Pop Idol winner Will Young has conceded his number one
spot to his rival Gareth Gates days before the official chart is revealed.
Young has held on to the top of the chart for three weeks
with his debut double A-side Evergreen/ Anything but the huge sales of Gates'
Unchained Melody look certain to topple him.
Posing for photographs, Young handed over a baton to
symbolise losing the coveted chart position.
The continued domination of the Pop Idol stars came as US
network Fox secured the rights to screen an American version of the talent
show.
Gates' single was released on Monday and day one saw him
sell 328,000 copies, according to unofficial figures.
Although this did not beat the first day sales of Young it
should prove more than enough to secure Gates a number one hit.
But chart experts are still finding it difficult to
predict whether Gates' total sales will eclipse Young's fastest selling record
achievement of 1.1m, set in its first week.