Facebook strikes again!

From Canoe.ca

LONDON – A grass-roots Facebook campaign has spoiled American Idol mogul Simon Cowell’s Christmas by denying one of his new acts the prestigious Christmas No. 1 spot in Britain.

Thanks to a Facebook campaign that capitalized on growing unhappiness with Cowell’s cookie-cutter approach to pop stardom, the antiestablishment Rage Against the Machine came out ahead of Joe McElderry, winner of Cowell’s popular “X Factor” TV competition.

The upset for the heavily favoured McElderry represents a setback for Cowell, who has made millions on both sides of the Atlantic for his roles in “American Idol,” “X Factor,” “Britain’s Got Talent” and other productions.

Rage Against the Machine finished first with a surge of support for their 1992 hit “Killing in the Name,” which became the first Christmas No. 1 in Britain supported only by downloads.

The Facebook campaign was organized by an English couple Jon and Tracy Morter in a concerted effort to break Cowell’s recent stranglehold on the holiday No. 1 song, a traditional source of status and bragging rights inside Britain.

“Rage Against the Machine was built for moments like this,” the band’s guitarist Tom Morello told The Associated Press. “We are honoured to have the song that liberated the U.K. pop chart.”

“Killing In The Name” surged in the last days of the competition to sell more than 500,000 copies in the past week, compared with sales of 450,000 for McElderry’s single. It also set a record for most downloads in a single week. Morello said the band would donate the profits to the British homeless charity Shelter.

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That rocks jingle bells!