James Arthur’s X Factor winner’s single has become the fastest selling ever in the show’s history, beating X Factor heavy weights Alexandra Burke and Leona Lewis.

The official first day sales figures for the download version have been released by The Official Charts Company ahead of the song’s physical CD release on 11th December and shows that the Impossible has sold over 187,000 downloads.

The previous holder of the title was 2008 winner Alexandra Burke with her song Hallelujah which managed to shift 147,000 copies of the song in its first day of release.

In comparison, last year’s winners Little Mix’s song Cannonball only sold 69,000 copies on its first day of release.

James still has a little way to go before he matches the sales of the biggest selling X Factor winner’s song in its first week. That title belongs to the 2005 winner Shayne Ward who managed to sell a cool 742,000 in the first week of its release.

Martin Talbot, Managing Director of The Official Charts Company commented saying: "There has been a lot said about X Factor's popularity this year and questions have been raised that perhaps its momentum is beginning to wane.

"But this amazing opening performance by James Arthur suggests that it remains the pre-eminent launch pad for new artists. Whether Arthur will match Shayne Ward's 2005 total, only time will tell – but he has a fantastic chance."

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