Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are contenders for UK Christmas Number One

Wicked: For Good stars Cynthia and Ariana Grande are contenders for this year’s Christmas Number One, the the Official Charts Company has said.

The biggest chart battle of the year is still a few weeks away but ahead of the festive period the Official Charts Company has outlined who could be in the running for the coveted top spot, which was last year claimed by WHAM’s iconic 1984 hit “Last Christmas” for a second year on the trot.

Discussing this year’s race, Martin Talbot – chief executive officer of the Official Charts Company – said: “It’s that time of year again – Christmas is coming and the release schedules are fattening up with every day.

“So it’s time to watch the contenders gather on the starting line for one of the year’s biggest chart races. This year, there is a wide variety of contenders – including children’s favourites, charity fund raisers, daytime TV icons and Aussie pop queens, among many more.

“Within three weeks we’ll know the winner. Until then… On your marks, get set, go!”

Gelphie fans out there can rejoycify because “For Good”, the heartbreaking (and totally sapphic-coded) final duet between Elphaba and Glinda from the second part of Jon M Chu’s two-part adaption of Broadway and West End hit musical Wicked – which itself adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 dark fantasy version of the original Wizard of Oz story by Frank L Baum – could be in the running for Christmas Number One.

The musical film, which was released last week, has already smashed the box office and grossed $226 million (£173 million) worldwide on its opening weekend, setting a record for a film adaptation of a Broadway musical and leaving even the first instalment in its wake.

The sequel takes place a few years after the conclusion of the first film, when Elphaba defied the Wizard and Erivo gave us a spine-chilling, goosebump-inducing version of “Defying Gravity”, and finds Elphaba now in hiding. She is still trying to convince the citizens of Oz of the wizard’s villainy and is working to liberate the increasingly oppressed animal population, but Madam Morrible and the Wizard have launched an epic negative PR campaign against her which has branded Elphaba as the ‘Wicked Witch’.

Glinda, on the other hand, has been given the title of “the Good” and is serving the Wizard as the pure and beautiful spokesperson for all of Oz, and is also engaged to a disillusioned Fiyero.

A series of complicated decisions, combined with the unexpected arrival of Dorothy from Kansas, sets in motion a chain of events that change the course of Oz forever.

“Let’s face it, we’ll all be convinced we’ve cracked Elphaba’s high harmony at the work Christmas do after a mulled wine. This standout track from Wicked: For Good will no doubt show some staying power this festive season,” Official Charts predicts.

Globally, according to data from Spotify, “For Good” has been streamed nearly 10 million times since its release on Friday (21 November), with that figure expected to rise as more fans flock to see the film.

Amongst the other contenders for Christmas Number One are balaclava-clad Liverpool rapper EsDeeKid, who conspiracy theorists on social media secretly believe is actually Timothee Chalamet, Grammy nominated singer RAYE, global superstar Taylor Swift and rising pop starlet Olivia Dean.