Merry Christmas everybody

Merry Christmas, readers!

FantasyTOTP will be taking a two-week break over Christmas, since the real-world TOTP shows will make it redundant. If you enjoy them, make sure you come back to this blog in 2015 for year-round TOTP enjoyment.

In the meantime, here's a round-up of the most-featured TOTP performers of the year:

Five appearances: Vance Joy, John Legend, Becky Hill, Ellie Goulding, Katy Perry, Fuse ODG.

Six appearances: Idina Menzel, 5 Seconds of Summer, Pharrell Williams, Calvin Harris, Tinie Tempah, Coldplay.

Seven appearances: Paloma Faith, OneRepublic.

Nine appearances: Ella Henderson, One Direction.

Ten appearances: Jess Glynne.

Eleven appearances: George Ezra, Clean Bandit, Sam Smith.

A whopping FIFTEEN appearances: Ed Sheeran.

All hail King Ed, and a special well done as well to Clean Bandit, Jess Glynne and George Ezra who were unheard of in 2013 but have dominated the show this year.

Finally here are the all-time most featured friends of the show since FantasyTOTP started part way through last year:

1 Ed Sheeran (19 appearances)
2 One Direction (13)
= Sam Smith (13)
4 Ellie Goulding (12)
= OneRepublic (12)
6 Clean Bandit (11)
= George Ezra (11)
8 Pharrell Williams (10)
= Jess Glynne (10)
10 Calvin Harris (9)
= Ella Henderson (9)

See you next year!

Top of the Pops, 18th December 2014

It's the week before Christmas and the race for Christmas number 1 is too close to call. Two of the runners and riders are here in the form of Band Aid and Uptown Funk, although we can only show the video in both cases. It's also Wizzard's turn for a festive vault-dredging.

In non-festive action, metalcore gets a rare bit of TOTP representation in the form of Bring Me The Horizon, one of three new entries from three TOTP first-timers, and there is a barn-storming eighth appearance of the year from friends of the show and alarming chart yo-yos One Direction. Finally, George Ezra debuts single number 3, with a burst of Budapest thrown in as a bonus.

Debuts: KStewart, Fifth Harmony, Bring Me The Horizon, Mark Ronson.

Band Aid 30 - Do They Know Its Christmas?

Up 9 to number 3

George Ezra - Budapest / Listen To The Man

Up 6 to number 23 / Up 5 to number 41

Oliver Heldens ft. KStewart - Last All Night (Koala)

In at number 5

Fifth Harmony - Bo$$

In at number 21

Bring Me The Horizon - Drown

In at number 17

From the Vault: Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day

Up 17 to number 35

One Direction - Night Changes

High Climber - Up 12 to number 7

Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk

Straight in at number 1

PRESENTER: JB Gill

Top of the Pops, 11th December 2014

TOTP is starting to take on a best of 2014 feel. The year's success stories Ed, Ella, Calvin, Ellie and 1D are all here, and two of those combine long-lived hits with newies this week. Also, she's been in the chart for aaaages but now is finally the time for the international artist of the year Taylor Swift to make it into the studio. Welcome, your majesty.

Newer faces come in the form of Blonde ft. Melissa Steel and the highest chart placing yet from Union J. And the Christmas lorry trucks on: this week it's the Pogues.

Debut: Blonde (but not Melissa Steel).

Union J - You Got It All

Highest New Entry - In at number 2

Blonde ft. Melissa Steel - I Loved You

In at number 7

One Direction - Night Changes

Up 2 to number 19

Calvin Harris ft. Ellie Goulding - Outside

Up 1 to number 10

Ella Henderson - Yours / Ghost

Back in at number 16 / Up 6 to number 43

From the Vault: The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl - Fairytale of New York

Up 49 places to number 18

Taylor Swift - Blank Space

Up 4 to number 4

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud / Make It Rain

Up 3 to number 1 / In at number 38

PRESENTERS: Olly Murs dressed as Father Christmas and Nick Grimshaw dressed as an elf

Top of the Pops, 4th December 2014

It's an unusually left-field line-up this week. Sure, Take That are at number 1, but the other notable new entries come from an extraordinarily slow ballad (Labrinth) and an unprecedented pop-pop-punk supergroup (McBusted).

Lower down we have film music from James Newton Howard (with J-Law's vocals, played over a Hunger Games montage) and some tips for next year in Years and Years and James Bay. And the Christmas cheer starts here: we take the first of our annual digs into the festive vault and bring out Mariah Carey.

Debuts: McBusted, James Bay.

McBusted - Air Guitar

In at number 12

Sam Smith - Like I Can

Up 2 to number 15

James Newton Howard - The Hanging Tree

In at number 14

Years and Years - Desire

In at number 22

James Bay - Hold Back The River

In at number 18

From the Vault: Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

Up 16 to number 52

Labrinth - Jealous

In at number 7

Take That - These Days

Straight in at number 1

PRESENTERS: Duffy and Heidi Range dressed as reindeer

Top of the Pops, 27th November 2014

No surprise at the top of the charts as Band Aid process to the number 1 slot, pushing a couple of high quality contenders down to 2 and 3. We feature them all (though Band Aid is just the video), along with numerous other new entries. Hair gel fans will be pleased as it's a rare three boyband week, and One Direction's hydra of hits gets them featured for a very noteworthy fourth week in a row.

Debuts: Travie McCoy, Wretch 32.

Olly Murs ft. Travie McCoy - Wrapped Up

In at number 3

5 Seconds of Summer - Good Girls

Back in at number 23

David Guetta ft. Sam Martin - Dangerous

In at number 5

Wretch 32 - 6 Words

In at number 8

Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne - Real Love

In at number 2

Rixton - Wait On Me

In at number 12

One Direction - Night Changes

High Climber - Up 31 to number 23

Band Aid 30 - Do They Know It's Christmas

Straight in at number 1

PRESENTER: Duffy

Top of the Pops, 20th November 2014

One Direction's album has hit and there is no stopping them at the moment - they have a ton of singles climbing the chart and they appear for the third week in a row to bring us the highest-selling (and streaming) three of them.

Now in fine Jools Holland style, the other guests. From the American South! OneRepublic. From Australia! The Veronicas. From Ireland! Hozier. From Los Angeles! Kendrick Lamar. From Grimsby! Ella Henderson. From Magic FM! Sam Smith. And at number one it's the Children in Need record.

Debuts: Gareth Malone, Kendrick Lamar, the Veronicas

OneRepublic - I Lived

Up 1 to number 31

The Veronicas - You Ruin Me

In at number 8

Ella Henderson - Yours

In at number 46

Kendrick Lamar - i

In at number 20

Hozier - Take Me To Church

Up 9 to number 25

Sam Smith - Like I Can

In at number 9

One Direction - Steal My Girl / 18 / Where Do Broken Hearts Go?

Up 6 to number 3 / In at number 45 / In at number 47

Gareth Malone's All Star Choir - Wake Me Up

Straight in at number 1

PRESENTER: James Masterton

Top of the Pops, 13th November 2014

As chance would have it there are very few climbers in the chart this week, and some of the ones there are are by American artists who are unavailable. This gives us the chance to shine the spotlight on some smaller hits - including Joss Stone's song for Poppy Day, a coveted second consecutive TOTP for One Direction, and a special stripped back version of Overdrive from the talented Becky Hill.

Bucking the trend are Cheryl, who vaults all the way to the top, and a strong new entry for Calvin vs Ellie II. There's also room for more modestly placed newies from Tom Odell (welcome back) and the Script (er, hi guys).

Debuts: Joss Stone, Jeff Beck, Henry Krinkle.

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding - Outside

In at number 6

Joss Stone ft. Jeff Beck - No Man's Land (Green Fields of France)

In at number 49

Tom Odell - Real Love

In at number 21

One Direction - Ready to Run

In at number 44

The Script - No Good In Goodbye

In at number 26

Henry Krinkle - Stay

In at number 41

Becky Hill - Gecko (Overdrive)

Up 6 to number 45

Cheryl - I Don't Care

Straight in at number 1

PRESENTER: JB Gill