Sak Noel’s hugely-successful continental hit Loca People is facing a close battle to top this coming weekend’s UK singles chart with the Goo Goo Dolls classic Iris after the 1998 song was covered on The X Factor.

The 3 Beat/All Around The World single Loca People, whose pre-release demand was demonstrated by a cover version entering the chart last Sunday, is presently around 3,000 sales ahead of the Warner Bros issued Iris, according to the Official Charts Company.

Iris has been a steady seller since its release 13 years ago, having clocked up more than 300,000 UK sales, although it has never charted higher than number 26. However, that will now change after X Factor contestant Frankie Cocozza was seen performing it on last Sunday’s show. It is placed at two on the newly-announced sales flashes, some 3,000 units ahead of A&M/Octone’s Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera single Moves Like Jagger.

AATW/Island act Dappy’s No Regrets, which debuted at one on last Sunday’s chart, is the fourth best seller of the new chart week, while Syco’s One Direction have slipped 3-5 in the week so far with What Makes You Beautiful.

Just behind One Direction in sixth place is Island signing James Morrison’s I Won’t Let You Go, but more significantly for him is that he is heading for a second UK number one album. First topping the chart in 2006 with debut Undiscovered, Morrison has a lead at this stage of the week of around 8,500 sales thanks to his newly-issued third album The Awakening. Columbia’s Kasabian are second with Velociraptor, having debuted at one last Sunday, while Asylum/Atlantic’s Ed Sheeran drops a place to three with +.

Morrison’s album is currently joined by three other newly-released albums among the Top 10 positions, led in fourth place by Neighborhoods, the first studio album in eight years by Island’s Blink 182. Roadrunner act Mastodon are eighth with The Hunter, while a place ahead of it Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon is readying another spell in the Top 10.

The 1973 classic is proving to be by far the most popular of EMI’s Floyd re-issues with the next best seller, Wish You Were Here, currently the 47th biggest album of the week. Also showing up presently in the Top 75 positions are Discovery (58th place), Animals (62), Meddle (67) and The Wall (74).

A very busy week for new albums could also see Top 40 entries this Sunday from A&M/Polydor’s Nicola Roberts, a Provogue label pairing of Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart, K Scope’s Steve Wilson, Wilco with their first Anti album since leaving Warner, Columbia/Roc Nation’s J Cole and Portobello’s Death In Vegas. A Warner Bros Goo Goo Dolls best of, meanwhile, is the week’s 40th top seller as it benefits from the X Factor cover of Iris.