August 21, 20231 yr Author 2008 17/21: Boyzone - Love You Anyway (3 weeks at No.1) _R6VSZ40lR8 Nearly nine years after Irish boyband Boyzone disappeared following their final hit Every Day I Love You, they re-emerged finally in late 2008 with a new hits album (although By Request sold SO well in 1999, that it wasn't really needed) that added a few new songs. This was before the sad passing of Stephen Gately in 2009. Love You Anyway was an uptempo taking in the vague Motown inspired style that was taking over the charts in 2008, although this wasn't as tacky a move as it seemed because Boyzone had already dabbled in this style before it was back in vogue, with Picture Of You in 1997. Love You Anyway reached the UK top five, and they had a successful tour off the back of this. They would reach the top ten once more, in 2010 with Gave It All Away, which peaked at No.2 for me, while its parent album Brother returned them to No.1 in the UK.
August 21, 20231 yr Author 2008 18/21: Girls Aloud - The Promise (6 weeks at No.1) xPrZ4yAdj8I The sixth No.1 in my chart for Girls Aloud came a long time after the last one - since See You Day in 2005 their career had gone up several notches following the release of both their best of album and their magnum opus, Tangled Up. But another No.1 had eluded them in my chart, with Something Kinda Ooooh and Call The Shots both stalling at No.2. But The Promise was IT - the song I'd always been waiting for them to release where the stars aligned, and I just adored every part of it. Plus radio were finally properly on board with them at this point so it was everywhere at the time. Also employing the 60s throwback sound that characterised so many of my No.1s in 2008 (I was honestly such a sucker for it), The Promise was so effortlessly big, glamorous, and catchy, and even threw in a key change. Despite sounding a lot like the theme to Blankety Blank, the song was so instant for me, and easily the biggest hit ever for Girls Aloud in my chart, with six weeks at No.1. The styling was perfect, they looked and sounded like such stars, especially Sarah who was THE star of this song and is so dearly missed - 'here I am, walking primrose' <3. Cheryl was also obviously on top form too, with her judging role on The X Factor starting that year too. I know this isn't a fan favourite overall, but for me it's perfect pop. And I was so happy to see them back at No.1 in the UK.
August 21, 20231 yr Author 2008 19/21: Leona Lewis - Run (4 non-consecutive weeks at No.1) jqpAgMxhx30 Talking of The X Factor, in 2008 the show had absolutely hit its stride, and 2008-2010 was some of the best UK reality TV ever produced, in no small part thanks to a perfect judging panel, huge hype making it water cooler viewing, and high production values - as well as the odd talented artist here and there of course. This also meant that the majority of guest performers went on to have huge chart hits, as it was as big a promotional slot as you could hope for. This was of the benefit to returning 2006 champion Leona Lewis, who was coming off the back of the almighty Bleeding Love, which by this point had done the unthinkable and also got to No.1 in the US. For the deluxe re-release of Spirit, she covered Snow Patrol song Run, turning it from a lights in the air indie anthem to a dramatic, power ballad of the style X Factor absolutely ate up in their montage videos. The song was an epic production, Leona sounded awesome on it, particularly in the final minute and a half backed by a gospel choir, and it was another absolutely huge UK No.1 for her. Good times indeed. Edited August 21, 20231 yr by gooddelta
August 21, 20231 yr Author 2008 20/21: Take That - Up All Night (1 week at No.1) 5gzDFf0M-N4 Take That had barely put a foot wrong since their comeback for me - choosing I'd Wait For Life as a single aside - but, while I saw what they were going for with it and clearly it went on to become a classic, I was always lukewarm on Greatest Day, which missed the top 10 of my chart altogether when released as the lead single to The Circus. I obviously bought the MEGA selling album anyway, and instantly fell for Up All Night - I guess I always like the Mark Owen songs. The Circus definitely felt like Take That's attempt to move more into Beatles territory, it was still man band pop like Beautiful World, but had a more distinctly sophisticated air to the lyrics and production, and also felt very British in sound, backed up by the street party video for Up All Night, which came out when the track was picked as the second single from the album. Sadly it only peaked at No.14 - maybe it sounded a little too much like Postman Pat?
August 21, 20231 yr Lol it wouldn't be fitting for the a thread of Rich's to exist without Boyzone pop up :lol: that made my top 5 too. Was a good comeback and I really liked 'Better' too which is poignant for being Stephen last single predominantly on the vocals there before he passed </3 'The Promise' was good to begin with but I quickly got bored and a bit annoyed with it in the end but yes Sarah's line is forever immortal! 'Run' is good but not one I like quite as much now!
August 21, 20231 yr Loving the comparisons between Up All Night and Postman Pat and The Promise and Blankety Blank!
August 21, 20231 yr 'Up All Night' is great too, shame it missed top 10 really but I suppose 'The Greatest Day' exhausted the momentum for follow up singles there.
August 21, 20231 yr The sixth No.1 in my chart for Girls Aloud came a long time after the last one - since See You Day in 2005 Girls Aloud have six # 1s in my chart (No Good Advice, Show, See The Day, Theme To St. Trinians, Can't Speak French, Promise).
August 28, 20231 yr Author Lol it wouldn't be fitting for the a thread of Rich's to exist without Boyzone pop up :lol: that made my top 5 too. Was a good comeback and I really liked 'Better' too which is poignant for being Stephen last single predominantly on the vocals there before he passed </3 'The Promise' was good to begin with but I quickly got bored and a bit annoyed with it in the end but yes Sarah's line is forever immortal! 'Run' is good but not one I like quite as much now! Their only No.1 but interesting it made your top five! Yeah Better got to No.3 for me, a cover that was - I do remember the original by Tom Baxter. Loving the comparisons between Up All Night and Postman Pat and The Promise and Blankety Blank! Haha yes, I think of both every time I hear them, the intro to Up All Night in particular is just so similar. 'Up All Night' is great too, shame it missed top 10 really but I suppose 'The Greatest Day' exhausted the momentum for follow up singles there. I guess so yeah, then again Said It All was a top ten hit a few months later so maybe it just wasn't a popular single. The Promise and Run are great back to back chart toppers! Such good tracks :wub: Girls Aloud have six # 1s in my chart (No Good Advice, Show, See The Day, Theme To St. Trinians, Can't Speak French, Promise). Same number as in mine, although only three matching (The Show/See The Day/The Promise)
August 28, 20231 yr Author 2008 21/21: Agnes - Release Me (5 non-consecutive weeks at No.1) keYXzDh5JEQ I didn't need the UK release a few months later to convince me (although that did help to seal a second run at No.1 for me in May 2009) - this was an ASTOUNDING Scandipop track. Agnes Carlsson had won Swedish Idol a few years earlier so I was quite familiar with her, and had charted On & On a few months earlier. But Release Me was the one, a barnstorming pop anthem with a mega chorus and layered in disco strings, the type that would have won Eurovision if sent by Sweden (although maybe not as it would have run into Fairytale by Alexander Rybak). Interestingly she did actually attempt to enter Eurovision in 2009 with a track called Love, Love, Love, which reached the final of Melodifestivalen in March but then did quite badly once there. It's probably just as well though because her failure there freed her up in May for the international promotional push of Release Me. Fair to say I never expected it to get a major push here - Scandipop wasn't a genre that tended to be pushed in the UK in a big way - but the song was tactically promoted here as a dance track, so ended up with a lot of club play. It peaked at No.3 in the UK and was a genuine joy to hear everywhere and to see promoted in the UK - the very best example of modern Scandipop ever (ignoring Loreen, whose sound is more Eurodance) in my opinion, so it's only right that this was the one that broke through in such a big way. Oh, it also won BJSC way before it came out - not for me - but as a collective we were very much on the money with this one.
August 28, 20231 yr Author 2008 No.1s recap: 1. Kelly Rowland - Work (Freemasons Remix) (1 week at #1) 2. Robyn - Be Mine! (1 week at #1) 3. Sara Bareilles - Love Song (5 non-consecutive weeks at #1) 4. H ‘Two’ O feat Platnum - What’s It Gonna Be (1 week at #1) 5. The Revelations - It’s You (2 weeks at #1) 6. Basia Bulat - In The Night (2 non-consecutive weeks at #1) 7. Charlotte Perrelli - Hero (4 non-consecutive weeks at #1) 8. Mariah Carey - Touch My Body (1 week at #1) 9. September - Cry For You (2 weeks at #1) 10. Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights Of Thunder (2 weeks at #1) 11. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong (3 weeks at #1) 12. Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air (6 weeks at #1) 13. Rihanna - Disturbia (2 weeks at #1) 14. Eric Prydz - Pjanoo (2 weeks at #1) 15. Katy Perry - Self Inflicted (1 week at #1) 16. Mira Craig - Headhunted (1 week at #1) 17. Boyzone - Love You Anyway (3 weeks at #1) 18. Girls Aloud - The Promise (6 weeks at #1) 19. Leona Lewis - Run (4 non-consecutive weeks at #1) 20. Take That - Up All Night (1 week at #1) 21. Agnes - Release Me (5 non-consecutive weeks at #1) Edited August 28, 20231 yr by gooddelta
August 28, 20231 yr Author 2008 No.2s recap: 1. Kylie Minogue - Wow (1 week at #2) 2. Natasha Bedingfield - Freckles (2 weeks at #2) 3. Alphabeat - Fascination (2 weeks at #2) 4. Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me (2 weeks at #2) 5. Basshunter - All I Ever Wanted (1 week at #2) 6. Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me (2 weeks at #2) 7. Sanna Nielsen - Nobody Without You (2 weeks at #2) 8. Alphabeat - Boyfriend (1 week at #2) 9. Miley Cyrus - See You Again (2 weeks at #2) 10. The Saturdays - Up (1 week at #2) 11. Katy Perry - Hot ‘N’ Cold (1 week at #2) 12. Girls Aloud - The Loving Kind (2 weeks at #2) 13. T.I. feat Rihanna - Live Your Life (1 week at #2) 14. The Killers - Human (2 weeks at #2)
August 28, 20231 yr Author My top 20 of 2008: 1. Sara Bareilles - Love Song (peak #1) 2. Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown - No Air (peak #1) 3. Maria Haukaas Storeng - Hold On Be Strong (peak #1) 4. Girls Aloud - The Promise (peak #1) 5. Charlotte Perrelli - Hero (peak #1) 6. Rihanna - Disturbia (peak #1) 7. Alphabeat - Fascination (peak #2) 8. Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me (peak #2) 9. Boyzone - Love You Anyway (peak #1) 10. Maria Haukaas Storeng and Mira Craig - Mine All Mine (peak #3) 11. H ‘Two’ O feat Platnum - What’s It Gonna Be (peak #1) 12. Kylie Minogue - Wow (peak #2) 13. Alphabeat - 10,000 Nights Of Thunder (peak #1) 14. Sanna Nielsen - Nobody Without You (peak #2) 15. The Saturdays - Up (peak #2) 16. Katy Perry - Hot ‘N’ Cold (peak #2) 17. Eric Prydz - Pjanoo (peak #1) 18. Delta Goodrem - Believe Again (peak #1) (still there after being No.3 the previous year!) 19. Basia Bulat - In The Night (peak #1) 20. Girls Aloud - The Loving Kind (peak #2) 10 biggest faves that didn't make my top 2 Boyzone - Better Britney Spears - Womanizer Christian Falk feat Robyn - Dream On Duffy - Warwick Avenue Euroband - This Is My Life Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl Ne-Yo - Closer Paolo Meneguzzi - Era Stupendo Sanna Nielsen - Empty Room Sash! feat Stunt - Raindrops
August 28, 20231 yr Author 2009 1/18: The Sound Of Arrows - M.A.G.I.C. (5 weeks at No.1) v65mLiAYE_k Marching on to 2009, which was a very odd year for me where honestly I felt lost for the first time ever. I'd finished education, which I had been in since I was 4, and had no idea what to do next, so took some ill-advised advice to progress within a supermarket I had been working at since I was 16 in 2003 to become a manager. Not my bag AT ALL, and while I was good at it, it wasn't a great job for someone with my personality and temprament, and in an environment where it felt like my face didn't fit at that higher level. After much soul searching, I quit the management training I was on after a long spell of depression that lasted much of the year and in October cut my hours right down from honestly about 60 to 15 to look after my mental health, and things finally started to improve thankfully, ready for big decisions in the new decade. One thing that did save me in 2009 was the music - it was probably, overall, the highest quality year for music since the early part of the decade for me. The charts were full of fantastic pop, electro, dance and so much of the stuff I was finding on blogs and through BJSC was also wonderful. An early highlight was another Scandipop song, coming from wonderful Sweden was The Sound of Arrows with the literally magical M.A.G.I.C. A seemingly cutesy pop song with a kids choir, the layers of production and thought put into making this track pop and the lush dreamy soundscape really won me over straight away. It came 2nd for me in BJSC and is still regarded as a contest classic, for many of those who remember it.
August 28, 20231 yr Author 2009 2/18: Taylor Swift - Love Story (2 non-consecutive weeks at No.1) 8xg3vE8Ie_E I'm proud to say I was a very early Swiftie. I bought her debut album (one of the few people in the UK?) in early 2008 after hearing some stuff I liked on MySpace and Teardrops On My Guitar reached the top ten of my chart. But second album Fearless definitely lifted everything up several notches and gave the first real glimspe of a potential superstar. The album's first single, Love Story, was an irresistible country track with a mega key change given a slight pop makeover (e.g., tone down the guitars a bit) for the UK market, where it was pitted against Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You. It lost that battle and peaked at No.2 in the UK but probably won the war as this is generally regarded as Taylor's first classic track. She would have to wait until 2017 to finally get her first No.1 in the UK, during which point she was basically written off when the original Speak Now and its singles essentially did nothing in 2010. I was very quickly besotted with Taylor and her music though, and have been ever since 2008, and this was a very easy first chart topper for her in my chart. Edited August 28, 20231 yr by gooddelta
August 28, 20231 yr Author 2009 3/18: Tone Damli Aaberge - Butterflies (1 week at No.1) gg8D4Ii309U Brace yourselves for the first of a record five Eurovision or national final entries that topped my chart in a row that year. Like other music, 2009 was a real high point for Eurovision, the highest quality contest musically and visually for many years when it was held in Moscow in May. And the national finals were similarly packed full of gems that sadly had to be tossed aside for bigger songs. One of those was in Norway. Idol contestant Tone Damli went up against the almighty Alexander Rybak's Fairytale in Melodi Grand Prix. Of course he absolutely trounced the local competition, winning over Tone by a margin of something crazy like 7:1. If he hadn't been participating then this cute and incredibly charming pop song, complete with a very effective use of harmonica and lush strings, would have inevitably been sent to Eurovision and quite possibly given Iceland's Yohanna a run for her money for the win. Norway were very, very dangerous with whatever they sent that year and I think I'm correct in saying this is one of Silas' top all-time faves - he did eventually send it to BJSC where it did very well too of course. The track peaked at No.2 in Norway, initially behind Poker Face by Lady Gaga and then, of course, Fairytale, and they did try with a UK push for this one but unlike Release Me it didn't really work out sadly.
August 28, 20231 yr 2009 2/18: Taylor Swift - Love Story (2 non-consecutive weeks at No.1) 8xg3vE8Ie_E I'm proud to say I was a very early Swiftie. I bought her debut album (one of the few people in the UK?) in early 2008 after hearing some stuff I liked on MySpace and Teardrops On My Guitar reached the top ten of my chart. But second album Fearless definitely lifted everything up several notches and gave the first real glimspe of a potential superstar. The album's first single, Love Story, was an irresistible country track with a mega key change given a slight pop makeover (e.g., tone down the guitars a bit) for the UK market, where it was pitted against Kelly Clarkson's My Life Would Suck Without You. It lost that battle and peaked at No.2 in the UK but probably won the war as this is generally regarded as Taylor's first classic track. She would have to wait until 2017 to finally get her first No.1 in the UK, during which point she was basically written off when the original Speak Now and its singles essentially did nothing in 2010. I was very quickly besotted with Taylor and her music though, and have been ever since 2008, and this was a very easy first chart topper for her in my chart. Early Swifties unite!
August 28, 20231 yr 'Release Me' :heart: can't state enough how amazing that anthem is From these lists I love or like these.. 1. Kylie Minogue - Wow (1 week at #2) 3. Alphabeat - Fascination (2 weeks at #2) 4. Gabriella Cilmi - Sweet About Me (2 weeks at #2) A great slow burner track. I did forget it was my 2nd top track of 2008 though lol. 5. Basshunter - All I Ever Wanted (1 week at #2) 6. Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris - Dance Wiv Me (2 weeks at #2) 8. Alphabeat - Boyfriend (1 week at #2) 9. Miley Cyrus - See You Again (2 weeks at #2) oh nice surprise that you loved this too. I thought it was a guilty pleasure enjoying Miley's stuff back then :kink: jumped from 14 to 1 in my chart :lol: 10. The Saturdays - Up (1 week at #2) 11. Katy Perry - Hot ‘N’ Cold (1 week at #2) 12. Girls Aloud - The Loving Kind (2 weeks at #2) 13. T.I. feat Rihanna - Live Your Life (1 week at #2) not one I expected you be massive on either tbh. Don't get the massive hate for it though. 14. The Killers - Human (2 weeks at #2) and Boyzone - Better (perhaps one of their more underrated ballads for me and I remember wanting this to do a bit better than it did officially at the time, the lowest charting single of theirs back then?) Britney Spears - Womanizer Christian Falk feat Robyn - Dream On Duffy - Warwick Avenue Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl Ne-Yo - Closer Sash! feat Stunt - Raindrops Go Molly *.*
August 28, 20231 yr "Love Story" was my favourite Taylor's song for some years. Now it's # 3 behind "Paper Rings" and "Red".
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