Has prison officer Sam Bailey got the 2013 Christmas Number 1 all lock

The gap widens between X Factor’s Sam Bailey and Pharrell Williams in the 2013 Christmas Number 1 race, while AC/DC set for first ever Top 10 single!

Just days after winning this year’s series of The X Factor, Sam Bailey looks set to claim another musical victory this weekend – the Official 2013 Christmas Number 1.

According to the Official Charts Company’s latest sales data, her winners’ single, Skyscraper, is currently leading the race to Number 1. Up to midnight last night, more than 67,000 copies of the track had been downloaded in the UK, which is two-and-a-half times more than her closest rival, Happy by Pharrell Williams (Number 2).

“I listen to the Christmas Number 1 countdown every year, so to think my single is in the running is just amazing," said the 36-year-old former officer guard earlier this week.

And with the CD version of the single now on sale in record shops and supermarkets up and down the country, Sam could enjoy a further boost as the weekend approaches.

The cut-off point for sales to be counted towards this year’s Official Christmas Number 1 is midnight this coming Saturday night (December 21). The Official Christmas Singles Chart Top 40 will then be counted down on BBC Radio 1’s Official Chart Show with Jameela Jamil and Scott Mills between 4 and 7pm on Sunday (December 22), with the full Top 100 posted on www.officialcharts.com at 7pm.

Meanwhile, Leona Lewis holds firm at Number 3 with her festive single, One More Sleep. The former X Factor winner set a new Official Chart record at the weekend by becoming the first British female solo artist to score eight Top 5 singles.

Swedish DJ and producer Avicii falls two places to Number 4 today with Hey Brother, while AC/DC complete today’s Top 5 with Highway To Hell. The British / Australian band are celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, and despite having 11 Top 10 UK albums (including three Number 1s) to their name, if momentum continues, this will be their first ever Top 10 single.

New Entries And High Climbers

The cast of ITV’s The Big Reunion are at Number 13 midweek with their cover of Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday. The pop supergroup, which is made up of members of 5ive, Atomic Kitten, B*Witched, Blue, The Honeyz and Liberty X, released the track to raise funds and awareness for the charity Text Santa.

Ed Sheeran’s I See Fire climbs 30 places to re-enter the Top 40 today at Number 17. The single is taken from the soundtrack to the second instalment of Peter Jackson’s big screen adaptation of The Hobbit, The Desolation Of Smaug, which began screening in the UK over the weekend.

Spurred on by Sam Bailey’s cover, Demi Lovato’s original version of Skyscraper climbs to Number 22 today, while The Killers, who performed at X Factor final on Sunday climb 48 places to Number 27 with their 2004 hit, Mr Brightside.

Meanwhile, '90s rave duo Altern 8 look set to return to the Official Singles Chart on Sunday with Activ 8 (Come With Me). The track, which was kept off Number 1 in 1991 by Michael Jackson's Black Or White, and Vic Reeves and The Wonderstuff's Dizzy, has been the subject of a Facebook campaign to get it to Number 1 this Christmas. It's at Number 30 today.

This week’s re-entries are completed by Tom Odell’s Another Love (33), John Newman’s Love Me Again (35) and RY X’s Berlin (39).

The Official Singles Chart Update Top 40 is as follows. The Official Singles Chart Top 100 will be posted in full, here, on Sunday at 7pm.

© 2013 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.