I don't think we can dismiss the suggestion that Hey Ya is a big song with a chart run like this

 

6-8-10-13-22-16-13-14-9-9-4-4-{3}-6-6-6-9-19-32-45-65

 

 

 

I think Hey Ya has done very well on trickle streams/sales too, it would be wrong to say it's not a hugely iconic and remembered song.

Hey Ya is definitely iconic and hugely popular. Quite WHY this is the case is beyond me but that's not the point.

Hey Ya was quite a big hit indeed but surely not an "iconic" one.

Arguably even their "Ms. Jackson" could be better remembered by many.

Macy Gray's "I Try" had a similarly stable chart run in those days of dynamic charts yet I wouldn't necessarily call it "the biggest song to never reach number 1".

In the UK at least Hey Ya is much better remembered and definitely a classic. It's still played an awful lot on the radio and in clubs etc...

I can remember the song being on all the time on the music channels back in 2003 and 2004. I remember hating it for that reason but I've since grown to love it and it's hard to consider the biggest songs of the Noughties without it.

 

It sold 96k in 2003 and 168k in 2004 (a total of 264k) but managed to reach Platinum in May 2015 (336k from 2005) so I think it's safe to say it has done well on trickle downloads and streams.

 

It's also one of the longest stayers on the Radio Airplay Chart with 132 weeks as of February 2013. This was the main chart run before subsequent re-entries:

 

NE: 65-49-32-21-17-12-11-12-11-10-8-7-2-1-1-1-2-2-4-4-5-7-11-14-11-17-22-21-21-35-25-30-32-40-43-36-40-39-39-39-45-46-41-34-47-39-52-45-50-52-67-63-58-74-71-79-53-58-64-81-55-69-64-53-75-59-66-62-99-87-59-99-63-90-68-87

 

This is the Top 20 longest stayers as of February 2013:

 

01 - 159 - Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancin' - Peak : 1

02 - 150 - Kings of Leon - Sex On Fire - Peak : 16

03 - 148 - Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars - Peak : 4

04 - 147 - Rembrandts - I'll Be There For You - Peak : 2

05 - 144 - Maroon 5 - This Love - Peak : 1

06 - 135 - Beyonce ft. Jay-Z - Crazy In Love - Peak : 1

07 - 132 - Outkast - Hey Ya! - Peak : 1

08 - 128 - Keane - Everybody's Changing - Peak : 1

09 - 126 - Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling - Peak : 1

10 - 125 - Take That - Shine - Peak : 1

11 - 120 - Take That - Rule the World - Peak : 1

12 - 117 - Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Peak : 1

13 - 116 - Michael Buble - Haven’t Met You Yet - Peak : 3

14 - 114 - Everything But The Girl - Missing '95 - Peak : 1

15 - 109 - Cee-Lo Green - Forget You - Peak : 1

16 - 108 - Kings of Leon - Use Somebody - Peak : 8

17 - 105 - Gnarls Barkley - Crazy - Peak : 1

17 - 105 - Natalie Imbruglia - Torn - Peak : 1

17 - 105 - Adele - Rolling In The Deep - Peak : 2

20 - 104 - Mark Ronson ft. Amy Winehouse - Valerie - Peak : 1

These are some I posted in this thread yesterday http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=191542;

 

Taylor Swift – Shake It Off

Rihanna feat. Drake – Work

Avril Lavigne – Complicated

Daft Punk – One More Time

Kevin Lyttle – Turn Me On

The Weeknd – Earned It (also The Hills and Can't Feel My Face)

Drake – Hotline Bling

Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx – Gold Digger

D-12 – My Band

TLC – No Scrubs

Pras Michel feat. Ol' Dirty bast*rd & Mya – Ghetto Superstar (That Is What You Are)

Jay-Z – Hard Knock Life

One Direction – Perfect

Baha Men – Who Let The Dogs Out

Blur – Song 2

Kings Of Leon – Use Somebody

The Darkness – I Believe In A Thing Called Love

 

 

 

My way frank sinatra no. 5 almost 3 Years on the chart!

Lily Allen - LDN (Only peaked at 6 but so many people know it!)

Lily Allen - Not Fair (Peaked at 5, same reason as LDN)

Ellie Goulding - How Long Will I Love You (Peaked at 3, had a brilliant chart run)

Rihanna feat. Drake – Work

Kevin Lyttle – Turn Me On

The Weeknd – Earned It (also The Hills and Can't Feel My Face)

Drake – Hotline Bling

Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx – Gold Digger

D-12 – My Band

TLC – No Scrubs

Pras Michel feat. Ol' Dirty bast*rd & Mya – Ghetto Superstar (That Is What You Are)

Jay-Z – Hard Knock Life

 

Love all of these and included Gold Digger in my suggestions! Objectively speaking, you could make a case for Hotline Bling in a few years time and perhaps No Scrubs but any of the others it's a stretch to say biggest song to miss #1!

 

Pains me to say that about Turn Me On, as it's one of my all time favourites.

Turn Me On might yet get a big resurgence in popularity though if the Cheat Codes version is pushed as their next single!

Turn Me On might yet get a big resurgence in popularity though if the Cheat Codes version is pushed as their next single!

 

Fingers crossed they don't murder a stone cold classic!

Both are tunes although I must admit the original is far better, love the Wyclef Jean and Sean Paul vibes.

My way frank sinatra no. 5 almost 3 Years on the chart!

 

Yeah it has to be this, surely? Everyone knows it (or at least a lot of people), a top 50 regular from April 1969 to New Year 1972. All this on a chart comprised entirely of physical vinyl records and limited to a top 50.

 

First week: http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singl.../19690402/7501/

 

Final week: http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singl.../19711226/7501/

 

Imagine a song first charting this week staying most weeks in the top 50 until the spring of 2019!

I still find it baffling that 'My Way' spent SO LONG in the chart back in an era when songs generally didn't outstay their welcome (as downloads and streaming didn't exist). I know it is one of the most popular songs of the 60s but so were many Beatles songs which only lasted for about 15 weeks in the chart on average

I still find it baffling that 'My Way' spent SO LONG in the chart back in an era when songs generally didn't outstay their welcome (as downloads and streaming didn't exist). I know it is one of the most popular songs of the 60s but so were many Beatles songs which only lasted for about 15 weeks in the chart on average

 

It became a "standard" extremely quickly - people covered it all over the place, so it kept getting new audiences. And compared to something like The Beatles, which was cutting-edge pop mostly purchased by teenagers, this was a traditional-sounding ballad that could be enjoyed by everyone young and old, Sinatra's career going way back to the Second World War so he'd been around for ages and had a massive fanbase. The constant demand for it would have ensured it always in print and always in a prominent position on the record shelves. Dorothy Squires covered it a year later, peaking at #25 and remaining in the chart for five months (all while Sinatra's version was still in the charts!), and an Elvis cover reached #9 in early '78, a few months after his death.

 

The lyrics - end is near, final curtain etc - also, rather morbidly, made it a top pick for those in their final days requesting it to be played at their funeral. It's still a popular choice now, although ironically Frank apparently grew to hate the song. A re-issue after his death in 1998 just missed the top 75.

 

Drake's covering it for his next single. (not really)

Hey Ya was quite a big hit indeed but surely not an "iconic" one.

Arguably even their "Ms. Jackson" could be better remembered by many.

 

I disagree, it's incredibly well known still from what I can tell, most certainly iconic. And this is coming from someone who can't stand it.

64-58-45-34-20-21-19-22-25-25-15-8-4-6-3-3-{2}-2-3-3-3-5-5-7-10-13-16-14-14-21-25-26-31-33-31-34-40-56-64-70-66-55-27-31-29-33-37-52-66-75-> 50 weeks

all those vanquished by the mighty drake, so far, are looking good to make an impact on the all-time non #1 chart sales list~

 

sia ~ cheap thrills (feat. sean paul) [4]

calvin harris ~ this is what you came for (feat. rihanna) [2]

justin timberlake ~ CAN'T STOP THE FEELING! [4]

kungs x cookin' on 3 burners ~ this girl [4]

mr acker bilk ~ stranger on the shore {1961}

 

32-16-14-6-6-8-2-2-2-5-8-7-12-11-13-8-8-7-6-7-13-12-10-15-13-12-11-12-11-11-9-9-17-19-18-20-19-18-22-23-27-30-32-31-38-47-39-35-40-33-31-45-39-43-37- (55 wks)