Fresh off a headache-induced nap but the show must finally go on!

 

 

05. S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin'

(chart-run: 1-2-2-1-2-4-7-9-9-14-19-23-25-32-40-39-48-52-70)

 

04. I Monster - Daydream In Blue

(chart-run: 20-26-29-40-46-65)

 

03. OutKast - Ms. Jackson

(chart-run: 2-3-8-10-16-23-28-35-46-67)

 

02. Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head

(chart-run: 1-1-1-1-2-2-7-12-14-15-17-21-21-14-16-21-32-38-53-49-44-47-36-38-55)

 

01. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

(chart-run: 1-3-8-11-13-20-29-32-42-62-70-73)

 

 

Kicking off this final section of 2001 is potentially the most nostalgic song from this entire top 40! This is 'Don't Stop Movin' by S Club 7. It mostly gives me that sentimental feeling, despite only being 3 when it was released, because it was a school disco staple later on. I do generally like S Club 7's output but this stands head and shoulders above everything else they released! I think it was the merging of their usual fun pop sound with disco influences that really won me over. Other songs of theirs, such as 'Alive', would incorporate this sound too, but 'Don't Stop Movin' proved to be a lot more evocative and essential. The British public very quickly took to this song as it debuted at #1 here. It later spent a second week at the top after Geri Halliwell's 'It's Raining Men' was sandwiched in between both of these stints. It spent a total of 9 weeks in the top 10 and became the seventh biggest selling single of the year. What a smash! Its popularity didn't end there, as 'Don't Stop Movin' also won a BRIT Award for Best British Single and ITV's 'Record of the Year' award. I seem to remember Westlife hogging that award a lot. S Club 7 certainly stand out as one of the best winners during its 15 year tenure. In a less credible move, it also finished at #3 on Q's 'Guilty Pleasures' list back in 2006. It's a shame that fantastic disco-pop like this and 'Murder On The Dancefloor' is lumped under the 'guilty pleasure' tag, once again I do not feel guilty one bit for liking this! S Club well and truly delivered with a euphoric earworm. "Right here on the dancefloor is where you've got to let it go" is a leading lyric, making it very fitting for any feel-good event. Sadly I never experienced this at pre-drinks or during clubbing, instead being subjected to sub-par remixes for the most part, but at least I do have the school disco memories. This never fails to put me in a good mood. The chorus is ridiculously catchy and singalong for starters. The song is backed by soaring strings and pulsating beats, which prove to be a killer combination. It's such a funky feeling. The robotic intro is also a standout feature for sure. Jo and Bradley take lead vocals on this one and they both shine. Jo's middle 8 in particular really shows off her impressive vocals. The styling and cheesy dancing in the music video definitely feel fitting for any late 90s or early 00s music video. The visuals are very simple but the grins on all their faces and the energetic routine does match up well with the general vibe of the song. S Club last appeared in my countdown with 'Bring It All Back' for 1999, at #37, so really outdid themselves with a top 5 placing for 2001.

 

So, 4 out of 5 songs in this section are top 2 hits. However, at #4 we have an outlier as 'Daydream In Blue' by I Monster only peaked at #20! The song feels more well-known than its peak suggests though, especially as it lives on even in 2020 with a version of it soundtracking a Magnum Ruby advert recently. I couldn't put a name to this for a while until it was featured in Radio 1's 'One Hit Wonders of the Millennium' show! This gave me my answer and cranked up the appreciation a lot as I immediately began spamming it after that. The origin of 'Daydream In Blue' lies with a 1969 song called 'Daydream' by Wallace Collection. The I Monster song is a remix of a version of 'Daydream' performed by Günter Kallmann Choir. They gave it a modern electronic twist. I Monster are a British duo comprising of Dean Honer and Jarrod Gosling. The former is involved with All Seeing I, who appeared in my 1998 countdown with the brilliant 'Beat Goes On'. This managed #17, so I Monster have really outdone that with a #4 ranking for 2001. 'Daydream In Blue' is a very trippy experience. At its core, it isn't too different from the more druggy (but the best!) work from The Beatles. Lyrics like "I dream of you amid the flowers" wouldn't feel out of place on something like 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds'. However, a big difference is the type of song, as this is executed in far more of a trip-hop fashion. Which also appeals to my music taste a lot. So it's not hard to see why I'd be into this! The general delivery of the lyrics is pretty slow and entrancing to enhance the psychedelic feel, but it switches up with the dynamic vocoder parts, which are pretty fantastic in their own right too. The music video is rather lewd in places to match up with the lyrics in the robotic part ("I dream a dirty dream of you baby...") but otherwise feels appropriately whacky, with puppets being controlled amidst a very colourful outdoor setting. 'Daydream In Blue' is I Monster's one and only hit. It's actually the only song I know by them. I should check out 'Neveroddoreven: Remodeled' one day even if just for the cool artwork. In the mean time I shall enjoy this creepy but hypnotic single.

 

Taking the bronze position for 2001 is 'Ms. Jackson' by OutKast! I struggled with its position a little back in early July when originally compiling my list. But, after careful consideration, I decided that there was no way it could be any lower than #3. This was OutKast's first top 40 hit after 'B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)' settled for #61. That song was critically acclaimed but underperformed commercially both here and in the U.S. Thankfully, 'Ms. Jackson' would turn the 'Stankonia' era around in a major way. It peaked at #2 here (following a #48 position a little earlier on import sales alone!) and was a #1 hit stateside. It lost out on the #1 spot here due to 'Whole Again' by Atomic Kitten, which is probably my most overrated girl-group song, so I'm not best pleased about this! At least it did go all the way on the Billboard chart. 'Ms. Jackson' is an alternative hip-hop song that addresses the problems that break-ups have on a couple. Especially the angle of animosity that the girl's mother may have towards the former boyfriend. It's easy to see that the song is from the perspective of the boyfriend to the mother, with the hook being "I'm sorry Ms. Jackson, I am for real, never meant to make your daughter cry, I apologise a trillion times". This line in question results in instant head-bobbing, as demonstrated in the video by the very cute cat, dog and owl trio. The video is generally a metaphor for the stormy relationship, hence the miserable weather causing destruction, so the charming animal parts provide light relief amongst that. 'Ms. Jackson' feels like a commercial move but not a sell-out moment at the same time. It just has an effortlessly cool and hooky vibe to it, mixed with emotional depth, that connected with a lot of people. I adore the production too, with the piano moments being a welcome layer amongst the more traditionally hip-hop elements. The dog walking across the piano in the video is definitely one of the cutest moments from it too! This is an excellent single from OutKast, however, their best is yet to come for me! So stick around with these noughties countdowns to find out which song that may be, as they had a further 5 top 40 hits...

 

Just missing out on my #1 spot for 2001 is an iconic moment in pop music! Kylie appears in my countdown for the first time in style after failing to make the cut with the 'Light Years' singles. 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' seems to attract mixed opinions on BuzzJack. I can certainly understand if overplay comes into the equation for some people as its stats were pretty staggering on the UK airplay chart at the time. But, I was too young to remember this song achieving world domination at the time. Instead, I grew up with it being a stalwart on retrospective 4Music countdowns such as "best music videos of the 2000s", "best selling singles of the 2000s" etc... so I quickly became familiar with it. I fell in love with the whole package immediately. Here Kylie was, delivering a song that lives up to its title with a constant stream of ludicrously infectious parts. Especially the famous "la la la..." lines. I also loved that this song was presented in an unusual structure. It has been compared to a "happy accident" before in reviews and that totally works as a description for me. The theme of obsession also gives this song a bit of a dark edge. It was the team of Cathy Dennis and Rob Davis who created this masterpiece when originally working on something for S Club 7. But this didn't fit their sound and it was Kylie who gave it a go after hearing just 20 seconds of the demo. I couldn't imagine anyone other than Kylie pulling this off now! Especially coupled with the video, where she provides some of the most iconic looks of her career. Especially the fashion statement of the white jumpsuit. Once again, the video has a bit of a dark undertone to it with the robotic dancing and some uncomfortably close-up shots of Kylie. The production has a glorious throwback feel to it, I suppose it's quite easy to compare it to New Order as it has been mashed-up with 'Blue Monday' before. But yeah, that sophisticated pulsating synth sound. That drives the song to perfection. Kylie staged her successful disco princess re-invention in 2000 with 'Spinning Around' and the accompanying album but this took it up a whole new level. The Billboard Hot 100 was a tough nut to crack for Kylie more often than not but 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' managed a seriously impressive #7 peak for her! In the U.K., 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' notched up four weeks at the top and became one of the best selling singles of the 2000s. Poor Victoria Beckham was pitted against a female by the media for a chart battle once again, following 'Groovejet' vs. 'Out Of Your Mind', but this time it wasn't even close as 'Not Such An Innocent Girl' charted at #6, while Kylie was sitting up at the top with eye-watering first week sales of over 300k. Despite 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' doing as well as #2 here, it's actually not my favourite Kylie song! That will be coming further down the line...

 

Well, the time has now come to round off 2001. I'm sure that this has been a totally predictable climax as I've banged on about the fact that 'Another Chance' is my favourite song of all-time enough over the years. Both on the forum and on plug.dj. Yes, not only did Roger Sanchez provide me with the best song of 2001, but the song that has captured my attention like no other. Despite mentioning this in passing several times over the years, I've never actually sat down and written at length about 'Another Chance' before, if memory serves me right. Which feels odd as it's been my all-time favourite for several years now. I remember thinking up a few bullet points about it in my head back when I had my interview for HMV just in case I was quizzed on my favourite song of all-time. I wanted to be prepared! I did actually bring up the dance scene at the time, this was back in 2014 when we had a pleasing revival commercially, but I did not end up chatting about this 2001 chart topper in the end. So those bullet points just stayed in my head and slowly faded over time. 6 years later it's time to revisit why I love this song so much properly and not in any kind of interview setting. I'm feeling the pressure a bit, despite this being a fun countdown on a music forum, just because I want to do it justice. I feel like it's hard to truly explain why you chose this one song as your favourite out of all the many songs in the world. That's a big deal and there's a lot of emotional weighting here. But yes, I shall give it my best shot while listening to the full 7 minute version on loop, as I could never tire of this song and this extends to the longer version. The day I ever skip 'Another Chance' is the day something is seriously wrong with me. I think I would've first come across it through the Now 49 album but I truly remember falling in love with it when I saw the music video. A huge melancholic wave came rushing over me. Here was a loopy house song, that was taking a pretty heart-wrenching line from the Toto song 'I Won't Hold You Back' and shoving it down my throat over and over again. The line in question is of course: "If I had another chance tonight, I'd try to tell you that the things we had were right". I just found so much power in this regretful, longing and unresolved situation. This feels pretty deep to write about a loopy house song! Some of the genre can be quite throwaway. But there's something really special and thought-provoking about 'Another Chance'. Like I said, the video made me truly appreciate it - we see a woman who has a huge heart reaching out to others... it's thrown back in her face and gets smaller and smaller. There is a happier ending as she eventually gets asked out for coffee. But I think I always felt a connection with the lady in the video. I certainly feel like I have a huge heart and growing up I slowly realised that people would not always appreciate this and certainly take advantage of it, or throw it back in my face. Also the weight of the world can be crushing in other ways. Ooft, again I feel like this is perhaps unexpectedly deep and I feel a little exposed, but music is so powerful and this song has always had that connection with me thanks to the visuals. I'm of course a tiny dot in the universe so it tends to get me thinking way beyond myself and about life and emotion in general. But, on that personal level - I shall try my best to never let my passion die. So, I feel inspired and strong off the back of this but it came from the initial sad thoughts. 'Another Chance' is definitely sad at the core even away from the video, with the aforementioned unfulfilled longing in the lyrics. But the swirling house components feel like a bit of musical hug for me. Plus, those two successive drum hits, are like a signal to pick yourself up every time they kick in - that moves the song on exquisitely. Sonically this is right up my street anyway but what makes it my favourite song of all-time, on top of sounding marvellous to my ears, is its thought-provoking nature that makes me feel many emotions at once. I guess you could say it falls under the sad banger category. Isn't it so weird that a loopy sample can make me feel all of that. I took a look at the comments on the video and many others feel a connection to it, so maybe it's not so strange. Well, I have no idea if any of that made sense but to me it did and I cannot imagine anything else ever overtaking it. This beauty topped the chart here, so the U.K. truly demonstrated good taste that week. I sadly couldn't contribute to its first week sales at 3-years-old but I have provided many streams later in life at least! May this soundtrack my life forever.

recap ~ full 2001 top 40:

 

01. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

02. Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head

03. OutKast - Ms. Jackson

04. I Monster - Daydream In Blue

05. S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin'

06. Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At

07. Eve - Let Me Blow Ya Mind (feat. Gwen Stefani)

08. Mary J. Blige - Family Affair

09. Rui Da Silva - Touch Me (feat. Cassandra)

10. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor

 

11. Jean Jacques Smoothie - 2 People

12. Planet Funk - Chase The Sun

13. Chocolate Puma - I Wanna Be U

14. M&S Presents The Girl Next Door - Salsoul Nugget (If U Wanna)

15. iiO - Rapture

16. Riva - Who Do You Love Now? (Stringer) (feat. Dannii Minogue)

17. Basement Jaxx - Romeo

18. The Supermen Lovers - Starlight (feat. Mani Hoffman)

19. Groove Armada - Superstylin'

20. Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U

 

21. Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This

22. Gorillaz - 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)

23. Kosheen - Hide U

24. Alicia Keys - Fallin'

25. Jennifer Lopez - Love Don't Cost A Thing

26. Stereophonics - Have A Nice Day

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky

28. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix)

29. Blue - All Rise

30. The Ones - Flawless

 

31. Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue (Ringbang Remix)

32. Jakatta - American Dream

33. Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird

34. Safri Duo - Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)

35. Zero 7 - Destiny

36. Destiny's Child - Survivor

37. Linkin Park - In The End

38. Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On

39. Shaggy - It Wasn't Me (feat. Rik Rok)

40. PPK - ResuRection

 

~~~

 

playlist so far (1997 - 2001):

 

 

Another year complete! This just got all the more fulfilling after writing about my favourite song. I shall compile my 2002 list on bank holiday Monday and then begin counting down all over again the following week. The noughties is my favourite decade for chart hits so I'm happy to be in the patch for a while longer. <3

Wonderful top end of the chart, the whole top 5 is great (and most of the top 10 as well). Another Chance has been one that's grown on me a lot over the years, it's very subtly powerful. I also discovered Daydream in Blue through the One Hit Wonders show a few years back, and it's stayed with me since. Great song.

 

Others I really like here since I last commented:

 

18. The Supermen Lovers - Starlight (feat. Mani Hoffman) (this is one of my favourites, he has such a unique voice and the backing with the gospel singers and great bassline makes it so anthemic)

26. Stereophonics - Have A Nice Day (Bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's catchy and I like the story behind it)

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky (There are so many different versions of this! All of them are great, though I do prefer the one with the bigger synths in the chorus)

28. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix) (I'll be controversial here and say I'm not really a fan of this remix. I didn't hear it often when I was growing up and it just seemed jarring compared to the atmospheric original, thankfully, the Soulchild remix of 19/2000 improves it tenfold and is one of my favourites)

29. Blue - All Rise (probably my favourite boyband song <3)

 

I'll think of my own top 10 for 2001, but I'll separate it to not overload this post :kink:

I like 'Another Chance' a lot and it's in my top 20 for the year but it's interesting to read why you would consider it the best song of all time and you explained it very well. Here are my own favourite top 40 singles from 2001. A few of them are in your list as well.

 

1. The Chemical Brothers - It Began In Afrika

2. Faithless - Tarantula

3. Angelic - Can't Keep Me Silent

4. Air - Radio #1

5. Avalanches - Since I Left You (do you know this one? I think you'd really like it and its award winning video)

6. Radiohead - Knives Out

7. Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist

8. Depeche Mode - Freelove

9. Dido - Here With Me

10. Daft Punk - Digital Love

11. Faithless - We Come 1

12. New Order - Crystal

13. Mario Piu - The Vision

14. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

15. Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At?

16. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky

17. Safri Duo - Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)

18. Rui Da Silva featuring Cassandra - Touch Me

19. Manic Street Preachers - So Why So Sad

20. Jakatta - American Dream

Great top 5 Jade, and never apologise for liking "cheese", todays cheese is tomorrows pop classic, I've always said :) That's why I enjoy recalling all the criticism of "cheesy" bands like Abba and Queen at the time that I loved and reminding people that critics can be wrong :lol:

 

I'm going to slot in my top 100 of 2001 based on chart-"sales" points at the time (apologies for the self-indulgence) as a lot of your faves feature.. S Club 7 is a great pop record, at 28 in my list. I Monster are at 41, also fab - talking of childhood memories, Gunther-Kallman Choir featured in my childhood love with a track called Elizabethan Serenade, written by Mantovani, the Elevator-music King back in the day, a German-language version of an instrumental that was a UK hit. It took me decades to find out what it was called and who sung it :lol: I almost sent it into BJSC :D

 

Outkast are fab, Kylie is a classic, 7 on my list, and loved your enthusiasm for Another Chance. It's better than the Toto original, which I liked, but it didn;t quite make my list.

 

Cheers!

 

 

1 CRYSTAL    New Order

2 SOMEONE TO CALL MY LOVER    Janet Jackson

3 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR    Sophie Ellis-Bextor

4 BOHEMIAN LIKE YOU    The Dandy Warhols

5 WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG    Emma Bunton

6 JUXTAPOSE WITH U    Super Furry Animals

7 CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD    Kylie Minogue

8 RIGHT ON    Silicone Soul

9 STARLIGHT    Supermen Lovers

10 THE DARK IS RISING    Mercury Rev

 

11 CRYING AT THE DISCOTHEQUE    Alcazar

12 LOVIN’ EACH DAY    Ronan Keating

13 I’M LIKE A BIRD    Nelly Furtado

14 SING    Travis

15 STRONGER    Britney Spears

16 DOWN IN THE RIVER TO PRAY    Alison Krauss

17 FAMILY AFFAIR    Mary J. Blige

18 ALL HOOKED UP    All Saints

19 GOODNIGHT MOON    Shivaree

20 TEENAGE DIRTBAG    Wheatus

 

21 IMITATION OF LIFE    REM

22 I CAN’T DENY IT    Rod Stewart

23 THIS IS WHERE I CAME IN    The Bee Gees

24 LET LOVE BE YOUR ENERGY    Robbie Williams

25 DAYS GO BY    Dirty Vegas

26 ASTOUNDED    Bran Van 3000/ Curtis Mayfield

27 ELEVATION    U2

28 DON’T STOP MOVIN’    S Club 7

29 LET’S DANCE    Five

30 WHO DO YOU LOVE NOW    Riva/Dannii Minogue

 

31 TOUCH ME    Rui Da Silva

32 HE LOVES U NOT    Dream

33 SOUTHSIDE    Moby/Gwen Stefani

34 SWEET SURRENDER    Sarah MacLachlan

35 HERE WITH ME    Dido

36 FEEL SO GOOD    Melanie B

37 ALL RISE    Blue

38 SINCE I LEFT YOU    The Avalanches

39 WHEN IT’S OVER IT’S OVER    Sister Ray

40 GOTTA GET THU’ THIS    Daniel Bedingfield

 

41 DAYDREAM IN BLUE    I Monster

42 ALL FOR YOU    Janet Jackson

43 ROAD TO MANDALAY    Robbie Williams

44 FREE    Mya

45 TAKE ME HOME    Sophie Ellis-Bextor

46 LET ME BLOW YOUR MIND    Eve/ Gwen Stefani

47 AIN’T IT FUNNY    Jennifer Lopez

48 FALLING    Alicia Keys

49 COWBOY DREAMS    Prefab Sprout

50 SOMETHIN’ STUPID    Robbie Williams/Nicole Kidman

 

51 BUTTERFLY    Crazy Town

52 CANDY    Ash

53 FEELING GOOD    Muse

54 SURVIVOR    Destiny’s Child

55 DON’T COME AROUND HERE    Rod Stewart & Helicopter Girl

56 FOOL    Mansun

57 ON THE RADIO    Martine McCutcheon

58 CASE OF THE EX    Mya

59 PLAYED ALIVE    Safri Duo

60 THIS TIME AROUND    Phats & Small

61 REVOLUTION IN THE SUMMERTIME    Cosmic Rough Riders

62 THE UNKNOWN    Mark B & Blade

63 LOCO    Fun Lovin’ Criminals

64 GOOD SOULS    Starsailor

65 WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL    Madonna

66 ISLAND IN THE SUN    Weezer

67 NEW YEARS’ DUB    Musique vs U2

68 UNTIL THE END OF TIME    2-Pac

69 DREAM ON    Depeche Mode

70 NEVER ENOUGH    Boris Dlugosch/ Roisin Murphy

71 LITTLE L    Jamiroquai

72 DIGITAL LOVE    Daft Punk

73 THE CALL    The Backstreet Boys

74 LULLABY    Melanie B

75 F.E.A.R.    Ian Brown

76 HASHPIPE    Weezer

77 LES FLEURS    4hero

78 WHAT’S GOING ON    Artists Against Aids

79 SIDE    Travis

80 POP    N’Sync

81 BOSS OF ME    They Might Be Giants

82 A LITTLE RESPECT    Wheatus

83 STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU    Louise

84 THANK YOU    Dido

85 STOP YOUR CRYING    Spiritualised

86 FLAWLESS    The Ones

87 CLOSING TIME    Semisonic

88 RAPTURE    Iio

89 WONDERFUL WORLD    Joey Ramone

90 IT’S OVER NOW    112″

91 HEARD IT ALL BEFORE    Sunshine Anderson

92 THE STORM IS OVER NOW    R. Kelly

93 LAST NIGHT    The Strokes

94 DO YOU LOVE ME    Mademoiselle

95 ALWAYS COME BACK TO YOUR LOVE    Samantha Mumba

96 SO WHY SO SAD    Manic Street Preachers

97 CHEMISTRY    Semisonic

98 FEVER    Starsailor

99 WHITE BOY WITH A FEATHER    Jason Downs

100 NEW BORN    Muse

Just catching up with your selections for 2001, delighted to see PPK and Linkin Park included in here, In The End in particular is such a classic track and easily my favourite from that year!

 

It Wasn't Me, Gotta Get Thru This and Chase The Sun are great too, and although it comes as no surprise it's still brilliant to see Another Chance at the top here, a real dance classic and also my favourite out of that top ten, also a big fan of those two drum hits :D

 

2001 is probably my favourite year for rock hits, as reflected in my fave top 40 hits from the year:

 

1. Linkin Park - In The End

2. Muse - New Born

3. Muse - Plug In Baby

4. Feeder - Turn

5. System of a Down - Chop Suey

6. PPK - Resurection

7. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

8. Muse - Bliss

9. Atomic Kitten - Whole Again

10. Linkin Park - Crawling

I think most of S Club 7's songs that I enjoy do fall into 'guilty pleasure' territory but I will die on the hill of 'Don't Stop Movin'' just being a genuinely good pop song (along with the similarly named 'Keep On Movin''). x

 

A great top 10 here, my faves being OutKast, I Monster and Mary J. Blige (and Roger Sanchez as well, I don't quite share the same deep connection to it that you have but that was interesting to read about! 'Sad banger' type songs are often among my fave songs as well x)

Hello again! As expected each year is getting more enjoyable to read through than the one before as I recognize more and more songs. So hopefully I'll have a fair amount to say about these!

 

01. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance Whew! In the year 2020 when nothing's going to plan, at least we are spared of a shock #1 here :kink: Personally I'm rather indifferent to this song (*gets banned from this thread :ph34r:*) but I'll never forget discovering it in mid-2011...it was shortly after Roger was in the chart for a song with Far East Movement, and needless to say I thought he was some new emerging DJ, not one who's already had a big career for over a decade :blush:

02. Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head

03. OutKast - Ms. Jackson

05. S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin'

07. Eve - Let Me Blow Ya Mind (feat. Gwen Stefani) Still a banger *.* This blows my mind (pardon the pun) on multiple levels! First of all, Gwen has done so many genres in her career and I'd say she's done them all flawlessly! It's one of the reasons I respect her so much as an artist (Norah Jones is another one that comes to mind, believe it or not). Also, the way Eve returned the favor a few years later by featuring on 'Rich Girl' :wub: I'm not sure if that was common for collab partners back then the way it is now, but normally one song is better than the other or more of an enduring hit. Personally I couldn't pick a preference between the two Eve/Gwen collabs, and I'd consider both to be at the same level of classic status! But what do you think?

08. Mary J. Blige - Family Affair

09. Rui Da Silva - Touch Me (feat. Cassandra)

13. Chocolate Puma - I Wanna Be U One of my fave 'One-Hit Wonders of the Millennium' discoveries :wub: I wasn't aware of that 'Follow Da Leader' song sampling it so I've just given that a listen. Gosh that production is just so infectious but I feel it's a little to dark to fit the bright and sunny mood of 'Follow Da Leader', although it's still quite good and I'd gladly listen to it again. On the other hand it's a perfect fit with the growly vocals here on 'I Wanna Be U'!

15. iiO - Rapture

16. Riva - Who Do You Love Now? (Stringer) (feat. Dannii Minogue)

20. Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U

21. Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This Major childhood fave alert! This was quite big in the US, peaking at #10, and UK garage was really not a thing here so to my ears it truly sounded like nothing else at the time. 'If You're Not The One' was his only other US hit, which I also liked, but after hearing his other singles years later, I don't think we missed out on much :kink:

24. Alicia Keys - Fallin'

25. Jennifer Lopez - Love Don't Cost A Thing Were you aware that despite having 7 #1s between the UK and US, all of J-Lo's chart-toppers were only on one side of the pond but not both? I was quite pleased to see this was one of her three UK #1s, all three of which are among my faves of hers. Actually she has my favorite back catalog of any artist, so many bops!

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky

28. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix) Am I understanding correctly, that this is the more well-known version of the song in the UK? :o Definitely not the case here, the original was all I knew until just now as I listen to this remix. Interesting!

32. Jakatta - American Dream

33. Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird

35. Zero 7 - Destiny

36. Destiny's Child - Survivor

37. Linkin Park - In The End So growing up, I was in a band and we covered this song, I played the bass and did the rap *.* Not sure if I still remember all the words haha. I think we covered 'Numb' as well. Linkin Park was my favorite band in my childhood so needless to say, I hope they'll make more appearances when you count down future years!

38. Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On

39. Shaggy - It Wasn't Me (feat. Rik Rok)

 

All right I think that's enough for tonight, I'll certainly be back for 2002!

A great #1 there in Roger Sanchez, what a song that is. Remember listening to this a lot that year and also one for the playlist for me. 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' this probably my favourite Kylie song this is such a great song from her. I don't think Victoria Beckham had a chance pitted against Kylie. 'Ms Jackson' classic from OutKast. Sorry not really a fan of I Monster. 'Don't Stop Movin' wow what a song this is, this is a pop classic and probably the best song that S Club 7 did. Those days of a Thursday afternoon at 4:35pm tuning to Miami 7. Must of been of my favourite groups when I was a child at that time. They were massive.

 

 

Ms Jackson & Daydream In Blue :wub:

 

OutKast are one of my all-time favourite and Ms Jackson is certainly one of their best. Andre's verse is one brilliant and Big Boi's flow throughout insane,

 

Daydream... is a really weird song but so addictive. Quite a creepy vibe but very atmospheric and otherworldly.

Woah so many comments :o bless you guys :heart: shall finally sit down and reply to them all and then start putting together my 2002 list to start counting down soon, exciting!

 

Wonderful top end of the chart, the whole top 5 is great (and most of the top 10 as well). Another Chance has been one that's grown on me a lot over the years, it's very subtly powerful. I also discovered Daydream in Blue through the One Hit Wonders show a few years back, and it's stayed with me since. Great song.

 

Others I really like here since I last commented:

 

18. The Supermen Lovers - Starlight (feat. Mani Hoffman) (this is one of my favourites, he has such a unique voice and the backing with the gospel singers and great bassline makes it so anthemic)

26. Stereophonics - Have A Nice Day (Bit of a guilty pleasure, but it's catchy and I like the story behind it)

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky (There are so many different versions of this! All of them are great, though I do prefer the one with the bigger synths in the chorus)

28. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix) (I'll be controversial here and say I'm not really a fan of this remix. I didn't hear it often when I was growing up and it just seemed jarring compared to the atmospheric original, thankfully, the Soulchild remix of 19/2000 improves it tenfold and is one of my favourites)

29. Blue - All Rise (probably my favourite boyband song <3)

 

I'll think of my own top 10 for 2001, but I'll separate it to not overload this post :kink:

Hey there Chez :hi: :heart:

 

I'm pleased that you were satisfied with the final batch of 2001 songs! Describing all 5 of them as great is pretty good going. I'm especially glad that 'Another Chance' has proven to be a grower for you! It seems to generally go down well on BuzzJack in the dance countdowns we've had over the years. Subtly powerful is a fantastic way to describe it. Ooh, the impact of One Hit Wonders *.* it certainly did stand out amongst the line-up, which is a great feat when the day was packed with so many one hit wonders!

 

18 - they really played a blinder with the vocalist, he really elevates it <3 I think I forgot to mention the gospel singers somehow but yes, they're also brilliant!

26 - 'Dakota' seems to be the Stereophonics song that gets attention on here (deserved!) so I'm glad to see more appreciation for 'Have A Nice Day' - catchy for sure!

27 - Haha, I guess I'm most familiar with the version on Now 49! I think that was the one with bigger synths? Well, bigger synths are always a winner anyway!

28 - Aw okay, I discovered the remix before the original which gave it a bit of an advantage for me from the get go! The original is fantastic too <3 I agree that the '19/2000' remix is more effective compared to its original form, I was really pleased to see it going down so well in the AF Idol spin-off!

29 - Excellent choice of favourite boyband song *.* I think mine is probably 'Keep On Movin', need to give it some thought

 

:lol: okay - looking forward to seeing your top 10!

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

I like 'Another Chance' a lot and it's in my top 20 for the year but it's interesting to read why you would consider it the best song of all time and you explained it very well. Here are my own favourite top 40 singles from 2001. A few of them are in your list as well.

 

1. The Chemical Brothers - It Began In Afrika

2. Faithless - Tarantula

3. Angelic - Can't Keep Me Silent

4. Air - Radio #1

5. Avalanches - Since I Left You (do you know this one? I think you'd really like it and its award winning video)

6. Radiohead - Knives Out

7. Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist

8. Depeche Mode - Freelove

9. Dido - Here With Me

10. Daft Punk - Digital Love

11. Faithless - We Come 1

12. New Order - Crystal

13. Mario Piu - The Vision

14. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

15. Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At?

16. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky

17. Safri Duo - Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)

18. Rui Da Silva featuring Cassandra - Touch Me

19. Manic Street Preachers - So Why So Sad

20. Jakatta - American Dream

Hey there Rollo :hi: :heart:

 

I'm so glad that you rate 'Another Chance' enough to include it in your top 20 too! It means a lot that you thought I explained my thoughts on it well also. I dived deeper than I expected to but I'm glad I did, felt really rewarding. Anyway, I see that there's an unbroken run of songs from your #14 to #18 that were all in my countdown actually, brilliant! There are actually quite a few songs from that list that I need to educate myself on - I do not know the Avalanches one for instance!

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Great top 5 Jade, and never apologise for liking "cheese", todays cheese is tomorrows pop classic, I've always said :) That's why I enjoy recalling all the criticism of "cheesy" bands like Abba and Queen at the time that I loved and reminding people that critics can be wrong :lol:

 

I'm going to slot in my top 100 of 2001 based on chart-"sales" points at the time (apologies for the self-indulgence) as a lot of your faves feature.. S Club 7 is a great pop record, at 28 in my list. I Monster are at 41, also fab - talking of childhood memories, Gunther-Kallman Choir featured in my childhood love with a track called Elizabethan Serenade, written by Mantovani, the Elevator-music King back in the day, a German-language version of an instrumental that was a UK hit. It took me decades to find out what it was called and who sung it :lol: I almost sent it into BJSC :D

 

Outkast are fab, Kylie is a classic, 7 on my list, and loved your enthusiasm for Another Chance. It's better than the Toto original, which I liked, but it didn;t quite make my list.

 

Cheers!

 

 

1 CRYSTAL    New Order

2 SOMEONE TO CALL MY LOVER    Janet Jackson

3 MURDER ON THE DANCEFLOOR    Sophie Ellis-Bextor

4 BOHEMIAN LIKE YOU    The Dandy Warhols

5 WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG    Emma Bunton

6 JUXTAPOSE WITH U    Super Furry Animals

7 CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD    Kylie Minogue

8 RIGHT ON    Silicone Soul

9 STARLIGHT    Supermen Lovers

10 THE DARK IS RISING    Mercury Rev

 

11 CRYING AT THE DISCOTHEQUE    Alcazar

12 LOVIN’ EACH DAY    Ronan Keating

13 I’M LIKE A BIRD    Nelly Furtado

14 SING    Travis

15 STRONGER    Britney Spears

16 DOWN IN THE RIVER TO PRAY    Alison Krauss

17 FAMILY AFFAIR    Mary J. Blige

18 ALL HOOKED UP    All Saints

19 GOODNIGHT MOON    Shivaree

20 TEENAGE DIRTBAG    Wheatus

 

21 IMITATION OF LIFE    REM

22 I CAN’T DENY IT    Rod Stewart

23 THIS IS WHERE I CAME IN    The Bee Gees

24 LET LOVE BE YOUR ENERGY    Robbie Williams

25 DAYS GO BY    Dirty Vegas

26 ASTOUNDED    Bran Van 3000/ Curtis Mayfield

27 ELEVATION    U2

28 DON’T STOP MOVIN’    S Club 7

29 LET’S DANCE    Five

30 WHO DO YOU LOVE NOW    Riva/Dannii Minogue

 

31 TOUCH ME    Rui Da Silva

32 HE LOVES U NOT    Dream

33 SOUTHSIDE    Moby/Gwen Stefani

34 SWEET SURRENDER    Sarah MacLachlan

35 HERE WITH ME    Dido

36 FEEL SO GOOD    Melanie B

37 ALL RISE    Blue

38 SINCE I LEFT YOU    The Avalanches

39 WHEN IT’S OVER IT’S OVER    Sister Ray

40 GOTTA GET THU’ THIS    Daniel Bedingfield

 

41 DAYDREAM IN BLUE    I Monster

42 ALL FOR YOU    Janet Jackson

43 ROAD TO MANDALAY    Robbie Williams

44 FREE    Mya

45 TAKE ME HOME    Sophie Ellis-Bextor

46 LET ME BLOW YOUR MIND    Eve/ Gwen Stefani

47 AIN’T IT FUNNY    Jennifer Lopez

48 FALLING    Alicia Keys

49 COWBOY DREAMS    Prefab Sprout

50 SOMETHIN’ STUPID    Robbie Williams/Nicole Kidman

 

51 BUTTERFLY    Crazy Town

52 CANDY    Ash

53 FEELING GOOD    Muse

54 SURVIVOR    Destiny’s Child

55 DON’T COME AROUND HERE    Rod Stewart & Helicopter Girl

56 FOOL    Mansun

57 ON THE RADIO    Martine McCutcheon

58 CASE OF THE EX    Mya

59 PLAYED ALIVE    Safri Duo

60 THIS TIME AROUND    Phats & Small

61 REVOLUTION IN THE SUMMERTIME    Cosmic Rough Riders

62 THE UNKNOWN    Mark B & Blade

63 LOCO    Fun Lovin’ Criminals

64 GOOD SOULS    Starsailor

65 WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL    Madonna

66 ISLAND IN THE SUN    Weezer

67 NEW YEARS’ DUB    Musique vs U2

68 UNTIL THE END OF TIME    2-Pac

69 DREAM ON    Depeche Mode

70 NEVER ENOUGH    Boris Dlugosch/ Roisin Murphy

71 LITTLE L    Jamiroquai

72 DIGITAL LOVE    Daft Punk

73 THE CALL    The Backstreet Boys

74 LULLABY    Melanie B

75 F.E.A.R.    Ian Brown

76 HASHPIPE    Weezer

77 LES FLEURS    4hero

78 WHAT’S GOING ON    Artists Against Aids

79 SIDE    Travis

80 POP    N’Sync

81 BOSS OF ME    They Might Be Giants

82 A LITTLE RESPECT    Wheatus

83 STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU    Louise

84 THANK YOU    Dido

85 STOP YOUR CRYING    Spiritualised

86 FLAWLESS    The Ones

87 CLOSING TIME    Semisonic

88 RAPTURE    Iio

89 WONDERFUL WORLD    Joey Ramone

90 IT’S OVER NOW    112″

91 HEARD IT ALL BEFORE    Sunshine Anderson

92 THE STORM IS OVER NOW    R. Kelly

93 LAST NIGHT    The Strokes

94 DO YOU LOVE ME    Mademoiselle

95 ALWAYS COME BACK TO YOUR LOVE    Samantha Mumba

96 SO WHY SO SAD    Manic Street Preachers

97 CHEMISTRY    Semisonic

98 FEVER    Starsailor

99 WHITE BOY WITH A FEATHER    Jason Downs

100 NEW BORN    Muse

Hey there John :hi: :heart:

 

This is a great point! I mean, just the other day, critics were raving about 'Teenage Dream' being a pop classic 10 years later when the same publications panned it at the time :lol:

 

Loved reading your entire list! I didn't know what to do about 'Days Go By' as it peaked higher in 2002, so might still include it if its competition isn't too brutal, we shall see :lol: I need to remind myself of both of your top 2 as they seem familiar but can't immediately recall either. Emma was just outside my list also, 'What Took You So Long?' is a great pop song *.* 'Let's Dance' also very close to making the cut. Like the previous two comments, I'm pleased that you also like 'Another Chance', I agree that it elevates the original Toto song - eventually checked that out!

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Just catching up with your selections for 2001, delighted to see PPK and Linkin Park included in here, In The End in particular is such a classic track and easily my favourite from that year!

 

It Wasn't Me, Gotta Get Thru This and Chase The Sun are great too, and although it comes as no surprise it's still brilliant to see Another Chance at the top here, a real dance classic and also my favourite out of that top ten, also a big fan of those two drum hits :D

 

2001 is probably my favourite year for rock hits, as reflected in my fave top 40 hits from the year:

 

1. Linkin Park - In The End

2. Muse - New Born

3. Muse - Plug In Baby

4. Feeder - Turn

5. System of a Down - Chop Suey

6. PPK - Resurection

7. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

8. Muse - Bliss

9. Atomic Kitten - Whole Again

10. Linkin Park - Crawling

Hey there coi :hi: :heart:

 

All of this love for 'Another Chance' is warming my heart :wub: especially as you pointed out the two drum hits too - something so simple elevates it so much! *.* Glad that your favourite did make my own top 40 - 'In The End' is really powerful <3 The PPK song seems a bit underrated nowadays so happy to see that getting some love too.

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

I think most of S Club 7's songs that I enjoy do fall into 'guilty pleasure' territory but I will die on the hill of 'Don't Stop Movin'' just being a genuinely good pop song (along with the similarly named 'Keep On Movin''). x

 

A great top 10 here, my faves being OutKast, I Monster and Mary J. Blige (and Roger Sanchez as well, I don't quite share the same deep connection to it that you have but that was interesting to read about! 'Sad banger' type songs are often among my fave songs as well x)

Hey there Bray :hi: :heart:

 

Omg... so much this!! Both of those songs are bonafide pop classics *.* pleased that you approve of the top 10 <3 an excellent trio of faves if I say so myself ^_^ I think I remember you saying that me playing 'Another Chance' on plug.dj helped you to get into it more, so if I am remembering it correctly, then that pleases me greatly and I will continue to spread the good word of Roger Sanchez. Glad you found my commentary interesting! About time I chatted about my favourite song properly. You can't go wrong with sad bangers most of the time *.* I feel like I use that phrase quite a lot in my monthly favourites videos so I clearly still love those type of songs too :lol:

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Hello again! As expected each year is getting more enjoyable to read through than the one before as I recognize more and more songs. So hopefully I'll have a fair amount to say about these!

 

01. Roger Sanchez - Another Chance Whew! In the year 2020 when nothing's going to plan, at least we are spared of a shock #1 here :kink: Personally I'm rather indifferent to this song (*gets banned from this thread :ph34r:*) but I'll never forget discovering it in mid-2011...it was shortly after Roger was in the chart for a song with Far East Movement, and needless to say I thought he was some new emerging DJ, not one who's already had a big career for over a decade :blush:

02. Kylie Minogue - Can't Get You Out Of My Head

03. OutKast - Ms. Jackson

05. S Club 7 - Don't Stop Movin'

07. Eve - Let Me Blow Ya Mind (feat. Gwen Stefani) Still a banger *.* This blows my mind (pardon the pun) on multiple levels! First of all, Gwen has done so many genres in her career and I'd say she's done them all flawlessly! It's one of the reasons I respect her so much as an artist (Norah Jones is another one that comes to mind, believe it or not). Also, the way Eve returned the favor a few years later by featuring on 'Rich Girl' :wub: I'm not sure if that was common for collab partners back then the way it is now, but normally one song is better than the other or more of an enduring hit. Personally I couldn't pick a preference between the two Eve/Gwen collabs, and I'd consider both to be at the same level of classic status! But what do you think?

08. Mary J. Blige - Family Affair

09. Rui Da Silva - Touch Me (feat. Cassandra)

13. Chocolate Puma - I Wanna Be U One of my fave 'One-Hit Wonders of the Millennium' discoveries :wub: I wasn't aware of that 'Follow Da Leader' song sampling it so I've just given that a listen. Gosh that production is just so infectious but I feel it's a little to dark to fit the bright and sunny mood of 'Follow Da Leader', although it's still quite good and I'd gladly listen to it again. On the other hand it's a perfect fit with the growly vocals here on 'I Wanna Be U'!

15. iiO - Rapture

16. Riva - Who Do You Love Now? (Stringer) (feat. Dannii Minogue)

20. Britney Spears - I'm A Slave 4 U

21. Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This Major childhood fave alert! This was quite big in the US, peaking at #10, and UK garage was really not a thing here so to my ears it truly sounded like nothing else at the time. 'If You're Not The One' was his only other US hit, which I also liked, but after hearing his other singles years later, I don't think we missed out on much :kink:

24. Alicia Keys - Fallin'

25. Jennifer Lopez - Love Don't Cost A Thing Were you aware that despite having 7 #1s between the UK and US, all of J-Lo's chart-toppers were only on one side of the pond but not both? I was quite pleased to see this was one of her three UK #1s, all three of which are among my faves of hers. Actually she has my favorite back catalog of any artist, so many bops!

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky

28. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix) Am I understanding correctly, that this is the more well-known version of the song in the UK? :o Definitely not the case here, the original was all I knew until just now as I listen to this remix. Interesting!

32. Jakatta - American Dream

33. Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird

35. Zero 7 - Destiny

36. Destiny's Child - Survivor

37. Linkin Park - In The End So growing up, I was in a band and we covered this song, I played the bass and did the rap *.* Not sure if I still remember all the words haha. I think we covered 'Numb' as well. Linkin Park was my favorite band in my childhood so needless to say, I hope they'll make more appearances when you count down future years!

38. Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On

39. Shaggy - It Wasn't Me (feat. Rik Rok)

 

All right I think that's enough for tonight, I'll certainly be back for 2002!

Hey there Jordan :hi: :heart:

 

Makes sense that this is getting more enjoyable for you as you recognise more songs! This is brilliant to hear as I definitely don't want people to get tired of this when there's still a lot to go :lol: trying not to find that daunting and just enjoying all the greatness of these years, rather than rushing through or anything.

 

01 - Haaaaa, I remember you alluding to 2001 likely having a predictable winner before I dived into it, indeed I did not disappoint :kink: I somehow did not know that Roger Sanchez had a song with Far East Movment :mellow: well then, I have got to check that out now as I'm super curious :lol: I will take indifference over dislike tbh x

07 - Yess Gwen is amazing at adapting well to other genres! I wouldn't have known that about Norah as my knowledge of her music is pretty limited, so that's interesting to learn. I do prefer 'Let Me Blow Ya Mind' over 'Rich Girl' but I agree that assessing their classic status is hard! I suppose the latter includes a really catchy interpolation (taking inspiration from 'If I Were A Rich Man') which definitely makes it memorable in the long term, but 'Let Me Blow Ya Mind' still feels like a really appreciated R&B song - Kisstory for example still absolutely hammer it. That's tough! 'Let Me Blow Ya Mind' has 50 million more YouTube views so maybe that is a good stat in its favour :kink:

13 - Yay Chocolate Puma appreciation <3 the production is so relentlessly fantastic. I agree that it suits 'I Wanna Be U' a lot more!

21 - Such good going for Daniel to get 'Gotta Get Thru This' into the top 10 in the U.S.! Sounds similar to Craig David's situation as he's known for garage music - although one of those hits being '7 Days' isn't the best example :lol: love that it was a childhood favourite for you! My dad owned the accompanying album so I heard it growing up too. <3

25 - I did not know that J-Lo stat so thanks for that, wow *.* the reason I discovered 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' is because it was on the music channels as part of an 'Every U.K. #1 of the millennium' programme about 10 years ago, so I'm definitely thankful for its U.K. #1 status for that alone :lol: wow, very high praise! She does have a great back catalogue though and the Superbowl half time performance was a great reminder of that, same for Shakira <3 who should start popping up soon... :o

28 - I now feel conflicted about this, as Jay informed me that he heard the original at the time and Chez has said he grew up more with the original too. What's the case U.K.?? :lol: it was definitely the remix included on Now 48 anyway - it's clearly that version that features right at the end of the advert too! I found a scan of the Now booklet and it wasn't very helpful oops. Maybe the radio played the remix or both and music channels stuck to the original? I'm going to need to find a 2001 Mixcloud chart to help me out :lol: ah, the perils of being too young to remember.

37 - Oh wow, covering Linkin Park multiple times sounds like an honour *.* shall see if more of their stuff appears - it's always hard to predict as I get to cutting the list down for each year and end up having to drop way too many good songs :cry: :lol:

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

A great #1 there in Roger Sanchez, what a song that is. Remember listening to this a lot that year and also one for the playlist for me. 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' this probably my favourite Kylie song this is such a great song from her. I don't think Victoria Beckham had a chance pitted against Kylie. 'Ms Jackson' classic from OutKast. Sorry not really a fan of I Monster. 'Don't Stop Movin' wow what a song this is, this is a pop classic and probably the best song that S Club 7 did. Those days of a Thursday afternoon at 4:35pm tuning to Miami 7. Must of been of my favourite groups when I was a child at that time. They were massive.

Hey there Mack :hi: :heart:

 

Ooh we finally have a disagreement with I Monster :lol: fair play! The main thing is that you appreciate 'Another Chance' yayyyy <3 and 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' is an amazing pick for best Kylie song, is a strong 2nd for me I think, shall get to the #1 a bit later on! Poor Victoria oops, the battle created by the media wasn't even close. I was a bit too young to appreciate S Club 7's popularity at the time but their chart toppers and hit TV show speak for themselves *.*

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Ms Jackson & Daydream In Blue :wub:

 

OutKast are one of my all-time favourite and Ms Jackson is certainly one of their best. Andre's verse is one brilliant and Big Boi's flow throughout insane,

 

Daydream... is a really weird song but so addictive. Quite a creepy vibe but very atmospheric and otherworldly.

Hey there Lewis :hi: :heart:

 

Definitely thought that 'Ms Jackson' would be your thing so I'm glad to see that's the case - in a big way in fact <3 Andre and Big Boi both smash it indeed. 'Daydream In Blue' is a bit more surprising on the other hand but not complaining *.* great descriptors there!

 

thank you for commenting <3

Time to go back to 2002! This is a year that was deemed important enough by Anne-Marie to inspire the title of one of her biggest hits. It's not quite as nostalgic for me, as I was only 4 for most of the year, eventually turning 5 in August, so still very young. But my musical memories are very slowly expanding now. I progressed from reception to year 1 this year which is notable as I actually changed schools between those years. A brand new promising primary school had opened in my town and my parents wanted me to go there instead, so I got to be a part of one of its first ever year groups. This turned out to be a good move and the school is still thriving now. A 2002 musical memory that my parents have told me in the past is that they had a Team Will Young poster on our window at the time! There's also a home video that exists where 'Anyone Of Of Us (Stupid Mistake)' is blaring on the radio while I'm playing with my brother in the garden. You could say that Pop Idol was quite the phenomenon. The year also rounded off with 'Popstars: The Rivals', which successfully created Girls Aloud. Talent shows were taking over. Will and Gareth had the two best-selling songs of the year. Over in the albums, it was Robbie, P!nk and Enrique who were leading the way. The likes of Avril Lavigne, Norah Jones and Liberty X all released successful debut albums in 2002. On the other hand, the world sadly said goodbye to both Aaliyah and George Harrison. Both would achieve posthumous #1s in the wake of the tragic news. A jam packed year, let's get straight into it...

40. Dirty Vegas - Days Go By
(chart-run: 16-27-40-55)

39. Oasis - Stop Crying Your Heart Out
(chart-run: 2-4-13-23-28-39-48-56-62-75-71R(376)-72R(33)-50R(14)-71R(157))

38. No Doubt - Hey Baby
(chart-run: 2-7-16-25-43-48-57-53-70)

37. Britney Spears - Boys (The Co-Ed Remix) (feat. Pharrell Williams)
(chart-run: 7-14-24-35-43-55-65-75)

36. X-Press 2 - Lazy (feat. David Byrne)
(chart-run: 2-5-7-10-14-19-28-35-40-42-59-70-72)



Kicking off the top 40 is a bit of a contentious choice, I know! 'Days Go By' was released in 2001 and actually first charted during that year - peaking at #27. However, due to a whole new wave of exposure, it experienced a second chart-run in 2002 and achieved its eventual #16 peak then. So it can be considered both a 2001 and 2002 chart hit. It's a bit of a grey area but I ultimately decided that I wanted to include it here due to re-peaking, so yay, it just about gets to make it. 'Days Go By' was a bit of a lost gem for me. I came across it in a 2002 chart on Mixcloud a couple of years ago and just thought... this sounds way too familiar for me to not know? So I think I actually did first come across it at the time and then just totally forgot about it for over 15 years, which is pretty wild. I think my exposure to it at the time may have been due to the reason that it re-peaked in the first place. This was featuring in an advert for the Mitsubishi Eclipse car. I think we still had dial-up internet at the time, which I didn't use yet, instead playing outside with friends or watching some TV inside, when not playing with toys. So I definitely could've come across it that way, let's go with that. I'm so pleased that I rediscovered it anyway! I was mostly into pop music as a child and my love of dance took a bit longer to properly kick in. So I can appreciate it way more nowadays. Dirty Vegas are a British electronic band but 'Days Go By' actually charted higher stateside - achieving a #14 peak on the Billboard Hot 100! This is because the aforementioned advert helped it to become a US radio hit. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording! Here we have generally laidback house production with more of a kick to it during the chorus. The vocal delivery, complete with effects over the top, is similarly chilled and longing. I guess you could class this as a "sad banger" as it's still a dance song and the lyrics are pretty deep. Essentially we're picking up where we left off after 'Another Chance'! The main hook is "Days go by and still I think of you..." which matches up to the thought-provoking video perfectly. We see a man who scares off his love interest due to his insane levels of dedication to dancing. He continues to dance in the same spot for long periods of time in the hope of bringing back this lost girlfriend. This seems like a pretty flawed plan but it is rather fascinating to watch, especially with the way the dancing is timed with the song. He's a talented guy. Dirty Vegas would manage one other top 40 hit with 'Ghosts' but that's pretty much it for their chart career. I'm grateful that they gave us this soothing summer house tune at least. There was tough competition for this #40 spot so it did well! Weirdly, their only charting album also reached #40, so they seem to gravitate to this number...

Next up at #39 we have Oasis! These guys are so closely linked to the Britpop movement of the 90s that their noughties material tends to feel more forgotten in comparison. A lot of my favourite Oasis songs were released in the 90s, admittedly, but they were still capable of providing magical moments right up until their final album for me. 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' is one of them. #39 seems a little low for my 2nd favourite band, but they still have more to come for 2002 and this year was truly a bloodbath. Oasis have many #1 singles under their belt but this was instead a #2 hit. This section appears to be quite runner-up heavy with three #2 singles included! The song that blocked this was the JXL remix of 'A Little Less Conversation' which is still to come, so I'm not entirely mad about that outcome, instead this is a "what a top 2!" moment. 'Don't Look Back In Anger' is definitely one of my favourite Oasis songs and this shares some of the same appeal as that. Mainly the motivational title themed around advice which is explored further in the song. Liam croons his way through Noel-penned 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' but in more of a mellow fashion than we're often used to from him. This feels appropriate for the type of song it is. Oasis essentially tackle a power-ballad here that certainly tugs on the heart-strings. It feels like a friend comforting you and telling you that everything is going to be okay. It's open to interpretation but people often seem to connect this song to losing a loved one. YouTube comments can be unbearable sometimes but they're actually quite touching for this song. The instrumentation really enhances the emotion further too. The piano provides a defiant start and the gently introduced drums are the perfect progression. The outro riff is a stunning way to round off the song. Noel's backing vocals add a little something too - that extra reassurance. 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' provides a simple, universal message alongside well thought out production components.

Swiftly time for another U.K. #2 hit now at #38. This is 'Hey Baby' by No Doubt! I'm a bit more annoyed about what blocked it this time - 'Hero' by Enrique Iglesias. Of course, that was huge, in fact the 3rd biggest song of the year. But I do much prefer 'Hey Baby' over both 'Hero' and No Doubt's actual #1 single 'Don't Speak', so that was a shame. But #2 is of course nothing to be sniffed at! This charted at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and picked up a Grammy Award for 'Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal'. 'Hey Baby' marked a return to dancehall for the group, with help from Bounty Killah. The latter would soon distance himself from the single. This is because rival Beenie Man claimed that the video portrayed Bounty Killah "as a gay" (context: there's a risqué scene of band member Adrian Young nude on some gymnastic rings in the video, which coincides with Bounty Killah's line "The way you rock your hips, you know that it amaze me") - so, yeah, he cancelled all performances with No Doubt, saying "If Jamaica is upset, I ain't going to accept no success that my culture is not proud of". Eep. The video is supposed to represent the wild antics that happen during some of No Doubt's post-show parties. The song explores the same theme too. The subject of partying definitely feels like an appropriate avenue when the song itself is such a pick-me-up! I feel like I've just done a full 180 from 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' to this - one minute wallowing in all the feels and now it's suddenly time to party! Well, why not, that back-to-back certainly brightened up an average Monday evening. The highlight of 'Hey Baby' is definitely the chorus for me - it's so simple and repetitive yet totally addictive. I also really enjoy the whacky electronic production - guitarist Tom Dumont compared it to "Star Wars music"! This was a really confident and striking start to their 'Rocksteady' era. The artwork of that album, plus one of Gwen's outfits in the video, is giving me serious Paramore 'Riot!' vibes.

Next, Britney is back for the fourth year in a row! At #37 we have the Co-Ed Remix of 'Boys'. Her 'Britney' album houses the original version. This 'Co-Ed Remix', completed by The Neptunes, provides the song with a more smooth and club-ready beat in a similar vein to 'I'm A Slave 4 U'. Pharrell also jumps on the track to trade verses with Britney and turns out to be a welcome addition. The album version is fine but I do prefer this remix so I'm glad that it was picked as the single version. The record is about Britney seducing a guy on the dancefloor, which is mirrored in the music video. The lyrics are pretty adult so fit like a glove on the 'Britney' record. The video is a pretty standard club affair but what elevates it is of course, as always, high quality Britney choreography. She is always in her own league on that front. I feel like her look in this video is the closest that my own style ever comes to - aka dark clothing, dark eye make-up and curly (well, wavy) hair! So yeah that was a fun observation. Also... Mike Myers as Austin Powers shows up. I swear this must be at least the third video that he has starred in during this countdown so far! It's not completely random as the song ties into the 'Austin Powers in Goldmember' movie - it was released as the second single, following Beyoncé's 'Work It Out'. It was the single to close the 'Britney' era too. She added yet another top 10 hit to her name here, with this peaking at #7, but it was a misfire in the States - where it charted at #22 on the Bubbling Under chart. Oops. 'Boys' was originally written for Janet Jackson and her style can really be felt here with the funky R&B execution and the lyrics, those feel quite similar to Janet's own (brilliant!) 'Nasty'. It's hard not to compare the two when Brit literally says "get nasty" in the song. That's all from Britney now for at least another year, as sadly I couldn't find room for 'I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman' as well. 'Anticipating' definitely would've made the cut if it had been more than just a French single though!

Time to round off this section with one final #2 hit! So, again, I shall judge whether the chart-topper that got in the way was worse. On this occasion it was... 'Unchained Melody' by Gareth Gates. Okay, poor X-Press 2 and David Byrne, they definitely had a miles better song here. X-Press 2 are a British electronic duo who provide some hypnotic deep house production for 'Lazy'. David Byrne is frontman of Talking Heads. He approached the duo, asking if they wanted to be his backing band. They turned the offer down, elaborating that "we're just a bunch of studio gits". However, this of course wasn't the end of the road as they'd still collaborate. Byrne actually recorded his vocals at home and sent them via email attachment! I feel like he is an essential component to the song so I'm glad this did materialise. His deadpan delivery suits the lyrics of the song so well, providing some humorous charm. His chorus lines of "oh I'm wicked and I'm lazy, oh don't you wanna save me" - complete with elongated notes - are insanely catchy as well. The video sees a seriously lazy man carrying out daily tasks with Wallace & Gromit-esque contraptions. We're not quite living in that universe so this dude is probably still just ahead of his time. I sometimes have lazy days but am reassured that I'm not as bad as him at least on that front - falling on the ground, not bothering to move and choosing to eat a Snickers bar covered in dust? Yeah, I'm sorry, that is a hard pass! But it makes for an amusing video. The whole package is very infectious and ridiculous but endearing really! X-Press 2 had other minor top 40 hits but nothing came close to the success of this. Byrne had another top 10 hit as part of Talking Heads though - the #6 single 'Road To Nowhere'. This predated 'Lazy' by a whole 17 years! 2002 has really started in true me fashion with dance songs book-ending #40 to #36.

Love Stop Crying Your Heart Out :wub: Liam's voice can be a bit much sometimes, but it really works here along with the great instrumental.

 

Also, as promised, this would roughly be my top 10 of 2001:

 

01. The Supermen Lovers - Starlight

02. Daft Punk - Digital Love

03. Linkin Park - In The End

04. The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You

05. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood

06. Ian Van Dahl - Castles in the Sky

07. System of a Down - Chop Suey

08. Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag

09. Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes (Like Can't Get You..., but even better *.*)

10. Muse - Plug In Baby

 

Not the strongest year compared to others, but still solid.

Fab start to 2002. Boys is ok oasis good, the other 3 are fab. Xpress topped my chart and dirty vegas came close twice, while a more recent remix also did well maybe you caught that version as a reminder of long ago :lol: . I think a fab new single they released a few years back was one of my many bjsc dnqs :lol:

Happy to see 'Lazy' making the cut here, that would rank very highly up my faves of 2002 I think :cheeseblock: (also a rare music video from this era that I can actually remember lol). 'Hey Baby' and 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' are great picks too, I do wish the former was No Doubt's signature hit over a certain other unbearable song xx also I did not know about that whole Beenie Man/Bounty Killah 'controversy'... well I am supportive of anything that pisses off massive homophobes I guess xo

Love Stop Crying Your Heart Out :wub: Liam's voice can be a bit much sometimes, but it really works here along with the great instrumental.

 

Also, as promised, this would roughly be my top 10 of 2001:

 

01. The Supermen Lovers - Starlight

02. Daft Punk - Digital Love

03. Linkin Park - In The End

04. The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You

05. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood

06. Ian Van Dahl - Castles in the Sky

07. System of a Down - Chop Suey

08. Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag

09. Kylie Minogue - In Your Eyes (Like Can't Get You..., but even better *.*)

10. Muse - Plug In Baby

 

Not the strongest year compared to others, but still solid.

Hey there Chez :hi: :heart:

 

Pleased to hear that you are a fan of 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' *.* I am familiar with some of your 00s Oasis opinions (e.g. not being so hot on 'Go Let It Out' :kink:) but wasn't sure what you thought of this one, yay. Indeed he uses his vocals to great effect here. The instrumentation is so stunning <3

 

Great top 10 there yourself, 'In Your Eyes' wasn't too far off making my own countdown.

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Fab start to 2002. Boys is ok oasis good, the other 3 are fab. Xpress topped my chart and dirty vegas came close twice, while a more recent remix also did well maybe you caught that version as a reminder of long ago :lol: . I think a fab new single they released a few years back was one of my many bjsc dnqs :lol:

Hey there John :hi: :heart:

 

Why thank you *.* great to hear that 'Lazy' was a chart-topper for you! I had no idea that you sent Dirty Vegas to BJSC :o I just looked it up and you sent it 10 contests prior to me joining, so that's my excuse :kink: I need to listen to more Dirty Vegas songs as 'Days Go By' is the only one I know!

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Happy to see 'Lazy' making the cut here, that would rank very highly up my faves of 2002 I think :cheeseblock: (also a rare music video from this era that I can actually remember lol). 'Hey Baby' and 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' are great picks too, I do wish the former was No Doubt's signature hit over a certain other unbearable song xx also I did not know about that whole Beenie Man/Bounty Killah 'controversy'... well I am supportive of anything that pisses off massive homophobes I guess xo

Hey there Bray :hi: :heart:

 

Oh wow, I remember you being a fan of 'Lazy' from the relevant Now plug session, but didn't realise you were quite that fond of it, I approve of course! The music video is certainly standout :lol: ha, I don't quite dislike 'Don't Speak' as much as you, but do find it overrated so yeah if only! Ah well there you go, how educational *_* omg... this!

 

thank you for commenting <3

A great start to 2002 there, Jade. 'Hey Baby' a terrific song from No Doubt. Boys some reason a surprise collaboration this was for me with Britney and Pharrell. Stop Crying Your Heart Out great song from Oasis. And 'Lazy' that is a fantastic tune. Dirty Vegas that is a good song.

A great start to 2002 there, Jade. 'Hey Baby' a terrific song from No Doubt. Boys some reason a surprise collaboration this was for me with Britney and Pharrell. Stop Crying Your Heart Out great song from Oasis. And 'Lazy' that is a fantastic tune. Dirty Vegas that is a good song.

Hey there Mack :hi: :heart:

 

Thank you! It's getting so tough now - if I was to post a list of honourable mentions then it would've been really long. All killer no filler! Glad it was back to 5/5 songs you enjoyed ^_^

 

thank you for commenting <3

Apologies for the long wait for another section - I was away for the week! Back home now and ready to continue ^_^

 

 

35. S Club Juniors - Automatic High

(chart-run: 2-5-9-15-20-22-27-35-41-48-51-67-71)

 

34. Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You

(chart-run: 2-5-8-11-15-18-22-28-31-31-28-39-49-61-60-57)

 

33. Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

(chart-run: 6-9-11-16-18-18-18-18-23-26-42-54-62)

 

32. Milky - Just The Way You Are

(chart-run: 8-14-19-31-50-66)

 

31. Nelly - Dilemma (feat. Kelly Rowland)

(chart-run: 1-1-2-3-2-4-6-10-13-13-11-10-18-21-25-26-30-42-52-59-66)

 

 

Kicking off this next 2002 section is 8-piece pop group S Club Juniors! They were a younger S Club 7 spin-off and formed through a reality TV show. I was too young to remember this airing at the time but I definitely watched it at some point on YouTube. 'Automatic High' is probably the biggest guilty pleasure to appear so far. Okay, so a group of kids are behind this, but they genuinely released some great pop songs! Their best work wasn't released until 2003 for me so you'll have to wait a little bit longer for that. They were off to a great start in 2002 though. 'One Step Closer' was a bit of a 'Don't Stop Movin' rip-off but a solid debut nevertheless. 'New Direction' was the most mature single that they put out this year for sure and wasn't too far off making it in this top 40. 'Puppy Love'... not for me. That leaves 'Automatic High' as my favourite of their 2002 releases, coming in at #35! I'm pretty sure I discovered it through the album Pop Party 3. This wasn't released until 2005 (with the likes of 'Push The Button' and 'Axel F' representing current hits) but included some older songs too. I instantly took to it back then and my love never really faded away. This was aided by them being a bit of a plug.dj meme on here back in 2015. You can always count on BuzzJack to keep random pop acts alive. 'Automatic High' does what it says in the title and provides the listener with an audio sugar rush. It's a bit cheesy and corny but certainly euphoric. The childlike innocence of lyrics such as "I'm walking over cloud nine" mixed with upbeat production is really endearing. Only the female members have solos on this song. The music video was filmed on a beach and of course features a dance routine, just like their older counterparts would do. Anyway, there was just something about these guys. They were great at churning out irresistible pop songs with really catchy hooks. Their time as a group was short-lived, with the split occurring in 2004, but this wouldn't totally be the end of the road. Members Frankie and Rochelle would of course go on to be members of girl-group The Saturdays later on in the decade. We shall have to wait and see if S Club Juniors or The Saturdays appear more in this countdown! As for the chart, S Club Juniors were super unlucky and stalled at #2 three times, never quite making #1 like S Club 7 or The Saturdays. 'Automatic High' was one of these instances. It was beaten by 'Anyone Of Us (Stupid Mistake)' which is... not as bad as Gareth's 'Unchained Melody' blocking 'Lazy' a little earlier. But I still prefer 'Automatic High' out of those two songs so it's a shame that this missed out.

 

Next up is another pop act who scored three #2 hits during his debut era! Thankfully that mission to crack the #1 spot would become more successful a bit later down the line. 2002 came with the announcement that boyband NSYNC were going on hiatus. This paved the way for a 21-year-old Justin Timberlake to release solo material. 'Justified' is an era that I actually do remember at the time! This is largely due to my dad owning the album on CD and playing it in the car a lot. It had the dad approval and also that of 5-year-old me. I think this era was a total slam-dunk in terms of singles but the rest of those were released in 2003, so more on them later. 'Like I Love You' received its release as Justin Timberlake's debut single in Q4 of 2002. As aforementioned, it hit the #2 spot, but I can accept what beat it to #1 on this occasion - 'Dilemma' by Nelly featuring Kelly Rowland, a song that is also appearing in this very section! But we'll come back to that soon. Justin felt very confident about 'Like I Love You' and knew that it had to be his debut single. The Neptunes wrote the record with Timberlake and were also on production duties. The duo were inspired by Michael Jackson's 'Off The Wall' and 'Thriller' albums during the creative process. 'Like I Love You' is certainly slick and Justin approaches the song with Jackson-esque minimalism in places. But he also cannot resist showing off his range during the "I just want to love you baby" portion. He's pulling out all the stops to get this just right and that extends to the video too. The visuals demonstrate Timberlake's impressive dancing skills. Himself and Britney, who were of course romantically involved in their double denim glory, were a seriously talented dancing duo. They both appear in 2002 with Pharrell-stamped songs too. There are a few main components to the production. Firstly, the drums are so essential that Justin actually refers to them in the song at one point. The inclusion of them was an ode to the funk era. There's also some seriously cool Spanish-sounding guitar in the mix. It wouldn't be a Pharrell production without one of his dirty beats too! These different production elements straddled the line of respected and promiscuous pretty well. That also extends to lyrics that are both complimentary and suggestive. The song ends with a bleepy noise for good measure too! Timberlake also brings duo Clipse along for the ride with a rap. So yeah, you could say there's a lot going on here. But it totally worked and Justin would soon become one of the most popular male solo singers of the noughties decade. He is certainly one of the best examples of transitioning from a boyband member to a solo star successfully! The noodle hair was gone and now he was ready to deliver smooth jams and a certain scathing ballad during the Justified era.

 

At #33 we have the debut single by American pop-rock singer Vanessa Carlton! Parts of 'A Thousand Miles' existed as early as 1998 but the record was put on the back-burner as Carlton suffered with writer's block. Her mum heard the piano riff and told her that it sounded like a hit record. She was urged to finish the song when playing the beginning of it to a record producer. So she finally did that. 'A Thousand Miles' was originally named 'Interlude' and Carlton was pretty stubborn about the title. But the president of the label fought hard against the song being called 'Interlude' from a commercial perspective, as the word is not said once in the song. So it became 'A Thousand Miles (Interlude)' and then the 'Interlude' part was dropped entirely. 'A Thousand Miles' was indeed a hit, peaking at #6 here in the U.K. and one position higher on the Billboard Hot 100. It has really cemented itself as an enduring hit almost 20 years (!) after release. I don't really remember this song at the time but I did discover the music video eventually and was pretty fixated by it. Something as simple as the moving piano concept was really quite striking. I was quickly into the song too. The piano riff is particularly spellbinding. The orchestral elements also work well and effortlessly ramp up the drama of the subject matter. Carlton is singing about a lost love in quite an emotive fashion. I particularly enjoy the parts where she pushes her voice a bit further, whether elongated notes or more of a forceful enunciation. But, rather than feeling sad, this package is more charming than anything. I guess the way it's presented makes it feel like more of a daydream than a gut-wrenching tale. Vanessa has said herself that the song is a mixture of both reality and fantasy, after all. A writer said that 'A Thousand Miles' had won over the "smart but awkward teenage girls" who couldn't really see themselves in counterparts such as Britney and Christina. Well - all three of Britney, Christina AND Vanessa appear in my 2002 countdown, so perhaps my personality is just all over the place. Hopefully in a good way! Unfortunately, Vanessa would fail to achieve mainstream longevity - 'Big Yellow Taxi' with Counting Crows was her only other top 40 hit here. But, she really did deliver a modern classic with 'A Thousand Miles' in terms of both song and video.

 

At #32 is the first song of 2002 that I discovered through Radio 1's 'One Hit Wonders of the Millennium' show! Well, actually, I might have come across that melody before. But this was certainly the first time that I found out the identity of the song. It's 'Just The Way You Are' by Milky, an Italian house duo. The track features vocals from German singer Giuditta. She faced the double-blow of being uncredited and replaced by another woman in the music video, namely model Sabrina Elahl. 'Just The Way You Are' provides me with the same euphoric feeling as 'Automatic High' earlier but it's achieved in a far more laidback fashion. The "do-do-do" chorus line is a major earworm and the rest of the lyrics are very sweet. Giuditta presents them in a pretty charming way with her thick accent. Milky add their own breezy stamp to proceedings. They did sample two songs though: 'Streets of Your Town' by The Go-Betweens and 'Listen to What the Man Said' by Paul McCartney & Wings. Overall it's a really blissful, addictive song that is perfect for the summer months. It was released in August here which feels like the right kind of time to capitalise on that feeling. 'Just The Way You Are' failed to chart in the group's home country, but did make #8 here in the United Kingdom. That is the lowest peak in this section but a top 10 hit all the same! Unfortunately the follow-up 'In My Mind' did not crack the top 40.

 

Rounding off this section is the biggest song of the lot - the 4th best-selling single of 2002 in the U.K.! So we're ending on a high for tonight. In fact, it's so relevant that we have the most HQ thumbnail embed in a good while! The music video has racked up over 800 million views on YouTube so it is truly enduring. This is of course 'Dilemma' by rapper Nelly and Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland - a song that I alluded to earlier as it beat 'Like I Love You' by Justin Timberlake to #1 here in the United Kingdom. Nellymania was in full swing on the Billboard Hot 100 too as he replaced his own song 'Hot in Herre' at #1. 'Dilemma' was added to his 'Nellyville' album at the last minute, after it was already thought to be completed, as he was approached with the production and was able to quickly write the lyrics. His vision for the song rapidly changed as he wanted a female singer involved too. He thought of Kelly and she agreed. The unprecedented success of this song caused plans for the Destiny's Child girls to change. Their solo albums were going to be staggered - with Beyoncé's coming first, then Kelly's second. But the demand of 'Dilemma' caused Kelly's album to be pushed ahead of Beyoncé! Imagine that, being part of such a monster hit at the time that even Beyoncé had to wait. 'Dilemma' is a song that I can vaguely remember at the time! I have fuzzy memories of it playing at a friend's garden party that I was at. I don't remember anything else from that so the song must have really made an impression on me. Of course, little me had no idea that it was an infidelity anthem. That was a confusing realisation later on in life as the song is presented in a sweet and soppy fashion. I suppose it is cute if you're rooting for the two of them to be together. But... c'mon guys, break up with your respective partners first. Then again, Kelly is texting Nelly via Microsoft Excel in the music video so perhaps they were just not thinking straight in general. Excelly Rowland has become a truly iconic meme and I will always treasure the video for that. Another notable video moment is the fact that Patti LaBelle plays Kelly's mother. This is because 'Dilemma' actually samples one of her songs - 'Love, Need and Want You'. 'Dilemma' is pretty basic on paper with its nursery rhyme chorus but in action it's really smooth and nostalgic for me. I like the twinkly production too. Nelly and Kelly really compliment each other well here so I think the former was bang on with his vision. They would eventually collaborate for a second time with 'Gone' in 2011, a song that scraped into my chart at the time, but didn't quite re-create the magic of 'Dilemma'.

I don't recall Automatic High, oops! I didn't chart it either, though S Club Juniors had one top 20 hit for me - New Direction hit 15. I think it's fair to say I wasn't the target audience :lol:

 

Justin, though, hit 2 in my charts, easily top 30 for top tracks of the year and was extremely cool, he was on fire 2002/3 and I also loved all those poppy N'Sync hits, and not "ironically" either, Max Martin/Denniz Pop were great producers/writers.

 

Vanessa hit 30 for me, it's OK but I got fed up with hearing it, and Milky I'd forgotten, but checked and it hit 55 in my charts - playing it now as I don't recall that Listen To What The Man Says sample at all. Nope, still don;t hear it but that do do dooo bit is the jangly guitar riff notes I guess. The intro is identical to New Musik's Living By Numbers to my ears, so it references 2 fave tracks of mine :)

 

Nelly still is a name for Northern landladies born around the turn of the 20th century, not so much rappers, but hey ho I really liked Dilemma. It hit 8 and made my year-end top 100 tracks of 2002 :cheer: