One Direction, JLS join 'X Factor' charity single

One Direction and JLS will star on this year's X Factor charity single, it has been revealed.

Simon Cowell is said to have asked the bands, both previous X Factor finalists, to sing on the cover of Rose Royce's 1978 hit 'Wishing on a Star'.

He was apparently concerned that this year's "average" contestants weren't enough to ensure the song becomes a chart success and so added established artists for the first time.

An insider told The Sun: "Simon and the other Syco execs want huge sales this year and weren't sure the contestants would get that on their own.

"Now they'll be using One Direction and JLS's combined fanbase to sell the song. It's a no-brainer and is bound to be a huge seller now."

A spokesman confirmed: "As Simon has a personal involvement in this year's charity he has asked two of the country's biggest acts to make this year's X Factor charity single the biggest of the year.

"He asked One Direction and JLS to sing on the track to give the song something extra special - and encourage all their fans to buy the single and raise lots of money for the charity."

Previous X Factor charity singles - 'Hero' in 2008, 'You Are Not Alone' in 2009 and 'Heroes' last year - have all reached number one.

'Wishing on a Star' is due to be released on November 20 and all proceeds will go to ACT & Children's Hospices UK.

JLS will perform on the X Factor results show on Sunday, while One Direction will appear the following weekend.

TOWIE hope to beat X Factor winner to Christmas number 1 with charity tune

WHILE The X Factor contestants are worried about who their returning competitor will be this Saturday, we think they ought to be more concerned about their Christmas number 1 rivals.

The TOWIE lot are set to give the winning act a run for their money when they release the Wham hit, Last Christmas on December 18.

And with the likes of James Argent and Jessica Wright on board, they’ll have some serious competition.

Arg is famed for flexing his vocal chords on the Essex-based show and I’m A Celeb star Mark Wright’s sister even did a stint in the girlband Lola.

Ladbrokes have given the cast odds of 6/1 to win, and with X Factor front-runner Marcus Collins the current favourite to take the top spot at 3/1, it looks like TOWIE are closing in on Nirvana’s [4/1] campaign to deny the talent show the coveted chart position.

The cast members have also recorded their own unique version of The Only Way Is Up for the B-side.

Well we’ll definitely be buying it, how about you?