HAS DAME VERA GOT THE XMAS FACTOR?

Friday November 6 2009 byNicola McCafferty for Express.co.uk

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NATIONAL treasure Dame Vera Lynn is going head-to-head with The X Factor for the Christmas number one.

The "Forces Sweetheart" has released a new version of her wartime hit We'll Meet Again along with a recording of White Christmas and is gearing up for a showdown with the show's winner.

But while facing the likes of singing powerhouse Stacey Solomon or terrible twins John and Edward Grimes might rattle some, Dame Vera is taking it all in her stride.

The 92-year-old says: “I’m amazed this is possible. It’s wonderful.”

In fact Dame Vera has got her own secret weapon to combat all the advice Simon Cowell will be giving the winner: a 60-piece choir behind her.

She is joining forces with the Fron Male Voice Choir, who will perform along with her original vocal.

The Forces Sweetheart will release her single at the same time as The X Factor winner

Dame Vera, who kept up the nation's spirits during the Second World War, has already made an incredible chart comeback this year.

The wartime sweetheart recently becoming the oldest artist to reach the top of the album chart with her greatest hits collection, We’ll Meet Again: The Very Best Of Vera Lynn.

She was just 22 when she recorded the original in 1939, but cutting-edge studio techniques - previously used in movies - allow her voice to be isolated to perform with the choir.

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Her version was the very first UK recording, appearing on a Decca 78rpm release, which came out the same month as Bing Crosby’s famous performance.

Dame Vera's latest release, a double-A single which will also feature her wartime version of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, will be released on December 14 - the same day as the X Factor winner's single lands.

For the last few years winners of the ITV1 show have dominated the festive chart - with the likes of Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, Leon Jackson and Alexandra Burke all reaching the top spot.

Today the founder of Fron Choir gave his vote to Dame Vera, hailing her as his "sweetheart."

Dennis Williams said: “Vera was my sweetheart during the war, I was a young boy suffering from all the emotions of such a conflict. They dropped bombs in our lovely Vale of Llangollen.

“As kids we were scared running home from school with our gasmasks. To have someone sing beautiful songs of better times to come was just what we all wanted.”

Dame Vera will soon be seen as guest of honour at this year’s Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

We’ll Meet Again will be sung in her presence by Hayley Westenra who will also be backed by the Fron Male Voice Choir.