IT is the time of year when serious artists are dusting off their sleigh bells and carol tunes in the hope of scoring an elusive Christmas No 1, only to get knocked off their perch by a children's choir, talent show winner or talking puppet.
And it appears that 2018 is no different with chart-topper Ariana Grande's chances of landing a festive hit coming under a sustained assault from a man signing a comedy ode to sausage rolls.
Mark Hoyle, a 'dad blogger' from Nottingham, has become an unlikely candidate for the Yuletide top spot with his parody take on the hit 'We Built This City' by Starship, where the tasty pastry snack replaces 'on Rock and Roll'.
The song, which is raising money for the Trussell Trust's network of foodbanks, goes on to wax lyrical about the family's love for the foodstuff.
Mr Hoyle's song is challenging a hit by Ariana Grande
Mr Hoyle, lives in Hemel Hempstead with his wife Roxanne - who also features in the video - and son Pheonix. The family have a second son, born in June, whose name has not been revealed.
He began his path to fame two years ago with his blog LadBaby, a humorous look at parenthood which appears on social media and the video-sharing platform Youtube.
Earlier this year he was named Celebrity Dad of the Year in an online competition run by Swedish homestore chain Clas Ohlson's, beating famous fathers including Prince William and the footballer Rio Ferdinand.
Speaking on his foray into the world of online videos, the 31-year-old said: "I started blogging because I found out my wife was pregnant and I didn't have a clue about kids, how to raise kids, even how to hold a kid.
"She said I should read lots of books but nothing I found was talking on a normal dad level."
His appearance in the charts and the unlikely success of the song has taken the family by surprise, with the single holding its own against popular singer Ava Max’s song Sweet But Psycho, the current No1.
Superstar Ms Grande's track Thank U, Next, has previously held the top spot and was predicted to be back there come Christmas.
Starship
Mr Hoyle said: "I had never sung before in my life. I've never done karaoke. Now I don't want to let it slip. Now I feel like we can go all the way, and why not? We want a Christmas miracle and get the number one spot."
He later Tweeted: "Who would have thought it? A sausage roll song being sung by a Nottingham lad would be sitting at Number 2 in the Official midweek Singles Chart. What a fantastic achievement and great start… but let’s not stop there.
"Let’s pinch that Number 1 spot from the global mega-stars, eat our own body weight in sausage rolls and most importantly raise even more money to support the amazing UK food banks charity Trussell Trust this Christmas."
Mr Hoyle's most popular video saw him heading out with his son to buy a lunchbox, only to return with a partitioned tool box to use instead, in defiance of his wife's express wishes.
The video, which has been viewed 6 million times, proved so popular Mark ended up in talks with a Chinese firm to create a real life toolbox lunchbox product.
The Christmas charts are notoriously difficult to predict, with oddities and offbeat numbers often catching the public's imagination.
Mr Blobby also had a Christmas No1
Back in the year 2000 the top spot was taken by children's TV character Bob the Builder singing the theme song to his hit show, and in 2009 a campaign to end the domination of winners from the X-Factor contest saw rockers Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name reach No 1 17 years after it was originally released.
The song, known for its expletive-ridden chorus, was deemed unplayable for TV and Radio without some words beeped out.
Comedy songs, such as 1993s 'Mr Blobby' by Noel's House Party character Mr Blobby and Benny Hill's Ernie - the Fastest Milkman in the West- have also been festive No1s, while the role of the TV show The Choir has been recognised in his for a group of military wives and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir.
Charity singles have also featured heavily, three separate versions of band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' grabbing the Christmas top spot on difference occasions.
However, it appears that Ms Grande's Christmas goose may not be cooked just yet. While the public are keen to support fundraising songs such as Mr Hoyle's, they are less concerned about listening to them.
And with streaming sales counting alongside physical copies and downloads nowadays, that may give the US star the edge.
"People will cheerfully buy a charity single. It's a nice, tangible, feel-good gesture. But they won't necessarily listen to it," chart expert James Masterton told the BBC.
Explaining that LadBaby would still make the Top 10, he added: "That's still a far better performance than many other random Christmas charity efforts of recent years, so fair play."
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