British pop singer Joe McElderry has exacted revenge on ‘Rage Against The Machine’ by landing the top spot on the U.K. singles chart - after the rockers trounced him last week (21Dec09).

 

The band clinched the coveted Christmas number one spot after an internet campaign to shut out the winner of Simon Cowell's TV talent show The X Factor. Their single, Killing in the Name, outsold the teen's cover of Miley Cyrus' The Climb by more than 50,000 downloads.

 

But this week (27Dec09) McElderry has pushed the rockers into second place after claiming the top position with more than 195,700 sales - two and a half times the 68,730 copies the U.S. band shifted.

 

McElderry will therefore ring in the New Year (10) as the top artist in the U.K. - and he's delighted with his achievement.

 

He says, "I am so happy that the single is Number One. Thank you so much to everyone that has supported me. This has been the best Christmas ever and I want to wish everyone a happy New Year."

 

McElderry was crowned the winner of the U.K. TV singing contest's sixth series earlier this month (Dec09).

 

Meanwhile, pop sensation Lady Gaga remains in third place with her track Bad Romance, while Cheryl Cole's single Three Words and Starstrukk by 3OH!3 featuring Katy Perry round out the fourth and fifth positions respectively.