As expected, Simon Cowell's Haiti charity single, a cover of REM's "Everybody Hurts", has topped the British charts this week.

The single, which features X Factor winners Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke, Britain's Got Talent breakout Susan Boyle, and established artists such as Kylie Minogue, Rod Stewart, Mariah Carey, Robbie Williams and Take That, sold over 453,000 copies in its first week alone.

That makes the song the fastest selling charity single since 2000. Previously, a cover of the Mariah Carey song "Hero", recorded by X Factor finalists in 2008, held the record. "Everybody Hurts" has also ended the weeks-long dominance of Owl City's "Fireflies" on the charts, and has also kept songs from Timbaland, Alicia Keys and the cast of Glee at bay.
 
"The public have clearly taken the plight of the Haitian people to heart," Martin Talbot, from the Official Charts Company, which is in charge of tabulating the UK official charts, said. "This record is huge."

The record, which was recorded in Los Angeles and London, benefits the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella group composed of 13 different British charities, and the Helping Haiti campaign mounted by the Sun newspaper.


(Image courtesy of Syco Music)