James Arthur's Impossible is the UK's latest million selling single

OfficialCharts.com can exclusively reveal that 2012 X Factor winner James Arthur’s Impossible has now sold over a million copies in the UK.

According to this morning’s Official Charts Company sales data, James Arthur’s Impossible has broken through the million copies sales barrier. As of Sunday (January 6) the 2012 X Factor winner’s debut single had sold 970,000 copies in the UK after just four weeks on sale. However, at midnight last night, Impossible had sold an additional 32,500 copies this week to take it over the million milestone.

Comments Martin Talbot, the Official Charts Company’s Managing Director:

"Hitting the million mark in around a month is a fantastic achievement for James Arthur. X Factor winners often score strong first week sales, but to push through to the million mark so quickly is truly impressive."

In the entire history of the UK’s Official Singles Chart, there have only been 126 singles which have sold over a million copies or more. Now Impossible takes that total to 127.

When the Official Singles Chart celebrated its 50th birthday back in 2002, only 76 singles had reached this sales landmark. But, with the advent of digital downloading, the number of the UK's million selling singles has dramatically increased in the subsequent 10 years; In 2012 alone, nine singles reached the million copies milestone, including two that were released during that calendar year (Gotye FT Kimbra’s Somebody That I Used To Know and Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe).

Impossible, which is a cover of a track released by Bajan singer Shontelle in 2010, is now the fourth biggest selling debut single by an X Factor artist in the history of the reality TV show. By Sunday, it is expected that Impossible will overtake the sales tally of When We Collide by 2010 winner Matt Cardle and join Shayne Ward’s That’s My Goal (Number 2), and 2008’s winner Alexandra Burke’s Hallelujah in the show’s all-time Top 3 biggest selling debuts.

The full list of the UK’s 127 million selling singles is as follows:

The Million Sellers

	TITLE	ARTIST	YEAR OF RELEASE
1	SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT/CANDLE IN THE WIND 97	ELTON JOHN	1997
2	DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?	BAND AID	1984
3	BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY	QUEEN	1975
4	MULL OF KINTYRE/GIRLS' SCHOOL	WINGS	1977
5	YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT	JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN	1978
6	RIVERS OF BABYLON/BROWN GIRL IN THE RING	BONEY M	1978
7	RELAX	FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD	1983
8	SHE LOVES YOU	THE BEATLES	1963
9	UNCHAINED MELODY/(THERE'LL BE BLUEBIRDS OVER) THE WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER	ROBSON GREEN & JEROME FLYNN	1995
10	LOVE IS ALL AROUND	WET WET WET	1994
11	MARY'S BOY CHILD/OH MY LORD	BONEY M	1978
12	I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU	STEVIE WONDER	1984
13	BARBIE GIRL	AQUA	1997
14	ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE/EVERGREEN	WILL YOUNG	2002
15	I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND	THE BEATLES	1963
16	BELIEVE	CHER	1998
17	(EVERYTHING I DO) I DO IT FOR YOU	BRYAN ADAMS	1991
18	LAST CHRISTMAS/EVERYTHING SHE WANTS	WHAM!	1984
19	IMAGINE	JOHN LENNON	1975
20	SUMMER NIGHTS	JOHN TRAVOLTA & OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN	1978
21	TWO TRIBES	FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD	1984
22	I'LL BE MISSING YOU	PUFF DADDY & FAITH EVANS	1997
23	PERFECT DAY	VARIOUS ARTISTS	1997
24	DON'T YOU WANT ME?	HUMAN LEAGUE	1981
25	CAN'T BUY ME LOVE	THE BEATLES	1964
26	I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU	WHITNEY HOUSTON	1992
27	THREE LIONS	BADDIEL & SKINNER & LIGHTNING SEEDS	1996
28	TEARS	KEN DODD	1965
29	...BABY ONE MORE TIME	BRITNEY SPEARS	1999
30	MY HEART WILL GO ON	CELINE DION	1998
31	KARMA CHAMELEON	CULTURE CLUB	1983
32	YMCA	VILLAGE PEOPLE	1978
33	CARELESS WHISPER	GEORGE MICHAEL	1984
34	(WE'RE GONNA) ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK	BILL HALEY & HIS COMETS	1955
35	I FEEL FINE	THE BEATLES	1964
36	THE CARNIVAL IS OVER	THE SEEKERS	1965
37	GANGSTA'S PARADISE	COOLIO FEATURING L.V.	1995
38	EYE OF THE TIGER	SURVIVOR	1982
39	THE POWER OF LOVE	JENNIFER RUSH	1985
40	WE CAN WORK IT OUT/DAY TRIPPER	THE BEATLES	1964
41	RELEASE ME	ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK	1967
42	SOMEONE LIKE YOU	ADELE	2011
43	KILLING ME SOFTLY	FUGEES	1996
44	UNCHAINED MELODY	GARETH GATES	2002
45	WANNABE	SPICE GIRLS	1996
46	(IS THIS THE WAY TO) AMARILLO	TONY CHRISTIE FT PETER KAY	2005
47	NEVER EVER	ALL SAINTS	1997
48	COME ON EILEEN	DEXY'S MIDNIGHT RUNNERS	1982
49	THINK TWICE	CELINE DION	1994
50	I GOTTA FEELING	BLACK EYED PEAS	2009
51	IT WASN'T ME	SHAGGY FEATURING RIKROK	2001
52	SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW	GOTYE FT KIMBRA	2012
53	TAINTED LOVE	SOFT CELL	1981
54	HEART OF GLASS	BLONDIE	1979
55	MOVES LIKE JAGGER	MAROON 5 FEATURING CHRISTINA AGUILERA	2011
56	WONDERWALL	OASIS	1995
57	IT'S NOW OR NEVER	ELVIS PRESLEY	1960
58	DIANA	PAUL ANKA	1957
59	IT'S LIKE THAT	RUN-D.M.C. VS JASON NEVINS	1997
60	HALLELUJAH	ALEXANDRA BURKE	2008
61	GREEN, GREEN GRASS OF HOME	TOM JONES	1966
62	SEX ON FIRE	KINGS OF LEON	2008
63	BRIGHT EYES	ART GARFUNKEL	1979
64	MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY	SLADE	1973
65	HEARTBEAT/TRAGEDY	STEPS	1998
66	MARY'S BOY CHILD	HARRY BELAFONTE	1957
67	THE LAST WALTZ	ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK	1967
68	EARTH SONG	MICHAEL JACKSON	1995
69	DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?	BAND AID 20	2004
70	BLUE MONDAY	NEW ORDER	1983
71	STRANGER ON THE SHORE	MR ACKER BILK AND HIS PARAMOUNT JAZZ BAND	1961
72	DON'T GIVE UP ON US	DAVID SOUL	1976
73	CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD	KYLIE MINOGUE	2001
74	I LOVE YOU LOVE ME LOVE	GARY GLITTER	1973
75	SPACEMAN	BABYLON ZOO	1996
76	SATURDAY NIGHT	WHIGFIELD	1994
77	WE FOUND LOVE	RIHANNA FEATURING CALVIN HARRIS	2011
78	NO MATTER WHAT	BOYZONE	1998
79	JUST THE WAY YOU ARE (AMAZING)	BRUNO MARS	2010
80	PARTY ROCK ANTHEM	LMFAO FEATURING LAUREN BENNETT AND GOONROCK	2011
81	I BELIEVE/UP ON THE ROOF	ROBSON & JEROME	1995
82	ANGELS	ROBBIE WILLIAMS	1997
83	HIT ME WITH YOUR RHYTHM STICK	IAN DURY AND THE BLOCKHEADS	1978
84	TELETUBBIES SAY "EH-OH!"	TELETUBBIES	1997
85	2 BECOME 1	SPICE GIRLS	1996
86	TORN	NATALIE IMBRUGLIA	1997
87	POKER FACE	LADY GAGA	2009
88	I REMEMBER YOU	FRANK IFIELD	1962
89	THAT'S MY GOAL	SHAYNE WARD	2005
90	GHOSTBUSTERS	RAY PARKER JR.	1984
91	CALL ME MAYBE	CARLY RAE JEPSEN	2012
92	PURE AND SIMPLE	HEAR'SAY	2001
93	ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (PART 2)	PINK FLOYD	1979
94	BACK FOR GOOD	TAKE THAT	1995
95	BLUE (DA BA DEE)	EIFFEL 65	1999
96	PRICE TAG	JESSIE J FEATURING B.O.B	2011
97	HEY JUDE	THE BEATLES	1968
98	THE YOUNG ONES	CLIFF RICHARD & THE SHADOWS	1962
99	DANCING QUEEN	ABBA	1976
100	I FEEL LOVE	DONNA SUMMER	1977
101	LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE	EMINEM FEATURING RIHANNA	2010
102	FAME	IRENE CARA	1982
103	RIDE ON TIME	BLACK BOX	1989
104	ONLY GIRL (IN THE WORLD)	RIHANNA	2010
105	UNCHAINED MELODY	THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS	1965
106	BLEEDING LOVE	LEONA LEWIS	2007
107	CRAZY	GNARLS BARKLEY	2006
108	STAND & DELIVER	ADAM AND THE ANTS	1981
109	I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING	AEROSMITH	1998
110	CAN WE FIX IT?	BOB THE BUILDER	2000
111	UPTOWN GIRL	BILLY JOEL	1983
112	I WILL SURVIVE	GLORIA GAYNOR	1979
113	SAILING	ROD STEWART	1975
114	SUGAR SUGAR	THE ARCHIES	1969
115	SAVE YOUR KISSES FOR ME	BROTHERHOOD OF MAN	1976
116	I'D LIKE TO TEACH THE WORLD TO SING	THE NEW SEEKERS	1971
117	WHITE CHRISTMAS	BING CROSBY WITH THE KEN DARBY SINGERS AND JOHN SCOTT TROTTER ORCHESTRA	1942
118	DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA	JULIE COVINGTON	1976
119	THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT	TIGHT FIT	1982
120	EYE LEVEL	THE SIMON PARK ORCHESTRA	1972
121	LONG HAIRED LOVER FROM LIVERPOOL	LITTLE JIMMY OSMOND	1972
122	UNDER THE MOON OF LOVE	SHOWADDYWADDY	1976
123	TIE A YELLOW RIBBON ROUND THE OLE OAK TREE	DAWN FEATURING TONY ORLANDO	1973
124	WHEN WE COLLIDE	MATT CARDLE	2010
125	FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE	CHERYL COLE	2009
126	FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK	THE POGUES FT KIRSTY MACCOLL	1987
127	IMPOSSIBLE	JAMES ARTHUR	2012