How many pop stars does it take to knock Adele off number one in the charts? 2, apparently.
Adele's 8-week reign at the top of the Irish singles charts with 'Easy On Me' has been ended by Ed Sheeran and Elton John's festive track 'Merry Christmas'.
Released early in December, 'Merry Christmas' is a throwback to the standalone Christmas songs of the 1970s and 1980s, and will surely pay for a new extension to Ed Sheeran's house in years to come.
Adele was seen as the favourite for the Christmas number one crown as her smash hit 'Easy On Me' had been number one for 8 weeks prior to this, but the festive spirit triumphed in the end.
Adele tumbled down to number 18 after 8 weeks at number one.
'Merry Christmas' is Ed Sheeran's second Irish Christmas number one, topping the charts in 2017 with 'Perfect' and claimed number one as a songwriter in 2015 for writing 'Love Yourself' by Justin Bieber.
2021 was the chart race in years where a song that was written and produced specifically for the Christmas number one race ended up in competition with the reigning number one single.
'Merry Christmas' is Elton John's first Irish number-one single since 1997's 'Candle In The Wind', which is still to this day the biggest-selling single in Irish history, going one better on his 2021 hit 'Cold Heart' with Dua Lipa which stalled at number 2.
A smattering of Christmas classics are in the top 10, with Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You', 'Last Christmas' by Wham and 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' among the army of classics hanging around the top 10.
'Fairytale Of New York' is the highest-charting Irish song, with the 1987 Christmas song peaking at number 5.
Ed Sheeran and Elton John have claimed the throne of the Irish Christmas number one from Dermot Kennedy, who claimed the title for 2020 with his song 'Giants.'
Dermot Kennedy became the first Irish artist with a Christmas number one single since Mario Rosenstock sent up Roy Keane's departure from Manchester United in 2005 with a parody of Will Young's 'Leave Right Now'.
Ed Sheeran has extended his run as the artist with the most time at number one in 2021, with this new number one single extending his run to 17 weeks building on the success of 'Bad Habits' and 'Shivers'.
