Didn't realise that 'Butterflies' was the runner up for Norway! Nice song anyhow from her and would've done very well no doubt. 'Love Story' is a fab first hit for Taylor here too. Still remember that battle with Taylor and Kelly but Kelly was overdue a #1 here really and also just as brill!

Good choices, they're all in my top few favourites of hers.

They did, oops, the following year, with a song called You're Not Alone, but it didn't even make the final of Melodifestivalen.

 

 

Yeah I can see why now... :lol:

A bit of overlap with my charts with The promise and Release me being chart-toppers, Agnes was huge for me particularly, while Hot n Cold was a big number 2 for me too, outdid some chart-toppers. Other great tracks, Wow, The Loving Kind, I Kissed A Girl, Human, Sweet About Me, Womaniser, Closer....

Early Swifties unite!

 

Yesss! I wish her original albums were worth loads of money :lol: Reward our early loyalty!

 

'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 *.*

 

Cheers Rob, agree with you about Release Me, it's in my top ten of all-time! Crikey at how well Sweet About Me did for you. Oh yeah See You Again was fab, funny how big Miley became in the end. Oh true about Live Your Life, I guess I was just Rihanna obsessed at the time. I think Dead and Gone did ok for me too though. That's right, yeah, by far Boyzone's smallest hit at the time, their only that didn't go top five I think.

 

"Love Story" was my favourite Taylor's song for some years. Now it's # 3 behind "Paper Rings" and "Red".

 

Interesting, both good songs too.

 

Didn't realise that 'Butterflies' was the runner up for Norway! Nice song anyhow from her and would've done very well no doubt. 'Love Story' is a fab first hit for Taylor here too. Still remember that battle with Taylor and Kelly but Kelly was overdue a #1 here really and also just as brill!

 

That's it yeah, shame it wasn't entered in a year other than Fairytale was oops.

 

Yeah I'd have preferred a different Kelly track to be her No.1 tbh but it was a good track. Took so long for Taylor to get her No.1 in the end, another eight years.

 

Yeah I can see why now... :lol:

 

Bit naff oops.

 

A bit of overlap with my charts with The promise and Release me being chart-toppers, Agnes was huge for me particularly, while Hot n Cold was a big number 2 for me too, outdid some chart-toppers. Other great tracks, Wow, The Loving Kind, I Kissed A Girl, Human, Sweet About Me, Womaniser, Closer....

 

Thanks John! Good to see you liking a lot of those tracks too, lots of quality pop around for sure at that time, it was making a bit of a comeback after the more indie years of the mid-00s.

2009

 

4/18: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (2 non-consecutive weeks at No.1)

 

 

Bit of a long break, oops! After Tone Damli topped the chart, her inevitable successor was of course the guy who bested her in Melodi Grand Prix, Alexander Rybak. The mesmerising and charming violin-laced Fairytale, presented by one of the most charismatic singers Europe had presented in a while, absolutely couldn't miss for Norway. It was immediately installed as the favourite to win Eurovision, in what was a very strong lineup, and to the surprise of nobody landslided once again in Moscow, returning the trophy to Western Europe after a period of Eastern domination. The song returned to No.1 for another week in my chart after Alexander's victory, and even managed to go top ten in the UK - an extremely big deal at the time, where a non UK winner hadn't reached our top ten since Johnny Logan in the 1980s. A defining song that slayed Eurovision and heralded in a new era for the commercial viability of the songs outside the contest.

2009

 

5/18: Alcazar - Stay The Night (8 weeks at No.1)

 

 

There are no real words to describe how much I love Stay The Night. An eight week consecutive run atop my chart is impressive at the best of times, but in the competitive months from February to May (Eurovision season), it's a sensational achievement. 2009 was the first year I was lucky enough to visit Sweden for the final of Melodifestivalen (although I have only ever seen one other final since) - to cut a long and random story short we went to a dress rehearsal in the afternoon and then got lucky when a bunch of Swedish bankers sold us their spare tickets an hour before the final as a few of their group had dropped out.

 

I had already heard the magnificent Stay The Night during its semi-final of course, and it did not disappoint live - an explosion of fun, joy, colour, cheeky lyrics, a wonderful Scandipop melody, a killer key change, and a triumphant finish, all from a classic group (yes, the band behind the famous hit single Crying At The Discoteque) on the comeback trail. It had everything and I was obsessed. That final is one of the best things I've ever seen live, and while Alcazar ultimately only finished 5th and never got to Eurovision, this - for me - is the best entry that never was.

2009

 

6/18: Lovebugs - The Highest Heights (1 week at No.1)

 

 

From a song that never made it to Eurovision to a song that did, and then failed to qualify for the final. The excellent Swiss entry from Lovebugs was as good a driving rock anthem as any that had turned up before in the contest for my money, and I was really excited to see a professional and melodic, relevant indie song at Eurovision. I was utterly astonished that it did so badly, but it didn't stop the track from topping my chart. The band were a one-hit wonder for me for quite a long time until they scored a subsequent No.4 hit in 2018 with Hung The Moon.

2009

 

7/18: Jade Ewen - It’s My Time (1 week at No.1)

 

 

The last of what was a record five Eurovision related No.1s in the same year on my chart, and it's over to the United Kingdom. For the first time in a very long time, the BBC decided to put some effort into our selection and set up a whole prime time BBC show to find our entrant, whose song would be written by the legendary Andrew Lloyd-Webber. Also co-written by Diane Warren and eventually sung by competition winner Jade Ewen, the track was dated but a quality ballad given to a competent performer and it deservedly finished top five in Eurovision - third with the juries and 10th with the public.

 

If anything, many people felt that 5th was a little higher than it deserved. But why not, we showed up and took it seriously and Jade sung her heart out (despite a violinst accidentally whacking her in the face at one point). Lloyd-Webber looked proud and pompous on stage playing the piano, and while it all felt like a bit of an exercise in patting ourselves on the back, it was a breath of fresh air after our previous few entries. The song cracked the UK top 40 at No.27 - I especially liked

on the single - and also charted in a few other countries, while Jade achieved another top 40 single a few months later and a brief spell as as Sugababe before moving into musical theatre.

Edited October 10, 20231 yr by gooddelta

2009

 

8/18: Beautiful Small Machines - Robots In Love (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

Ah, the happy days when I was able to win BJSC. Robots In Love from American duo Beautiful Small Machines was maybe my proudest entry to date at the time, an absolutely charming and unknown song that I think at the time I described as Taylor Swift gone electro, and it still sounds a little bit like that 14 years on. It's catchy, cute and has such a lovely middle eight, I did suspect it could win the contest to follow my other winners - Love Song and ... Not A Love Song - and was happy to be proven right with my third love related winner in a row - maybe that's where I've been going wrong for the last nine years? Also nice to see my own upload of the track for BJSC 17 has over 100k views on YouTube too, especially as the original FSR Rontvia blurb is still in the video description!

The last of what was a record five Eurovision related No.1s on my chart

 

I had two :

YVA - I Dangu

Susanne Georgi - La Teva Decisio (Get A Life)

 

Wasn't too keen on 'Fairytale' at the time being honest and to me he looked very pompous too oops but I don't overly mind it as such now and I can see why it won for sure too.

 

'It's My Time' in retrospect a very meh ballad but Jade absolutely killed it with her live performance. Kinda made me think of Noa this year who probably wouldn't have come 3rd if the live performance was a little bit weaker!

I had two :

YVA - I Dangu

Susanne Georgi - La Teva Decisio (Get A Life)

 

I'll have to check the first one.

 

Wasn't too keen on 'Fairytale' at the time being honest and to me he looked very pompous too oops but I don't overly mind it as such now and I can see why it won for sure too.

 

'It's My Time' in retrospect a very meh ballad but Jade absolutely killed it with her live performance. Kinda made me think of Noa this year who probably wouldn't have come 3rd if the live performance was a little bit weaker!

 

Oops yeah I get that although is a classic track.

 

She did, a great vocal from her despite a dated song.

2009

 

9/18: Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo & Kanye West - Knock You Down (1 week at No.1)

 

 

So much was promised of Keri Hilson's solo career after her spot on the Timbaland No.1 The Way I Are in 2007, and she did kind of achieve some solo success in fits and spurts, including the European smash I Like, the forgotten gem Pretty Girl Rock, and most notably here, the UK top five hit Knock You Down. An incredibly infectious R&B jam, this is the kind of collaboration where each participant adds equally to the song - Keri with her wonderful first verse and chorus, Ne-Yo with his slick vocal and 'miss independent' call back on the second verse, and then Kanye's excellent rap further elevating the track 'this is bad real bad Michael Jackson, now I'm mad, real mad, Joe Jackson'. A great production and my favourite R&B/rap song of 2009.

Edited December 22, 20231 yr by gooddelta

2009

 

10/18: Cascada - Evacuate The Dancefloor (1 week at No.1)

 

 

Talking of Michael Jackson, Kanye's namecheck in Knock You Down eerily just predated the sad passing of the musical legend himself in June 2009. This of course saw many of his classics flood back into the chart, including the previously underrated Man In The Mirror, which went all the way to...No.2, kept from the top by Cascada's Evacuate The Dancefloor, much to the horror of many! Natalie Horler and co had achieved a number of big hits from 2006-2008, but it kind of felt like their success was waning, after all, most Eurodance acts suffer from the law of diminishing returns after their debut. But armed with a RedOne/Lady Gaga pastiche, and a move more towards pop, the budget sounding but very catchy Evacuate The Dancefloor proved to be their biggest hit to date, complete with a rent-a-rap from an anonymous rapper (Carlprit for anyone wondering). Weirdly, despite all their prior success, they never had another top 40 hit again after this.

Edited December 22, 20231 yr by gooddelta

2009

 

11/19: Shakira - She Wolf/Loba (1 week at #1)

 

 

The seventh of Shakira's nine No.1s for me, She Wolf was the lead single from the album of the same name back in summer 2009. I've classed it together with the Spanish version Loba as Shakira actually released that first iirc, so it very much contributed to its run at the top of my chart. A kind of infectious pop/disco production with a string outro, it was suitably lyrically bizarre for Shakira, complete with a wolf howl on the chorus, and it was nice to see that at this point in her career the Colombian megastar could still score big hits with unusual songs like these.

2009

 

12/18: Hafdis Huld - Kongulo (3 weeks at No.1)

 

 

From one lyrical oddity to another, Iceland's Hafdis Huld provided my 19th BJSC entry with charming indie/pop/folk track Kongulo. About a Spiderman-esque character, going by the very budget video, I remember being besotted with this song, which has lovely vocals and great percussion, and my then 7-year-old nephew also loved it and used to ask me to play it all the time. Not one for the BJSC masses really though, it came 14th, perhaps a little too niche.

Edited December 22, 20231 yr by gooddelta

2009

 

13/18: Little Boots - Remedy (3 weeks at No.1)

 

 

There were a number of songs in 2009 that were touted as No.1 singles and just...didn't come anywhere near. With perhaps the most hype behind her that year was Blackpool electropop singer Victoria Hesketh, aka Little Boots. Armed with a great little debut album, Hands, Little Boots won over the music critics and was at the top of just about every tastemaker list going in 2009, above the likes of Florence + The Machine, La Roux and Lady Gaga. But while, of course, they would all go on to top the charts, Little Boots sadly stiffed at No.13 with debut single New In Town. But she had an ace up her sleeve - man of the moment RedOne had produced the album's big pure pop moment, the wonderful Remedy, and this was surely the song to send her stratospheric. As it happened, it peaked at a not too shabby No.6, but isn't exactly widely remembered by the general public these days and would be her last appearance in the chart. What happened???

Edited December 22, 20231 yr by gooddelta

I'll have to check the first one.

 

Possibly you did it before, when I said that their performance was inspired by Scooch and Britney's "Toxic".

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x82ya6

Hafdis Huld - Kongulo (3 weeks at No.1)

 

Very good, I like it.

 

From Boots' singles I prefer "Earthquake" over "Remedy", but her best song was related to Christmas. Sadly she removed it from Youtube.

 

Possibly you did it before, when I said that their performance was inspired by Scooch and Britney's "Toxic".

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x82ya6

 

You're right, I did check it. It's catchy, and I wasn't a fan of what Lithuania did send (Sasha Son)

 

Very good, I like it.

 

From Boots' singles I prefer "Earthquake" over "Remedy", but her best song was related to Christmas. Sadly she removed it from Youtube.

 

Glad to hear that.

 

I liked most of her album, Meddle was good too. Yes i remember her Christmas song, I had it on my playlist but it was taken from streaming too.