Playing Pure Shores now, I definitely recognise it but don't think I'd linked it to being that song before! It is indeed very nice, takes me back to the music of the 00s.

 

Groovejet, Zombie Nation, Toca's Miracle and Yellow are all great as well!

2001 begins tonight :cheer:

 

Hello Jade! 2000, what a year, a frantic one chart-wise with so many #1s, quick turnover and short chart runs, but considering the amount of classics we're left with it was probably for the best!

 

01. All Saints - Pure Shores Can't argue with this #1 at all, would be right up there for me too! Thrilled it was such a smash hit for them and William Orbit's productions in general have aged so well, haven't they!?

02. Spiller - Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor)

03. Sonique - It Feels So Good Yup, remember this fondly from 2000, it's on Now 4 here which I'm having a craving to play now! Another song that still conjures the same energy and beauty 20 years later, or 22 even if you count the original release! I don't believe I've heard any other Sonique songs though :o

04. Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400

05. Eminem - Stan (feat. Dido) The impakt Eminem has had on internet fan culture just from the song title alone *_* Yay for this giving Dido a big career boost too!

07. Fragma - Toca's Miracle

08. Moby - Porcelain

09. Coldplay - Yellow

12. Britney Spears - Oops!...I Did It Again

14. David Gray - Babylon

18. All Saints - Black Coffee A shame that this seems to live in Pure Shores' shadow at times when it's also one of their best! It did get its deserved week at #1 though 👍

19. Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers

20. Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre (feat. Eminem)

22. Britney Spears - Stronger

23. Robbie Williams - Rock DJ

24. Darude - Sandstorm Will there ever be another trance classic as big as this? I think not!

25. Gabrielle - Rise

26. Madison Avenue - Don't Call Me Baby

28. Coldplay - Trouble

29. Aaliyah - Try Again Speaking of amazing production, Timbaland absolutely smashed it here, as did Aaliyah of course! Has a great legacy of being her first and only #1 in the US and her first top 10 in the UK. I actually just watched the 2000 VMAs last Friday and she won Best Female Video with this, over the likes of Britney and Christina! Sadly it was one of her last ever award show appearances, a true talent taken from us too soon </3

30. Craig David - Fill Me In

36. LeAnn Rimes - Can't Fight The Moonlight

40. *NSYNC - Bye Bye Bye

 

Well, I already know one song that has a chance of appearing in 2001 (:kink:) but I look forward to finding out the other 39! :cheer:

Hey there Jordan :hi: :heart:

 

Yes 2000 is such a crazy year to look back on! It says it all that I'd get excited when a #1 single had more than one week at the top when writing commentary :lol: but you're right, this year really did spawn so many classics, making it the toughest year so far to narrow down to just 40 for me!

 

#1 - I'm pleased that 'Pure Shores' is a big favourite from this year for you too :heart: it seems rightfully loved on BuzzJack. Yes, not only was it a #1 hit but one of the top best-sellers of the year - so glad that it connected with the public so much *.* The production really hasn't aged a day - same goes for his Madonna stuff!

#3 - How cool that you have fond memories of this from 2000 *.* I do vaguely remember this when I was growing up so it must've continued to gain plays for some years to come. Decided to check out that Now 4 track list and I see that quite a few from this countdown are on that edition - 'Larger Than Life' opening it <3 'I Feels So Good' is such an enduring classic as you say! It feels a bit crazy that it didn't make that much of an impression initially but at least it got there eventually. I think 'Sky' was quite a big hit in the U.K. as well, that's pretty good too although 'It Feels So Good' does massively overshadow it for me. I think 'I Put A Spell On You' went top 20 also!

#4 - I know right! I forget what life was like before stan Twitter exploded into the force it is now :lol: G'won Dido, of course going on to have massive albums!

#18 - Yeah 'Black Coffee' really does live in the shadow of 'Pure Shores'! It's weird to say that about a song that also hit #1, but 'Pure Shores' was just SUCH a force that it was going to be hard for this to get the same look in. It's brilliant in its own right of course - All Saints + William Orbit = dream team <3

#29 - Speaking of dream-teams... yes, that is certainly the case for Aaliyah + Timbaland too <3 the production of 'Try Again' feels so unique for an R&B song. I'm glad that it paid off so much chart-wise. Oh wow, that's awesome that you took a trip down memory lane with the VMAs *.* great for her that she managed to pip two huge stars to the win! It's so tragic that she left this Earth so young and in such a terrible way. Her legacy shall always live on :heart:

 

:o you might be on to something there :kink: this site knows me too well x

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Playing Pure Shores now, I definitely recognise it but don't think I'd linked it to being that song before! It is indeed very nice, takes me back to the music of the 00s.

 

Groovejet, Zombie Nation, Toca's Miracle and Yellow are all great as well!

Hey there Pete :hi: :heart:

 

Oh wow :o well, I'm glad that this countdown could help put 2 + 2 together for you as 'Pure Shores' must be known by all *.* :kink: glad you like it! Good to see a handful of other picks from my top 10 too.

 

thank you for commenting <3

Now we enter the year where the first ever iPod was released! The likes of Dido, Robbie Williams and David Gray were experiencing mammoth album sales. Shaggy was dominating the singles chart with the best selling song of the year and another hit in that top 10. The amount of #1s this year slowed down a bit compared to 2000. There were 30 chart-toppers, resulting in a lot less one-week wonders. It was a strong year for groups - with Blue receiving instant success, Atomic Kitten flying high after a line-up change and Hear'Say helping to kick off the music talent show craze after winning Popstars. Steps would end the year on a sour note after announcing their split on Boxing Day. Ouch. I turned 4 this year which means I started Primary School in September! My memories are pretty vague still.

40. PPK - ResuRection
(chart-run: 3-6-8-12-11-11-19-25-34-32-32-43-60-62-71)

39. Shaggy - It Wasn't Me (feat. Rik Rok)
(chart-run: 1-2-3-2-2-2-2-5-8-10-13-15-22-24-32-39-49-58-73-70)

38. Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On
(chart-run: 4-5-9-12-13-19-29-37-46-55-68)

37. Linkin Park - In The End
(chart-run: 8-13-13-23-28-31-42-61-73)

36. Destiny's Child - Survivor
(chart-run: 1-2-7-9-12-20-23-35-42-50-56-64-71)



Kicking off 2001 is a dance instrumental! This is PPK with 'ResuRection'. I definitely remember discovering this through the Now! That's What I Call Music series after having no prior knowledge of it, despite being a top 3 hit. This was on Now 51, the first of the albums released in 2002, as 'ResuRection' did not chart until right at the end of 2001. It made a very strong first impression on me and I've continued to revisit it over the years. PPK are a Russian group and hit the jackpot with their debut single. Unfortunately, their follow-up only made it to #39 so their chart career faded very quickly. But at least their biggest hit was pretty huge. It was the 70th best-selling single of 2001. 'ResuRection' is a trance instrumental that revolves around very calming beeps. I would usually associate bleeps and bloops with chaos, however, I think the way this song builds has an ambient effect. The chorus is quite fast-paced but the verses don't have the same extra production layers when the pretty beeps are introduced. Elsewhere, other cool parts of the song include trance squelches, brief harmonious vocals at the start and a small spoken-word portion at the end. These vocal parts are so minimal that I'd still think of it as an instrumental. I presume the spoken part at the end is in Russian. The music video is centred around a rocket launch so those are some pretty cool visuals. This doesn't really feel like one of the most well-known dance songs these days. It took me until about 2014 to listen to the relevant Now album for the first time, so that was a long time to be deprived of it. However, this archived gem has really aged well. I've had it on loop while writing this and it's a pleasure to have rediscovered it once again. I'm glad I managed to squeeze it in at #40 despite a lot of strong competition once again.

At #39 is a song that I was far more familiar with throughout my childhood! It's a pretty lewd song, but it was always the clean version that I came across on the music channels. I remember seeing it a lot on 4Music in the late noughties during programmes about #1 hits or best-sellers of the 2000s. So you could say this was pretty successful. It's the first chart-topper to pop up for 2001. As aforementioned in the introductory 2001 blurb, Shaggy achieved the best-selling single of 2001 with 'It Wasn't Me', with a little help from Rik Rok. He had previous chart-toppers in the U.K., 'Boombastic' in 1995 for example is another signature hit of his, but this was his first in the United States. The song is about advising a friend to say "it wasn't me" when they get caught cheating. That is a pretty... questionable message, but I don't really think this is a song to be taken seriously at all. Well, except the fact that the "Shaggy defense" was actually coined and compared to R. Kelly's legal defence strategy. R. Kelly's problematic behaviour far eclipses this song though. The advice is addressed as making "no sense at all" by the end of the song for starters! Plus the video is just peak ridiculous, with Rik Rok escaping by jumping on a truck, plus three women being on to him at the end and appearing powerful, making him look the fool. Shaggy's team really needs to upload the video in better quality, it was so fuzzy that I couldn't even read what the messages said in it! So much drama caused by the love interest having a spare key. What can I say, the song is stupendously catchy and memorable. To the point where it's a bit of a meme. Rik Rok provides a really smooth vocal performance too. Shaggy's delivery is somewhat endearing also even if his advice is bad. 'It Wasn't Me' was originally not pencilled in as a single which seems baffling in retrospect! It took a positive reception after a random radio play for the decision to be made. Well, that turned out to be a very good plan, as not only was 'It Wasn't Me' an eye-watering seller in 2001, but a force to be reckoned with over the entire 2000s too! I'd say I enjoyed this more when I was younger, but it's still such an earworm that it deserved a place here.

Next we have an iconic hip-hop song! 'Get Ur Freak On' was Missy Elliott's first top 10 single as a lead artist in the U.K. after it reached #4 here. She of course featured on Mel B's #1 'I Want You Back' first. It also hit the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, at #7. This definitely feels like one of her signature songs alongside 'Work It'. She teamed up with Timbaland for this single. Like 'Try Again with Aaliyah earlier, this is another Timbaland creation that has aged so well. The production is incredibly appealing to me as it heavily revolves around Bhangra elements. I absolutely love this sound and look forward to covering the Bhangra invasion of 2003 soon! But, back to 2001 and these two hit-makers have provided an absolute banger for Missy's repertoire. She said that the song can be interpreted in any way, whether that's through dancing or in the bedroom. The opening Japanese line actually translates to "Everyone start dancing together wildly now. Let's make some noise, let's make some noise." - so that, alongside some energetic choreography in the video and Missy's explanation, certainly make it ideal for dancing. Also it could work on a Halloween playlist. Such versatility! Missy delivers a fierce performance as ever. She's equally as iconic in the video too - she swings from a chandelier people!! The video actually features multiple celebrity cameos including Ludacris, Eve and Timbaland himself. The whole package is a whole lot of fun. It had ALREADY been sampled in another song by the end of 2001 - this was in 'Ugly' by Bubba Sparxxx, which I discovered during Radio 1's 'One Hit Wonders' show. Unfortunately that won't be making it, but the original by the legendary Missy certainly deserved a spot. I hope Kisstory continue to spam it forever!

Speaking of signature songs... it's time for 'In The End' by Linkin Park! Now is really good timing for this to appear in my countdown as it has just reached 1 billion views on YouTube. What a fantastic milestone. 'In The End' is a hard-hitting nu metal / rap-rock song, so very different from the dance, R&B and hip-hop seen in this section so far. The meaning of the song is open to interpretation, but the most commonly stated one is that it's about lead singer Chester Bennington's struggles growing up and how he was picked on. It's of course so eerie to listen to now, as Chester tragically committed suicide in 2017, so any song about him struggling feels natural to connect to that. He gives it his all on that epic chorus with his usual angsty delivery. You can really feel the pain. Mike Shinoda is also prominent on the song and really attacks his raps. I'm generally a fan of the rock and rap worlds colliding so I love their style. The instrumentation is a real highlight on this too, those guitars are towering and the piano loops are really chilling. It all comes together as a very powerful experience. The music video is simple but effective, as the group are mostly just rocking out but the scenery is like a fantasy world for the most part, so that does the talking. 'In The End' charted at #8 for them and re-entered at #14 in 2017, following Chester's passing. It did feel really fitting as a tribute. It's their second highest peak here, as 'What I've Done' would later reach #6. In the U.S. it was even bigger as it peaked as high as #2. Nu-metal doesn't sound like the biggest commercial force ever but this did have huge crossover appeal.

Rounding off this section is a #1 hit! 'Survivor' by Destiny's Child did have to settle for the #2 position in the U.S. though. This is because the mammoth 'All For You' by Janet Jackson would not budge from the top of the chart over there. Beyoncé was inspired to write 'Survivor' after a radio station compared the line-up changes of the group to the game show 'Survivor'. She wanted to turn this shady comment into the motivational anthem that we all know today. It's empowering to hear Beyoncé singing lines such as "even in my years to come I'm still gon' be here" because here we are, 19 years later and she's just been a part of the #1 hit 'Savage' with Megan Thee Stallion in the U.S. We love to see that staying power materialising! Some other lines did not go down well though, such as "You thought I wouldn't sell without you, sold nine million" - as former band members LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson filed a lawsuit over it, stating that this violated a previous agreement that prevented either party from insulting the other. The drama of it all! The line-up at the time of this song was of course Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Even the usually under-utilised Michelle got the chance to shine on this one with a very dramatic section! 'Survivor' is such a pick-me-up and has aged really well in their singles catalogue. I'm clearly a sucker for 00s R&B going by this section so far! I love the production, those strings compliment the determination of the delivery really well. The video is a memorable one from them too, as the trio are survivors living on an uninhabited island. Of course, as this is a girl-group music video, it isn't too long before it evolves into a dance break. What a triumph this was, 6th in an unbroken run of 12 top 10 singles!

Beginning where 2000 left off quality wise as I like all 5 of these songs again! (Not really as familiar with 'ResuRection' as the rest but I'm sure it is a song that I do like a lot whenever I hear it)

 

Interesting to note that not one but two of these songs have been sampled in recent big reggaetón hits (Anuel AA's 'China' sampling 'It Wasn't Me' and Bad Bunny's 'Safaera' sampling 'Get Ur Freak On') :magic:

In The End :wub: All of Linkin Park's songs are pretty hard to listen to these days after what happened, but they're still great songs and this represents their style very well. I wouldn't rank it as my big favourite (that would be Numb or Breaking the Habit) but it's up there.

Blimey, what a start this is. All five great songs sounds poignant listening to 'In The End' after the passing of Chester. ResuRection what a tune that is, It Wasn't Me this is a guilty pleasure of mine, it's a classic in my view wouldn't tire of hearing this. Get Ur Freak On the best song Missy Elliott did, this is a fantastic hip hop tune. And Survivor, sheer brilliance from Destiny's Child, shame there isn't a group like them in the UK Charts.

Beginning where 2000 left off quality wise as I like all 5 of these songs again! (Not really as familiar with 'ResuRection' as the rest but I'm sure it is a song that I do like a lot whenever I hear it)

 

Interesting to note that not one but two of these songs have been sampled in recent big reggaetón hits (Anuel AA's 'China' sampling 'It Wasn't Me' and Bad Bunny's 'Safaera' sampling 'Get Ur Freak On') :magic:

Hey there Bray :hi: :heart:

 

Hooray, I'm pleased to have started off on such a strong note for you *.* yeah 'ResuRection' has definitely been played on plug.dj before a few times and does sound like something you'd enjoy as a beepy instrumental. Oh wow that is a very fun fact! The impact of these classiques x

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

In The End :wub: All of Linkin Park's songs are pretty hard to listen to these days after what happened, but they're still great songs and this represents their style very well. I wouldn't rank it as my big favourite (that would be Numb or Breaking the Habit) but it's up there.

Hey there Chez :hi: :heart:

 

Yeah I totally get what you mean :( it's so easy to connect all of these hard-hitting lyrics and vocal performances to Chester's real life struggles. But, as you say, they're fantastic songs and have really stood the test of time. 'Numb' is a great mention too <3

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Blimey, what a start this is. All five great songs sounds poignant listening to 'In The End' after the passing of Chester. ResuRection what a tune that is, It Wasn't Me this is a guilty pleasure of mine, it's a classic in my view wouldn't tire of hearing this. Get Ur Freak On the best song Missy Elliott did, this is a fantastic hip hop tune. And Survivor, sheer brilliance from Destiny's Child, shame there isn't a group like them in the UK Charts.

Hey there Mack :hi: :heart:

 

Continuing to really enjoy the amount of crossover we have with these noughties hits! I agree with all of your comments pretty much. The UK Charts really are lacking in girl-groups, let alone in the R&B lane, with Little Mix mostly catering to pop audiences.

 

thank you for commenting <3

35. Zero 7 - Destiny
(chart-run: 30-46-55)

34. Safri Duo - Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)
(chart-run: 6-11-14-19-27-33-43-66-73)

33. Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird
(chart-run: 5-6-8-9-9-11-14-19-21-29-30-36-38-43-61-69)

32. Jakatta - American Dream
(chart-run: 3-8-13-18-20-25-35-36-49-56-66-65-63-73R(2))

31. Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue (Ringbang Remix)
(chart-run: 5-11-15-19-28-33-37-46-55-70-71R(2)-72)



The previous section concluded with a song that features on one of my favourite Now! That's What I Call Music albums - Now 49 - and this one begins with another that made it on to that track list! However, we take a bit of a dive in terms of chart position. 'Survivor' of course hit #1 but the single that kicks off this section only peaked at #30. It feels so much bigger than that! Possibly due to its use in different forms of media. Just in the world of film alone it features on three soundtracks: Blue Crush, Obsessed and Raising Hell. This is Zero 7's 'Destiny'. They are a British duo comprising of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. However, they enlisted help from two female vocalists for 'Destiny'. These were superstar Sia for the verses and the less well-known name Sophie Barker for the chorus. I must confess that I thought the same vocalist sang the entire song for years, oops! That feels strange as Sia's voice is so distinctive. I suppose that is a testament to how well this entire package flows from one element to another. I must've been too lost in it for years to notice the difference. Plus I've only just watched the music video for the first time! There are clearly two different ladies in it. Back when Sia was comfortable with her face appearing in music videos. It was a pretty LQ upload on YouTube, but I got the sense that there wasn't a whole lot of plot. It was more ~vibey~ with the two girls on separate hoops in the air, plus some trippy colouring. This must have been the song that introduced me to Sia. My grandparents had a copy of Now 49 in their house and I would play it over and over again while making up dance routines to some of the more upbeat songs! I'm pretty sure I was unaware of other early Sia songs and 'Titanium' wouldn't come along until 2011. So there we go - what an introduction! This is an absolutely stunning effort from all involved of course. I adore the trip-hop features in the production. They help to create a really ambient atmosphere just seconds into the song. Then Sia takes charge with her chilled verse. As aforementioned, we switch to Sophie for the chorus and she certainly has a dreamy voice to match the romantic lyrics. Lines such as "Even though we're miles apart, we are each other's destiny" are so full of hope. Plus a scenario I can relate to in a way, with the distance thing. This specific situation is about two lonely hearts whose paths in life will eventually lead them to each other though. What a beautiful start to this section! It's criminal that this only spent a single week in the top 40. This was Zero 7's only top 40 hit actually but we of course know what happened to Sia!

Next up we have a song that I only discovered about 5 years ago despite being a top 10 hit! This was thanks to Radio 1's 'One Hit Wonders of the Millennium' show as they kindly featured 'Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)' by Safri Duo in amongst their hours of programming. It clicked with me straight away and I suddenly wondered where it had been all my life! Safri Duo, from Denmark, had this monster hit on their hands around Europe. It peaked at #6 here in the U.K. but actually topped charts in the likes of their home country and Switzerland. As aforementioned, I was too young to remember this at the time, but it must bring back memories for those into the Olympics or Eurovision! It featured prominently in the opening ceremony for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Yup, 2000, so we were a bit late to this it seems. The Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 was held in Copenhagen so both Safri Duo and Aqua were chosen as relevant talent to perform as the interval acts. Finally, FIFA fans may remember this from the FIFA Football 2003 soundtrack. 'Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)' really got around it seems! It is a fully instrumental track largely comprising of thundering drum parts. Keyboard elements are also incorporated. Generally there is a real tribal feel to it thanks to the drums. Plus there is some excellent tension displayed throughout as we wait for the striking percussion to reappear each time. It sounds perfect for summer so I can see why it would've soundtracked the Olympics during those months. The music video features the duo demonstrating their relentless drumming. It cuts between that and scientists observing their actions through a microscope. Why not. Sadly, like Zero 7, these guys could only manage one top 40 hit. But hey, at least they did it in style by reaching the top 10!

At #33 we have the biggest hit of this section so far! Canadian star Nelly Furtado really experienced a slam dunk with her debut single. Firstly, it saw commercial success both in the U.K. and the U.S. as it charted in the top 5 here and top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to this, she swiftly became a Grammy winner as 'I'm Like A Bird' resulted in a win for 'Best Female Pop Vocal Performance'! This was the first time that a debut single had this accolade since Mariah Carey a decade earlier. What a promising start for Nelly! I'm pretty sure I discovered this song through car journeys growing up as it's very radio friendly. I recall Little Mix performing it on X Factor 2011 too and that reigniting my love for the original. Here we have a really straight-forward and soulful pop song from Nelly. We were still about 5 years away from her musical coupling with Timbaland beats. The melodic chorus really appealed to me from a young age. It personifies freedom and relentlessness. The CGI heavy visuals complimented this theme well as Nelly is at one with nature. She involves herself with casual activities such as floating and causing a bug to change colour. The video concludes with her falling into a crowd. This mass-gathering of people made me feel slightly uncomfortable which is a true testament to the times we're living in now! That is just feeling alien. But this song will be timeless no matter what the state of the world may be. These feelings present in the song such as love, freedom and feeling lost are all so relatable. Nelly would of course be a hit-maker for the rest of the decade.

Now it's time for the highest peaking song of the whole section. 'American Dream' was the first of three top 10 hits for Jakatta under this Dave Lee alias (another popular one of his is Joey Negro) and was the only one of these to peak in the top 5, at #3. This is one of those songs that I had been aware of for years but it took me forever to discover what it was actually called. This was sent to the very first BJSC spin-off that I was a part of on this forum (none other than 00s dance!) but I made the connection before then at least. Here we have an unusual dance song as its time signature is not common for the genre. 'American Dream' is a progressive house song that incorporates an entrancing loopy electronic and percussive melody and the most stunning piano when the song grinds to a halt. It has a general hypnotic feel to it but that emotion morphs into more of a haunting sound, with the meeting of said piano and an underwater atmosphere, before returning to business as usual for the final minute and a half. The minimal lyrics are somewhat lustful though so they feed into the more hypnotic side of things. It's all very relaxing anyway. 'American Dream' samples two Thomas Newman pieces from the film 'American Beauty' and a spoken-word sample of 'Two of Hearts' by Stacey Q. So it feels cinematic for a reason. The accompanying music video appears to depict turning violence into peace, as a lady calmly walks through an argumentative crowd. Once again a mass-gathering in a music video! I liked this generally ambient direction for Dave Lee.

Now it's time to round off this section with a noughties update of a classic! Sadly this is the first song for 2001 to not be available on Spotify. Even the original is only available in misspelled form. What a mess. Well, this was a Now 49 song and that album is sitting in the house somewhere, so I can access it that way in high quality. This is of course the Ringbang remix of Eddy Grant's 'Electric Avenue'! The original is from 1983 and hit the #2 spot on both sides of the pond. It took the success of 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson for MTV to incorporate more racial diversity on their network, after David Bowie had been complaining about their lack of black artists for a while. Eddy was one of these singers who experienced their music video airing on MTV in the aftermath of 'Billie Jean's popularity - and this translated to its chart position. It feels crazy to be writing this but there we go. There's still progress to be made with these issues but at least we've come a long way since that blatant racism. The music video complimented a hard-hitting song about the 1981 Brixton riot, caused by unemployment, racism and poverty. I've always really appreciated the lyrics as they're great storytelling of a bad situation. The remix is faithful to the lyrics, but kicks the song up a notch with its house production. It is called the 'ringbang' remix as Eddy pioneered this rhythmic genre. The original is more of a funk song with suitably 80s synths. But this 2001 version is unmistakably dance through and through. So I've always preferred the remix as the execution is more to my taste, as much as I love a good synth. It essentially takes the original and adds more oomph which suits the chaotic nature of the subject matter well. The chorus is such an earworm, I can distinctively remember it being stuck in my head quite a lot as a small child and that is still the case nowadays. This remix was a success all over again in the U.K. as it got to #5 here.

Another fantastic five there, Jade. I certainly didn't see Nelly Furtado go down the R&B route after 'I'm Like A Bird'. A great remix in 'Electric Avenue' loved this and the original. 'Destiny' another great discovery there. 'American Dream' what a fantastic tune that is still sounding fresh today. Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song) yes I remember this from FIFA, and when it was released.

 

 

Another fantastic five there, Jade. I certainly didn't see Nelly Furtado go down the R&B route after 'I'm Like A Bird'. A great remix in 'Electric Avenue' loved this and the original. 'Destiny' another great discovery there. 'American Dream' what a fantastic tune that is still sounding fresh today. Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song) yes I remember this from FIFA, and when it was released.

Hey there Mack :hi: :heart:

 

Brilliant to see that you're liking all of those! I do love 'I'm Like A Bird' of course but Nelly pulled off the Timbaland-produced direction very well later on, definitely more of her to come :wub:

 

thank you for commenting <3

30. The Ones - Flawless
(chart-run: 7-12-15-25-34-34-48-60-68-74R(2)-70-71)

29. Blue - All Rise
(chart-run: 4-6-8-10-8-13-13-19-23-27-33-44-59)

28. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix)
(chart-run: 4-5-6-4-5-6-9-9-12-14-14-23-25-39-49-59-65)

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky
(chart-run: 5-5-6-3-4-7-8-11-16-21-27-34-40-47-61-71)

26. Stereophonics - Have A Nice Day
(chart-run: 5-12-20-28-39-50-54-55-58)



Kicking off this week's small selection of hits is 'Flawless' by The Ones! It had a lot to live up to with that title but thankfully it delivers time and time again. According to YouTube comments, it appears to be largely seen as a forgotten song that people have returned to years later. Well, thanks to its inclusion on the landmark 50th edition of the U.K. Now! That's What I Call Music compilation, plus decent Kisstory airplay, I've never allowed it to leave my life. However, it unknowingly entered my eardrums way earlier than I thought. This is because George Michael sampled it on his own 'Flawless (Go To The City)' later on in 2004 and this was a hit in its own right. Yes, it did come out after, but I discovered it before the original 'Flawless' as my mum used to spam the relevant album in the car. My mind was blown when I discovered that the George song contained a sample. This single by The Ones felt a little naked for a while as the George version allows his vocals to keep us company pretty much throughout. But 'Flawless' is heavily instrumental, with the "just like perfection, like no other, flawless, absolutely flawless" line repeated here and there, plus an extra verse thrown in for good measure. It took some getting used to but now I love both versions in their own right. 'Flawless' isn't entirely original anyway - as that borrows from 'Keep On Dancin' by Gary Gang and 'Wordy Rappinghood' by the Tom Tom Club. It makes sense that this samples songs from the 70s and 80s as it has a real throwback disco feel to it. That glittering funky house production is definitely the biggest draw for me and carries the song with ease. The vocals are welcome too though! The titular line ramps up the feel-good factor and the random verse that begins: "Naturally your entrance is grand..." camps it up a bit with its effortless glamour. As for the video, that is certainly as camp as Christmas! The band release their inhibitions through dancing in metallic costumes and it's a joy to watch. The visuals are pretty spacey in general. Unfortunately, band member Nashom Wooden passed away as recently as March this year due to complications from a suspected case of Covid-19, how tragic :( Wooden, who would perform as a drag queen under the stage name Mona Foot, leaves behind an amazing legacy - such as being cited by The New York Times as a likely inspiration for the show RuPaul's Drag Race - as he hosted a weekly drag competition in New York back in the day and had RuPaul as a mentor. Wow! Of course he was a part of the absolute banger 'Flawless' too. The Ones managed an impressive #7 peak with this song but that was their only dent on the top 40. This seems to only be on Spotify via a 7 minute version, but honestly, it's so great that there's no complaints from me here!

Next at #29 is... quite possibly the first boyband hit that I was ever exposed to? Now! That's What I Call Music 49 continued to shape my early music taste it seems. Blue were the brand new British boyband success story of 2001 and stuck around for a little while. They notched up quite a few #1 hits, however, surprisingly 'All Rise' wasn't part of this line-up. It had to settle for #4. But this was still amazing for a debut and it's one of their signature songs for sure. They churned out quite a few good songs during the first couple of years of their career, but fizzled out for me a bit with their later singles. 'Curtain Falls' remains one of the most baffling choices for a Now! That's What I Call Music album opener for example (this was for Now 59 in 2004). But, they had a pretty good redemption arc for my ears with their Eurovision comeback 'I Can' in 2011 and proved to be one of our success stories in the contest for the 2010s. You'll have to wait until 2002 to find out what their finest moment is for me but 'All Rise' feels right as my solid second favourite of their hits. Lyrically it takes a courtroom setting and uses it as a metaphor for the relationship problems that are described in the song. I quite like this somewhat sophisticated concept for a boyband hit but this song also contains their most iconically awful lyric. This is when Simon Webbe asks: "Step in my house, you find that your stuff is gone, but in reality to whom does the stuff belong?". Seriously deep stuff. Away from that questionable portion of the song, my favourite part is of course the punchy chorus that is backed with memorable harmonica sounds. It was Stargate behind the R&B production and they would continue to work with Blue on future singles too. The video isn't anything to shout about really as it's one of those basic warehouse-types complete with dodgy boyband moves. It was definitely up to the song to do the talking but thankfully it did just that.

Now I get to introduce one of my favourite musical acts to the countdown at #28! This is virtual band Gorillaz. 'Clint Eastwood' is taken from their debut studio album 'Gorillaz' and became a hit with the remix treatment. The original song is much slower and is executed in a trip-hop fashion. The remix is a LOT faster with its UK garage make-over. This Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix version, the more commercial iteration, is definitely the one I was introduced to first thanks to Now! That's What I Call Music 48 - it was quite high up on the Disc 1 track list and even featured in the accompanying advert for the compilation, so I presumed it was quite a big hit. Indeed it was, peaking at #4 and spending an impressive 8 weeks in the top 10. In my mind this song was very energetic. So, I got the shock of my life when I heard the original for the first time! It's a completely different vibe to this popular remix. But I love both of them in their own way. There is a 'Clint Eastwood' to suit whatever mood. Ed Case is the DJ who spruced up the production with his UK garage magic. Sweetie Irie is the MC on this version who replaces Del the Funky Homosapien from the original. His flow is a lot faster to suit the remix. A common denominator on both versions is Damon Albarn's distinctive voice on the chorus - giving it that Gorillaz stamp. His contribution is such an earworm in this sped-up version. 'Clint Eastwood' is named after the actor due to the song's similarity to the theme music of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in original form. The music video, in colourful animated Gorillaz fashion as ever, pays tribute to 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' too. People seem to take away a lot of different meanings from this song but a popular one is that we spend too much time thinking about things that aren't important, instead of opening our eyes to see what's going on around us. Still a powerful concept to this day. 2001 produced not one but two Gorillaz remixes that were chart hits! Stay tuned for the other one.

The penultimate song in this section is the one with the highest peak! Plus another long-running top 10 hit. This is the #3 smash 'Castles In The Sky' by Ian Van Dahl. I was shocked to learn that they had as many as 6 top 40 hits! I would struggle to hum 5 of those. But 'Castles In The Sky' is their signature song and has an unforgettable chorus. Ian Van Dahl were a Belgian act who provided a fusion of eurodance music with trance elements. 'Castles In The Sky' feels both dreamy and deep. The title alone conjures up some delightful imagery. But, delve deeper into the song and all of its questions and suddenly it's not as floaty as a dance song called 'Castles In The Sky' may seem. There are several interpretations but generally there's a sense of questioning life and our goals. Hard-hitting lyrics are putty for equally stomping production when it comes to dance music. This is most definitely a floorfiller. The video doesn't explore the lyrical content too much but does present a futuristic Matrix-esque aesthetic which is pretty cool. I suppose it was reflective of the times as the movie came out in 1999 and the creation of 'Castles In The Sky' was just a year later. It just took a little while to get going. There was some controversy with their videos in general as a lady called Cindy Mertens would mime over the actual singer's vocals (Marsha) for their visuals. Marsha would eventually leave the project after feeling betrayed. Oops. Not only was this a success in the U.K. but actually scraped onto the Billboard Hot 100 at #91! As aforementioned, Ian Van Dahl did have a string of 6 hits and this continued until 2004. However, a whole 3 of them were not only top 40 hits but top 10 hits! Wow. Pretty decent longevity for a noughties dance act.

Rounding off this section is one of those songs that took me absolutely years to figure out the name of! Which seems silly as it was on the aforementioned Now! That's What I Call Music 49 album that I treasured when little. Well, originally I didn't think too much of this song so made no effort to remember much about it. But, eventually, I picked up on the "ba, ba da, ba ba ba da da" refrain, due to its use in an advert I believe? That soon became lodged in my brain like never before. I was certain that I knew this song but couldn't remember how. My iPod didn't have too much storage so I only had my Now 49 essentials cherrypicked on there, omitting this song because it didn't make much of an impression on me in the past. SoundHound and Shazam weren't really a thing at this point. Google was no use as I could only search for "ba, ba da, ba ba ba da da" :lol: but one day... my mystery was finally solved! I was watching a YouTube video and the uploader had this song as their outro music. Now I DID know what SoundHound was so my prayers were answered. I would later be annoyed at myself when realising it was on Now 49 all this time :lol: but yes, now it had clicked with me thanks to that devilishly catchy part. I reintroduced myself to the whole song and it would soon become an ultimate soothing anthem for me. The "ba, ba da, ba ba ba da da" refrain is so breezy, the guitars are relaxing and the title of the song is comforting too. So these components make it a great chill-out song. The record was inspired by a conversation between the members of Stereophonics and their taxi driver, who rounded off the conversation with "that'll be seven bucks, have a nice day" and also unintentionally provided material for other lines too. The band would later top this song for me in 2005 but this remains a strong second from everything I know of theirs. A big thumbs down to the potato quality music video I just watched for this though. 'Have A Nice Day' reached #5 in the U.K. and is one of 11 top 5 hits for them!

Hi jade, Shaggy just missed my year-end Top 100, Missy Elliott comfortably inside the 100, Linkin Park & Destiny's Child top 50.

 

Zero 7 top 100, Nelly Furtado top 20, Flawless top 30, All Rise top 40, and Gorillaz top 100, so building up nicely without mentioning 19 of my top 20 from 2001 :lol:

 

So some hoping to see soon....?

 

Murder On The Dancefloor

Someone To Call My Lover

Crying At The Discoteque

Crystal

Imitation Of Life

He Loves U Not

The Dark Is Rising

Starlight

Can't Get You Out Of My Head

What Took You So Long?

 

Let's Dance

Juxtaposed with U

Right On!

Family Affair

Butterfly

 

No pressure, as long as most of them are in there it's fine.... :lol:

Ahh the era of charity shop CDs! Love loads of these - ResuRection, Played a-Live, Electric Avenue, Castles In the Sky, Clint Eastwood (didn't realise that was Sweetie Irie on the remix though :o). Loving all the nostalgia here.

'Flawless' an amazing tune indeed, a great song loved the George Michael version when he sampled this in 2004. 'All Rise' a good song from Blue, one that I still come back and listen to. 'Clint Eastwood' an fantastic music video this was from Gorillaz. 'Castles In The Sky' a slightly unusual chart run in 2001 with it not reaching its peak til its fourth week in the chart. 'Have A Nice Day' great song from Stereophonics, this, 'Handbags and Gladrags' and 'Dakota' probably in my Top 3 of Stereophonics songs.

 

 

Hi jade, Shaggy just missed my year-end Top 100, Missy Elliott comfortably inside the 100, Linkin Park & Destiny's Child top 50.

 

Zero 7 top 100, Nelly Furtado top 20, Flawless top 30, All Rise top 40, and Gorillaz top 100, so building up nicely without mentioning 19 of my top 20 from 2001 :lol:

 

So some hoping to see soon....?

 

Murder On The Dancefloor

Someone To Call My Lover

Crying At The Discoteque

Crystal

Imitation Of Life

He Loves U Not

The Dark Is Rising

Starlight

Can't Get You Out Of My Head

What Took You So Long?

 

Let's Dance

Juxtaposed with U

Right On!

Family Affair

Butterfly

 

No pressure, as long as most of them are in there it's fine.... :lol:

Hey there John :hi: :heart:

 

Glad to see that we share appreciation for quite a lot of these songs so far when I've only revealed 15!

 

Can confirm that some of those are on the way :D

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Ahh the era of charity shop CDs! Love loads of these - ResuRection, Played a-Live, Electric Avenue, Castles In the Sky, Clint Eastwood (didn't realise that was Sweetie Irie on the remix though :o). Loving all the nostalgia here.

Hey there Pete :hi: :heart:

 

Ah gotta love charity shop bargains *.* I'm pleased that you're enjoying so many of these 2001 songs so far! I wrongly presumed that the vocalist on that Gorillaz remix was Ed Case for years, when he's in fact the DJ, so I get you *_* this really does feel so nostalgic and will only become moreso *.*

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

'Flawless' an amazing tune indeed, a great song loved the George Michael version when he sampled this in 2004. 'All Rise' a good song from Blue, one that I still come back and listen to. 'Clint Eastwood' an fantastic music video this was from Gorillaz. 'Castles In The Sky' a slightly unusual chart run in 2001 with it not reaching its peak til its fourth week in the chart. 'Have A Nice Day' great song from Stereophonics, this, 'Handbags and Gladrags' and 'Dakota' probably in my Top 3 of Stereophonics songs.

Hey there Mack :hi: :heart:

 

I'm glad that you like both versions of 'Flawless'! I feel like 2004 is going to be a ridiculously tough year but we'll see if 'Flawless (Go To The City)' makes it too - I do really like that. Gorillaz are such an amazing act when it comes to music videos, so much to take away from them *.* omg yes I love that run for 'Castles In The Sky'! This section featured quite a few long-running top 10s - although those other two did peak in their first week. Great Stereophonics top 3, I think mine is the same!

 

thank you for commenting <3

Continuing to approve of nearly all of these 2001 picks, 'American Dream' is the only one I'm not too keen on from the last 2 sections!

 

I think I knew the remix of 'Clint Eastwood' before the original version too but I do prefer the original - both versions are great for their own purposes though.

Continuing to approve of nearly all of these 2001 picks, 'American Dream' is the only one I'm not too keen on from the last 2 sections!

 

I think I knew the remix of 'Clint Eastwood' before the original version too but I do prefer the original - both versions are great for their own purposes though.

Hey there Bray :hi: :heart:

 

That is brilliant to hear *.* and I knew you weren't too keen on 'American Dream' (thanks to the BJSC spin-off / Now session) so that's not a nasty shock or anything haha.

 

I really have a hard time choosing which version I prefer :lol: but the original is fantastic so I can definitely respect that choice.

 

thank you for commenting <3

25. Jennifer Lopez - Love Don't Cost A Thing
(chart-run: 1-3-8-15-23-30-37-45-52-56-67R(4))

24. Alicia Keys - Fallin'
(chart-run: 3-4-5-6-11-17-29-44-57-69)

23. Kosheen - Hide U
(chart-run: 6-13-22-31-47-66-55R(3))

22. Gorillaz - 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)
(chart-run: 6-9-15-20-21-25-34-39-47-62)

21. Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This
(chart-run: 1-1-2-3-2-1-3-6-13-11-13-22-27-39-45-55-54-54)



Kicking off the top 25 is a lady who celebrated her birthday just a few days ago! Happy belated 51st birthday to Jennifer Lopez who refuses to age. We're starting off strong commercially as 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' was a #1 hit here. This was Jennifer's first chart topper in the U.K. so she was definitely not facing a sophomore slump situation with her 'J.Lo' era. This song caused a bit of a stir in the tabloids as lyrically it's about being with a man who has a materialistic attitude. At the time, Lopez was dating Sean Combs (aka Diddy, P Diddy, Puff Daddy... whatever you want to call him) but they broke up very soon after this song was released. The media would have a field day with this, quickly linking Diddy's showering of lavish gifts and the subsequent break up with 'Love Don't Cost A Thing'. To make this even more juicy, Jennifer would soon end up marrying backing dancer Cris Judd from the video. Her real life romances were every bit as dramatic as this single! The music video begins with dialogue as we see Jennifer resenting the fact that her love interest has sent her another bracelet instead of spending quality time with her. She retaliates with this super sassy song and even throws a purse, that was gifted to her by him, out of the car window. She has reached the end of her tether and proclaims that "even if you were broke, my love don't cost a thing". Perhaps money doesn't always buy happiness as Jennifer can't seem to stand the sight of the mansion that she's chilling in at the start any longer. Instead, she heads to the beach and performs a dance break out of nowhere. She is an independent woman who can finance herself and is tired of being bought off. I'm living for the fierceness of this song. It really reminds me of something Destiny's Child would release, especially 'Independent Women, Pt. 1' with the similar empowering themes and the pop mixed with R&B flavours. I was instantly hooked on this when I first saw it on the music channels as a kid. I recently got back into it a fair amount as well following the excellent Super Bowl half-time show courtesy of herself and Shakira, as I spent a couple of days re-familiarising myself with the biggest hits of both after that. I can't believe that performance was this year?! Everything pre-lockdown feels like a lifetime ago. Anyway, this song was an enjoyable bold move from her and it would take until her 2011 comeback for Jennifer to top this for me.

At #24 is where it all began for Alicia Keys! Like Nelly Furtado earlier, Alicia's debut single also proved to be a slam dunk that would set her up well. It reached #1 in the United States and was also a top 3 hit here. She won three Grammy Awards for it too - Song of the Year, Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. It has definitely turned out to be an enduring hit as one of her signature songs nowadays. She was just 20 years of age when recording this but her voice sounds wise beyond her years. I suppose this is down to the mature Neo soul elements of the song. 'Fallin' fuses this genre with R&B and is about the ins and outs of a relationship. The music video doesn't depict just any love story though, because instead it is based around the fact that Alicia is visiting her boyfriend in prison. This theme would later be explored further with her music video for the next single 'A Woman's Worth'. Back to 'Fallin', it has an immediately attention-grabbing introduction in a similar way to 'Who's Lovin You', famously attributed to the Jackson 5, with the same tactic of a vocal run instantaneously stealing the show. Alicia's runs and elongated enunciations continue to really lure me in throughout. There's something so warm about her delivery and I like that the song tackles both the highs and the lows. It was a smart debut as 'Fallin' is very radio friendly but also went down well with critics. I definitely can't fault the emotional delivery here or the beautiful production, especially the piano playing. As an artist she turned out to be quite hit-and-miss for me but this is an absolute classic.

Next at #23 is something a little different following that R&B back-to-back! This is Kosheen with the breathtaking 'Hide U'. I was introduced to this song through the dreamy John Creamer & Stephane K remix and I'd say I'm still more familiar with that version, due to downloading it on my iPod back in the day and spamming it a lot! But I also know the original very well and love that a lot. This was British trio Kosheen's first top 10 hit in the U.K. and would remain their highest peaking single at #6. Its closest competition was their only other top 10 single 'All In My Head' which reached #7. I'm shocked that 'Catch' only made it to #15 as it feels a lot bigger than that! Of course Kosheen vocalist Sian Evans would find huge success 10 years after the release of 'Hide U', when featuring on DJ Fresh's #1 hit 'Louder'. That was quite a pivotal moment for the dubstep genre. 'Hide U' is a drum & bass song through and through however. The aforementioned remix of this may be chilled but the original version is very manic. This chaotic production suits the unsettling nature of the video well and also the desperation of the lyrics. 'Hide U' is a very protective song that was written about Sian Evans' young son at the time. It's all about her maternal instinct of wanting to shield him from danger and "the world you rejected". It seems wild to me now that electronic music as thrilling as this was able to chart so high once upon a time. I mean, I can hardly begrudge the current number one but generally dance music in the chart currently is... pretty bleak. Definitely longing for some killer D&B to be a viable commercial force once more. 'Hide U' has a real intense feel to it that runs wild throughout. If this isn't already on my treadmill playlist then I need to get it on there as there's a certain adrenaline rush to it. I also need to check out more of Kosheen's material as I like all that I know of them.

At #22 is a song that I've just revisited thanks to the AF Idol spin-off happening on BuzzJack at the moment! My love for it has been reignited once more. Gorillaz make a second and final appearance for 2001 with another remixed version of a song from their eponymous debut album. After the success of 'Clint Eastwood', producer Damien Mendis was approached to remix another Gorillaz song to increase its commercial potential. He really wasn't sure about which one to choose but eventually came to a decision because he was told that a video was already being worked on for the song '19-2000'. These visuals show the members of Gorillaz on an unconventional road trip as they collide with a moose who dodges bullets due to a well-timed sneeze. Yep, I don't know either. The song is pretty nonsensical itself so I suppose these visuals match in that way. '19-2000' is the title of the song, inspired by its creation around the turn of the millennium, but you'd probably have to say that this is "the shoeshine song" to jog memories a bit more. Who knew "get the cool shoeshine" would be such an irresistible hook? This has the edge over the original for me as the feel-good factor is through the roof. From lyrics such as "Stop dancing to the music, of Gorillaz in a happy mood... keeping my groove on" to the seriously funky production. This was such a genius facelift. It may have taken a while to decide which song to gift this makeover to but it seems both producers Damien Mendis and Stuart Bradbury got it right. This was another big hit for Gorillaz after hitting #6 in the chart.

Just missing out on a spot in the top 20 is 'Gotta Get Thru This' by Daniel Bedingfield! This is pretty nostalgic due to my dad playing the accompanying album in the car back in the day. This song feels more relevant than ever while the world is collectively trying to stay strong during a difficult time. Plus, Daniel recorded this in his bedroom at the time which also feels appropriate for lockdown. This song isn't quite as doom and gloom as the state of the world but is based on frustration nevertheless. It's about Daniel's real life experience of not being able to pursue a girl properly due to the distance between them. The romance themes are portrayed through the video where Daniel is searching for a woman in many different places. I remember this song as being quite a stomper sonically but wow, writing this has proven deeper than expected! Daniel just had to hit me in the feels while I'm currently dealing with the frustration of Covid making a long distance relationship even more tough. Anyway, this subject matter is incorporated into a 'sad banger' type of song. UK Garage was still well and truly alive in 2001 and that was the exact direction that the production took! What a phenomenal idea that was. The pumping garage elements are certainly a highlight but I also massively rate the quickfire bridge too. This was a huge hit in the U.K. - spending two weeks at #1 in 2001 and then coming back for more in 2002 for one further week. I mainly associate Daniel with ballads due to his other two #1s being the sappy 'If You're Not The One' and 'Never Gonna Leave Your Side' but he truly did bless us with something pretty exciting for his debut, which easily remains the best thing he ever did for me. However, 'Tennis Court' by Lorde is still my favourite song by a New Zealand-born artist, sorry Daniel!

ooh all 5 of those are really good, though the best Kosheen song for me was the brilliant minor hit Harder in 2002. Adore it.

Got the day off work today so I'm going to write today's section now, a lot earlier in the day than usual!

 

ooh all 5 of those are really good, though the best Kosheen song for me was the brilliant minor hit Harder in 2002. Adore it.

Hey there John :hi: :heart:

 

Love to see a clean sweep *.* as mentioned, I really need to check out more Kosheen songs as I don't even know 'Harder' :o that shall be top of my list.

 

thank you for commenting <3