Music
John Lewis Advert, Labrinth and the 2025 Christmas Number One
The John Lewis advert made Labrinth’s Where Love Lives a Christmas Number One contender at 3/1, but Kylie Minogue’s XMAS took the 2025 crown, beating Wham!’s Last Christmas.
Last Updated 2 hours ago
Outcome: Kylie Minogue’s XMAS won the 2025 Christmas Number One, ending Wham!’s two-year reign. Labrinth’s Where Love Lives did not top the chart.
The John Lewis Christmas advert had only just dropped when its emotional new soundtrack started shaking up the festive betting markets, writes Dave James.
Bookies slashed the odds on Labrinth’s version of Where Love Lives becoming the 2025 Christmas Number One, cutting it from 25/1 to just 3/1 after an explosion of online searches, Shazams and playlist adds within hours of the ad’s release.
The advert, titled “Where Love Lives,” told the touching story of a dad and his son who find their way back to each other through the gift of music, built on the insight that, as a nation, we often struggle to express how we feel, but at Christmas something in us wants to try.
At the emotional heart of the film was a reimagined version of Alison Limerick’s 1990s house anthem Where Love Lives, slowed down, stripped back and rebuilt by Labrinth into a soulful reflection on connection, nostalgia and love. Within hours it was trending across TikTok, YouTube and Spotify.
Labrinth’s Where Love Lives odds
| Market | Odds |
|---|---|
| To be 2025 Christmas Number One | 3/1 |
| To reach UK Top 10 | 5/1 |
| Labrinth’s Where Love Lives to reach UK Top 40 | 6/1 |
Dave James, spokesperson for What Are The Odds, said:
“Every year a John Lewis soundtrack becomes the emotional heartbeat of Christmas, but Labrinth’s version feels like a genuine contender for Number One. It bridges generations with a track that’s both nostalgic and deeply moving.”
In a nod to the original, John Lewis released both versions of Where Love Lives on an exclusive black 12″ vinyl, available only in-store. Side A featured Alison Limerick’s club classic, while Side B showcased Labrinth’s reimagined version from the advert.
The Christmas Number One market
Despite Labrinth’s late charge, it was Wham! who remained firm favourites at 1/2 with Last Christmas, the seasonal juggernaut that finally claimed its first Christmas Number One in 2023, nearly four decades after its release, and repeated the feat in 2024.
| Artist / Song | Odds |
|---|---|
| Wham! – Last Christmas | 1/2 |
| KPop Demon Hunters | 2/1 |
| Labrinth – Where Love Lives | 3/1 |
| Ed Sheeran | 4/1 |
| Sabrina Carpenter | 6/1 |
| Taylor Swift – The Fate of Ophelia | 8/1 |
| LadBaby | 10/1 |
| Sidemen | 12/1 |
How it played out
In the end the market was confounded by a late entrant. Kylie Minogue’s XMAS, an Amazon Music exclusive, surged to the top to claim the 2025 Christmas Number One, ending Wham!’s two-year reign in a closely fought race. Labrinth’s Where Love Lives, for all the John Lewis buzz, did not reach the summit.
From Lily Allen’s Somewhere Only We Know to Aurora’s Half the World Away, John Lewis has a rich history of turning its adverts into chart-topping moments, even if 2025 belonged to Kylie. More market-led music coverage sits in the site’s music odds, including the 2025 Mercury Prize odds.
