What Does Rage Against The Machine’s Victory Mean for The Future of The X Factor?

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So what does this public statement ultimately mean? Is the future of Christmas singles no now longer a question of merely which X Factor contestant is going to sing it? Unfortunately, I see this as a mere glitch in the current running format but I do hope to be wrong. Not just because I have anything against The X Factor, Simon Cowell or commercialised Pop music, but because it has been refreshing to have seen something else coming with a fighting chance instead of the result being a mere formality.

My ultimate hope is that next year, and for many years to come, to competition will come from something that deserves to be Christmas number one and not just for the sake of proving a point. The key word there is Christmas. Gone are the days of 1984, when Band Aid took the crown with Do They Know It’s Christmas and gone are the days when Slade were victorious with Merry Xmas Everybody in 1973. True classics that are still immensely popular every single yuletide that each year brings – and more importantly, they are festive! Whilst these two examples are obviously exclusive to Christmas, I would be just as happy to see a repeat of 2000 when Bob The Builder’s Can We Fix It? came out on top or even 1993, with Mr Blobby’s originally titled Mr Blobby. Christmas time is magical, fun and enchanting and should be treated as such. Originality or musical credibility doesn’t have to be crucial – if it’s fun and people enjoy singing along to it then that truly deserves to be number one at Christmas (and the sillier it is, the better in my opinion!). Let all other songs and artists have the rest of the year to have top spot and let the true spirit of Christmas shine through (I personally am still bitter at the 2003 title which, instead of going to The Darkness with Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End), went to Michael Andrews & Gary Jules’ cover of Mad World, a sombre number which include the lyrics ‘the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had’ – hardly the most joyous song to hear on Christmas morn!).

Cover of Merry Xmas Everybody

The British people who purchased Killing In The Name Of should be applauded. While I always held out hope, I never truly believed this could be done and whilst neck and neck at times, the revolution succeeded and this is truly a triumph. It may be small and it may not be repeated, but then again it does not need to be. This single act and unification of thousands of people will go into popular culture folklore for ever.