'Cruel Summer' and 'Something Deep Inside' - two pop gems right there :wub: even if they weren't quite as good as Bananarama's version and Billie's previous single 'Day & Night' respectively...

Are you planning to complete this still? :thinking: (continuing to slowly catch up on this forum x).

 

Still ought to give a listen to some of the other "interesting" looking songs in this thread but I have just given a spin of 'Gabriel' to see if I recognise it - I think it sounds vaguely familiar, it is a tune anyway! I see it has nearly exactly twice as many Spotify streams as the also great song of the same title by Joe Goddard and Valentina.

2001: Roger Sanchez - Another Chance

Peak position: #01

Weeks in chart: 15

Christmas Number One: Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman - Something Stupid

 

Considered to be one of the best dance hits of the 2000s, 'Another Chance' gave Roger Sanchez a #1 hit in July. It re-entered at #100 just in time for Christmas and would end up as the year's 40th biggest selling hit. I suspect most of us here much prefer this to what was sitting at the top end of the chart. It was his only top 20 hit single though he did have 3 further top 40 hits. Sanchez is a Dominican-American house DJ who besides having this big hit, would also win a Grammy award for best remix of 2003, that of No Doubt's "Hella Good". "Another Chance" is based upon "I Won't Hold You Back" by Toto.

2002: X-Press 2 - Supasong

Peak position: #100

Weeks in chart: 01

Christmas Number One: Girls Aloud - Sound of the Underground

 

X-Press 2 were an English electronic trio, whose name was inspired by S'Express. They are best known for their #2 hit "Lazy" featuring David Byrne (Talking Heads). Their debut album "Muzikizum" released in 2002 featured six singles with "Supasong" being the last of these and the lowest peaking, scraping a week in the chart just in time for Christmas. It's an electronic instrumental track besides a couple of mentions of the song's title.

2003: Benny Benassi pts. The Biz - Satisfaction

Peak position: #02

Weeks in chart: 17

Christmas Number One: Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules - Mad World

 

A #2 hit in July, it was the breakthrough hit for Italian DJ Benny Benassi. The song is considered to be the track that popularised electro house, a dance genre that is typified by distorted bass created with sawtooth waves. The track was also co-credited to The Biz, who are vocalists Paul French and Violeta. However the vocals in 'Satisfaction' consist solely of speech synthesisers. This project had one album in 'Hypnotica' which had two UK singles, this and #40 hit 'No Matter What You Do'. The music video was also quite infamous for featuring models using power tools seductively with very little clothing. The song was remixed this year by David Guetta.

2004: Craig Herbertson - Hearts Of Glory

Peak position: #100

Weeks in chart: 01

Christmas Number One: Band Aid 20 - Do They Know It's Christmas?

 

Craig Herbertson is a singer-songwriter from Edinburgh. He only had one song ever reach the UK top 100 which was this, a song written in remembrance of Scottish soldiers in the first world war. It also has something to do with Rangers FC judging by the YouTube comments which I guess is why it charted.

Oh oops seem to have slipped my mind listening to the ones I don't know there. Think I'll add them to a playlist on Spotify and it doesn't matter after Christmas as hardly any XMAS songs here.

 

Pretty sure I've heard 'Cruel Summer' before but only via the original. 'Something Deep Inside' :wub: nicely among my CD collection from buying it at the time. A great pop song even if 'Day and Night' is better.

 

'Another Chance' of course a classic but I am one that likes 'Somethin Stupid' as well so both ends are good for me!

 

'Satisfaction' not a fave particularly but a decent dance track as well!

Alternating between big classics and #100 peakers :cheeseblock:

 

'Another Chance' and 'Satisfaction' are both great ofc :heart: having a listen to 'Supasong' as I am a fan of 'Lazy' and this one is actually really good too so a nice discovery there (though not exactly surprised this one didn't quite become a huge hit). Don't think I'm going to bother with that 2004 song x

'Another Chance' :wub: :wub: noughties dance perfection.

 

'Lazy' is a tune but I'd never come across anything else by X-Press 2 (David Byrne a different story though - Talking Heads ftw!) so that has been a cool discovery.

I’d rather take a bath with Ainsley Harriott.

2005: Amerie - 1 Thing

Peak position: #04

Weeks in chart: 25

Christmas Number One: Shayne Ward - That's My Goal

 

One of the finest RnB singles of the decade, '1 Thing' was the biggest hit single for American singer Amerie - peaking at #4 in June before going on to achieve the not-so-prestigious award of Christmas #100 for the year. She would have six top 40 hits between 2002-07. The song sampled the 1970s recording "Oh, Calcutta!" by The Meters.

2006: Rihanna - Unfaithful

Peak position: #02

Weeks in chart: 30

Christmas Number One: Leona Lewis - A Moment Like This

 

Rihanna had a huge number of hits in the latter half of the 00s and the first half of the 10s, so it is not particularly surprising she managed to be at the bottom end of the chart for Christmas on one occasion. Early on in her career, 'Unfaithful' became her 3rd song to peak at #2 in July, and her first hit ballad, written from the perspective of a woman feeling guilt over being unfaithful. Less than a year later, she'd have spent 10 weeks at #1 with 'Umbrella'.

2007: James Blunt - Same Mistake

Peak position: #57

Weeks in chart: 03

Christmas Number One: Leon Jackson - When You Believe

 

James Blunt had the decade's biggest selling album, however this track is taken from its follow-up "All the Lost Souls". It followed on from the #4 hit "1973". It's not a song that I've heard before, and on first listen well it's certainly a James Blunt ballad that exists. Reminds me of Coldplay too. Perhaps it was a bit too plodding for the British taste, or just got lost in the Christmas rush.

2008: Take That - Shine

Peak position: #01

Weeks in chart: 60

Christmas Number One: Alexandra Burke - Hallelujah

 

Take That came back bigger than ever in November 2006 as a "man band" with the song "Patience". They followed this with another #1 hit "Shine" in February 2007, this track being notable for being led by Mark Owen rather than Gary Barlow (and for featuring on Morrisons ads). The song was such a hit that it ended up back in the chart in time for Christmas of the following year, well just about. It was also the second most played song on UK radio during the decade. The following year Lily Allen interpolated it for minor hit "Who'd Have Known".

I’d rather take a bath with Ainsley Harriott.

 

 

'1 Thing' is alright but never been fussed. 'Unfaithful' well is ok too but I wasn't a fan of Rihanna until like late 2007 lmao (months before slagging her off on here too :lol: ) 'Same Mistake' is great but 'Carry You Home' was the highlight of Blunty's singles from that album!

2009: Alexandra Burke - Hallelujah

Peak position: #01

Weeks in chart: 20

Christmas Number One: Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name

 

In what was the most infamous race to Christmas #1 ever, what wasn't so-much discussed was that Alexandra Burke ended up becoming the first to have a Christmas #1 and #100 with the same song. Clearly given a sales boost off the back of the X Factor final, her winning song from the year previous managed to scrape back into the chart. It remains her biggest and most streamed hit, with its tenuous link to Christmas also assisting its figures on a yearly basis.

'Shine' a fab song. Not sure why it was back in then though, off the back of 'Greatest Day' probably and an X Factor performance iirc.

 

No surprise 'Hallelujah' was #100 in 2009. It certainly did keep selling well into 2009 and enough to appear somewhere else pretty soon :thinking:

Some songs that I know and love coming through now - Something Deep Inside, 1 Thing, Unfaithful and Hallelujah are all big faves :wub:

'1 Thing' is a bop, 'Unfaithful' is one of Rihanna's better ballads as well. Not familiar with the Blunty song, not really a fan of 'Shine' and as for 'Hallelujah'... if only it was also the Christmas #100 the previous year x

Well let's finish this off before the 12 days of Christmas end...

 

2010: Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Peak position: #01

Weeks in chart: 57

Christmas Number One: Matt Cardle - When We Collide

 

What else but Buzzjack's favourite song ever? 'Bad Romance' became Lady Gaga's third #1 hit in 2009 and was considered to be her biggest hit ever for most of the decade to come before 'Shallow' out-did it. The song spent most of 2010 lingering in the chart before re-entering at #100 just in time for Christmas, having been at #3 in Christmas of 2009 as the year's highest "normal" song.