damit, thought all of you would say Zara Larsson :D thought she was very popular in here

Thought Demi would be the big landslide here as she's a BJ fave & most recently scored her first UK #1!

3. Name a song that has reached the UK top 10 in at least two separate chart runs.

 

 

For the first time there are no wrong answers, yay! Unfortunately there are 4 perfectly good answers worth no points: 'Three Lions' crops up again, having hit #1 in both 1996 and 1998 (in a reworked version) and making repeat visits to the top 10 with a 2006 re-release and a 2010 download entry; 'Jailhouse Rock' was one of the endless Elvis Presley re-issues in 2005, hitting #1 again that year after first topping the chart in 1958; 'Imagine' was a #6 hit during Lennon's lifetime (in 1975) but charted higher on two occasions posthumously, of course getting to #1 in the immediate aftermath of his death and later getting to #3 to see in the new millennium (yes I know Suedehead2, you know what I mean); and finally the iconic 'Mysterious Girl' was originally a #2 hit in 1996 and hit #1 on a re-release in 2004 as Peter Andre returned to fame via I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

 

Are you calling me a pedant? :o

but actually, had Solo been #1 with the first original deadline for this FF???

but actually, had Solo been #1 with the first original deadline for this FF???

 

I think it was technically announced as #1 two days after I opened the thread but it was clear from the mids that it would be a #1 anyway so that's no excuse :lol:

So why wasn't Three Lions on the mind for this question?! IT'S COMING HOME (to the top 10 again next Friday!)

It's worse for some of us. By the time I had entered I had done a write-up for the song in anticipation of it making the top 40 last week. I still forgot about it for both the animals question and the top ten runs :lol:

Oh I couldn't be bothered to count up Demi's top 5 hits, but I thought Sean Paul would be an obvious one, he's had SO many number 1 features yet none of his own!

 

I'm not sure why I didn't go with Mariah, I guess the Pogues did it with an official re-release multiple times so it may count for more, eh, it's the better song anyway B)

I remember quite a commotion about Demi getting her first #1 with Solo so that was fresh in my mind!

5. Name an artist whose first studio album reached #1, but their second missed the top 10.

 

 

Diana Vickers (3): Bré, Theo., TS0301, Riser

 

Alexandra Burke (2): Bjork, SM351, LewisGT

Jamie Lawson (2): PeteFromLeeds, awardinary, SevenSeize

 

Ben Haenow (1): girl_from_oz, WhoOdyssey

Nero (1): Jade, Dobbo

Richard & Adam (1): danG, Suedehead2

Sam Bailey (1): King Rollo, Chez Wombat

 

The Darkness (0): dj_tim_e

Duffy (0): HarryEzra

Gnarls Barkley (0): Dexton

Hear'Say (0): Jüpiter

Jahméne Douglas (0): Yorkie3

Johnny Hates Jazz (0): paulgilb

Journey South (0): Mack.

Kelly Rowland (0): vibe

Kesha (0): BridgeCow

Orson (0): gavindeejay

The Ting Tings (0): 777666jason

 

The lowest scoring top answer of them all here as there clearly must have been no standout super obvious answers. As it happens I managed to get that top answer this time, hooray! But I get only 3 points for my luck. The honour goes to Diana Vickers, who followed up a fourth place finish on the X Factor with #1s on both the singles and albums charts, but the success in both was short-lived; her second album only scraped into the top 40, and did not produce any top 40 hits.

 

2 points apiece go to fellow X Factor graduate Alexandra Burke (#18 with the ill-fated follow-up 'Heartbreak On Hold', though she's sort of kind of on the up again with her third album this year making it to #16??) and Jamie Lawson, surely a cert for a future Pointless answer for 'artists who had a #1 album in 2015' as he rode the wave of the surprise hit 'Wasn't Expecting That' to grab a #1 with his self-titled album. Actually this is technically a wrong answer too, which I didn't realise until the time I am writing this as I checked Wikipedia to see where the follow-up charted - Lawson had three previous independently released studio albums which of course did not chart at all. It's fine though, y'all still keep your two points. And that follow-up album, 'Happy Accidents', charted at #23 in 2017. The answer that I already knew was wrong but is still worth a point is another XF act Ben Haenow - of course his second album went nowhere near the top 10 (add a couple more 0s to get a closer idea of where it charted), but his debut album actually only charted at #10 itself. girl_from_oz and WhoOdyssey thank each other for scraping a point despite being nowhere near correct :magic: Three more correct answers are worth one point: yet another X Factor graduate in Sam Bailey (#1 with debut quick cash-in 'The Power Of Love' - yup, that title cropping up again!! - and just #33 with the entirely forgotten 'Sing My Heart Out'), Richard & Adam from Britain's Got Talent (who inexplicably spent 4 weeks at #1 with debut 'The Impossible Dream' only to crash at #24 with the lightning-quick follow-up 'The Christmas Album'; they have had two further top 10 albums since then) and finally Nero who have nothing to do with Simon Cowell but nonetheless followed their fluke #1 debut album with a damp squib of a #24 with 'Between II Worlds' in 2015. I often forget they even had a second album.

 

Other correct answers but not worth anything: The Darkness who have a curious run of 1-11-4-12-8 with their five studio albums to date; Gnarls Barkley whose entirely forgotten follow-up album got to #19 (although CeeLo Green had a #3 album as a solo artist later on); another few short-lived talent show acts in Hear'Say (1-24), Jahméne Douglas (whose bizarrely titled sophomore effort 'Unfathomable Phantasmagoria' missed the top 100 entirely, and may we never hear of him again) and Journey South (1-43 in the space of a year); the retro choice of Johnny Hates Jazz who hit #1 with their debut in 1988 but missed the chart completely with the follow-up; Kelly Rowland who I honestly had no idea got a #1 album in the first place but indeed topped the chart in 2002 and only managed #23 with her next release; Orson who went from #1 to #25 to splitting up in the space of a year; and poor brave The Ting Tings with a tragic run of 1-23-111 with their three albums. Duffy and Kesha are wrong answers for opposite reasons (Duffy's second album actually did make the top 10 but you're forgiven for forgetting that existed; while Kesha has never had a UK #1 album but is on a weird run of 8-60-4 with her three albums to date).

(sorry this is taking a while, writing up the commentary live and having a bit too much fun with it, I never learn x)

Yay, I was hoping that a member of the #dancebloc would help me out here :wub: Nero was the only one I could think of oops!

Ok so I read that question as top 10 whoops :kink:

 

The floppage happening rn

6. Name an artist who had a gap of at least 10 years between consecutive appearances in the UK Singles Chart top 10.

 

^ Kanye supporting fresh new talent

 

Paul McCartney (4): TS0301, 777666jason, Riser, BridgeCow, WhoOdyssey

Sia (4): Theo., King Rollo, LewisGT, Suedehead2, Yorkie3

Take That (4): Bjork, vibe, awardinary, Chez Wombat, SevenSeize

 

Daddy Yankee (3): Bré, Jade, Dexton, Dobbo

 

Blondie (0): danG

Cher (0): paulgilb

David Bowie (0): girl_from_oz

Dusty Springfield (0): dj_tim_e

George Michael (0): SM351

Kate Bush (0): HarryEzra

Morrissey (0): Mack.

PJ & Duncan (0): Jüpiter

Prince (0): PeteFromLeeds

Tony Christie (0): gavindeejay

 

Well here's a question where you basically get all the points or none at all! (Unless you're me or one of three other people). It's again only 4 points for the top answer, which I like as it means I was successful for the most part in picking questions which don't have a single standout obvious answer. But this time there are three different answers worth the maximum 4 points. First we have Paul McCartney who found himself as high as #3 in 2015 alongside Rihanna and Kanye West on the unorthodox collaboration 'FourFiveSeconds'; his last top 10 hit prior to that was all the way back in 1989 with 'Ferry 'Cross The Mersey' if the OCC website is not fooling me (it was certainly long before 2005 anyway). Then we have Sia who is actually the top answer this time - the time I didn't put her name down, damn - as I mentioned in the commentary for question 4 she had one top 10 hit prior to 'Titanium', and that was a full 11 years earlier, the 2000 #10 hit 'Taken For Granted'. Gaps between her subsequent top 10 hits have been far shorter. Finally there's Take That, who were on a run of 4 #1 singles in a row at the end of their original career before they split in 1996; they came back in 2006 and rattled off another two #1s in a row.

 

The only other answer worth anything (and it's worth 3 points so only just behind that leading pack) is Daddy Yankee, who has only two UK hits to his name but they were both top 10 hits twelve years apart - 'Gasolina' in 2005 and a little song called 'Despacito' with Luis Fonsi and Justin Bieber which you might remember from last year.

 

More correct answers but sadly worth zero: Blondie stunned the chart world with a comeback #1 with the excellent 'Maria' in 1999 having previously last seen the top 10 in 1981; Cher with a gap from 1971 to 1987 (or 1972 to 1987 if you count Sonny & Cher) during which time she had just one other minor chart hit; David Bowie whose surprise 2013 comeback with 'Where Are We Now?' was his first top 10 since 1993; Dusty Springfield with a gap from 1968 to her last top 10 hit in 1987 alongside Pet Shop Boys; Kate Bush who got a #4 hit in 2005, her first top 10 visit since 1986; Morrissey who waited from 1994 to 2004 between top ten hits, plenty of time to offend many people; and Tony Christie whose two hits separated by over a decade surprisingly are both not '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo' (he got to #2 in 1971 with 'I Did It For Maria' and then #10 in 1999 with All Seeing I feature 'Walk Like A Panther'). PJ & Duncan and Prince are both correct if you ignore the fact that their top 10 appearances in recent years after long absences with 'Let's Get Ready To Rhumble' and 'Purple Rain' were not new top 10 hits but rather re-entries - although I realise now this wasn't actually specified in the question so no issue with those answers really, apart from the fact they're both worth 0. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any justification for George Michael being a correct answer unless I'm being dim.

I was hoping that a decent number of people would flock to Daddy Yankee after someone asked if featured artists would be okay for this question :kink: although I suppose quite a few of these came back as featured artists. Yay anyway! In sync with Dobbo again.

I’m totally flopping this week!

7. Name an album that features at least 2 UK #1 singles, but did not itself get to #1 on the albums chart.

 

 

Justin Bieber - Purpose (4): danG, Jade, Suedehead2, SevenSeize, WhoOdyssey

 

Calvin Harris - Motion (3): TS0301, King Rollo, BridgeCow, Chez Wombat

Westlife - Westlife (3): Bré, paulgilb, dj_tim_e, Dobbo

 

David Guetta - One Love (2): Dexton, HarryEzra, gavindeejay

DJ Khaled - Grateful (2): PeteFromLeeds, Riser, LewisGT

 

Cheryl - Only Human (1): Bjork, awardinary

Jessie J - Who You Are (1): 777666jason, Yorkie3

 

Ariana Grande - My Everything (0): Theo.

Christina Aguilera - Stripped (0): vibe

Little Mix - Get Weird (0): girl_from_oz

Pixie Lott - Turn It Up (0): SM351

Rihanna - Loud (0): Jüpiter

Roll Deep - Winner Stays On (0): Mack.

 

And once again it's only 4 points for the top answer, but just the one standing above the rest here. The Biebz does have a UK #1 album to his name, but curiously enough that actually came before he had any #1 singles. In the time since then he's racked up 6 #1s on the singles chart, three of which feature on the album 'Purpose' (infamously 'Love Yourself', 'Sorry' and 'What Do You Mean?' held the entire top 3 at one point) despite the album itself stopping at #2, just a couple thousand sales behind One Direction's final album 'Made In The A.M.' (is it bad I forgot what that album was called already?)

 

I opted for Westlife's self-titled album which I believe holds the record for the most #1 singles on an album that did not itself reach #1 - five of them to be precise, while the album again stalled at #2. That's the joint second best answer with three points, alongside Calvin Harris' 'Motion', another #2 album which rattled off three straight #1 singles. There are two answers apiece that are worth 2 points and 1 point. David Guetta is yet to have a UK #1 album but has hit #2 twice; the first of those, 'One Love', is a correct answer here as it contains his first two UK #1 singles 'When Love Takes Over' and 'Sexy Bitch', as well as the non-remixed version of 'Gettin' Over You' and technically also a version of The Black Eyed Peas' #1 hit 'I Gotta Feeling'. That's worth two points, as is DJ Khaled's 'Grateful' which gave Khaled his first two top 20 singles with the dual #1s 'I'm The One' and 'Wild Thoughts', but curiously enough actually charted at only #10 on the albums chart despite his previous album 'Major Key' getting as high as #7 with only the minor hit 'For Free' to sell it. Cheryl was still somehow relevant enough to get another two #1 hits from her last album 'Only Human' but her album selling days were already largely in the past by then as the set came in at just #7. That's worth a point, as is Jessie J who I won't expend much energy in commenting on, just enough to laugh at the fact she never had a #1 album and now almost certainly never will.

 

More correct but futile answers: 'My Everything' contains both of Ariana's UK #1 singles but is not itself her #1 album (though she did get there with the follow-up 'Dangerous Woman' of course); 'Stripped' charted at #2 but provided the #1 hits 'Dirrty' and 'Beautiful'; 'Turn It Up' houses the first two of Pixie Lott's three #1 hits but only charted at #6 itself; and Roll Deep's two #1 singles are both on the album 'Winner Stays On' but their brief chart name power did not at all translate to the albums chart, as the album crashed in at a pathetic #55, actually 5 places lower than their 2005 debut album which was supported by singles that only got to #11 and #24. There are two wrong answers here, as 'Get Weird' only contains one #1 single ('Black Magic'), and while 'Loud' did miss out on #1 to begin with due to clashing with the titan of Take That's 'Progress', it did actually reach a #1 peak a few weeks later.

Yay!!! *.* I obviously had Bieber on the brain after putting Daddy Yankee for the previous question due to 'Despacito'. Plus his dominance at the top of the chart (except the album just about x) during the same era was still pretty fresh in my mind, I don't think any other artist was spammed more than Bieber during my first year of University :lol:

8. Name a UK #1 album which only spent one week in the top 5.

 

 

Christina Aguilera - Bionic (13): Bré, vibe, paulgilb, danG, 777666jason, Jade, dj_tim_e, SM351, Riser, LewisGT, Suedehead2, Mack., SevenSeize, Dobbo

 

Taylor Swift - reputation (2): Bjork, Theo., King Rollo

The Vamps - Night & Day (2): PeteFromLeeds, BridgeCow, Yorkie3

 

Paloma Faith - The Architect (1): Chez Wombat, WhoOdyssey

 

Craig David - Following My Intuition (0): Jüpiter

Iron Maiden - The Book Of Souls (0): awardinary

Jorja Smith - Lost & Found (0): TS0301

Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate (0): gavindeejay

Nero - Welcome Reality (0): HarryEzra

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds - Who Built The Moon? (0): Dexton

no answer (0): girl_from_oz

 

I specifically worded this as 'top 5' instead of 'top 10' in hopes it would make it less of a landslide but it didn't really work :kink: Christina Aguilera's truly infamous dive from #1 to #29 with 'Bionic' is still the first thing most of us chart nerds think about when we think of #1 albums that dropped off quickly, and it's the second highest scoring answer in the entire round (no prizes for guessing what the highest will be oops) with 13 points.

 

There's still some points on offer for some more recent flops: The Vamps actually broke Xtina's record drop from #1 when they dove 1-35 with 'Night & Day' but apparently even that does not erase the memory of 'Bionic', as it's only worth two points. There are also two points for the few people who mentioned 'reputation', which I actually already forgot had started its chart run with a 1-8 drop (although it returned to the top 10 for a few more weeks later, it has never cracked the top 5 again since). Paloma Faith's 'The Architect', which also plunged 1-8 in the tail end of 2017, is worth one point.

 

Iron Maiden's 'The Book Of Souls' is a weird shout from awardinary, it's correct as it dropped 1-6 but it's something of a mystery why that was apparently the first one he thought of. Unsurprisingly no points for that. Some slightly more understandable answers that are correct but score nothing are Michael Kiwanuka's 'Love & Hate' (another 1-8 dive), Nero's 'Welcome Reality' (1-8 yet again) and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' 'Who Built The Moon?' (which plunged 1-10, and I believe is the most recent correct answer). Craig David is a wrong answer as that did actually get a second week in the top 5, while Jorja Smith never got to #1 in the first place, and girl_from_oz sadly wasn't able to come up with an answer at all.

I was toying between Xtina and The Vamps, but decided that 'Bionic' is still referenced as an iconically bad drop from the top even today despite The Vamps doing even worse, plus pop female and BuzzJack. Glad that paid off, was definitely not expecting it to be a stronger top answer than Mariah!

9. Name a UK #1 album in 2016, 2017 or 2018 that was 'surprising' in some way.

 

 

The Greatest Showman Cast - The Greatest Showman - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (6): Bjork, Theo., paulgilb, 777666jason, girl_from_oz, Yorkie3, WhoOdyssey

 

Rick Astley - 50 (4): vibe, King Rollo, LewisGT, Suedehead2, Dobbo

 

Ward Thomas - Cartwheels (2): TS0301, PeteFromLeeds, Jüpiter

 

Michael Kiwanuka - Love & Hate (1): SevenSeize, gavindeejay

The National - Sleep Well Beast (1): BridgeCow, Chez Wombat

P J Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project (1): danG, Mack.

Passenger - Young As The Morning, Old As The Sea (1): Bré, Jade

 

Barbra Streisand - Encore - Movie Partners Sing Broadway (0): dj_tim_e

blink-182 - California (0): awardinary

David Bowie - Blackstar (0): SM351

Michael Ball and Alfie Boe - Together (0): Riser

Paloma Faith - The Architect (0): Dexton

The Script - Freedom Child (0): HarryEzra

 

Now as this one of a subjective question, I can't really call any of these 'wrong', but I'm certainly surprised at 'The Greatest Showman' being the top answer here. I suppose it getting to the 20 weeks at #1 mark was a surprise but I don't think it was much of a surprise that it originally got that #1, unless people are just surprised that such an album is allowed into the artist albums chart rather than being relegated to the compilations chart. Each to their own. In any case, there's 6 points on offer for those who went with the album dominating the 2018 charts.

 

4 points go to Rick Astley's spectacular comeback #1 album which certainly qualifies as more of an unexpected #1 for me, especially as it had to come from behind in the midweeks to Tom Odell IIRC. 2 points go to Ward Thomas, and I guess it's quite a surprise that a country act got to #1 here, especially a country act that are actually from the UK. Then there's a point apiece for four albums which got to #1 despite coming from artists who had no noticeable buzz at the time, and hadn't reached the #1 spot with their other recent releases at the time: gavindeejay plumped for Kiwanuka for a second question in a row and this time gets a point for it, while the #1 albums from The National, P J Harvey and Passenger are the other three. I have to say I'm disappointed Passenger was only worth a point as that's the one I had most in mind for fitting this question: it truly came out of nowhere as his last few albums had been experiencing diminishing returns since he only got to #3 with the album containing his one big hit, then poof, out of nowhere he suddenly gets a #1 album. Humbug. At least Jade was on my wavelength. <3

 

There were six other answers that didn't score anything: ageing Barbra Striesand's latest covers set; blink-182's comeback album (maybe a surprise that they reformed at all, and that they only got their first #1 after doing so); 'Blackstar' which again seems like an odd choice as it was very clearly going to be a #1 album even without the tragic circumstances that led to it selling as much as it did in that first week; 'Together' which, yeah, seemed like a weird choice to go all the way to the top (maybe an obvious top 10 or so album as a mum stocking filler but not an enduring #1 megaseller that even inspired a second #1 album as a direct sequel); 'The Architect' which I get as you'd have thought Paloma's first #1 would have been an earlier one, and finally 'Freedom Child' which I don't really get as an answer either because most of The Script's albums have got to #1. But the beauty of this question is it's open to interpretation. And if your interpretation is BLATANTLY WRONG, you get 0 points. :D