Pretty strong at the top!

Gwen/Robyn/Rihanna for top 3 pleaseee. Hope 'Toxic' doesn't win - horrendously overrated...and I'm quite a big Britney fan.

Britney or Rihanna for the win please, both are probably my personal top two songs ever!

10 - 29 Lily Allen 'The Fear' (29-10) (321 points)

UK #1

 

 

After a number one single and pretty successful debut album in 2006 Lily Allen's number follow-up was always going to be highly anticipated. She came back with The Fear, which was far more polished and grown up than than the vast majority of Alright, Still and it resulted in a four weeks stay at the top of the chart, something which wasn't to be replicated for quite some time. It has a successful second year here, entering at 29 last year but climbing into the top 10 this time around. Since her second album she's retired from music but I'm not sure if that decision still stands, I lose track!

09 - 08 Britney Spears 'Toxic' (06-06-01-04-08-09) (321 points)

UK #1

 

 

Continuing a perfect top 10 run, Britney Spears falls to her lowest position yet with Toxic, falling just a solitary place from last year. After announcing herself to the world in the late 1990s Britney had three number ones with her first four releases but then went through a bit of a dry patch over here, only once entering the top 3 with her next 8 singles. Comeback Me Against The Music with Madonna sent her back to the top 3 but it was the follow up four months later which were to give her a fourth number one. It's still as loved today as its ever been really, one of two most popular songs along with Baby One More Time.

08 - RE OutKast 'Hey Ya!' (13-135-X-X-X-08) (353 points)

UK #3

 

 

Released at the back end of 2003 this had modest success, entering the chart at #6 and dropping 16 places in its next four weeks but after Christmas this took a surge in popularity (well it is the perfect party track for NYE) climbing back into the top 10 and remaining there for nine weeks, in its 15th week on the chart it was in the same position it entered the chart, pretty unheard of back in the early part of the decade. It went on to become something of a classic and is still incredibly popular today, having racked up 400 radio plays in the last month. Its performance here has been shocking really, #13 in the first year of the competition it went on to plummet and didn't even feature in the individual rounds last year. But this year was nominated more than once and manages to reach the top 10. It's the highest placed song which didn't qualify for the final (it only finished 7th in its playoff!) and this is the highest a song has ever entered (either as a new or re-entry) that wasn't from the previous year.

 

07 - 03 Rihanna ft. Jay-Z 'Umbrella' (05-02-03-07) (354 points)

UK #1

 

 

In the summer of 2007 this song was completely unavoidable, it was even blamed for the poor summer weather in the country. Becoming the longest number one of the century spending a whole 10 weeks at the summit of the chart this song turned Rihanna from a popstar with reasonable commercial success to a superstar, one of the biggest artists on the planet. Despite never really having much of a break (it does feel like she's been constantly around since she emerged) she's managed to remain incredibly popular and people haven't really got that tired of her. However nothing she's done since has ever really managed to get close to matching the popularity of Umbrella. It's frightening to think how much this would've sold had the 2007 sales climate been similar to todays, it would be a million seller though for sure. Here it stays in the top 10 but exits the top 5 for the first time in its four years here.

06 - 26 Madonna 'Hung Up' (21-27-17-82-26-06) (386 points)

UK #1

 

 

I'm quite surprised the previous highest position for this song was #17, it's a song which seems to be universally popular and would be challenging for the top 10 in every year this is run, but it doesn't appear that way from this. After the commercial flop that was American Life Madge showed her excellent ability to come back as big as she'd ever been, with the Abba sampling Hung Up, an uptempo dance stomper that fitted the music scene of 2005 so incredibly well. It was her first number one for five years, and its parent album Confessions On A Dancefloor would go on to become one of the biggest selling of her career.

"Hung Up! = Undisputed CLASSIC. Proving that you can never write off the Queen Of Pop.....

Can not stand 'Hey Ya!', dont get its appeal one bit

Nice to see Hung Up do much better than usual :D The rest of the top ten is full of songs that I like but have always found to be vastly overrated...

 

Robyn ftw!

Robyn ftw!

 

Even though you ranked it two places lower than another song still to come?! :drama:

pretty shocking how Hey Ya didn't even feature in the individual rounds last year :o its a great track though, brings back great memories

 

Mr Brightside or Robyn ftw (although the latter does seem to be rather overrated in this game, but its still great)

Thank God both Hung Up and Since U Been Gone are out! The only two records in the top 15 I would have been disgusted with winning.

 

Hey Ya!'s appeal was in its ability to fit in everywhere. It was a hip hop song at heart so it fitted like a glove in the American charts at the time, but also had an obvious funk influence which meant older aged people could enjoy it more than any other song of that kind. That and the fact it was so filled with hooks and obvious catchphrases (like "shake it like a polaroid picture") also made it into somewhat of a party anthem that everyone could enjoy and have a good time too. A perfect example of a song ticking almost every box really. All that being said, I couldn't fit it into my votes and I can't help but prefer Roses if I'm being totally frank :lol:

 

Cannot believe

Amy Winehouse is still to come!!!

I thought it would drop in at around #26. Cheering for it to go all the way of course, since I ranked it #1.

Based on whats left I would prefer "Bad Romance" to win

Hey Ya!'s appeal was in its ability to fit in everywhere. It was a hip hop song at heart so it fitted like a glove in the American charts at the time, but also had an obvious funk influence which meant older aged people could enjoy it more than any other song of that kind. That and the fact it was so filled with hooks and obvious catchphrases (like "shake it like a polaroid picture") also made it into somewhat of a party anthem that everyone could enjoy and have a good time too. A perfect example of a song ticking almost every box really. All that being said, I couldn't fit it into my votes and I can't help but prefer Roses if I'm being totally frank :lol:

 

In a way i wish I could like it, since everyone I know loves it. I just find it annoying and overrated. I love a catchy song as much as the next guy but this one just grates on me

05 - 33 Gwen Stefani 'What You Waiting For?' (29-38-11-153-33-05) (392 points)

UK #4

 

 

Another song reaching a new Record of the Decade peak now, reaching the top 10 for the first time is the debut solo single for Gwen Stefani, with What You Waiting For? She's a previous winner of the competition, her band No Doubt winning with signature hit Don't Speak in 2007. Although her first album Love Angel Music Baby was a huge seller it didn't produce any hits higher than #4. What You Waiting For was more popular than its peak chart position suggests, becoming an anthem to many a pop fan and it was what No Doubt fans had been waiting for too. It's been a while since we've heard from Gwen or No Doubt but a return has been talked about for a long while.

I absolutely adore Hey Ya, it's such a fantastic feelgood hit that I can never get bored of hearing, it seems to suit almost every mood. I'm surprised than 3 of my top 10 singles of the noughties made the top 10 here, with the other two to come. ^_^

Internet problems meant I wasn't able to do the top 4 as planned so it shall be finished tonight. The first two in an hour or so and the top 2 revealed about 9:00.

04 - 82 Amy Winehouse 'Back to Black' (23-118-82-04) (421 points)

UK #8

 

 

Until this year this song had spent only six weeks inside the top 40, and over three separate runs in 2007 and 2008 peaking at a lowly #25, but she was such a huge album seller with Back To Black in the top 3 albums of the noughties it didn't matter at all that the third single from it didn't peak very highly. Upon her death earlier this summer, this song was the main beneficiary, used more than others in media tributes as well as being the song which had the most radio airplay and video play as it became a top 10 hit for the first time. The song was perhaps a fitting tribute to Amy (although the same could be said of at least Rehab and You Know I'm No Good) and it's long been her most popular song. Here it climbs a huge 78 places and is one of just four songs to get more than 400 points in the final. It was perhaps expected that due to her death she's nearer to the front of peoples minds than she had been, and therefore she was going to fare better in a competition like this, but it's hard to say that's the case given her other songs haven't seen any noticeable rise in popularity, and Back to Black had reached the final before. Just falling short of the top 3 it leaves the three songs which were perhaps the most predictable left.

 

03 - 05 Killers 'Mr Brightside' (101-25-13-05-03) (434 points)

UK #10

 

 

When this was originally released, it had a four week chart run of 10-28-38-60 and helped its parent album debut at #6 the week after this was released, before it fell out of the top 20 the next week. The song passed most people by and this competition proved it. In its first year Mr Brightside did not even represent 2004 but was nominated the following year just falling shy of the top 100. But over the next few years this song became something of a phenomenon, despite barely making it past 20k on initial sales it ended the decade just shy of 300k, and is probably now more towards the 400k mark. In every public voted for best songs of the decade poll that had an inclusion for this type of song, it was either near the top or it won. In the poll on Absolute Radio it won with twice as many votes as the song in second place. When Sex On Fire was released it became a brother to Mr Brightside, as this had something to be played next to in every generic club night. It's one of the decades ultimate feel good songs and somehow still grows in popularity. In every year of this competition this has performed better than it did the year before, but can that continue? There's not much further it can climb.