Kylie Minogue celebrates her first UK Christmas Number 1 single

Kylie Minogue has celebrated her first UK Christmas Number 1 single with her new track XMAS, it was announced on Friday. 

The singer, 57, has broken records previously set by Madonna and Mariah Carey as she became the first woman to secure UK Number 1 singles in four different decades. 

Kylie has had Number 1's in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and now the 2020s, and drawn level with Elton, Elvis and Queen, who also have Number 1's spanning four decades. 

The Australian popstar has stopped the late George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's hit Last Christmas from coming top for the third time in a row.

Speaking on her success, Kylie said: 'It’s hard to put into words how special this feels. Being Christmas Number One really is the most wonderful gift! 

'I’m so thankful to everyone who’s been listening and sharing the love and I’m wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!' 

XMAS is her eighth number one single and the track is also the first Amazon Music Original ever to reach Number One in the Official Christmas Chart.

This latest achievement follows last week’s chart success of Kylie’s number one album, Kylie Christmas (Fully Wrapped).

Following a two-time Christmas Number 1 triumph in 2023 and 2024, WHAM!’s classic Last Christmas comes in as runner-up this time around. 

Mariah Carey's 1994 hit All I Want For Christmas has settled at Number 3 for the second year in a row, with Brenda Lee's Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree, at Number 4.

Highest new entry, Together For Palestine's poignant track Lullaby, finishes the Christmas race at Number 5 and the accolade of best-selling track of the week.

The song has seen over 15 UK and Palestinian artists come together to send a message of hope and solidarity.

It is understood that rather than just streams, people are buying the record as it is raising money for urgent, life-saving funds for the children of Gaza amid the war in the Middle East thanks to a supergroup featuring Bastille's Dan Smith, Celeste, Neneh Cherry, Nadine Shah, Brian Eno and Little Mix's Leigh-Anne Pinnock among others singing it.

The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s Fairytale Of New York has come in at Number 6 this year. 

Kylie was watched by almost seven million people when she performed the hit on Sunday night's Strictly, and on Friday morning she was on the Radio 2 breakfast show with Scott Mills. 

Her quest has been helped by XMAS being an Amazon exclusive  - meaning that it is placed on playlists of Amazon branded speakers such as Alexa. This contributes to the single's high streaming figures. 

Changes in chart compilation methods - prompted by the decline in physical sales - mean that 100 streams now count as one sale.

This shift has dramatically altered the look of the Christmas charts, favouring established hits and streaming juggernauts.

Martin Talbot, chief executive of the Official Charts Company, said: 'Streaming has completely transformed the way the Christmas No1 is decided. 

'Classic songs have a real shot at returning to the top each year, thanks to their enduring popularity on playlists, which wasn't possible in the era of physical sales.'