Get Busy - such a classic of its genre. I imagine the CD single must've been deleted at some point for it to have such a randomly short chart run, if streaming were a thing it'd have had at least 20 weeks in the chart.

Make Luv - one of my absolute faves of the year definitely, funky house doesn't get much better than this classic

Damaged - interestingly I sent another cover of this into BJSC in one of my first ever contests only realising it was a new version of an old chart hit when Rich pointed it out in my national thread. I'd say I prefer this version now, being a bit more trancey.

Given 'Damaged' a listen and it sounds great. 'Get Busy' a classic there from Sean Paul, that is still quite a tune. 'Clocks' up there with Coldplay's best, that piano riffs are iconic, I remember that song as well for a particular BBC Freeview campaign.... from 0:01-1:20. 'Make Luv' this was big in 2003 and I really liked this song sounded great, I don't hear it much now. 'Year 3000' a guilty pleasure from Busted there.

Hi Jade!

 

Here are some of the songs I like from your Year-End lists of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003:

 

1999:

30. Jamiroquai - Canned Heat

29. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

26. TLC - No Scrubs

19. Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

17. Smash Mouth - All Star

16. DJ Jurgen Presents Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone

12. The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl

09. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

06. Wamdue Project - King of My Castle

05. Mr Oizo - Flat Beat

01. Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now

 

2000:

05. Eminem - Stan (feat. Dido)

07. Fragma - Toca's Miracle

08. Moby - Porcelain

09. Coldplay - Yellow

11. Modjo - Lady (Hear Me Tonight)

16. Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler

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

22. Britney Spears - Stronger

23. Robbie Williams - Rock DJ

24. Darude - Sandstorm

25. Gabrielle - Rise

28. Coldplay - Trouble

29. Aaliyah - Try Again

30. Craig David - Fill Me In

36. LeAnn Rimes - Can't Fight The Moonlight

39. Daft Punk - One More Time

 

2001:

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

03. OutKast - Ms. Jackson

08. Mary J. Blige - Family Affair

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

22. Gorillaz - 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)

24. Alicia Keys - Fallin'

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

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky

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

31. Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue (Ringbang Remix)

33. Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird

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

37. Linkin Park - In The End

38. Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On

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

 

2002:

07. Holly Valance - Kiss Kiss

10. Eminem - Lose Yourself

12. Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi

13. P!nk - Just Like A Pill

14. Coldplay - The Scientist

16. Christina Aguilera - Dirrty (feat. Redman)

17. Shakira - Whenever, Wherever

20. Avril Lavigne - Complicated

25. Elvis vs. JXL - A Little Less Conversation

27. Coldplay - In My Place

30. Nickelback - How You Remind Me

31. Nelly - Dilemma (feat. Kelly Rowland)

33. Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

34. Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You

 

2003:

14. Coldplay - Clocks

15. Sean Paul - Get Busy

16. Linkin Park - Numb

18. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body

22. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

23. Robbie Williams - Come Undone

 

Most of the songs I really like, some of them are guilty pleasures and for some songs I found new appreciation due to my new passion as a belly dancer (like "Whenever, Wherever", which I liked from the start and "Kiss Kiss", mostly for the original Tarkan song).

 

Can't wait to comment on the rest of your rankdowns, when I have time of course.

WOAH that sudden influx of comments :o I am floored <3 <3 new section not coming until tomorrow but thought I'd take the time to reply to everything tonight!

 

'Year 3000' and 'Clocks' are some of more highlights. I'd even go on to say that the latter would be up there with their best along with 'Yellow', 'Fix You', 'Paradise', Violet Hill' & 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall'. 'Lost', Talk' & 'The Hardest Part' would be my faves of their underrated tracks!

Glad you're a fan of 'Year 3000' and 'Clocks' too! Those Coldplay highlights are stellar picks, in fact, all favourites of mine too! I was listening to my 'Parachutes' vinyl just this morning actually and 'Yellow' in particular was a good way to start off the day :heart:

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Great stuff so far, you've covered quite a few of my all time favourites from this year. Excellent in particular to see Numb (like all Linkin Park songs these days, hits a bit different after Chester's death, but it's my favourite song from them), Bring Me To Life (glad Bre's weird opinions on that haven't rubbed off on you xx) and Seven Nation Army (not even the worst football chants could ruin this song, the parent album Elephant is also really good if you're interested ^_^ )

 

Love seeing the V Birds here, I watched those Cartoon Network breaks too, what a shame we never found out what 'dance prison' they were in D:

 

Clocks and Get Busy from the recent section are both solid favourites too, for very different reasons!

Glad you're enjoying a lot of what I've covered so far, Chez! As pop was so dominant in noughties charts I often forget about the more rock moments that I love from the same period, until sitting down to properly flick back like this. But yeah that exact trio you mention are all fab! Indeed my Evanescence opinions don't quite match Bray's :kink: thanks for the album recommendation, I'll definitely make sure to pencil that in as I'm doing a lot better with listening to older albums recently.

 

Omg yessss some more V Birds appreciation *.* Cartoon Network was such a massive part of my childhood! I know right, a mystery to always ponder D:

 

Oh yes of course I can count on you to stan Coldplay too! 'Get Busy' not so predictable but I'm totally here for it *.*

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Giving Damaged a listen now, I don't think I've heard it before although it could have well featured on one of the many compilations I bought as a child, sounding nice anyways! Other favourites from this section are Numb and Clocks (now I've reminded myself which Coldplay song that is :P)

Ooh well I'm glad 'Damaged' was a good discovery or re-discovery for you! I completed avoided it until it was on Radio 1's One Hit Wonders show but it could well be on some compilations out there. Ha! 'Clocks' has quite a distinctive riff once you remember which song it is haha, I suppose the word 'Clocks' isn't a massive feature of it though! Numb <3

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

I'm way behind here but excellent to see “Seven Nation Army” (obvious choice but a fantastic one) and “Finest Dreams” here - went to No1 for me on the hottest day ever in the UK (well, it was the hottest day ever until summer 2019 of course). Kelis featuring on dance tracks always works well, recently with Disclosure but the Breach remixed “The Key” (remix of “Rumble”) and of course her dance inspired Flesh Tone in 2010 are also bangers.

 

Great also to see “Clocks” and its instantly familiar piano melody that was somewhat *cough* nabbed by David Guetta in 2009 for his massive #1 hit with Kelly Rowland. I'm sure it was just a coincidence.. anyway, it's a beautiful song and not even the best ballad on the album which was “The Scientist” - written about Chris Martin's grandfather and released when my own grandfather passed on. That album means a lot to me, and it feels a lot more genuine than it's follow-up which misteps by badly trying to recreate the atmosphere of A Rush of Blood to the Head, the clunky “Fix You” being a prime example.

 

Looking forward to the Top 10, hoping for “Maps” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and “Hurt” by Johnny Cash!

Hey there Doctor B!

 

No worries, more than happy for people to dip in and out when they choose, great to hear your thoughts again! 'Seven Nation Army' is brilliant, feels a bit too low really but everything featured are songs I absolutely love, so its position may be deceiving. Glad you're into 'Finest Dreams' too - enough for it to have been a chart topper! I've heard a lot about that scorching summer of 2003 and vaguely remember it. Kelis is great on dance songs indeed - love the new Disclosure one that you mentioned although need to check out that Breach remix! I also really liked the new version of 'Icy Feet' by TCTS that Kelis jumped on. Oh yes, I look forward to reaching the 'Flesh Tone' era eventually!

 

That 'Clocks' riff is so timeless <3 haha yes, tut tut David Guetta! Wow, thanks for your openness regarding 'The Scientist', what a deep connection. </3 it is totally stunning though and a big Coldplay favourite. I must get 'A Rush Of Blood...' on vinyl as it's a glaring omission in my collection! Oops, we shall have to agree to disagree on 'Fix You', that has quite a mixed reception on here anyway from what I've seen, so BuzzJack agreeing to disagree in general :lol:

 

thank you for commenting <3 top 10 kicking off tomorrow ^_^

 

Get Busy - such a classic of its genre. I imagine the CD single must've been deleted at some point for it to have such a randomly short chart run, if streaming were a thing it'd have had at least 20 weeks in the chart.

Make Luv - one of my absolute faves of the year definitely, funky house doesn't get much better than this classic

Damaged - interestingly I sent another cover of this into BJSC in one of my first ever contests only realising it was a new version of an old chart hit when Rich pointed it out in my national thread. I'd say I prefer this version now, being a bit more trancey.

Yessss Dan it really is! Oh yeah, that must be it as that chart run seems way too erratic otherwise. Streaming definitely would've eaten that up!

Ah yay, 'Make Luv' had quite an early exit in one of the 2000s forum polls on here, as mentioned in the commentary, so happy to find more big fans of it ^_^

Oh wow, I think that passed me by but my excuse is that it's before my time in BJSC, will have to seek out the version you sent too!

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Given 'Damaged' a listen and it sounds great. 'Get Busy' a classic there from Sean Paul, that is still quite a tune. 'Clocks' up there with Coldplay's best, that piano riffs are iconic, I remember that song as well for a particular BBC Freeview campaign.... from 0:01-1:20. 'Make Luv' this was big in 2003 and I really liked this song sounded great, I don't hear it much now. 'Year 3000' a guilty pleasure from Busted there.

So pleased that you like 'Damaged', Mack! That seems to be getting a really good reception in general in this thread, yay. Same for 'Get Busy' and 'Clocks' actually... an unexpectedly BuzzJack friendly section it seems! I think that ad campaign was a little before my time so thanks for sharing - I find that kind of thing so interesting. 'Make Luv' was huge indeed - yesss U.K. public. I agree tbh, can't remember the last time I heard it on the radio/music channels or anything! Busted bringing the nostalgic jams *.*

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Hi Jade!

 

Here are some of the songs I like from your Year-End lists of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003:

 

1999:

30. Jamiroquai - Canned Heat

29. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

26. TLC - No Scrubs

19. Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

17. Smash Mouth - All Star

16. DJ Jurgen Presents Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone

12. The Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl

09. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

06. Wamdue Project - King of My Castle

05. Mr Oizo - Flat Beat

01. Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now

 

2000:

05. Eminem - Stan (feat. Dido)

07. Fragma - Toca's Miracle

08. Moby - Porcelain

09. Coldplay - Yellow

11. Modjo - Lady (Hear Me Tonight)

16. Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler

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

22. Britney Spears - Stronger

23. Robbie Williams - Rock DJ

24. Darude - Sandstorm

25. Gabrielle - Rise

28. Coldplay - Trouble

29. Aaliyah - Try Again

30. Craig David - Fill Me In

36. LeAnn Rimes - Can't Fight The Moonlight

39. Daft Punk - One More Time

 

2001:

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

03. OutKast - Ms. Jackson

08. Mary J. Blige - Family Affair

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

22. Gorillaz - 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)

24. Alicia Keys - Fallin'

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

27. Ian Van Dahl - Castles In The Sky

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

31. Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue (Ringbang Remix)

33. Nelly Furtado - I'm Like A Bird

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

37. Linkin Park - In The End

38. Missy Elliott - Get Ur Freak On

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

 

2002:

07. Holly Valance - Kiss Kiss

10. Eminem - Lose Yourself

12. Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi

13. P!nk - Just Like A Pill

14. Coldplay - The Scientist

16. Christina Aguilera - Dirrty (feat. Redman)

17. Shakira - Whenever, Wherever

20. Avril Lavigne - Complicated

25. Elvis vs. JXL - A Little Less Conversation

27. Coldplay - In My Place

30. Nickelback - How You Remind Me

31. Nelly - Dilemma (feat. Kelly Rowland)

33. Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles

34. Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You

 

2003:

14. Coldplay - Clocks

15. Sean Paul - Get Busy

16. Linkin Park - Numb

18. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body

22. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

23. Robbie Williams - Come Undone

 

Most of the songs I really like, some of them are guilty pleasures and for some songs I found new appreciation due to my new passion as a belly dancer (like "Whenever, Wherever", which I liked from the start and "Kiss Kiss", mostly for the original Tarkan song).

 

Can't wait to comment on the rest of your rankdowns, when I have time of course.

Ooh hello again Sergej *.* good to have you back in here!

 

Great to see so many highlights there - particularly for 2000 and 2001! It's great when a hobby introduces you to new music ^_^

 

thank you for commenting <3

10. Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex
(chart-run: 2-3-2-4-10-16-25-35-46-69)

09. Avril Lavigne - I'm With You
(chart-run: 7-10-15-22-27-37-41-36-51-65-58R(444))

08. Tomcraft - Loneliness
(chart-run: 1-4-5-9-13-18-24-31-39-48-71-75-74)

07. Mis-Teeq - Scandalous
(chart-run: 2-4-6-7-11-14-23-33-47-61-69)

06. Sugababes - Hole In The Head
(chart-run: 1-5-6-8-19-25-39-42-58-70-72-69-69)



Rachel Stevens kicks off the top 10 today in amongst a very female heavy section! I imagine that some of you will approve of this as Rachel was deemed a viable option for a temporary Artist Forum last year, during a Teams task. So she has her fans on here. Turns out that I was a pretty big fan myself when younger. Rewind back to my budding gymnast days and I was visiting a local gymnastics club, wanting to join. None other that Rachel herself was blasting through that hall with 'Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex' and my mum told the coach something along the lines of "Rachel Stevens - Jade will love it here!", haha. I think this would've been about 2006. It was 'So Good' the year before that properly introduced me to Rachel. 'Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex' evidently never got old for me as it winds up so high for 2003. What can I say, it is a sassy, well crafted-pop song that Cathy Dennis supposedly wrote during the same session as 'Toxic' by Britney Spears, so there we go, she was really on form that day. 'Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex' was actually a Britney reject and the lyrics are quite obviously a 'Cry Me A River' response. Lines such as "Can't you stop playing that record again? Find somebody else to talk about" are particularly scathing. However, Britney didn't want to be a part of that narrative musically, so turned it down. Rachel was in the middle of recording her debut album when she was offered this. She became excited about the song and said it was unlike anything else out at the time, so she was happy to jump on board. Rachel definitely struck while the iron was hot as she recorded this just 2 weeks after S Club 7 split up. It was a smart decision though as she took it all the way to #2! She was unlucky to be blocked by the biggest song of the year 'Where Is The Love?' by The Black Eyed Peas. 'Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex' went on to become the 22nd best selling hit of the year and a Rachel signature song, alongside the likes of 'Some Girls' and 'More, More, More'. I think it's fair to say that Jo was the best vocalist of S Club 7 but 'Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex' does play to Rachel's strengths well. The bridge particularly pushes her voice in a positive way. This actually reminds me a little of 'No Good Advice' earlier with the feistiness, prominent guitar mixed with synth production and even a spoken middle 8. Then the video gives me slight flashes of the 'Sexy! No No No...' aesthetics with the red ribbons. That dancing segment is definitely the most striking element of the video. Rachel is firstly in a box - trapped in her relationship, then gives the 'L.A. Ex' a piece of her mind, before launching into the strong, confident moves. It was a fantastic way to launch her career. What an earworm with some electrifying production to boot - Bloodshy & Avant being behind that.

Next up Avril is back for one final moment from the 'Let Go' era. I love this record so much that all four of the singles ended up featuring in this countdown. 'I'm With You' being left until single #3 was seen as a controversial move as many thought that it was an obvious smash in waiting. Indeed it achieved a #4 peak in the U.S. and #7 here. 'I'm With You' felt like a more mature direction in sound from Avril as here she tackles a rock power-ballad with more serious lyrics. Gone is 'Sk8er Boi' slang and fellow relationship drama highlighted in 'Complicated'. Instead Avril painfully recounts the feeling of loneliness in general. This is a sentiment that feels oh-so relatable at the moment with the current levels of isolation. I've definitely felt lonely during multiple points in my life but it does particularly hit a bit differently right now. 'I'm With You' opens in a bold but beautiful way with what sounds like some kind of bowed instrument - perhaps a violin or cello. I am a sucker for that kind of sound. Some guitar licks are mixed in too. This is Avril's most daring single to date vocally also. She particularly pushes herself during the really epic middle 8. She sounds quite vulnerable up until that point where the loneliness makes her crack. The lyrics at that stage - "Oh, why is everything so confusing? Maybe I'm just out of my mind" - hit hard. The music video plays on the loneliness theme as Avril is seen wandering alone looking for somebody. The video is largely shot in slow motion but Avril's lip-synching is on point - this is because she was doing that part at double speed. This song is great for escapism and drowning your sorrows to. It has held up incredibly well over the years. Rihanna chose to sample it in her 2011 song 'Cheers (Drink To That)' during the massive 'Loud' era and I'd argue that the original, from 8 years earlier, has stood the test of time better than that has. I'm pleased that the RiRi song introduced the original to a new audience but I must admit that it's far from my favourite 'Loud' single. That honour goes to 'Man Down'. I mentioned earlier that Billie Eilish's favourite Avril song is 'Losing Grip' and the 'Let Go' era continues to receive love. This is because Avril herself cited 'I'm With You' as her favourite of her own songs in an interview! So I must applaud her taste as that's a mighty fine pick. Time to say goodbye to the 'Let Go' era but I'm sure we will be visiting 'Under My Skin' soon too.

At #8 we have the first chart-topper of this section! This is courtesy of German DJ Tomcraft who is the sole male in this section. The vocals are a reworking of 90s single 'Share The Love' by Andrea Martin so even the vocalist here is female. Well, I shall let you in on a secret - the gender imbalance sorts itself out soon as there are more males than females in the top 5. But, before we get there, we have this fantastic one hit wonder to discuss. We just talked about 'I'm With You' by Avril involving themes of loneliness and that is the case here once more with a song literally called 'Loneliness'. It's more explicit here and truly laid out on the table with lyrics such as "Happiness seems to be loneliness and loneliness killed my world" which is... even more haunting for the current state of the world than the previous song. However, unlike melancholy strings, this smash wants to slap us around the face with a pulsating techno and trance fusion. I'm on a real techno binge right now if you couldn't tell by my current BJSC entry. Indeed we reach the world of dance now. One of the layers of beats is really quite 'Kernkraft 400' by Zombie Nation which is certainly a good thing in my eyes. That of course finished at #4 for me during the 2000 countdown in this thread! When listening to this I am transported to a sweaty nightclub and that is exactly what the music video is going for, a perfect fit. That dark, piano-laden production is marvellous and the 'Share The Love' vocals work really well as she sounds pretty lost to match the lyrics. The sampling came full circle as Will Young later borrowed 'Loneliness' for his 2015 single 'Love Revolution'. I must applaud the British public for sending 'Loneliness' all the way to #1 as it really stands out amongst the dance hits of this year. Unfortunately Tomcraft couldn't properly capitalise on this success as the follow-up 'Brainwashed (Call You)' limped in at #43 and then that was pretty much it for his chart career. At least the one hit wonder he was responsible for was a brilliant one.

Now it's time for another nightclub video but with a song that has more of an R&B edge! This is Mis-teeq with their best-selling single 'Scandalous'. In my eyes the British public got that one right as this is their standout song for me by far. It wasn't their only single to peak at #2 though as 'All I Want' had done so 2 years prior too. In the case of 'Scandalous' it was blocked by 'Spirit In The Sky' by Gareth Gates & The Kumars. I can reveal that, shockingly, that hasn't made my top 5, but it does fall into guilty pleasure territory with its interesting production so I'm not completely mad. I mean, 'Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex' lost out on a 'Record of the Year' win to 'Mandy' by Westlie which feels a lot more... scandalous. Yes, back to this song, it is one of the first that I ever bought on vinyl! I mentioned for the 'Movin Too Fast' by Artful Dodger commentary that I picked up both that and 'Scandalous' in a charity shop on my 17th birthday, the day I got my record player. So it's had a loving home for many years now. 'Scandalous' is a hit that I do actually remember at the time and it's aged so well. I feel like in the hands of Destiny's Child this could have been a U.S. smash too. But it still did really well in Europe and other territories for Mis-Teeq, of course. 'Scandalous' is pretty mischievous lyrically. The girls want a man that they can have fun with, but make no mistake, "a one night stand just ain't enough". They want both "stimulation" and "a little conversation" from the Elvis school of lyricism. Sabrina's parts are so smooth and Alesha tackles her raps with confidence as usual. The Stargate production feels really urgent with the prominent strings and siren noises. All in all this was a very exciting release from them. This section features another Britney connection, after Rachel earlier, as her 'Outrageous' was originally supposed to be the soundtrack single for 2004's 'Catwoman' movie, but Brit experienced an injury which resulted in the single's cancellation. Therefore, Mis-Teeq got that gig instead with their very punchy offering. Surprisingly the girls only had two more hits after this - #8 'Can't Get It Back' and #13 'Style', both also in 2003. I suppose the first attempt of Alesha Dixon's solo career was on the horizon. We of course know that it panned out a whole lot better second time as she can still be seen on Britain's Got Talent as a judge even now! On YouTube 'Scandalous' is currently uploaded to the Alesha Dixon channel, which is a choice. But hey, it's racked up 15 million views in 5 years on that channel, a pretty good showing for a U.K. girl-group single.

So my #6 pick has just provided me with a couple of laughs. Firstly... THAT thumbnail!! What kind of potato quality realness?! Well, I suppose it was a 2003 single uploaded to YouTube in 2007 so my expectations shouldn't have been high. Secondly, I waltz over to Wikipedia to double-check where this placed on the Billboard Hot 100 and was met with "This article is about the Sugababes song. For the fish disease, see Head and lateral line erosion" which was a random turn I was not expecting. By the way - this peaked at #96 on the Billboard Hot 100! This was the girls' only entry there. I suppose the "Ricki Lake" lyric was appropriate for an American audience - it actually introduced me to her existence. If I didn't already know about 'Hole In The Head' scraping into the Billboard Hot 100 then I'd have guessed 'About You Now' as their sole entry, with the Miranda Cosgrove cover doing quite well over there. But no, they instead had enough taste to let this scrape in! But we did even better in their home country as 'Hole In The Head' was the latest Sugababes #1 - the track to finally dislodge The Black Eyed Peas. This was the lead single from 'Three', funnily enough their third album, an excellent pick. We visited second single 'Too Lost In You' earlier as well. Check back to see if the later choices make it in for 2004. 'Hole In The Head' is an angsty song lyrically that was inspired by Keisha being cheated on. The girls wrote it with the Xenomania team, who also produced. I of course gushed over previous Xenomania Sugababes hit 'Round Round' and this is another stroke of genius. The production here is so bouncy and the lyrics are stupendously catchy to match - particularly Keisha's bridge. I think this pop and R&B fusion with a bit of an edge is what the girls do best. Of course their harmonies are on point as ever too. The video sees them looking quite rebellious with gothic clothing and heavy make-up to match. They go to a gig with a fellow group named Erased - however these guys are more interested in other girls during the show. They're having none of that, of course, so feisty scenes ensue! Some of the more naughty footage was cut from the final edit though such as Keisha giving the middle finger. The girls had now well and truly landed as the Sugababes 2.0 as this particular line-up's sophomore record really connected with the public.

Hi Jade, oops I'm a bit behind on these! :o

 

Barcelona at 30, that one I'd forgotten about, which is sad as I love Barcelona the city - though I'd never been there in 2003 - but it made my year-end 200 and peaked at 26 in my charts. Finest Dreams just peaked outside my top 40, and is another I havent heard since 2003 and need to revisit. Oddly Eple is one I do recall even though it only peaked at 27 for me, I just find Royksopp generally lovely. Busted did pretty well, year-end top 150, for a band I tend to think back on as one I wasn;t too fussed about -but they had two top 20's including Sleeping With The Light On. My Immortal was also top 150 and top 20, very much in the shadow of Bring Me To Life, but good enough.

 

t.A.T.u.'s Not Gonna Get Us was another "in the shadow of greatness" track, and fell just short of my 100, but loved the epic-in-ya-face Trevor Horn productions. Being Nobody snuck into my 40, I liked it, while Come Undone was Robbie's latest in his run of top 10 singles for me, at 9 and just short of the 100 - pretty good but not a classic Robbie track, beating only 4 of his singles to that date, in chart positions. Talking of Evanescence, bit of a rock classic, Bring Me To Life topped my chart and ended the year as my 21st fave of the year. Doh! just short of the top 20 just like your rundown! Black Eyed Peas, apart from Where Is The Love, had yet to grab my attention in a big way, and fell short of my top 40 weekly charts with Shut Up - but that would be changing!

 

Pass That Dutch isn;t one I recall much, though I liked it enough to chart it, and sadly about the same for Too Lost In You (except I do remember the tune to that one). I've got a number of 50p charity shop CD albums I havent played yet, so that might be interesting to review when I get to them - sorry Sugababes fans but the bargain bins have been filled with noughties pop acts for a few years as everyone goes streaming and chucks them out. How can you do that!? :o Justin Timberlake was an act of the year for moi, and Rock Your Body a chart-topper and 23rd on my Year-End. I may need to revisit No Good Advice, as it was far and away my least-fave Girls Aloud single, barely making my top 60 weekly chart! Numb had a bizarre run for me, peaking at 30 first time round, then the mash-up really taking my fancy, and eventually topping my chart in 2017 after the sad loss of Chester - so during 2003 it didnt even rate in my top 200, but in total sales it's now just behind Evanescence.

 

Get Busy? Didn;t chart it, sorry, I have no memory of it! Clocks is fab, but then I love Coldplay, top 5 and ended at 32 for the year. Make Luv is a great dance toon, top 10 and top 100 for the year, still know it well, Year 3000 is still Busted's biggest record for me, falling a few short of the Top 100, and Plummet's is a track I need to hear! I've forgotten it - I genuinely havent heard it since 2003 but it went top 10 and comfortably inside my top 100 for the year. It's bizarre how I can know Make Luv inside-out and have forgotten all about Damaged! Playing it now....it's still only vague. I think it's because that was when I was ill with pneumonia for weeks and weeks. I was still forcing myself to listen to music and do charts in between lying on the bed feeling like death warmed up and hacking and hacking, but I wasn't really paying attention too much to music between April/May period.

 

Rachel Stevens made my Top 100 of the year, a great pop track that one, Avril Lavigne was a weekly chart top 20, Tomcraft peaked at 2, a fab dance track that one, 28th for the year. and Scandalous is also great, just short of my top 50 for the year. Hole In The Head was top 100 for me, one I still like a lot.

 

So just 5 left. All The Things She Said, Cry Me A River, Hey Ya, Move Your Feet, Danger! High Voltage!

 

Those would be good choices ta..... :lol:

 

 

Hole In The Head was one of the songs on my first ever playlist (back when I used to burn playlists to CDs) so nice to see that pop up here! Sweet Dreams My LA Ex is a more recent discovery but quite the fan of that as well. And Loneliness is of course great too!

2003 concludes tonight :cheer:

 

Hi Jade, oops I'm a bit behind on these! :o

 

Barcelona at 30, that one I'd forgotten about, which is sad as I love Barcelona the city - though I'd never been there in 2003 - but it made my year-end 200 and peaked at 26 in my charts. Finest Dreams just peaked outside my top 40, and is another I havent heard since 2003 and need to revisit. Oddly Eple is one I do recall even though it only peaked at 27 for me, I just find Royksopp generally lovely. Busted did pretty well, year-end top 150, for a band I tend to think back on as one I wasn;t too fussed about -but they had two top 20's including Sleeping With The Light On. My Immortal was also top 150 and top 20, very much in the shadow of Bring Me To Life, but good enough.

 

t.A.T.u.'s Not Gonna Get Us was another "in the shadow of greatness" track, and fell just short of my 100, but loved the epic-in-ya-face Trevor Horn productions. Being Nobody snuck into my 40, I liked it, while Come Undone was Robbie's latest in his run of top 10 singles for me, at 9 and just short of the 100 - pretty good but not a classic Robbie track, beating only 4 of his singles to that date, in chart positions. Talking of Evanescence, bit of a rock classic, Bring Me To Life topped my chart and ended the year as my 21st fave of the year. Doh! just short of the top 20 just like your rundown! Black Eyed Peas, apart from Where Is The Love, had yet to grab my attention in a big way, and fell short of my top 40 weekly charts with Shut Up - but that would be changing!

 

Pass That Dutch isn;t one I recall much, though I liked it enough to chart it, and sadly about the same for Too Lost In You (except I do remember the tune to that one). I've got a number of 50p charity shop CD albums I havent played yet, so that might be interesting to review when I get to them - sorry Sugababes fans but the bargain bins have been filled with noughties pop acts for a few years as everyone goes streaming and chucks them out. How can you do that!? :o Justin Timberlake was an act of the year for moi, and Rock Your Body a chart-topper and 23rd on my Year-End. I may need to revisit No Good Advice, as it was far and away my least-fave Girls Aloud single, barely making my top 60 weekly chart! Numb had a bizarre run for me, peaking at 30 first time round, then the mash-up really taking my fancy, and eventually topping my chart in 2017 after the sad loss of Chester - so during 2003 it didnt even rate in my top 200, but in total sales it's now just behind Evanescence.

 

Get Busy? Didn;t chart it, sorry, I have no memory of it! Clocks is fab, but then I love Coldplay, top 5 and ended at 32 for the year. Make Luv is a great dance toon, top 10 and top 100 for the year, still know it well, Year 3000 is still Busted's biggest record for me, falling a few short of the Top 100, and Plummet's is a track I need to hear! I've forgotten it - I genuinely havent heard it since 2003 but it went top 10 and comfortably inside my top 100 for the year. It's bizarre how I can know Make Luv inside-out and have forgotten all about Damaged! Playing it now....it's still only vague. I think it's because that was when I was ill with pneumonia for weeks and weeks. I was still forcing myself to listen to music and do charts in between lying on the bed feeling like death warmed up and hacking and hacking, but I wasn't really paying attention too much to music between April/May period.

 

Rachel Stevens made my Top 100 of the year, a great pop track that one, Avril Lavigne was a weekly chart top 20, Tomcraft peaked at 2, a fab dance track that one, 28th for the year. and Scandalous is also great, just short of my top 50 for the year. Hole In The Head was top 100 for me, one I still like a lot.

 

So just 5 left. All The Things She Said, Cry Me A River, Hey Ya, Move Your Feet, Danger! High Voltage!

 

Those would be good choices ta..... :lol:

Hi John :hi: :heart:

 

Thank you for taking the time to write this long comment! I enjoyed reading about the history of these songs in your own charts. I can attest to the Sugababes bargain bin thing, my first ever CD single haul from a carboot sale included Britney, Girls Aloud and Sugababes :lol: would be cool if you did delve into those charity shop albums at some point! 'No Good Advice' your least favourite Girls Aloud single argh :o I must admit that it's not even in my top 5 of theirs now (still top 10 though) - 'Beautiful Cause You Love Me' is my least favourite by far :lol: okay, I can confirm that at least one of those songs you mentioned is coming up, stay tuned... B-)

 

thank you for commenting <3

 

Hole In The Head was one of the songs on my first ever playlist (back when I used to burn playlists to CDs) so nice to see that pop up here! Sweet Dreams My LA Ex is a more recent discovery but quite the fan of that as well. And Loneliness is of course great too!

Hi Pete :hi: :heart:

 

Oh wow the days of burning playlists to CDs, now that is a throwback *.* 'Hole In The Head' a top quality choice for that then! I'm glad that you're fond of a few songs in that section ^_^ BuzzJack really made me re-discover 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' with the S Club forum and the AF Idol spin-off :lol:

 

thank you for commenting <3

Those five they are great. 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' recently rediscovered this thanks to a poster called Adelita, but apart from that this was good from her. 'Loneliness ' a tune, 'Scandalous ' this was on the playlist back in the day, great tune. 'I'm With You ' pleased to see this in from Avril Lavigne, one of my favourites from her it is a great song and quite powerful for me. 'Hole In The Head' what a #1 this was.from Sugababes.

^ Ooh just saw your comment as I was about to post this, thanks Mack, appreciate the love!

 

 

05. Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River

(chart-run: 2-3-2-6-8-16-23-30-32-40-53-62)

 

04. Bhangra Knights vs. Husan - Husan

(chart-run: 7-10-12-22-30-42-59)

 

03. Kylie Minogue - Slow

(chart-run: 1-4-12-17-26-45-56-53-58-61)

 

02. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet

(chart-run: 4-3-6-5-5-3-4-6-9-11-19-26-28-38-38-49-68)

 

01. OutKast - Hey Ya!

(chart-run: 6-8-10-13-22-16-13-14-9-9-4-4-3-6-6-6-9-19-32-45-65)

 

 

It's about that time again! We have reached my top 5 favourite top 40 hits of 2003. Justin Timberlake starts off procedings in quite a male dominated section. 'Cry Me A River' was released as the second single from 'Justified'. This was his moment to create controversy and truly break out of his squeaky clean *NSYNC image. This combination wasn't quite enough to ensure a #1 single though. He once again stalled at #2 in the U.K., following the same outcome for lead 'Like I Love You', plus charted at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It did manage a respectable 5 weeks in the top 10 here though and the song that blocked it was one of that year's heavyweights. This was 'All The Things She Said' by t.A.T.u. which has not quite made this countdown, so I'm firmly team Justin. 'Cry Me A River' was inspired by the demise of his relationship with fellow superstar Britney Spears. This subject matter is a huge talking point surrounding the song and even extends to the video. This is because a supposed Britney lookalike appears in it. Both parties have commented on it publicly before, with Timberlake eventually admitting that it was about her and Britney finding the concept of the video desperate. The drama of the Olivia Rodrigo/Joshua Bassett/Sabrina Carpenter love triangle has nothing on this pair! On a more positive note this has an entirely different legacy on top of that as it birthed the now iconic Timberlake and Timbaland partnership. The latter supposedly kicked off the creation of the lyrics with the "you were my sun, you were my Earth" opening lines. The words continue to cut like a knife as Timberlake expresses his feelings about a girl who has cheated on him. The video really paints Justin in a new light with him throwing a brick at her window, breaking into her house and playing the role of a voyeur with another woman. There was a lot of fireworks here but I think the song was strong enough to not even need any of that. I feel that it was a really interesting move musically as it's quite an experimentally pieced together mainstream hit. I mean there are Gregorian chants for starters! Timbaland lays the foundations with his über slick R&B beats, plus we have beatboxing and a mix of piano and strings too. There's an awful lot going on but it doesn't feel at all overbearing. The production really compliments Timberlake's wounded lyrics in a haunting way. This has really stood the test of time as an epic heartbreak anthem. It may not have earned Justin a chart-topper Stateside but a different song that interpolates 'Cry Me A River' did get that accolade. This is 'Without Me' by Halsey. She's not the only one to have been inspired by this as it is also incorporated on the (fabulous) ROSALÍA song 'Bagdad'. Justin would have to wait a few more years to get that elusive chart-topper here in the U.K. but he certainly left his mark with this signature song.

 

Up next is the lowest charting single of the section but still a top 10 hit nonetheless! Something pretty magical happened around this time as the charts experienced a brief Bhangra takeover. Not only was 'Husan' a smash but also 'Mundian To Bach Ke' by Panjabi MC earlier in the year. That came so close to making this countdown so I'm glad I've had the chance to mention it now too. That was the bigger hit with its #5 peak. 'Husan' settled for #7. This was the one and only hit for both British production duo Bhangra Knights and Dutch duo Husan. So it makes sense that my true love for it formed during Radio 1's 'One Hit Wonders of the Millennium' show that I have already referenced plenty of times throughout this countdown. I would've come across it before, due to the Now 55 album, but it properly clicked with me after hearing it on that. I suppose I grew more fond of Bhangra music in general as I got a bit older and more open-minded musically. It instantly became addictive for me as the main song I spammed following that Radio 1 show. Aside from the credited acts this also samples Indian singer Raja Mustaq. Husan took this song and it was popularised through Peugeot 206 adverts. Bhangra Knights then remixed it for the single version. It's a totally feel-good bilingual banger. The production takes both the influence of Bhangra and house music which is an effortless toe-tapping treat to my ears. I love both the Raja Mustaq sample and the English parts, which are all about having a good time. This is demonstrated by the video where people positively react to the song, first being heard through car windows, by grooving along. This is a delightful dance anthem that seems a bit forgotten nowadays. 'Mundian To Bach Ke' on the other hand has a rather iconic place in history - I even heard it at a house party once! Well, never mind, it once made its mark during those scorching 2003 temperatures and will continue to bless my eardrums even on days like today with snow!

 

Taking the bronze position is actually the only #1 single of this section! Australian pop princess Kylie achieved her 7th - and to date last - U.K. chart topper with 'Slow', the lead single from 'Body Language'. It was a pretty low selling #1 and didn't have a great chart run but a chart-topper all the same that was critically acclaimed. I wholeheartedly agree with the critics as this is my favourite Kylie Minogue song. I know 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' ranked at #2 for 2001 but 'Slow' was unlucky to face tougher competition. Kylie has plenty of euphoric moments in her back catalogue but it's this dark, more minimalistic hit that always took my fancy. I suppose 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' was somewhat dark too so this is clearly the Kylie I love the most - the one with the moody synths and entrancing vocals. She gives a very breathy performance here as she sings about not wanting to rush things with a guy she's met on the dancefloor, instead really salvaging that moment - "keep the record playing", she urges. We are transported to this dancefloor with a large helping of 80s-inspired pulsating electropop synths. Kylie really came full circle as actual 80s pop royalty, to channelling the era in the 00s, to now giving us all of that glory once more during the 'DISCO' era in the 2020s. This is such a hypnotic song. Although I feel that the video has probably eclipsed the actual song in the general public's memory. It's shot in Spain and begins with a man diving into a pool. The camera pans over to Kylie who is writhing around on a beach towel. But that is not all that is going on. Oh no, a myriad of beach-goers join in with synchronised choreography. I can't say I've ever seen beach towel choreography in person when I've been to Spain over the years but it was a fun and pleasingly intricate concept for the video. Kylie would follow this up with the in-your-face pop/R&B fun of 'Red Blooded Woman' but returned to that more slow sizzling synth sound for third single 'Chocolate'. We shall see if any more of the 'Body Language' singles pop up for 2004. But for now I just had to reward 'Slow' in such a way. Congrats to Kylie for being the only female to make this top 5. I wasn't lying when I said the lower bottom 10 was female dominated and the top 5 instead taken up by the males!

 

Okay this top 2 has been the most closely fought battle of them all so far. Both songs steamroll ahead of the rest of the pack as two of my top 10 favourite songs of all-time. But there could only be one winner. It's the battle of two gigantic #3 hits and Junior Senior are the ones who receive the silver medal! 'Move Your Feet' spent a whopping 9 weeks in the top 10 and went on to be the 16th best-seller of that year. I have had a life-long appreciation of this song and I don't think that will ever die. I was there right from the start as I do remember the music video at the time. My memories of being 5/6 are pretty fuzzy but the videos for both 'Crazy In Love' and this stand out the most in my memory. Young me just loved the cute squirrel in the video. I didn't realise quite how cheeky it was until I grew up a bit more though! I have a lot of time for that very charming pixel art presentation. I mean, 'Move Your Feet' has got to be one of the happiest songs of all-time and the visuals somehow ramp up that feeling even more. C'mon, we have both rainbow colouring and dancing stickmen, it doesn't get much more cheerful than that! The muffled spoken intro followed by four distinctive beats is enough to be an instant pick me up. But it gets even better as the dynamic nu-disco production develops further and lyrics such as "everybody, move your feet and feel united" fill up the song. It's enough to melt even the coldest of hearts. Well, you'd think so, but this song does actually have its haters on BuzzJack! So here I am to hype it up as the true gem it is. The Danish duo never quite recreated the magic in the charts as 'Rhythm Bandit' quietly spent a mere two weeks in the top 40, peaking at #22. That's pretty much it. I'm fairly sure that the only other song of theirs I know is 'Shake Your Coconuts', lmao, due to its use in BJSC. Perhaps I should check out 'D-D-Don't Don't Stop the Beat' in full one day. But for now this masterpiece is enough. I'm truly hard pressed to find many other songs that feel like such a sudden injection of joy. It continued to impact the world through usage in a Google Chrome advert, several games including Just Dance 2 and also films like White Chicks.

 

So it's time for the one song that was good enough to topple 'Move Your Feet'! Welcome back to OutKast who return after a previous top 5 placing with 'Ms Jackson' for 2001. This breaks the pattern of #1s switching between male dance producers and girl-groups, but it does still switch between male and female acts. A reminder, we've so far had: Dario G, Spice Girls, Fatboy Slim, All Saints, Roger Sanchez, Sugababes and now OutKast. 'Hey Ya!' was a juggernaut and spent 9 weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It stalled at #3 here but has an incredible chart-run, with 12 weeks in the top 10 and not even peaking until very late into its shelf life. Wow. 'Hey Ya!' is another song with an intro that instantly puts me in a great mood - this time the "1, 2, 3" opener that soon evolves into the most marvellous chaos. Don't be fooled by the happy-clappy presentation, though! Under all of its energetic, rousing charms, the lyrics of 'Hey Ya!' are about frustrations from the protagonist's side of the story. It starts on an anecdotal level but morphs into more of a general commentary about dating and society in the 2000s. This is seen by (very quotable) lyrics such "You don't want to hear me you just want to dance", "What's cooler than being cool? Ice cold!" and the even more superficial "Shake it like a polaroid picture" that would eventually evolve into mindless instagram culture. My favourite fact about this song is the spike in interest for the Polaroid Corporation following its popularity. What a song it is... it's really hard to put in a box (or speakerboxxx if you will) as it's a constantly shapeshifting ball of infectious energy. I suppose it's a soul song with a blend of funk and pop with an unusual structure. But a glorious one with both relentless production and vocals. That synth bassline is a corker! Andre didn't just put effort into his vocal performance either... oh no... how about playing 8 different versions of himself in the video?! This is another iconic visual in this section. It always pleased me as a Beatles fanatic as the concept is a flipped version of the group's monumental performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. When I say flipped, I mean it's an American band (called "The Love Below") performing in England instead of the other way round. 'Hey Ya!' was a last minute choice as a single (somehow!!) so André didn't have a lot of time for choreography... therefore improvised it! This whole package continues to impress. The 'Ice Cold 3000' sequences were filmed first which is why he attacks this role with so much energy. The 'Johnny Vulture' performance was last though and he's been reduced to sitting on a stool by that point. What a trooper! An absolutely iconic moment in 2000s music culture that is deservedly lauded.

recap ~ full 2003 top 40:

 

01. OutKast - Hey Ya!

02. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet

03. Kylie Minogue - Slow

04. Bhangra Knights vs. Husan - Husan

05. Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River

06. Sugababes - Hole In The Head

07. Mis-Teeq - Scandalous

08. Tomcraft - Loneliness

09. Avril Lavigne - I'm With You

10. Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My L.A. Ex

 

11. Plummet - Damaged

12. Busted - Year 3000

13. Room 5 - Make Luv (feat. Oliver Cheatham)

14. Coldplay - Clocks

15. Sean Paul - Get Busy

16. Linkin Park - Numb

17. Girls Aloud - No Good Advice

18. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body

19. Sugababes - Too Lost In You

20. Missy Elliott - Pass That Dutch

 

21. The Black Eyed Peas - Shut Up

22. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

23. Robbie Williams - Come Undone

24. Richard X vs. Liberty X - Being Nobody

25. t.A.T.u. - Not Gonna Get Us

26. Evanescence - My Immortal

27. Busted - Sleeping With The Light On

28. Röyksopp - Eple

29. Richard X - Finest Dreams (feat. Kelis)

30. D. Kay & Epsilon - Barcelona (feat. Stamina MC)

 

31. The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

32. VBirds - Virtuality

33. Moloko - Forever More

34. Blu Cantrell - Breathe (feat. Sean Paul)

35. S Club 8 - Sundown

36. Jaimeson - True (feat. Angel Blu)

37. Avril Lavigne - Losing Grip

38. Britney Spears - Me Against The Music (feat. Madonna)

39. Beyoncé - Crazy In Love (feat. Jay-Z)

40. Dido - White Flag

 

playlist so far (1997 - 2003):

 

 

Thanks to those of you that are continuing to stick with me <3 I'm well aware that it's been almost 2 years since I opened this thread, what kind of snail's pace :blush: but I'm happy to slowly retread these years and properly soak them in ^_^ 2004 starting in a couple of weeks!

That top 3 is all good imo. The video to 'Hey Ya' is so funny :lol: and is quite a nice change of pace for Outkast after 'Ms Jackson'. I honestly thought they'd be one hit wonders after that song so good to know they weren't really. 'Move Your Feet' brings back those dance mat memories (the nostalgia *.*) and 'Slow' seems to be not as remembered much these days but I always quite liked it.

 

'Hole In My Head' would be amongst my top 5 Sugababes songs. What a sassy banger :wub: 'I'm With You' is lovely too. It's definitely one of her best for me and the video is simple but does the job. 'Scandalous' also great too. Another sassy girl group single. Shame they faded out so quickly though.

 

Unpopular opinion though.. I never liked the Rachel Stevens track oops. Can't put my finger on why because the production is solid but I think it just didn't impress me much overall. Probably that I didn't rate her as a solo singer might be a reason too :kink: 'More More More' was decent though.

I do like Hey Ya! by OutKast but it doesn't make it into my top 20 for the year. Move Your Feet is really infectious and I have to include it along with a few others that you have in your top 40. So here are my top 20 chart hits for 2003:

 

1. Syntax - Pray

2. t.A.T.u. - Not Gonna Get Us

3. t.A.T.u. - All The Things She Said

4. Lost Brothers featuring G Tom Mac - Cry Little Sister (I Need You Now)

5. Jurgen Vries featuring CMC - The Opera Song (Brave New World)

6. UNKLE - Eye For An Eye

7. Goldfrapp - Strict Machine

8. Muse - Hysteria

9. Royksopp - Eple

10. Tomcraft - Loneliness

11. Underworld - Dinosaur Adventure 3D

12. Massive Attack - Special Cases

13. Muse - Time Is Running Out

14. Radiohead - There There

15. Johnny Cash - Hurt/Personal Jesus

16. Elbow - Fallen Angel

17. No Doubt - It's My Life

18. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet

19. Will Young - Leave Right Now

20. Dave Gahan - Dirty Sticky Floors

Great top 2, Hey Ya is such a classic of its genre, even as a kid at the time, I was at least aware of it. Move Your Feet is definitely one of my all time favourites, truly the song equivalent of joy :wub: Cry Me a River is great too, can never decide if that, Rock Your Body, Sexyback or Mirrors is my favourite but they're all top class tunes.

 

My rough top 10 for the year:

 

01. Johnny Cash - Hurt

02. Muse - Hysteria

03. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet

04. Linkin Park - Numb

05. Coldplay - Clocks

06. The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love

07. Evanescence - Bring Me to Life

08. XTM & DJ Chucky - Fly On The Wings of Love

09. Sean Paul - Get Busy

10. Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather for Ducks

 

and Christina Aguilera - Beautiful, No Doubt - It's My Life, Royksopp - Eple, White Stripes - Seven Nation Army, Beyonce - Crazy in Love, t.A.T.u - All the Things She Said close behind, argh what a year. Johnny Cash's incredible cover of Hurt and some of Muse's best material took centre stage for me in this year. I don't know if you're familiar with XTM, feels like the kind of forgotten top 10 hit you would be aware of, but it's kinda awesome!

 

2004 was certainly not as good, but a fair few favourites, after that though, you're getting into my favourite period of music in my lifetime *.*

3 of my picks in the top 5, not bad! :lol:

 

Cry Me A River topped my chart during one of the worst episodes of my life, so I can't look beyond that, but it was everything you say about it. I still prefer t.A.T.u though, that's my 3rd top single of the year, so exciting! Justin was 5th.

 

Gotta say I don't remember the tune for Husan - though it made my top 100 of the year, and went top 10 :o - but I do remember Mundian Te Bach Ke which peaked at 39 in my charts! So I agree you, it needs more love (from me as well soon as I next play it!). Asian music generally creates feelings of nostalgia for me (of being 11 to 13) as Singapore was a right old melting pot culturally. I was big into a more world-music vibe in the early 90's, Bally Sagoo's album was a goodie, especially Dil Cheez.

 

We differ a bit on Slow! :o :o It was her lowest-charting track for me (17) since Manic Street Preachers-donated Some Kind Of Bliss peaked at 20 in 1997. But it had a long run, being a slow burner, arf, and only just missed out on the year end top 50, bigger than Spinnin' Around and On A Night Like This a couple of years earlier.

 

 

Top 2 are flawless party records. The Junior Senior haters are clearly fun-haters! :lol: Infectious and perfectly-formed. Hey Ya is just brilliant in a pub or club played loud, also loved the videos for both too, and I was errr 45, hah! I'm still 5 at heart... :P A great record is a great record, I say!

 

Of the suggestions, a big yes to Johnny cash's Hurt, a masterpiece!

 

My top 20 of the time (my tastes change all the time):

 

1. Can't make Up My Mind - Sonique

2. Miracles - Pet Shop Boys

3. All The Things She Said - t.A.T.u

4. Crazy In Love - Beyonce/Jay-Zee

5. Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake (snap!)

6. How Did You Know - Kurtis Mantronix/Chamonix

7. On The Horizon - melanie C

8. White Flag - Dido

9. Good Dancers - The Sleepy Jackson aka part-Empire Of The Sun

10. Forever More - Moloko

 

11. Hey Ya - Outkast

12. Superstar - Jamelia

13. Sunrise - Simply Red

14. Move Your Feet - Junior Senior

15. Thugz Mansion - 2-Pac

16. Summer Wine - The Corrs & Bono

17. Good Boys - Blondie

18. Get It Together - Seal

19. Hurt - Johnny Cash

20. Thank You Baby - Shania Twain

 

 

with Evanescence, Electric Six, Justin T just missing out among many other fabulous tracks lower down. Some of those listed won;t be known cos they werent hits, but are well-worth checking out - I'm much more loyal to older acts than the charts are! :)

Stellar Top 2 there! Hey Ya is obviously a classic but Move Your Feet is the one that brings back more childhood memories for me, a brilliant track.

Hey Ya is a great pick for #1, one of the few songs of that year that have really been remembered in a big way and a standout of its genre.

Move Your Feet was a big fave for me when I was a child too, I'm not as fond of it now but it's a good song for nostalgia every now and then.

Loneliness is my fave of that top 10 though, a great trance classic!

Love the #1 there. :heart: It was my obsession with 'Hey Ya' that prompted my Dad to buy me Speakerboxxx/The Love Below as my first ever album. I think I probably didn't appreciate a 2 hour experimental Hip-Hop album that much at the time but I've grown to absolutely adore it. Especially Big Boi's side of the album.

 

Sweet Dreams My LA Ex would be my next favourite in your top 10. I can't say I've particularly enjoyed any of S Club or Rachel Stevens other music but I've always loved that one.

 

My other faves from your 2003 list would be Year 300, Get Busy, Numb, Rock Your Body & Barcelona.

That Top 5, wow!

 

'Cry Me A Rover' a classic from Justin Timberlake. I thought when I was younger when Timbaland says 'the damage is done, I guess I'll be leaving ' it was 'cabbages, I guess I'll be leaving'. Easily.in my Top 3 of Justin Timberlake songs there.

 

'Husan ' yes!!,.this is such a tune, never tire of this for sure. 'Slow' by Kylie, a great music video choreographed well. 'Move Your Feet another big favourite for.me and wouldn't tire of this, I know their other.hit.'Rhythm Bandits ' as it was in the soundtrack for FIFA 2004. 'Hey Ya' it is a great pick for.#1, and that chart run was quite remarkable at the time.

Hello, Jade! Congrats on finishing another year! Let's have a look:

 

01. OutKast - Hey Ya! Okay, if anything has to beat 'Move Your Feet' here, it really could only be this song! I love how it followed no trends whatsoever, was just as catchy as could possibly be and they absolutely nailed it! Honestly it hasn't aged a day in 17 years. I hope Outkast appears at least once on your 2004 list!

02. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet Two irresistible tunes in a row :wub:

05. Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River

06. Sugababes - Hole In The Head This completely passed me by at the time despite its brief chart appearance in the US. Unfortunately, not one of my faves of theirs, so I don't feel like I missed out.

07. Mis-Teeq - Scandalous Now this, on the other hand, did not pass me by...you say it could've been a US smash in the hands of Destiny's Child, but it actually was a respectable top 40 hit here! :o That said, I've never heard any other Mis-Teeq songs

08. Tomcraft - Loneliness

09. Avril Lavigne - I'm With You Interesting to think this could've been released earlier due to its hit potential. Personally I think they got the order of singles completely right for Avril's debut era! Can't imagine it doing as well if it was the first or second single.

14. Coldplay - Clocks

15. Sean Paul - Get Busy

16. Linkin Park - Numb

18. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body

19. Sugababes - Too Lost In You

20. Missy Elliott - Pass That Dutch

21. The Black Eyed Peas - Shut Up

22. Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

25. t.A.T.u. - Not Gonna Get Us The t.A.T.u. album is a big, big, big fave of mine so I'm pleased to see either of its singles here. I agree that the breakbeat is amazing on this! I do wish they had more hits since we were getting such interesting production from them. Also, I'm amazed at how well their songs translated from Russian to English.

26. Evanescence - My Immortal

31. The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army

34. Blu Cantrell - Breathe (feat. Sean Paul) As much as I like this, it was one of the most surprising UK #1s of the whole decade for me. Can't believe it managed four weeks at the top when it struggled so much here! Certainly makes up for 'Hit 'Em Up Style' missing the top 10 though.

37. Avril Lavigne - Losing Grip

38. Britney Spears - Me Against The Music (feat. Madonna)

39. Beyoncé - Crazy In Love (feat. Jay-Z)

40. Dido - White Flag