Who is in the running for Christmas number one?

LadBaby has won the last three Christmas number ones

The race for the Christmas number one is well and truly on.

Each year, in the week leading up to the big day, one song is crowned as the festive chart topper.

The number one this year will be the 70th official Christmas number one and will be announced on 24 December.

Last year saw YouTuber LadBaby take the crown, for the third year in a row - and now they're back for more with some pretty special guests...

When did the Christmas number one start?

The first Christmas number one was also the first ever number one in the UK charts.

In 1952, the singer Al Martino took the prize with his ballad Here In My Heart.

It was a top 12 list, which was based on the sales from around just 20 record shops!

It wasn't until 1955 that a tailor made Christmas song made it to number one, with Dickie Valentine's Christmas Alphabet.

The Beatles had a great run of Christmas number ones in the 1960s

The 1960s were dominated by the Liverpudlian band, The Beatles, who scored a record breaking three Christmas number ones.

But it wasn't until the 1970s that the battle for Christmas number one really started.

Two bands which were very famous at the time were Slade and Wizzard.

When they released their singles Merry Xmas Everybody and I Wish it Could Be Christmas Everyday in 1973, everyone went wild for them.

Fans of each band were desperate to see their group win the top spot, and the battle for Christmas number one really took off.

Slade took the crown - and, in fact, remained number one well into the following year. In a survey in 2007, their single Merry Xmas Everybody was actually voted the most popular Christmas song ever.

1973 was the year that the battle for Christmas number one was really born, when Slade (pictured here) went up against a band called Wizzard in a competition for the festive chart-topper

Charity singles also prove popular, with the first one coming in 1984. Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid sold over 600,000 records in just its first week and is still to this day the biggest-selling Christmas number one of all time.

It was re-released in 1989, 2004 and 2014 - and whizzed to the top of the charts every single time.

In the early 2000s, TV talent shows became big business and often finished in time for the winners to battle it out for Christmas number one.

So, an ITV show called Pop Idol created the group Girls Aloud. They took the festive crown in 2002 - and, like it or not(!), the TV talent show Christmas number one was born.

Shayne Ward was the first X Factor winner to nab Christmas number one with his single That's My Goal

Following this, The X Factor stamped its mark on the Christmas charts, after its winners took the top spot in six years out of the following nine.

But it wasn't long before people started to get a bit fed up with there being no excitement when The X Factor kept winning.

In 2009, there was a big campaign to get another song to Christmas number one instead of The X Factor winner, and - unfortunately for that year's winner Joe McElderry - he lost out to an old song by a band called Rage Against The Machine.

Who are the Christmas number one contenders this year?

Ed Sheeran & Elton John - Merry Christmas

The current king of pop, Ed Sheeran, has teamed up with the godfather of pop, Elton John, to write a Christmas song.

It's called Merry Christmas and it's going to be released on 3 December.

Both are experienced when it comes to landing a Christmas number one. Elton took the crown in 1973 with his classic, Step Into Christmas and Ed claimed it in 2017 with his song, Perfect.

In Ed's own words,"It has sleigh bells... a lot of them".

George Ezra - Come On Home For Christmas

Popstar George Ezra is taking an old Christmas classic and wrapping a brand new bow on it for 2021.

He's reworked Charles Brown's 1960 single Come On Home For Christmas for modern audiences.

It's being done through Amazon Music. Last year, the company helped Jess Glynne release a modern version of the Christmas classic, This Christmas.

Adele - 30

Adele released her much anticipated fourth album, 30, last month.

It's so popular that she currently has the number one, two and fourth spot in the singles chart.

Could she hold on all the way through to 24 December?

Abba - Little Things

Pop icons Abba are back, after decades away from the limelight, with their first ever Christmas song.

It's called Little Things and it's about the joy of Christmas morning.

Just like Ed Sheeran and Elton John's hotly anticipated song, it'll be released on 3 December.

Lad Baby - Sausage Rolls For Everyone

LadBaby have won the last three Christmas number ones in a row. So could they get a record breaking fourth this year with their last-minute entry, Sausage Rolls For Everyone?

This year they've recorded a pastry-based spoof of Ed Sheeran and Elton John's own Christmas single Merry Christmas!

LadBaby, aka YouTube stars Mark and Roxanne Hoyle, have raised money for the food bank charity, The Trussell Trust with their sausage roll-themed singles since 2018.

The charity song will be released on 17 December.

Who do you think should be number one? Which is your favourite Christmas song? Let us know in the comments below..