SITTING opposite me are three unlikely contenders for the Christmas No 1 spot. Ben, CJ and Patrick are ordinary young boys - they love football, they hate the Crazy Frog, and they're not keen on reading. What's different about them is that these young lads - 11-year-old CJ is the youngest - are The Choirboys, the first ever choirboy boy-band. What's more, CJ (Charles John Porter-Thaw) from Sheffield, Yorkshire-born Ben Inman, 12 and Patrick Aspbury, also 12, from Chelmsford, are in the running for the Christmas No 1 spot with a cover of Eric Clapton's Tears In Heaven. Their co-manager is a former choirboy himself - Llandegfan tenor Aled Jones, who has taught them how to cope with their new-found fame. "Working with Aled is very cool. He's very nice," says Ben.. "He gave us advice on voice control, and how it doesn't matter if you forget the words - just improvise.. Even if people do know the song, they won't know the words off by heart. "So as long as you add words that are related to the song, like you can't sing, 'We're walking in the air, we're floating in the moonlight dustbin'." "But we've never made a mistake. Never," adds Patrick.. Ben says: "The only thing we've made a mistake on is we've kind of paused on a word. We've got every word and every note right so far, so let's see how long we can do that for." While they have high hopes for their charity single (proceeds to the NSPCC), they face a tough rival in X-Factor winner Shane. But there is one act they hope will not grab the coveted spot. "People should think about what would happen if the Crazy Frog wins," says Ben.. "The man would be on stage doing bing-bing noises - and everyone would get bored." They're a bit nicer to their other rivals, Westlife. "They're better than the Crazy Frog. They're good," says Patrick.. "But we're better! We can sing what they can sing, but they can't sing what we can sing because we can sing higher than them," quips CJ.. And they already have plans on celebrating if they get the top spot. "We'll celebrate making tons of money for NSPCC by drinking a bottle of champagne," says Patrick.. So is singing something they wish to pursue? "I wouldn't mind singing for a long time," says Patrick.. "But I didn't mean to join the choir, I didn't even know what it was. I just went for an audition." Ben agrees: "I'd like to go to the Royal College of Music and study music - if I've still got a good voice!" All three boys are musically talented and play various instruments: they may be young, but The Choirboys are already tipped for the big time. Their self-titled debut album has already sold 250,000 in the UK. There are also rumours that they may be singing at Arsenal defender Ashley Cole and his fiancee Cheryl Tweedy's wedding. "We saw them the other day but we forgot to ask them," says Ben. "That would be so cool! I'm an Arsenal supporter as well," adds CJ. Responding to stories that they are too young to be famous, Ben simply says: "We don't think that far ahead. We'll wait until we are before we start worrying." The Choirboys' new single,, Tears In Heaven, is out now | 
