[jkp44]

THE X Factor finalists are launching an amazing joint bid for a No1 single, taking on Sugababes and Oasis.

The 12 wannabe acts have secretly recorded a single, out this month, and boss Simon Cowell insists all proceeds go to charity.

In a show first, all of the acts have secretly teamed up to record a charity single.


The disc, a cover version of Mariah Carey’s Hero, will be released later this month while the live shows are still running.


Show boss and record producer Simon Cowell, 48, is confident it will shoot to the No1 spot.


Which means every one of the final 12 acts will be a chart-topper.


A show insider explained: “It’s a genius idea. In the past, no-one has been allowed to release a song before the winner.


“But this year Simon has relaxed the rules and is releasing a single featuring all of the solo singers and groups.


“Not everyone who makes the live shows ends up with a record deal, so this is a real gift for them.


“It means the winner will then get another shot at being top of the charts and claiming the prized Christmas No1.”


Hero will be released in aid of the Army charity Help For Heroes. Mariah, 38, who scored a hit with the song in 1993, is due to be a special guest on the ITV show in the coming weeks.


Cowell and fellow judges Cheryl Cole, 25, Dannii Minogue, 36, and Louis Walsh, 56, will get their acts to perform songs by Mariah.


The live shows start next weekend, when the first special guest will be last year’s winner Leon Jackson, 19.