'I was a little bit annoyed': Mark
Ronson was forced to put his new single Uptown Funk out early after
Fleur East performed the song on The X Factor and her cover was released
as a digital download
Star power: Simon Cowell raved about
Fleur East's cover, declaring that it was one of the show's best ever
performances and marked the moment she became a true star
Simon Cowell branded her version of Uptown Funk one of the best things he'd ever heard on the show.
And
while X Factor runner-up Fleur East was able to cement her star status
thanks to her rendition of the previously-unheard tune, which shot
straight to the top of the iTunes chart, Mark Ronson wasn't too
impressed with the ITV show for ruining his plans for a January
unveiling.
The
DJ was forced to bring forward the song's release date when he realised
the talent show contestant's cover version was also going to be
released as a single.
Success: The ITV competition's runner-up can boast that she's already had a number one song
The musician famously made an album of cover songs, so he joked that he has no right to complain.
And the rush release has clearly worked since the star scored his first UK number one with the song.
The record sold 118,000 copies between Monday evening and midnight on Saturday.
Back in the race: Mark's move worked
and he's now a likely contender to score the coveted Christmas number
one spot instead of X Factor winner Ben Haenow
Mark's
upbeat track, which features Bruno Mars, is now a hot contender in the
race for Christmas number one, just 23,000 copies behind X Factor winner
Ben Haenow's debut single.
'I
almost feel guilty, maybe we can do a remix with a few Christmas words
in there in time…', Mark joked at the prospect of stealing the Croydon
van driver's glory.
Fleur,
who was the bookies' favourite for the win before Ben scooped the crown
during Sunday night's live final, earned high praise from the judges
and viewers alike for her performance of Uptown Funk.
Winning moment: Ben Haenow was congratulated by Dermot O'Leary (left) and Simon Cowell (right)