At long last, a number one record that is no way, shape or form connected with The X Factor!  If you count records which were promoted on the show, then we haven’t had a number one single without a link to Simon Cowell’s ever-growing empire since mid-October.

Which is not to say that this week is a return to normal.  It’s a second consecutive charity single, and it’s a novelty record.  But believe me, there’s plenty to say about this one.

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Well, I said last week that it was a foregone conclusion, and I was right.  “Meet Me Halfway” by the Black Eyed Peas only gets a single week at the top, and it’s replaced by the latest X Factor-related hit.  If you count the Black Eyed Peas (who climbed to number 1 after appearing on the show), it’s the fifth consecutive number 1 to be connected with the show.

Yes, it’s a charity single by the acts who made the live rounds of the show.  And it’s… not desperately good. (more…)

Continuing my series from If Destroyed, there’s yet another new number 1 this week… but not the expected one.  Most of us took it as read that Leona Lewis, the 2006 X-Factor winner, would go in at number 1 with “Happy”, the lead single from her new album.  Especially after she showed up on the X-Factor to promote it.

But instead, the Black Eyed Peas unexpectedly pick up their third (and least irritating) number one of the year, with “Meet Me Halfway.” (more…)