Christmas Number One 2018: Ariana Grande OVERTAKES Elton John as favourite for top spot

The popstar is currently at the top of the Singles Chart in the UK with thank u, next (sic), which has broken several streaming records since its release earlier this month. Its popularity is so strong that bookies think it could still be ahead of the competition when Christmas rolls around. So could Ariana be our festive chart-topper?

This year’s Christmas chart will be announced on Friday, December 21 – meaning her track will need a lot of staying power to keep ahead of the pack.

And with the star revealing that more music has been recorded and is awaiting release, could she even pull off the accomplishment with a different song altogether?

Whatever the case, she is currently the 2/1 favourite after a huge gamble was placed on her by a mystery punter.

“We have been knocked over in the last 24 hours on Ariana Grande landing the UK Christmas number one single this year with thank u, next and if the American popstar does top the charts, the bookmakers will be paying out long into Christmas Day,” said Coral’s John Hill.

The previous favourite, Elton John, is now 6/1; while Clean Bandit are 8/1.

The latter group managed it two years ago with Rockabye, which had interestingly been at the summit for several weeks in the run-up to Christmas. Their latest offering is the song Baby, featuring lead vocals from Marina and the Diamonds.

X Factor favourite, and presumed winner-in-waiting, Dalton Harris is also on 8/1, although the final of the ITV show will air several weeks before the Christmas chart this year.

Lady Gaga is also 8/1, with the soundtrack from A Star Is Born still proving popular. Ed Sheeran, last year’s festive chart-topper, is on 10/1.

Little Mix are also priced at 10/1 following the release of new album LM5, and they have plenty of promotion coming up: they’ll be on Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor and The Graham Norton Show over the coming weeks.

Queen are on 10/1 too, following the release of Bohemian Rhapsody in cinemas.

The Christmas chart will log audio streams, video streams, downloads and physical single sales from midnight on Friday, December 14 to 23:59 on Thursday, December 20.

The rankings will then be revealed on Friday, December 21.