38. Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry (Personal) 137 pts

 

Stopped by : Rihanna - Umbrella

Top points - Alex! 25,Jordan Lee 22,vibe 20

 

One of three US no.1 singles for Fergie from her debut album 'The Dutchess'. It replaced one of the other songs in this semi-final,'Foundations' by Kate Nash at no.2 on the UK chart.

 

37. Janet Jackson - That's The Way Love Goes 138 pts

 

Stopped by : Queen,George Michael and Lisa Stansfield - Five Live EP

Top points - vibe 23,AaronTM 23,ready for it 19

 

One of 17 top 10 singles for Janet Jackson who never quite managed a UK no.1. It spent 8 weeks at the top of the Billboard chart,the longest run for any member of the Jackson family. It's also the biggest selling single by a female singer in South Africa.

 

Edited February 13, 20205 yr by King Rollo

36. Kelly Rowland - Stole 141 pts

 

Stopped by - t.A.T.u. - All The Things She Said

Top points - AaronTM 25,Alex! 24,vibe 19

 

Having secured a no.1 a few months before with the help of Nelly with 'Dilemma',this was Kelly Rowland's debut solo single.

 

35. Dannii Minogue - I Begin To Wonder 142 pts

 

Stopped by : Christina Aguilera - Beautiful

Top points - ThePensmith 22,vibe 22,ready for it 20,AaronTM 20,AH Gold 20

 

This was in the top 20 at the same time as the Kelly Rowland song we've just featured. It's one of nine top 10 singles for Dannii Minogue and her biggest hit.

 

34. Ashanti - Only U 144 pts

 

Stopped by : Elvis Presley - It's Now Or Never

Top points - chrissmith276 21,AaronTM 21,garyfeld 19,Jade 19

 

It's a bad day for female solo singers as all four of today's non qualifiers are in that category. This one charted in 2005,a few months after 'Wonderful',Ashanti's only no.1 single.

 

Ah I loved the synth at the beginning of Only U!

Ah I loved the synth at the beginning of Only U!

It's the best part of the song tbh

43. Laurie Anderson - O Superman 104 pts

 

Stopped by : Dave Stewart with Barbara Gaskin - It's My Party

Top points - Suedehead 25,Chez Wombat 23,King Rollo 22

 

Another song in this countdown to become a hit after being championed by John Peel. It's probably the most unusual song ever to reach the top 2 of the singles chart. For a start,it's over eight minutes long. Some of the lyrics are quite haunting now in the way they predict 9/11. The single's chart run of 18-2-3-15-24-54 is quite unusual for that time as well. Many people,including myself,found it annoying so it didn't quite have the appeal to a wide audience to hang around the chart. It was well after the 80s had finished that I came to appreciate how great this song really is.

 

Yes, it was thanks to John Peel that I first heard O Superman. I loved it straight away but could always understand why so many other people hated it. For me, the fact that it sounded so unlike anything else was what made it so great. It helped to sum up just what Peelie was about.

O Superman is one of the most unique chart hits I've ever heard, I had never heard it prior to coming across it in the '1001 songs to hear before you die' book but it was such a standout moment, I really wish I'd be alive to see the reaction to that.

 

Shame it's so low, but it did well to get this far given I wasn't really aware many knew it on here!

As I've already suggested, the reaction to it was somewhat mixed!

40. Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us 112 pts

 

Stopped by : The Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love

Top points - AH Gold 25,Achabaan 24,Suedehead 21

 

The only top 5 single for the American group who have always been more at home in the UK. The distinctive gunshot sounds were added after the production team thought that there was something missing from the finished recording. Five of the six people who voted for this song gave it a score of 20 points or more. Sparks are showing no signs of slowing down. Just three years after their last album,they have a new one coming out in May.

 

Another song that blew my mind when I first heard it and, like O Superman, it divided opinion. I loved it but there were plenty of other people who thought it was gimmicky rubbish. As you say, they have always had a bigger audience in the UK than in their home country. We seem to appreciate their eccentricity rather more.

33. Moloko - The Time Is Now 146 pts

 

Stopped by : Melanie C - Never Be The Same Again

Top points - jszmiles 24,dandy* 22,Chez Wombat 14

 

From 2000,this was one of three top 10 singles for the group named after the Russian word for milk. They split up four years later.

 

Awwwww sad to see that drop out :(

32. Supergrass - Alright/Time 147 pts

 

Stopped by - Outhere Brothers - Boom Boom Boom

Top points - Jester 24,Uls2000 21,Jason 19

 

The fifth single to be released from Supergrass' debut album 'I Should Coco'. Released in the summer of 1995,'Alright' became an anthem for school leavers. The song also featured on the soundtrack to the film 'Clueless' which came out around the same time.

 

31. Phil Collins - Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) 150 pts

 

Stopped by : Lionel Richie - Hello / Duran Duran - The Reflex

Top points - ready for it 23,marcinjaro 21,King Rollo 17

 

From the soundtrack to the film of the same name,this was the first of seven American no.1s for Phil Collins from 1984 to 1989. Inferior cover versions of the song by Mariah Carey featuring Westlife and Steve Brookstein would go on to top the chart.

 

Was hoping Against All Odds could make it through, definitely my favourite Phil Collins song!

30. Kungs vs Cookin' On 3 Burners - This Girl 159 pts

 

Stopped by : Drake - One Dance

Top points - danG 25,coi 25,Jason 23

 

A remix of a Cookin' On 3 Burners song from 2009. It spent four weeks at no.2. in 2016 and later on,four weeks at no.11.

 

Nooooo! :(

this is actually cancelled now :(

Alright out already? Heathens!

29. Blondie - Denis 164 pts

 

Stopped by : Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights, Brian and Michael - Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats And Dogs

Top points - M4NGO 25,AH Gold 23,ThePensmith 17,vibe 17

 

Blondie's first UK hit single. It's news to me that it's a cover of a 1963 song by the splendidly named American doo-wop group Randy & the Rainbows. Their version was called Denise.