Despite all the melodramatic bad press around her recent TV performances, Cheryl Cole enjoyed the last laugh on Sunday when her new single 'Call My Name' shot to the iTunes No1 spot within 11 hours of release.
But her comfortable lead in the race to the official top spot in this week's rundown could be under threat with speculation surrounding the new Maroon 5 single.
'Payphone', which was performed on The Voice grand final and is not officially due for release until Sunday (June 17), could be made available early due to the rise in popularity of a copycat cash-in.
The clone, which calls itself a "tribute", is edging closer and closer to the Top 10 on the iTunes store, as fans of the American band refuse to wait until the official recording is made available.
It is not uncommon for record labels to have to resort to such drastic actions.
Flo Rida's 'Whistle', which was also not technically due for release until this weekend, had to be rush-released prematurely in the middle of last week after a copycat 'band' called Can You Blow My released an identical cover version that made it as far as the Top 20 on iTunes.
The first time money-grabbing imitators really rose to prominence was back in 2009 when David Guetta and Kelly Rowland's 'When Love Takes Over' had to be rushed forward in schedules thanks to a shameless replica.
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