Grime lord Stormzy has launched a campaign to get his smash hit Shut Up to the top of the annual UK Christmas No. 1.
The UK Christmas number 1 is a long running competition, not unlike a more mainstream Hottest 100 that you have to pay for (you purchase the single to vote for it). The winners are almost exclusively X Factor winners, with occasional exceptions, such as the amazing 2009 campaign which led to Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In The Name Of topping the chart. To thank fans, RATM actually then played a free show in London to celebrate (and yours truly was in fact there to witness it).
One of the biggest and best grime tracks of 2015, Shut Up came out back in May – first as a freestyle and then as a studio version – and currently sits at more than 13 million YouTube views.
This year, Stormzy’s main competition is an X Factor winner named Louisa Johnson, and interestingly (but understandably considering this week’s release), the theme to Star Wars. It seems he’s actually in with a fighting chance, considering that some bookies have pegged him with ten to one odds. “It’s hard to see anyone else beating [Louisa Johnson] to the top spot, but some punters are convinced that rapper Stormzy could cause a Christmas shock,” said Nicola McGeady of bookmakers Coral.
According to The Guardian, Stormzy’s campaign has been boosted by a massive performance at London’s O2 arena, where a boxing match was taking place between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.
Stormzy spoke to the Lad Bible about the campaign: “I don’t know, man. I’m a bit crazy so sometimes I just get these mad ideas that, on paper, aren’t even possible. But in my head I just think ‘yeah, fuck it, let’s do it.'”
And if he wins? “I’d have a party and pop some bottles and make a video being like “aaaaahaha fuck it”. I’m all about the banter, that’s my problem.”
To support the campaign, you can stream the track on Spotify, or buy it here.
https://twitter.com/Stormzy1/status/676056755462406144