Last updated at 12:44, Wednesday, 23 December 2009

FORGET about Joe McElderry and Rage Against The Machine – Prudhoe has its own contender for the Christmas number one slot. Andrew Hart (18), who lives at Castlefields, has written, recorded and produced a video for a feel-good festive hit.

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It’s Christmas has become a runaway internet sensation, attracting over 200,000 views during its first two weeks on the video website, YouTube.
Its success also earned it a slot on the American technology programme, Attack of the Show.

“It’s been an absolute shock,” said Andrew, who studies film, media and ITC at Newcastle College.
“On the first day, it got something like 1,000 views and I was delighted with that.
“On the second it had 4,000. Then it was 10,000 and it grew from there.
“It’s spreading so quickly because people are passing the link around and posting it on Facebook.”

One of the song’s greatest strengths is its quirky, often peculiar lyrics.
“Christmas is the greatest time of year/But to enjoy it most we need to get out of bed,” observes Andrew in the opening lines.
The listener is also implored to “Talk about it in the present tense/‘Cause soon you will open your pres-ents”.
Video-wise, it is an unparalleled treat, with Andrew working his vocal magic in various computer-generated scenes, at one point singing close-up in a Santa hat, at another suited and reading the weather (lots of snow and no rain, in case anyone’s interested).
Andrew, a regular YouTuber with an interest in film-making, took eight days to create the masterpiece, mixing his old-fashioned skills as a keyboard player with a knowledge of special effects and music software.

His efforts have earned him local as well as international praise – Prudhoe High School staff have played the video on a big screen, and invited their former student to perform at an end-of-year play.
The song could also be start of a lucrative career – Andrew is now classed as a YouTube partner, generating revenue through advertisements on his page, and has made It’s Christmas available for download at around 60p.

“The money from the adverts isn’t going to be life-changing,” he admitted.
“And I don’t think the sales I’ll make will get me to number one.
“But I’m happy to see the number of people watching the video going up and I’ll see where it goes.
“It was supposed to be a one-off, but since it’s gone down so well, I might make other songs from time to time.”

First published at 12:41, Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk