Simon Cowell said he was "gutted" at losing the battle for Christmas number one as Rage Against The Machine beat X Factor winner Joe McElderry in the fight for the top spot.
The rap metal act saw their expletive-ridden 1992 hit Killing in the Name sell 500,000 copies in one week and become the first ever Christmas number one that was available only through downloads.
McElderry's The Climb chalked up sales of 450,000, meaning a bonanza week for record company Sony and retailers.
The 18-year-old took his defeat graciously, saying: "Fair play to the guys who have organised the Facebook campaign - it's been exciting to be part of a much-hyped battle and they definitely deserve congratulations."
Thanking all the fans who bought his single, he went on: "This time last year I never thought for one minute that I'd win The X Factor, never mind about having a debut single out, so I'm just delighted to be in the charts.
"It's been such an incredible couple of months and I got the best Christmas gift I could ever have asked for in winning The X Factor."
Cowell offered his congratulations to the couple behind the campaign, Jon and Tracy Morter.
He said: "I am gutted for Joe because a number one single meant a lot to him but I have to congratulate Jon and Tracy, who started the Facebook campaign.
"I called Jon on Saturday to congratulate the two of them that, win or lose, they turned this into a very exciting race for the Christmas number one. I am proud of Joe - he worked really hard this week, but he has a great year ahead of him."
Zack de la Rocha from Rage Against the Machine said the band were "very ecstatic".
He went on: "It says more about the spontaneous action taken by young people throughout the UK to topple this very sterile pop monopoly and less about the song and the band. We are very proud to have had the song chosen as the vehicle by which to do this."
A "large portion" of the proceeds from the single will go to homeless charity Shelter, de la Rocha said.
He added: "We would like to congratulate Joe and Simon for having the number two single in the Christmas charts."
Official Charts Company managing director Martin Talbot said: "In taking the number two spot, (Joe) has still achieved one of the highest weekly sales of any single this year - in almost any other year, 450,000 copies would have given him the Christmas number one.
"Through this week, these two tracks have accounted for more than 950,000 single sales, a fact which is truly remarkable."
The past four Christmas number ones were by X Factor winners; Alexandra Burke's version of Hallelujah last year was one of the biggest selling festive singles ever.
Cowell kept a hold on the album chart as Susan Boyle's I Dreamed A Dream remained at the top spot for a fourth week.
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© Press Association