Xander Rawlins
He has served on the front line in Afghanistan as a Platoon Commander in the Grenadier Guards, and industry experts are now tipping Captain Xander Rawlins to upset the odds in the race to the Xmas No.1 single.
The 25 year old has just returned from Afghanistan where he wrote his moving debut single, ‘1000 Miles Apart’, due for release on December 13th. And the Captain – who is currently serving with the Grenadier Guards outside Buckingham Palace - has discovered that he has been marked out as a genuine top spot contender:
“If anyone can challenge the might of Simon Cowell and the X Factor, then it may well be an artist from this background…we can see the beautiful '1000 Miles Apart' as a potential dark horse for the Christmas No.1." said Gennaro Castaldo, Head of Communications at HMV.
Xander’s amazing story will be told and his song and video played on ITV London Tonight, Sky News, BBC Radio 4 – which will all air this week (1st Dec) and This Morning will air the week of release.
YouTube hits for the video have gone through the roof. Featuring groundbreaking footage he shot himself while in Helmand, this footage has now been commissioned by the BBC to be part of a flagship documentary in Spring 2011. Click HERE to view the video.
William Hill has offered odds of 25-1 on the single reaching the top spot. Rupert Adams, a spokesman for the bookmaker said "We believe that a forces related song is the most likely song to beat the X Factor for the Xmas No. 1 and Xander fits the bill big time!”