According to the Daily Star, the twelve X Factor finalists are going to launch a joint bid for a No1 single.

The paper says that the twelve remaining acts have secretly recorded a single, which is due out this month, and Simon Cowell has insisted that all proceeds should go to charity.

.The track is apparently a cover version of Mariah Carey’s Hero and 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 go straight to the No1 spot which means every one of the final twelve acts will be chart-toppers.

A show insider said, “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.”

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

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