Cheryl Cole has made the decision to delay the release of her second single until after Christmas. This means it will avoid a chart battle with the winner of The X Factor, according to reports.

The X Factor judge is to release `3 Words’ a week after the X Factor single, but will still have to compete against the winner of the show for the first number one of the New Year.

A source told The Sun: “Cheryl and the record label decided to put the next single out after Christmas.

“The X Factor winner is always one of the biggest hits of the year and Cheryl will have a tough job toppling it.”

They added: “She really is the most popular popstar in the UK at the moment, but nothing can compare to the support the X Factor single always gets.”

However, HMV chart expert Gennaro Castaldo has said that Cheryl may still find it hard work to reach number one.

He told the newspaper: “Whoever wins The X Factor claims the Christmas number one spot and can look forward to a run at the top that lasts well into the new year.

“But if anyone can stop the X Factor bandwagon it’s Cheryl Cole.

“Cheryl’s already topping HMV’s books and calendar charts, and her album is doing really well in the top ten also.”

He added: “The one thing that might count against Cheryl is a lot of fans already own this song having bought her album.

“So we’d say the odds are likely to remain stacked in favour of the X Factor winner to be the first number one of 2010.”

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