YouTube video blogger and singer/songwriter Alex Day has sold 52,881 units of his song Forever Yours in the last week – enough to bag the No.4 spot on tonight’s Official Christmas Singles Chart.
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Day, who has built an audience via social networking, has achieved the feat without a record label and minimal radio and TV support.
All of his sales have come via digital download sites, arranged by ‘Nermie Army HQ’. His UK sales tally – revealed by Official Charts Company data this evening – is big enough to fend off Coldplay’s Paradise, which takes the No.5 slot on the Christmas Chart behind Day with just over 50,000 weekly sales.
Day’s video for Forever Yours, hosted on friend and fellow YouTuber Charlie McDonnell’s hugely popular channel, has pulled in over 2.7 million views. Day’s own YouTube channel – which includes videos featuring his musings on The Bible and teen vampire series Twilight, as well as his music – boasts over 480,000 subscribers.
Official Charts Company MD Martin Talbot said: “The week before Christmas is always an incredibly competitive sales week, so for Alex to make such a big impact in the Top 10 without the support of a traditional record label – big or small – is truly impressive.
“Forever Yours is certainly one of the most successful self-released tracks we have ever seen, the Official Charts are based on sales, and sales alone, so Alex’s achievements this week are a genuine reflection of the passion of his army of fans, and of course, the power of social media. His success is why the Official Singles Chart truly is ‘the people’s chart’.”