Gareth hopes to follow Will to number one
Gareth Gates is hoping to knock Pop Idol rival Will Young off the top spot when his debut single is released tomorrow.
The 17-year-old should notch up a number one with his cover of Unchained Melody, which could be an even bigger seller than Will’s Evergreen/Anything Is Possible.
Orders from retailers have led the record company BMG to press up 1.3 million copies of Gareth’s single initially - 100,000 more than Will’s release.
The Bradford teenager will also be up against his musical hero George Michael who is releasing a comeback single, Freeek!, tomorrow.
Bookies William Hill are offering odds of 1/9 that Unchained Melody will be number one next week, and 10/1 that it will stay at the top of the chart for eight weeks or more.
Meanwhile, Will is expected to hold on to the top spot for a third week today with his single, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies so far.
Gareth narrowly lost out on the Pop Idol crown but he was immediately offered a recording contract with BMG and his success looks assured.
He has already signed a six-figure deal with drinks giant Pepsi, which counts pop superstars like Britney Spears among its line-up.
Unchained Melody, which Gareth performed in the final stages of Pop Idol, is the only song to have been taken to number one by three different acts.
Sir Jimmy Young was the first star to take the song to the top of the charts during his career as a crooner, before finding success as a broadcaster.
The track has subsequently gone to number one with versions by the Righteous Brothers and Robson And Jerome, the latter provoking a sales frenzy similar to that sparked by Will Young’s release last week.
Gareth and Will are currently thrilling thousands of fans as part of a nationwide Pop Idol Tour, which kicked off at Wembley Arena on Thursday.
All 10 finalists from the ITV1 series take part in the show, which is hosted by judge Nicki Chapman.
The 21-date tour will visit Sheffield, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle before ending with a special Royal Command performance.
The Pop Idols will perform in front of the Prince of Wales at a concert in aid of The Prince’s Trust on April 6.
