The Quintessential Pop Girl Rate: The Results

 

 

 

22 rates have been posted and now it's time for the results. :cheer: The big question is who will reign supreme. :o Will it be one of the Canadian songstresses - Nelly or Avril? Is there no doubt Gwen will rule this Pop Girl rate? :kink: Perhaps Jamelia will prove her Superstar status? :kink: Has Natasha got a pocketful of victory? Ok I'll stop. :lol: Feel free to post predictions and thoughts as the results are revealed. Stay tuned.

 

 

 

The contenders:

 

 

 

What You Waiting For?

Rich Girl

Hollaback Girl

Cool

Luxurious

Wind It Up

The Sweet Escape

4 In The Morning

 

 

 

Complicated

Sk8er Boi

I'm With You

Don't Tell Me

My Happy Ending

Nobody's Home

Girlfriend

When You're Gone

 

 

 

Money

Superstar

Thank You

See It In A Boy's Eyes

DJ

Stop

Something About You

Beware Of The Dog

 

 

 

Single

These Words

Unwritten

I Bruise Easily

I Wanna Have Your Babies

Soulmate

Love Like This

Pocketful Of Sunshine

 

 

 

I'm Like A Bird

Turn Off the Light

Powerless

Try

Maneater

Promiscuous

All Good Thing (Come to an End)

Say It Right

 

36 - 40

 

 

 

36. Jamelia - Money (5.93)

37. Gwen Stefani - Wind It Up (5.73)

38. Gwen Stefani - Luxurious (5.70)

39. Natasha Bedingfield - Love Like This (5.61)

40. Natasha Bedingfield - I Wanna Have Your Babies (5.34)

 

Natasha is the unlucky Pop Girl who has two of her songs right at the bottom of the list. Her 2007 single '...Babies' was certainly a marmite single choice and underperformed for her in the charts - only peaking at #7. Two -1 scores from T Boy and Feliz Wombat sealed its fate.

 

Natasha also loses her collaboration with Sean Kingston. I for one am glad its at the bottom end of the countdown. This one didn't set the charts alight either, charting at #20.

 

Gwen also loses two songs one after the other. Her lowest ranking song here is the fifth single from L.A.M.B - 'Luxurious'. The song failed to reach the top 40 in the UK due to little promotion and the album campaign being exhausted. It did reach the top 30 in the US though.

 

Next up is one of Gwen's most polarising singles - 'Wind It Up'. I struggle to listen to this to be honest. It felt, and still feels, like a step down from her earlier work. Shockingly, it became Gwen's highest-charting solo hit in the UK at the time, peaking at #3.

 

Rounding off the bottom five is the first appearance from Jamelia whose forgotten hit 'Money' is unsurprisingly her first single to fall short.

 

Nelly and Avril rejoice. :kink:

 

 

I didn't really expect 2 x Natasha and 2 x Gwen to lead the bottom of barrel lol (I know someone had to but I kinda more expected Jamelia since her discography is little weaker than the rest)!!!

Wind It Up was easily the worst of the lot

 

 

31 - 35

 

 

 

 

31. Jamelia - Stop (7.23)

32. Natasha Bedingfield - I Bruise Easily (7.05)

33. Natasha Bedingfield - Soulmate (6.86)

34. Gwen Stefani - 4 In The Morning (6.80)

35. Jamelia - DJ (6.23)

 

 

This section is a metaphorical bloodbath for the representing British Pop Girls, with Jamelia and Natasha losing two more songs each.

 

At 35, Jamelia loses her second song 'DJ' which was released in November 2004 as a double A-Side single, alongside her cover of Sam Brown's 'Stop' which is her third song to fall out - at 31. The songs collectively peaked at #9 - giving Jamelia her fourth straight top 10 hit(s) from her Thank You era.

 

At 34 is Gwen's third track to fall out. 4ITM was the third single from Gwen's second album and peaked at a lacklustre #22.

 

Natasha sees another pair of singles fall out one after the other - first up at 33 is her #7 hit 'Soulmate' from 2007. It was a welcome change in tone after the broody 'Babies' it followed. It only managed one score of 10 and that was from AaronTM. Just above at 32 is Natasha's other ballad release, 'I Bruise Easily' which closed her debut album cycle and peaked at #12. Of the two I much prefer 'Soulmate'. :wub:

 

So in the top 30 Nelly and Avril still have 8 songs left each, Jamelia and Gwen have 5 each and Natasha has 4...

 

4 In The Morning deserved to be a bigger hit.

 

26 - 30

 

 

 

 

26. Jamelia - Thank You (7.95)

27. Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (7.84)

28. Natasha Bedingfield - Pocketful Of Sunshine (7.77)

29. Avril Lavigne - Don't Tell Me (7.39)

30. Natasha Bedingfield - Single (7.23)

 

 

In this section we see yet another two appearances from Natasha which means she only has two songs left in the running! We also see the first two songs from Avril fall out and Jamelia's fourth casualty.

 

At 30 is Natasha's debut single, aptly titled 'Single'. It peaked at #3 for Tash in 2004 with a bigger hit just around the corner. It received three scores of 10 (from myself, Joseph and The Architect) and a low score of 4 from Bjork. I've grown to love it over the years and its a real singlehood anthem. :kink:

 

At 29 is Avril's first single to fall out - the #5 hit from 2004 'Don't Tell Me'. I'm actually shocked this was her first single to fall out - it's such a great piece of moody pop-rock that Avril does so well. This also received three sets of 10s - this time from Nina West, Joseph and Doug.

 

At 28 is the sixth Natasha song to appear - this time it is her US hit 'Pocketful Of Sunshine' which inexplicably wasn't pushed in the UK after the mediocre success of her latest singles. The song became her joint-highest peaking single in the US, charting at #5, the same position 'Unwritten' reached. The song embodies summer contentment :lol: so I'm glad it is Natasha's third highest song here.

 

At 27 is Avril's biggest UK hit, the bratty 'Girlfriend'. The song's success eclipsed all of Avril's previous singles and saw Avril move more towards pop and away from her punk-rock image. It could be argued 'Girlfriend' and the "selling out" had a negative effect on Avril's career in the long-term but at least she scored two massive hits from this album. :unsure:

 

Rounding off this section is Jamelia's top 3 hit 'Thank You' and the title track from her second album. It is the first song to appear that received a score of 11 - courtesy of T Boy.

 

Girlfriend, Single, Don't Tell Me and Thank You out in one swoop :drama:

Pocketful Of Sunshine deserved at least Top 15 :nocheer:

Nelly still with all hers left in. Deserved. :wub:

 

 

 

21 - 25

 

 

 

 

21. Gwen Stefani - Hollaback Girl (8.16)

22. Jamelia - Something About You (8.07)

23. Avril Lavigne - Nobody's Home (8.02)

24. Jamelia - See It In A Boy's Eyes (8.00)

25. Gwen Stefani - Rich Girl (8.00)

 

 

Now for the last section before we hit the top 20 and still no Nelly in sight. :o That means Miss Furtado has landed all 8 of her hits in the top 20. :clap: Natasha also dodges the bullet for once and she therefore has two hits still to come. Gwen loses her fourth and fifth songs, Jamelia loses her fifth and sixth, and Avril loses her third!

 

At 25 is Gwen's 2004 collaboration with Eve. The song became Gwen's second consecutive #4 hit and has gone on to become one of her signature hits. It received one 11 score from ...ready for it and three 10s from Nina West, Addy and Liam... if it had received one more 10 it would've beat the song one spot above...

 

At 24 is another single from 2004: the third single from Jamelia's second album and her fourth-highest single in this rate - 'See It In A Boy's Eyes'. The song reached #5 in the UK (for some reason I thought it was a #7 hit lol) which further cemented the success of her Thank You era. It received its only 11 from myself and four 10s from Nick, Joseph, The Architect and Jester. Taste. :clap:

 

At 23 is by far Avril's lowest-peaking single in the UK chart to feature in this rate. The fourth track in a row to come from 2004, 'Nobody's Home' peaked at #24 in November and became Avril's lowest-charting single to date. Not that the song deserved that label - it is one of her strongest songs in my opinion and moves away from the failed romance subject matter of her two previous singles. The video which depicts Avril alternating between a homeless character and a more sophisticated persona is among my favourites from her. :wub: Although the song received no 11s, it did receive seven 10s. :cheer:

 

At 22 is Jamelia's lead single from her third album Walk With Me. Released in 2006, the single failed to reach the highs of the first three singles from her previous album and peaked at a relatively low #9. Jay is the only voter to hand it an 11 while Dobbo gave it's lowest score of 4.

 

Just missing out on the top 20, at 21, is Gwen's 2005 classic 'Hollaback Girl'. The song was a moderate hit in the UK, peaking at #8, but gave Gwen unprecedented success in the US - earning her first US #1 ever. The song divided fans and critics alike though - deemed an anthem by some and annoying by others. I appreciate it but it isn't one of her best. Although no one gave it an 11, it did receive seven 10s.

 

Now before we get into the top 20 here is how many songs each pop girl has left.

 

Nelly - 8

Avril - 5

Gwen - 3

Jamelia - 2

Natasha - 2

 

I’m gobsmacked Thank You did worse than Something About You.

Nelly the queen :wub:

yes for Nelly! Her singles discography is really exceptional

surprised at Hollaback Girl missing, thought it was Gwen's most popular song

 

too bad Something About You is gone, Jamelia's best imo

 

 

20

 

 

Avril Lavigne - Sk8er Boi (8.20)

 

 

 

 

High: 10 (Nina West)

Low: 6 (dandy)

 

Kicking off the top 20 is Avril's second single from her debut album Let Go - the guitar-heavy pop/rock anthem 'Sk8er Boi'. The track tells the story of a popular girl in high school rejecting a guy she considered below her status only for him to later become a rock star she would regret turning down. Lyrically it was something fresh for a female artist to release and has cemented itself as one of Avril's signature hits. :wub: The song charted at #8 in the UK and #10 in the US. I'm shocked this has finished in the bottom half of Avril's songs (she has 4 more still to come).

 

 

 

 

 

 

19

 

 

Jamelia - Beware Of The Dog (8.32)

 

 

 

 

High: 11 (Nick F1, The Architect)

Low: 4 (T Boy)

 

At 19 is the penultimate song from Jamelia to appear - 'Beware Of The Dog' - meaning only 'Superstar' is left in the running. :o 'Beware...' served as the second single from Jamelia's 2006 album Walk With Me and managed to peak at #10 - which was an achievement considering its predecessor only managed #9! Built around a sample of Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus', the song is a sassy, electrifying smash which truly deserved at least a top 3 placing. If I could have given a third 11 score it would have been to this. :wub: WHAT A SONG.

Still no Nelly!! Any guesses for what her first song to drop out will be? :kink:

I would say Powerless

Powerless, Try or All Good Things

 

 

18

 

 

Nelly Furtado - Powerless (8.36)

 

 

 

 

High: 11 (Dobbo)

Low: 6 (Doug, T Boy)

 

At 18 is the first appearance from Nelly Furtado and it is 'Powerless' which finishes as her least popular single here. The song served as the lead single to her 2003 Folklore album and was a modest hit worldwide - peaking at #13 in the UK and charting at #9 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. It definitely deserved better commercially. :( In the song Nelly targets the media for their whitewashing of her - a topic that is very ahead of its time. :wub: Perhaps the song's lyrics didn't fit into the pop landscape of 2003. :nocheer:

 

 

 

 

 

 

17

 

 

Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (8.41)

 

 

 

 

High: 10 (...ready for it, AaronTM, Nina West, Nick F1, Addy, T Boy, Chemistry)

Low: -1 (Scene)

 

At 17 we have the sixth Gwen single to appear and her third-highest track in this rate - 'The Sweet Escape'. The song served as both the title track of her second solo album and the album's second single in early 2007. It went on to become Gwen's biggest hit away from No Doubt - charting at #2. I cannot stand the track tbh. :P But I'm clearly alone as everyone else gave it a 7 or higher except Dandy who gave it a 6.5.

 

The next two entries come from one country. Any guesses? :kink: Also I just realised I forgot to include the ratings for Sk8er Boi and Beware Of The Dog so I'll add them now.

 

15 & 16 incoming. :kink: