to him but I have to congratulate Jon and Tracy, who started the Facebook campaign.
"I called Jon on Saturday to congratulate the two of them that, win or lose, they turned this into a very exciting race for the Christmas number one.
"I am proud of Joe - he worked really hard this week, but he has a great year ahead of him."
The Los Angeles rock band's hit also set two records: it is the first single to reach the top of the charts on download sales alone and has achieved the biggest download sales total in a first week ever in the UK charts.
McElderry's song was only released digitally after his victory in the X Factor, giving it less time to rack up sales than Rage Against The Machine.
On Friday the band's lead was just 9,000 copies, but sales then soared by 200,000 to secure victory.
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: "Congratulations to Rage Against The Machine on their number one - as we have seen in recent years, overhauling any X Factor winner in the race for the Christmas number one is no mean achievement.
"The popular support we have seen for the record this week has been truly amazing - and handed them two all-time records."
He added the bad weather may have prevented McElderry fans getting to the shops to buy his CD, which was released on Wednesday.
Rage Against The Machine are signed to Epic Records, which is part of Sony BMG, the same label as McElderry.
The past four Christmas number ones have all been by X Factor winners; Alexandra Burke's version of Hallelujah last year was one of the biggest selling festive singles ever.
Guitarist Tom Morello said it had "tapped into the silent majority of the people in the UK who are tired of being spoon-fed one schmaltzy ballad after another".
He added that all proceeds from the single would go to homeless charity Shelter.
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."
The expletive-laden song is a "powerful protest", he said, adding: "Rage Against The Machine may not be the ideal expression of the Christmas spirit - and many people will have preferred a more appropriate song to top the festive charts, but their anti-corporate message proved a perfect vehicle through which to register such a powerful protest."
The last big Christmas battle on a similar scale was between the Spice Girls' Goodbye and South Park character Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls in 1998. The Spice Girls won with 380,000 to their rival's 375,000.
Despite losing out on the single top spot, Cowell kept a hold on the album chart, with Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream remaining at number one for a fourth week.
Nail on the head. It's sad how people can be so stupid not to realize what a big.fucking.joke this thing is. Faith in humanity -1
Reading too much into what? This ridiculous perceived notion of sticking it to 'The Man' by buying a single released on a major label seventeen years ago just because a Facebook group said to?
It's fantastic that the proceeds are going to worthwhile causes, but other than that this whole farce is beyond juvenile.
Seems like the crowd making the biggest noise about it are the supposedly 'alternative' crowd that seem to thrive on vilifying mass-produced pop music.
Granted, the options for supporting a genuinely independent act in direct opposition to the 'Establishment' of the modern music industry are limited, but the irony seems to be lost on just about everyone that bothered to 'vote'.
SHAME ON YOU ALL. CHRISTMAS IS FOR SMILES.
well it has pop in its name..
the contest woulda been better if no one would have been notified that it was a contest, then just see who sold more after a set time just because people wanted to buy it. this here was just who had the most loyal fan base, a band with 20 years of fans with ravenous nostalgia and a new up and comer. seems like a wash to me.
Believe it or not, I didn't have to read the rest of your post to know which side of the divide you'd come down on.
*edit*
Points will not be deducted due to the lateness of the hour
thing is its not even his song, hes not even covering the original hes covering a cover of a cover I mean what the fuck?
kandy rain should have won.
former strippers turned girl group, what's not to love.