News & UK Play Chart

Well then. 2011 has been a year of musical twists and turns (but more on that in our yearly review next week) and, as we draw closer to the end of the month, it looks like there may be another shock tale in the final chapter.

News reached Soundnet Towers that Michael Buble, the sly, crooning fox, had pulled ahead in his quest to top the album charts this Christmas. The Buble record in question, 'Christmas', saw a 79 per cent week-on-week rise in sales, leapfrogging Amy Winehouse's posthumous album 'Lioness', to claim the top spot. At the close of play on Monday, the album had sold 78,227 copies, putting it 29,000 sales ahead of 'Lioness'.

Of course, all of this is X Factor's fault. Buble, who just hasn't met you yet, appeared on the final weekend show of the ITV monster, singing 'Christmas (Please Come Home)'. Incidentally, both Coldplay and Westlife, who also featured in the Simon Cowell cash generator, enjoyed a sales bump on their latest albums too. Xylo Myloto, the fifth studio album from Chris Martin and the boys, enjoyed a 142 per cent jump in sales, while Westlife's greatest hits saw its units rise to the tune of 49 per cent.

Still, with all the big quarter four albums already out, it seems unlikely that Mr. Buble will be usurped in his quest to be the king of Christmas. The handsome canuck has just a few more days to hang in at the top and, with no viable contender in sight, Buble's hands seem to be firmly grasping the chalice of festive triumph. If successful, he will join Take That, Susan Boyle, Leona Lewis and Eminem in the Christmas album hall of fame. If there were such a place.

The race to the Christmas number one single got a little bit more interesting last week. While we'd resigned ourselves to another X Factor whitewash for Christmas number one, 2011 looks like it might be a little more unpredictable after we cottoned onto the fact that Gareth Malone's Military Wives' Choir would be releasing a single in time for the 25th. If you've not heard of the Military Wives' Choir, a 200-plus group of women who sung their hearts out on BBC2's The Choir in November, take a moment out of your day and cast your eyes over this. Try not to cry.

The above single, 'Wherever You Are', has been hotly tipped to peak at number one this month. After the song was televised on The Choir, Radio 2 breakfast jockey Chris Evans immediately began lobbying for its release in time for Christmas. Since then, the song has been tipped to get number one by us, HMV and William Hill (it's 8/13 to win, compared to X Factor's entry at 6/5). Here at Soundnet, we're very excited to see if it will win.

'Wherever You Are' is released to the general populace on the 19th December. What's more, all proceeds from the sale of the single goes to the Royal British Legion and SSAFA Forces Help. It is the season of goodwill, after all.

Christmas is just 25 days away. In less than a month, we'll be toasting our marshmallows on an open fire, pulling open crackers with granny and basking in the warm feeling which comes from seeing the X-Factor miss out on the number one single courtesty of a choir of Military Wives. (But more on that next week).

Still, despite the fact that there's still some daylight between us and the 25th, the very first Christmas songs started sneaking into the best-selling chart this week. 20 years to the week after it made its debut in the world, The Pogues/Kirsty MacColl collaboration, Fairytale of New York, snuck into the top-selling singles. Incredibly, this makes it the seventh December in a row which has seen the record nip into the Top 75 chart. If you're interested, 7,034 sales of the song were made last week. 7,034 of you have put your Christmas tree up far too early.

But McGowan wasn't the only aging rock star to be celebrating the reappearance of their only successful contribution to the Christmas season. Mariah Carey joined in the premature festivities with her 1994 classic 'All I Want For Christmas Is You', seeing the record sell 5,200 units over the week.

Expect to get more than a few sightings of old Mariah over the next four weeks; you'll hear the song from the mouths of Michael Buble, Justin Bieber and the Cast of Glee in the run up to Christmas. All three release their own interpretation of the song as we edge closer to the 25th.

All we want for Christmas is a bit of imagination. And maybe a 'White Christmas'.

The wise owls at The Entertainment Retailers Association have released their annual top ten entertainment gifts for Christmas. The list, which is only available to good boys and girls (and anyone who clicks this link), predicts a bumper season for a number of musical acts including Michael Buble and One Direction.

Over the next month, the ERA predicts that 12 million CDs will be hastily stuffed into stockings across the country with latest offers from Michael Buble and One Direction being the most popular choices for music-loving relatives. There are also nods for the latest NOW collection and the DVD of Take That's Progress tour. Rather oddly, there's no room in the list for Rihanna's freshest sound 'Talk That Talk' and not a whiff of Justin Bieber's Christmas collection. It's tough at the top, kids.

Speaking about the list, ERA Director General Kim Bayley said:

“Entertainment retains its crown as the most universal Christmas gift. There truly is something for everyone.”

Never a truer word said Kim.

Compared to the other entertainment offerings though, CD gifts sits rooted to the bottom of the pile. The soothsayers at the ERA have foreseen that 15.1 million videogames and 32.2m DVDs will be hastily purchased between now and Christmas Eve.

For those interested, previous best-selling Christmas albums of the past decade are:

• Take That, Progress (2010)
• Susan Boyle, I Dreamed a Dream (2009)
• Take That, The Circus (2008)
• Leona Lewis, Spirit (2007)
• Take That, Beautiful World (2006)
• Eminem, Curtain Call (2005)
• Robbie Williams, Greatest Hits (2004)
• Dido, Life for Rent (2003)
• Robbie Williams, Escapeology (2002)
• Robbie Williams, Swing When You're Winning (2001)
• The Beatles, 1 (2000)

It's been a good decade for Take That and Gary Barlow's swimming pool of money. With this week's DVD release of Progress Live, Robbie and Gary should be continuing the money-making theme for another year.

Christmas is coming. Like super-trained festive Jedis, we can sense it approaching; red cups are sauntering into Starbucks, fairy lights are beginning to creep around shop windows and we're certain we saw a Christmas tree peer out from behind a wall, before nervously scurrying away down an alley last week.

But, as ever, it's the Soundnet Playlist which demonstrates that your customers are beginning to get into the Christmas spirit. It starts off fairly innocuously at first, with a few songs from this year's batch of Christmas adverts creeping into the chart. For the record, we'd be very surprised if Slow Moving Millie's cover of The Smiths' 'Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want' doesn't appear in the chart after its appearance on the festive John Lewis ad.

Still, it's around this time of year that the deluge really begins and the Soundnet chart gets stuffed with more Christmas hits than a Turkey on the 25th December. But, we're not complaining. Christmas music is filled with love and joy and, here at Soundnet, we're happy to be helping spread the festive cheer.

Furthermore, each winter gives us the opportunity to predict The Soundnet Christmas number one. Inevitably, the season of goodwill always features an appearance from the actual chart topper, although it's the race to claim the top 'classic' spot which is always much more fascinating.

Indeed, the Christmas package in our digital jukebox features every classic Christmas ditty and you'll find all the usual festive suspects in our ranks. So, if you've got a penchant for The Pogues or would rather sing along to Slade, you're in luck. But, if you'd rather jam along to Bruce Springsteen singing about Santa or weep over Elvis' Blue Christmas, we can accommodate that too.

For the record though, our money is on the eventual X-Factor winner claiming the top spot this year. Do the digital jukebox customers know it's Christmas time? Oh yes.

Lady Gaga is a Merlot, while Jeff Buckley is a Sauvignon Blanc. The Sugababes are Lambrini girls.

No, we haven't been drinking heavily (the sun isn't past the yardarm). Rather, we're discussing the results of a new university study which claims that we perceive music differently when sipping on a drink. Seriously.

The research, published in the British Journal of Psychology, found that individuals judge wine to have similar taste characteristics of a musical artist if the two activities are enjoyed together.

The study interviewed 250 students to discover whether a particular song could influence the way we perceive taste. Participants were asked to sample a Cabernet Sauvignon while listening to a selection of tracks, including Just Can't Get Enough by Nouvelle Vague, Slow Breakdown by Michael Brook and Carmina Burana by Orff and, during the test, were asked to describe the taste of the wine.

The research discovered that those listening to more upbeat songs were likely to discuss the wine in more energetic terms.

Here's Professor Adrian North, the mastermind behind the study, with the science bit.

"The research reported here considers the possibility that the emotional connotations of music may be able to function as a symbol that influences perception of taste.

"Participants appeared to perceive the taste of the wine in a manner consistent with the connotations of music."

So, there you go.

But, this isn't the first study to investigate the effect of music on paying patrons. A study from 2010 discovered that restaurant diners splash more cash when they were played classical background music over more contemporary pop hits. Best start queuing up the Rachmaninoff then.