Christmas Number 1: Who will win the 2021 battle between LadBaby and The Kunts?

Fight for the top spot grows more intense as LadBaby’s charity single faces competition from an expletive-filled attack on Boris Johnson

The race for the Christmas No 1 spot has turned into one of the fiercest battles in recent memory.

What started off looking like an easy run for LadBaby, who have achieved the top spot on the UK singles chart for the last three years, is now less certain.

This has a lot to do with the provocatively named comedy rock group The Kunts, who are also aiming for No 1 with their single, “Boris Johnson is STILL a F***ing C***”.

The track appeared at No 5 in the midweek UK charts update, much to the displeasure of LadBaby singer Mark Hoyle, who released this year’s single, “Sausage Rolls for Everyone”, with his wife Roxanne and their two children.

LadBaby are aided by the starpower of Ed Sheeran and Elton John, who released their own track, “Merry Christmas”, before lending their support to LadBaby’s charity single.

Speaking to the Official Charts, Hoyle said that he never allowed himself to think that their song might get Christmas No 1 until it was announced, adding: “You never know with impending restrictions potentially coming into play from the government, and the constant discontent with Boris Johnson – there’s definitely a third song in the running should the guidelines change.”

Alluding to The Kunts’ track, Hoyle said that he would rather choose positivity at Christmas and continued: “It takes a certain sort of person to download a song with that in the title, but you never know.”

He added: “There’s definitely an element that people aren’t happy with this government, but our song is for charity – I don’t believe theirs is – and ours is trying to raise more money than ever for food banks. It’s something that is even more important given everything that is going on.”

“Sausage Rolls for Everyone” is released in aid of The Trussell Trust, which helps run food banks across the UK.

In a recent interview after performing “Merry Christmas” with John for the BBC, Sheeran said he felt that the Christmas No 1 had become dominated by X-Factor winners. Previously, he suggested, they had often been novelty songs such as “Mr Blobby” and “Can We Fix It?” by Bob the Builder, or “proper” Christmas songs like “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens.

The current odds for Christmas No 1 from Betfair are as follows:

LadBaby (Featuring Ed Sheeran & Elton John) 1/33

Elton John & Ed Sheeran 12/1

George Ezra 16/1

Adele 25/1

Have A Word Pod 25/1

The Kunts 25/1

Abba 33/1

The Lathums 33/1

Ed Sheeran 40/1

Little Mix 40/1

“Sausage Rolls for Everyone” would mark John’s first Christmas No 1, and a second for Sheeran, who last achieved the feat with “Perfect” in 2017.

In a statement released earlier this month, Sheeran said he was “proud” to be included on LadBaby’s single this year.

“All profits will be donated to The Trussell Trust, which is a very wonderful and important charity, so make sure you stream it, buy it and play it on repeat,” he said.