EXCLUSIVE: Brit wrestler Joe Hendry has told Taylor Swift to ‘have a week off’ as he mounts one last push for the No 1 spot on this week’s UK charts with his viral I Believe in Joe Hendry
Joe Hendry could have a UK No 1 on his hands (Image: IMPACT WRESTLING)
British wrestler Joe Hendry has told Taylor Swift to “have a week off” as his viral song could top the UK charts.
The former Impact Wrestling Digital Media Champion has his eye on the No 1 spot and rallied fans in a wild push for chart dominance. Hendry has already claimed the top spot on iTunes in the UK but one final push could see him become the first chart-topping professional wrestler.
The British Senior Championship wrestling gold medalist beat Sabrina Carpenter, Teddy Swims and Hozier to make his I Believe in Joe Hendry tune the best-selling song in the UK, and now the Edinburgh-born wrestler is telling Taylor Swift to step aside.
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Can it Taylor! The top spot is in arm’s reach of professional wrestler Joe Hendry (Image: Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Speaking to the Daily Star, Hendry said: “I think Taylor Swift and Hozier deserve a week off and I’m more than than happy and willing to send them off on holiday.
“They can have it back in a week’s time. But you know what, I think they should let Joe Hendry have that top spot for a week. Let’s make some history.”
If the TNA alumni makes it to No 1 it will be the first time in chart history a professional wrestler has claimed the top spot. The highest charting song from any wrestler so far is the 1992 nostalgia bait of Slam Jam which featured the likes of British Bulldog and Bret “The Hitman” Hart.
Hendry’s viral track has already topped the best-selling UK iTunes chart (Image: joehendry/Instagram)
Slam Jam peaked at number four in the charts but Hendry is pushing for No 1 after seeing the massive fan reaction to the tune. “I had a bunch of tweets telling me that I’d got into the iTunes charts and I thought, ‘no way’,” he said.
“I had a look and I got to number 20 on the UK charts and I was just over the moon with that. I tweeted it out and then fans all over the world started to get behind it and push it even further. It’s number two in Ireland, number one in Malta, two in Bahrain. It peaked at number six on the US iTunes charts, which is insane for a professional wrestler and Scottish artist.”
It is not just about a chart-topping victory for potential history-maker Hendry but “karma” for Bono and U2’s infamous iPhone antics of 2014. He wrote on Twitter: “Me outselling U2 is karma for them pre-installing their music on my iPhone.”
Taylor Swift had been a shoo-in for chart dominance after the release of The Tortured Poet’s Department (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
The Irish rock outfit caused a stir when their 2014 album, Songs of Innocence, was downloaded to Apple devices whether its user wanted it or not. Hendry has Bono in his sights and says the pair are “not square yet.”
“I don’t know if justice will ever be served for Bono putting his music on my phone without me wanting it there. I might need to do a couple more releases until we’re even, but Bono, we’re not square yet.”
With the final chart ranking set for release tomorrow (Friday, May 3), Hendry has thanked the fans for “a lot of fun” in seeing the viral song rise up the charts. He is not the only wrestler to have dabbled in music as the likes of John Cena, Hulk Hogan and Chris Jericho all trying their hand at expressing themselves through song, though none were as successful as gold medallist Hendry.
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