February 22, 20232 yr Author Both of the Delta songs are fab and the album was great too which my dad happened to have at the time. 'Fly On The Wings Of Love' is much better than the original form so no surprise it rocketed up to become a smash here. Very euphoric dance make and one I have been playing round my mates quite a bit too recently lol. Oh true it is, a big hit at the time too. Yeah I agree tbh, the orginal does sound slow and bland in comparison to me now. Lost Without You is one of my favourite Delta songs, so happy to see it here. And more from that album to come...
February 22, 20232 yr Author 2003 18/24: Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes (8 non-consecutive weeks at No.1) 7pjV-fYqo1E My saviour of 2003 went to No.1 for the third time, and with her biggest hit yet for me - the title track of the album Innocent Eyes. I bought the album on the week of release here, when it went to No.2 and got stuck behind Beyoncé's debut for a few weeks - but sold close to a million copies in the process. I decided to take a chance based on liking the first two singles and didn't regret it one bit. The album was not just balladry but there were lots of hints of where Delta would go next, with dramatic Tori Amos-esque songs like Innocent Eyes, bubbly pop like Butterfly, My Big Mistake and Running Away and introspective songs with lyrics that really spoke to me like In My Own Time, A Year Ago Today and This Is Not Me. For me, it was the perfect album. But it was the title track that particularly blew me away - the artistry, the vocals, the piano breakdown! An instant anthem, a short way into its run at No.1 for me Delta sadly discovered she had cancer, and started treatment for that. It was released in the UK in late September and peaked at No.9, becoming the third top ten hit from the album and - of course - it got to No.1 in Australia.
February 22, 20232 yr Author 2003 19/24: Deepest Blue - Deepest Blue (1 week at No.1) d6r9676xrAs After the dance dominated years of 2000-2002, in my chart 2003 was a more fallow year for the genre, particularly when it came to the big chart dance - it wasn't exactly the prominent genre that year anyway and I wasn't hugely into the Room 5, Junior Senior or Ultrabeat hits, although liked them. One song that really caught my ear though was the summer No.7 smash Deepest Blue, by the act of the same name. The British duo's house track really felt quite euphoric to me, I particularly love the build before the chorus.
February 22, 20232 yr Author 2003 20/24: Girls Aloud - Life Got Cold (1 week at No.1) wurjnwmtrqk Girls Aloud's third single, and it was time for a ballad. No Good Advice peaked at No.2 for me but they returned to the top with Life Got Cold, a song I still think is sorely underrated in their back catalogue. Sure, it sounds a bit like Wonderwall but the poignant lyrics, which are quite dark really for a manufactured girlband on only their third single, still always live in my head, particularly 'we text as we talk, we're running as we walk, cos we surf our little souls away'. They obviously went on to achieve bigger and better things than this UK No.3 hit, which is a pretty forgotten song by their standards, but I still love it. Edited February 22, 20232 yr by gooddelta
February 22, 20232 yr Author 2003 21/24: DJ Sammy - California Dreamin’ (1 week at No.1) 29DvvBysC9c Clearly California Dreamin’ needs no introduction - it's one of the greatest songs of all-time, a 1960s classic by The Mamas & The Papas. DJ Sammy's Eurotrance cover of the track appeared on his album Heaven, which I finally acquired in late 2003 when I started at college, and it was very much in the same vein as his versions of Heaven and Boys of Summer, which also topped my chart. Featuring Loona on vocals again, just as his hit Sunlight had - which peaked at No.3 for me - I really adored the concept of this track as a sun soaked dance anthem, and it was another easy No.1 for me. I suspect it would have been a UK top ten hit too, if it had received a single release.
February 22, 20232 yr Author 2003 22/24: Texas - Carnival Girl (3 weeks at No.1) 8Ve5BlwmCQE Clearly the theme of the last few is underrated UK top ten hits, and here's another. After two mammoth studio albums in White On Blonde and The Hush, and then an even bigger Greatest Hits album in 2000, the scene was set for Texas to have another really successful era with Careful What You Wish For. Perhaps they had left it too long by late 2003, four and a half years since The Hush, music had move on a long way since then and their MOR pop definitely isn't the sort of thing that was on the radio at the time. They roped in Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall to freshen things up, but otherwise Carnival Girl was classic Texas, with a great chorus. But it didn't click commercially, peaking at No.9 and spending only three weeks in the top 40, and the album only got to No.5. The next single did even worse, getting only to No.40 despite featuring on the Love Actually soundtrack. Times had evidently changed and Texas' moment in the sun was over, but they did get three weeks at No.1 in my chart with Carnival Girl. The song never features in their live sets anymore either, so they must have disowned this era. I remember doing a Media Studies college project at the time on them where I mocked up an album cover called 'Face In The Crowd', featuring Sharleen's face clear in an otherwise blurred crowd. Edited February 22, 20232 yr by gooddelta
February 22, 20232 yr Author 2003 23/24: Delta Goodrem - Not Me, Not I (6 weeks at No.1) KQ3gtboQjq8 Rapidly cementing her position as my favourite new artist, Delta made it 4 out of 4 with the final UK single from Innocent Eyes, Not Me, Not I. If you ever wondered what Gary Barlow was doing in the wilderness years between his solo career failing and Take That resuming, he was writing for other artists and wrote quite a few songs for the Innocent Eyes album, including this absolute stunner. Probably the most mature and dramatic song on the album, it was apparently the final song to be written for it, and gave Delta a fourth No.1 in Australia. It wasn't an instant album highlight for me but the single release and the fantastic video, which Delta filmed during the early stages of her cancer, really hit me hard, particularly in winter as the nights started to draw in - I have always loved ballads at winter. The album had sold hundreds of thousands of copies at this point so diminishing returns had set in and it could only peak at No.18 in the UK, but it did keep the album steady over the lucrative Christmas sales period. And it added another six weeks to her bumper tally at the top of my chart - 19 but not yet out.
February 22, 20232 yr Shocked I was at the modest runs on top for Delta - till the third one and much more as expected :) I also preferred the dance version of Fly On The Wings Of Love, rated the Texas single top 10 and California Dreamin' had a whopping 16 week-run topping my charts. In 1997 for The Mamas & The Papas. 2nd-longest run ever, and longest consecutive. I'm a bit of a fan... :D
February 22, 20232 yr More Delta as expected, good songs there though of course. 'Deepest Blue' is ok for me, surprised it was a chart topper for you tbh Rich. I did think 'Carnival Girl' was one Texas song I hadn't heard but on listening to it again now it reminds me I have heard it somewhere tbh but only in a vague way. I wouldn't say it's one of their best though. 'California Dreamin' popping up here *.* that and the M & P's version are great and was a fab opener to the album when reviewing it as well!
February 23, 20232 yr Author Shocked I was at the modest runs on top for Delta - till the third one and much more as expected :) I also preferred the dance version of Fly On The Wings Of Love, rated the Texas single top 10 and California Dreamin' had a whopping 16 week-run topping my charts. In 1997 for The Mamas & The Papas. 2nd-longest run ever, and longest consecutive. I'm a bit of a fan... :D Yes the Delta love started off reasonably normally before the album release ramped it up massively. Wow, I forgot California Dreamin' had been re-released and went top 10 in 1997, I suspect it would have topped my chart too at the time if it had started earlier. What is your longest ever run at No.1? More Delta as expected, good songs there though of course. 'Deepest Blue' is ok for me, surprised it was a chart topper for you tbh Rich. I did think 'Carnival Girl' was one Texas song I hadn't heard but on listening to it again now it reminds me I have heard it somewhere tbh but only in a vague way. I wouldn't say it's one of their best though. 'California Dreamin' popping up here *.* that and the M & P's version are great and was a fab opener to the album when reviewing it as well! Yeah Deepest Blue is an odd one really considering it's hardly remembered as a big dance classic these days, but I do still like it. Agreed about California Dreamin', however it's done it's just a fantastic track.
February 23, 20232 yr Author 2003 24/24: Delta Goodrem - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (3 weeks at No.1) sD5MAcs3e-c How else would 2003 end, but with Delta Goodrem as the Christmas No.1, and taking her weeks at the top to 22 for the year. Released as a double a-side with Predictable in Australia, which got to No.1 there but never had a UK release criminally, Delta's version of John Lennon's Happy Xmas (War Is Over) was one of the b-sides on the Not Me, Not I single here, alongside an almost as lovely version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. One of Delta's few songs not available to stream, this lounge jazz style version of the classic has a Norah Jones vibe to it and Delta's gorgeous vocal really elevated it for me. Then again, at this point she could have sung the phone book and gone to No.1. I still love getting this one out every December. While this was No.1, the Idols version of the same song sat at No.2 for me. Edited February 23, 20232 yr by gooddelta
February 23, 20232 yr Author 2003 No.1s recap: 1. Love Inc - You’re A Superstar (3 weeks at #1) 2. Christina Aguilera - Beautiful (1 week at #1) 3. Jurgen Vries feat CMC - Brave New World (1 week at #1) 4. Masai - Do That Thang (4 weeks at #1) 5. Royksopp - Eple (1 week at #1) 6. Delta Goodrem - Born To Try (4 weeks at #1) 7. Puretone - Stuck In A Groove (2 weeks at #1) 8. Shakira - Antologia (1 week at #1) 9. Kelly Llorenna - Reaching Out (1 week at #1) 10. Love Inc - Broken Bones (2 weeks at #1) 11. Boomkat - The Wreckoning (1 week at #1) 12. Lynn - To Dream Again (1 week at #1) 13. Birgitta - Open Your Heart (2 weeks at #1) 14. XTM & DJ Chucky feat Annia - Fly On The Wings Of Love (1 week at #1) 15. Delta Goodrem - Lost Without You (1 week at #1) 16. Karen Parry - Flashdance (1 week at #1) 17. ATB - I Don’t Wanna Stop (2 weeks at #1) 18. Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes (8 weeks at #1) 19. Deepest Blue - Deepest Blue (1 week at #1) 20. Girls Aloud - Life Got Cold (1 week at #1) 21. DJ Sammy - California Dreamin’ (1 week at #1) 22. Texas - Carnival Girl (3 weeks at #1) 23. Delta Goodrem - Not Me, Not I (6 weeks at #1) 24. Delta Goodrem - Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (3 weeks at #1)
February 23, 20232 yr Author 2003 No.2s: 1. Kelly Llorenna - Fantasy (1 week at #2) 2. Soda Club - Heaven Is A Place On Earth (3 weeks at #2) 3. Shakira - Un Poco De Amor (1 week at #2) 4. Jan Wayne - Total Eclipse Of The Heart (1 week at #2) 5. Atomic Kitten - Love Doesn’t Have To Hurt (1 week at #2) 6. Girls Aloud - No Good Advice (2 weeks at #2) 7. Esther Hart - One More Night (1 week at #2) 8. Fame - Give Me Your Love (1 week at #2) 9. No Angels - Daylight In Your Eyes (1 week at #2) 10. Christina Aguilera feat Lil’ Kim - Can’t Hold Us Down (1 week at #2) 11. Delta Goodrem - A Year Ago Today (3 weeks at #2) 12. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Mixed Up World (1 week at #2) 13. Angel City - Love Me Right (Oh Sheila) (1 week at #2) 14. Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within (2 weeks at #2) 15. Delta Goodrem - Predictable (1 week at #2) 16. Awesome 3 - Don’t Go (1 week at #2) 17. Idols - Merry Xmas (War Is Over) (1 week at #2)
February 23, 20232 yr Author My top 20 of 2003 1. Delta Goodrem - Innocent Eyes (Peak #1) 2. Delta Goodrem - Born To Try (Peak #1) 3. Delta Goodrem - A Year Ago Today (Peak #2) 4. Delta Goodrem - Not Me, Not I (Peak #1) 5. Texas - Carnival Girl (Peak #1) 6. Puretone - Stuck In A Groove (Peak #1) 7. Birgitta - Open Your Heart (Peak #1) 8. Masai - Do That Thang (Peak #1) 9. Love Inc - You’re A Superstar (Peak #1) 10. DJ Sammy - California Dreamin’ (Peak #1) 11. Christina Aguilera - Beautiful (Peak #1) 12. Shakira - Antologia (Peak #1) 13. ATB - I Don’t Wanna Stop (Peak #1) 14. Love Inc - Broken Bones (Peak #1) 15. XTM & DJ Chucky feat Annia - Fly On The Wings Of Love (Peak #1) 16. Lynn - To Dream Again (Peak #1) 17. Soda Club - Heaven Is A Place On Earth (Peak #2) 18. Girls Aloud - Life Got Cold (Peak #1) 19. Karen Parry - Flashdance (Peak #1) 20. Delta Goodrem - Lost Without You (Peak #1) 10 biggest faves that didn't make my top 2 Christina Aguilera - Walk Away Delta Goodrem - In My Own Time Delta Goodrem - This Is Not Me DJ Sammy - Sunlight Evanescence - My Immortal S Club - Say Goodbye Shakira - The One t.A.T.u. - All The Things She Said t.A.T.u. - Not Gonna Get Us Tomcraft - Loneliness Edited February 23, 20232 yr by gooddelta
February 23, 20232 yr For 2003, Fly On The Wings Of Love is my favourite of your #1s - a fun dance tune with real longevity for the time (still the only song to visit an #8 peak thrice). Lost Without You is my pick of the Delta songs - I recently nominated as a bonus track (as the album made #2) in the weekly #1 album sessions. My favourite of those ten which didn't make your top 2 would have to be Loneliness, that's a stormer.
February 23, 20232 yr I still love Deltas Lost Without You and Innocent Eyes - great album! I also love Deepest Blue and GA’s Life Got Cold - great picks.
February 23, 20232 yr Author For 2003, Fly On The Wings Of Love is my favourite of your #1s - a fun dance tune with real longevity for the time (still the only song to visit an #8 peak thrice). Lost Without You is my pick of the Delta songs - I recently nominated as a bonus track (as the album made #2) in the weekly #1 album sessions. My favourite of those ten which didn't make your top 2 would have to be Loneliness, that's a stormer. Never realised that about the No.8 peak, such a strange chart run, but I guess the track - a bit like How Do I Live in 1997 but on much lower sales - hung around due to people discovering it over time, in clubs or on the music channels. Radio I don't remember supporting it a lot. I still love Deltas Lost Without You and Innocent Eyes - great album! I also love Deepest Blue and GA’s Life Got Cold - great picks. Agreed! Glad to see a bit of love for Deepest Blue too, I still think that's a great dance track.
February 23, 20232 yr Author 2004 1/22: Atomic Kitten - Ladies Night (2 weeks at No.1) tIEY85so1fY Released as their Christmas single at the end of 2003, the festive chart was one of the most competitive for many years - with the famous Mad World vs. The Darkness battle at No.1, big new Christmas songs from Bo Selecta and The Idols, and plenty of other huge songs around. So Ladies Night, a cover of the Kool & The Gang classic, only peaked at No.8 for Atomic Kitten, their lowest peak since Follow Me in 2000, but I'd wager it sold pretty well with three weeks in the top ten over Christmas. It doesn't reinvent the wheel but it's an uptempo party cover and I loved it at the time - less so now but it's still fun.
February 23, 20232 yr Author 2004 2/22: Motorcycle - As The Rush Comes (2 weeks at No.1) FGH8rnraxoE Something a bit more respectable now, and for me this is one of the most underrated dance songs ever. From San Francisco-based trance duo Gabriel & Dresden with vocalist Jes, this has a pounding progressive trance bassline, a hypnotic vocal, an anthemic chorus, and a euphoric breakdown - it maybe just didn't fit into the chart landscape of 2004 - a little late for the trance success years perhaps. I remember being blown away by this track, and still am, but it could only manage a No.11 peak in the UK in the low January sales period at that - shame.
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