YVA is Lithuanian Girls Aloud. Mostly catchy pop with some very good, but underrated slower songs / ballads.

Not sure if their music is available on Spotify, but "I Dangu" and "Blondines" are solid pop albums.

Edited November 20, 20231 yr by Last Dreamer

'Knock You Down' is fab. Was good to see Keri get a big hit as a main artist!

 

'She Wolf' is also great and we share it getting to 1 on each of ours charts. Video was great as well!

 

'Evacuate The Dancefloor' whilst I do like it but only got to 8 for me and was rooting for MJ over it for #1 at the time too. The reactions to Cascada beating him then were priceless :lol:

 

and of course 'Remedy' is good as well!

fairytale a chart-topper for me too :cheer: Casacada, Shakira, Little Boots, Keriu Hilson all good. :yahoo:

2003

 

13/24: Birgitta - Open Your Heart (2 non-consecutive weeks at No.1)

 

My favourite entry of 2003, though, was some fine schlager that would finish 8th for Iceland. Birgitta Haukdal opened the show in fine style and - for me - nothing bettered it for the whole evening, even Sweden's own schlager from Fame, the winner of Melodifestivalen, which peaked at No.2 for me. A warm voice, a belting sugary chorus, a key change; when pop like this is done in Eurovision, for me it rarely fails, and with a much later running order Birgitta could well have been in the top five. It spent two weeks at the top of my chart, rudely interrupted by another song related to the contest...

 

It was my 2nd place in ESC rating, but there is one song from Icelandic pre-selection, which I like more.

 

YVA is Lithuanian Girls Aloud. Mostly catchy pop with some very good, but underrated slower songs / ballads.

Not sure if their music is available on Spotify, but "I Dangu" and "Blondines" are solid pop albums.

 

Only two recent singles from them are on Spotify.

 

'Knock You Down' is fab. Was good to see Keri get a big hit as a main artist!

 

'She Wolf' is also great and we share it getting to 1 on each of ours charts. Video was great as well!

 

'Evacuate The Dancefloor' whilst I do like it but only got to 8 for me and was rooting for MJ over it for #1 at the time too. The reactions to Cascada beating him then were priceless :lol:

 

and of course 'Remedy' is good as well!

 

Agreed yeah, fab track Knock You Down.

 

Oh yeah, love the She Wolf video!

 

Oops at Cascada, was worth it for the thread reactions and meltdown. Natalie Horler and her rapper mate went hard with that one.

 

fairytale a chart-topper for me too :cheer: Casacada, Shakira, Little Boots, Keriu Hilson all good. :yahoo:

 

Summer 2009 had some great hits!

 

It was my 2nd place in ESC rating, but there is one song from Icelandic pre-selection, which I like more.

 

 

Is there a studio version? I can't really hear the song properly as the recording quality is poor. From what I can hear, it sounds pleasant.

2009

 

14/18: Anna Abreu - Music Everywhere (4 non-consecutive weeks at No.1)

 

 

If I were to make a best of FSR Rontvia in BJSC compilation, this would be a surefire inclusion. Finnish artist Anna Abreu released this storming pop MONSTER in summer 2009 and I was asbolutely obsessed with it. An ode to her love of music, complete with a timely iPod reference and a killer chorus, it sort of reminded me of something that might have come out in the 80s but with modern Scandipop production. It was a success in BJSC as well, becoming one of our MANY silver medallists.

2009

 

15/18: Cassandra Steen feat Adel Tawil - Stadt (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

The German music industry is one of the world's biggest - and most underrated. It produces probably the best traditional schlager music but also has a great crop of homegrown pop and R&B artists, two being Cassandra Steen and Adel Tawil, who was also in the band Ich + Ich. This powerful collaboration between the pair could easily have been a hit elsewhere if translated into English (I'll build a city for you...), with an impactful chorus and great production, including percussion reminiscent of Michael Jackson's They Don't Care About Us. A real gem that reached No.2 in Germany and No.4 in the end of year chart there.

2009

 

16/18: Vanessa Amorosi - This Is Who I Am (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

I love a comeback story, and after years in the wilderness, one of Australia's most powerful voices, Vanessa Amorosi, returned in 2008 with the big hit Perfect. And a year later she cemented this with amazingly her first (and only) No.1 single in Australia, This Is Who I Am, also her first chart topper for me in nine years. Very much in the P!nk and Kelly Clarkson mould, it fit perfectly into that late 00s sound and I loved the crunching guitar riff that sounded like laughter. A brilliant return from a very versatile artist with an astonishing voice.

Clicked on that Vanessa track and didn't think I'd heard it before but it does sound a bit familiar now I'm listening to it. Reminds me of Kelly a lot yeah. Production wise very 'My Life Would Suck Without You' which came out a few months later. It also gives me slight Demi vibes too and a hint of Carrie Underwood too (can't remember if she's done stuff this pop rocky before or not) but I get the P!nk vibes too! Good track from her again anyhow!

 

 

2009

16/18: Vanessa Amorosi - This Is Who I Am (2 weeks at No.1)

 

Very good song, possibly top 5 contender in my chart. I heard this single before, but didn't know that it's Australian chart topper.

Her main international hit "Absolutely Everybody" was a flop in "Gražios Dainos" with only one week on last 30th place.

Edited December 22, 20231 yr by Last Dreamer

My old list with top 100 songs from 2009 year :

1. Britney Spears - If You Seek Amy

2. YVA - I Dangu (NF - Lithuania)

3. YVA - Laukiu Kaledu

4. Little Boots - Earthquake

5. YVA - Velnias Manyje Gyvena

6. Sharon Corr - Me & My Teddy Bear

7. Susanne Georgi - La Teva Decisio (Get A Life) (ESC - Andorra)

8. Mega Mindy - Tijd Voor Mega Mindy

9. YVA - Paparacai

10. Dasha Люкс - Богиня Красоты (Goddess of Beauty)

[Madonna, Kylie and Britney are mentioned in the lyrics].

11. Little Boots - Remedy

12. Viktoria Perminaite - O As Mergina

13. Velvet - The Queen (NF - Sweden)

14. Taylor Swift - You Belong With Me

15. Jenny May - Es Neesmu Dzeina Fonda

16. Girls Can't Catch - Keep Your Head Up

17. Jeanette - Solitary Rose

18. Britney Spears - Radar

19. Sunny - Carrie (NF - Norway)

20. Girls Aloud - The Loving Kind

21. Natalija Tumsevica - Dynamite (NF - Latvia)

22. Katherine Jenkins - Bring Me To Life

23. 2raumwohnung - Wir Werden Sehen

24. Salemme - All That She Wants

25. Princessa Avenue - Tear

26. Helene Fischer - Ich Will Immer Wieder Dieses Fieber Spurn

27. Lene Marlin and Aleksander With - Worth It

28. Taylor Swift - Love Story

29. Katy Perry - Waking Up In Vegas

30. Taylor Swift - Fifteen

31. Sokoledas - As Salia

32. Metric - Gimme Sympathy

33. Twins - It's My Time (NF - United Kingdom)

34. Domenika - This Is My Day (NF - Belarus)

35. Ella Endlich - Kuss Mich - Halt Mich - Lieb Mich

36. Aqua - Spin Me A Christmas

37. Kate Miller-Heidke - Caught In The Crowd

38. Kate Miller-Heidke - The Last Day On Earth

39. Vanessa Amorosi - This Is Who I Am

40. Miss Montreal - This Is My Life

41. Infernal - Electric Light

42. Katy Perry and 3OH!3 - Starstrukk

43. Sounds - No One Sleeps When I’m Awake

44. Ithaka Maria - One Last Dance (NF - Estonia)

45. Brooke White - Hold Up My Heart

46. Mandy Huydts and Jan Leliveld - Mijn Nummer Een

47. Honey Ryder - Love In Time

48. Princessa Avenue - Never Never (NF - Russia)

49. Luttenberger*Klug - Sag Doch Einfach

50. K3 - De Politie

51. Little Boots - New In Town

52. Metric - Sick Muse

53. Girls Aloud - Untouchable

54. Chisu - Baden-Baden

55. Doro - Herzblut

56. Astrid Schuurmans - Kom Dan Bij Me

57. Ellie Goulding - Under The Sheets

58. LaFee - Scheiss Liebe

59. Cascada - Dangerous

60. Saint Etienne - Method Of Modern Love

61. Lee Ann Womack - Last Call

62. LaFee - Der Regen Fallt

63. Sinead Mulvey and Black Daisy - Et Cetera (ESC - Ireland)

64. Malena Ernman - La Voix (ESC - Sweden)

65. Taylor Swift - White Horse

66. Miss Montreal - Being Alone At Christmas

67. Laura Lynn - In Vuur En Vlam

68. Luttenberger*Klug - Fliegen

69. YVA - Vaziuojam Prie Juros

70. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)

71. BeFour - Ding-A-Dong

72. Pixie Lott - Cry Me Out

73. Paramore - Brick By Boring Brick

74. Honey Ryder - Choices

75. Colbie Caillat - Falling For You

76. Martina McBride - Ride

77. Brooke White - Radio Radio

78. Marlijn and Storybox - It's Christmas Time

79. Miss Li - I Heard Of A Girl

80. Martina McBride - I Just Call You Mine

81. Honey Ryder - Fly Away

82. Within Temptation and Chris Jones - Utopia

83. Britney Spears - 3

84. Ting Tings - We Walk

85. Monique Smit - Doe Wat Ik Wil

86. Dreieck - Gefahrlich

87. Aqua - Back To The 80´s

88. Cama - Fade Away

89. Silbermond - Irgendwas Bleibt

90. Lejla Hot - Cekajuci Princa (Waiting For A Prince) (NF - Serbia)

91. Lady Antebellum - I Run To You

92. Shakira - Did It Again

93. Aloha From Hell - Can You Hear Me

94. Francesca Battistelli - Free To Be Me

95. Indica - Valokeilojen Vampyyri

96. Silbermond - Krieger Des Lichts

97. Fraulein Wunder - Sternradio

98. Cookies 'N' Beans - What If (NF - Sweden)

99. Kaja Halldorsdottir - Lygin Ein (NF - Iceland)

100. Eisblume - Leben Ist Schon

Edited December 22, 20231 yr by Last Dreamer

Only two recent singles from them are on Spotify.

 

Warning : It's Stan alert

 

So welcome into the world of Youtube playlists.

 

"I Dangu" :

 

"Blondines" :

 

The rest two are less interesting, but a debut "Berniukams" was their best selling album and "Katytes" had one amazing masterpiece "Grozio Fabrikas".

 

"Katytes" :

 

"Berniukams" :

 

A quote about "Grozio Fabrikas" from my all-time top 100 girl groups songs thread.

 

I will always have a special place in my heart for this song, but sadly YVA did a bet on other tracks from album, so based on the rules I can't include "Grozio Fabrikas" in top 100.

 

"Grozio Fabrikas" ("Beauty Factory") is my favourite track from 2nd YVA studio album "Katytes" ("Cats"), which was recorded in 2006. Now my favourite member of group Kristina (blonde lady from my avatar) is not only singer in YVA and Kristal, but also business lady and has small beauty studio.

 

Based on lyrics it's easily my favourite YVA song, "Grozio Fabrikas" also got the third place in my all YVA songs ranking two years ago. The sentence in my profile "Sielos grožio niekas nepavogs, kol širdy jaunystė gros" (No one will steal the beauty of the soul until the heart is young) was taken from this masterpiece.

 

I tried to translate it through Google from Lithuanian to English.

 

YVA - Beauty Factory

 

Little mirror, tell me how I'll look tomorrow,

When I grow old and bloom, what do you do then?

I want to be forever young, seductive, charming and loved,

Go through life with a smile.

No one will steal the beauty of the soul until the heart is young.

 

There are not too many sunny days,

Not too much at all, that is beautiful.

There is not too much smile on your face,

There is not too much youth in your heart.

 

Time runs away impatiently, forget about previous year,

What was yesterday may not be tomorrow.

Enjoy this day, accompany the sun with a song,

After all, life is a gift.

Our hearts will never grow old until the passion lives in them.

 

There are not too many sunny days,

Not too much at all, that is beautiful.

There is not too much smile on your face,

There is not too much youth in your heart.

 

Before May 2020 "Grozio Fabrikas" was available on Youtube only on my channel. Please push "Like" button, if you like this song.

Edited December 22, 20231 yr by Last Dreamer

2009

 

16/18: Vanessa Amorosi - This Is Who I Am (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

I love a comeback story, and after years in the wilderness, one of Australia's most powerful voices, Vanessa Amorosi, returned in 2008 with the big hit Perfect. And a year later she cemented this with amazingly her first (and only) No.1 single in Australia, This Is Who I Am, also her first chart topper for me in nine years. Very much in the P!nk and Kelly Clarkson mould, it fit perfectly into that late 00s sound and I loved the crunching guitar riff that sounded like laughter. A brilliant return from a very versatile artist with an astonishing voice.

 

Great to see an other appearance from Vanessa Amorosi. I really liked this at the time.

 

Slightly off topic but I’m still surprised her 2011 single Amazing tanked on the ARIA Singles Chart as hard as it did.

2001

 

18/20: Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

Sophie Ellis-Bextor launched her solo career around a year after the success of Groovejet (If This Ain't Love), with a very indie-pop album, Read My Lips, that had a couple of disco-pop gems on it that were the first two singles (a re-release brought a couple more of a similar sound, and they also became singles). A Cher cover, Take Me Home (A Girl Like Me), was the first single and peaked respectably at No.2 in the UK, and also in my chart, but she struck gold with the second single. Co-written with the New Radicals' Gregg Alexander, Murder On The Dancefloor was a shimmering, catchy, string-laden piece with fanastic vocals from Sophie and a massive, killer chorus.

 

The song finally, properly saw off Set You Free at the top of my chart, such was its power, and Sophie scored another No.2 in the UK - but a much bigger and longer running hit than its predecessor. It was unlucky not to get to the top in fact, stuck behind Daniel Bedingfield and Robbie Williams/Nicole Kidman, which were huge No.1s over the Christmas period. But Sophie had the last laugh with her absolutely iconic femme fatale meets Strictly style video, as the song has over 180 million streams on Spotify - more than Gotta Get Thru This and Somethin' Stupid combined! A pop classic and one that has helped to keep her career going for over two decades since.

 

2004

 

16/22: Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten (2 weeks at #1)

 

 

Upon buying Natasha's album, she quite quickly knocked herself off the No.1 spot with uplifting second single Unwritten, which had yet to be confirmed as a single at that point, but I loved it so much as an album track that it reached the top via that route. Just as catchy as These Words, but with more motivational self-care lyrics (these type of songs were all the rage in the 00s), a slower pace, a beautiful bridge leading to a power pop chorus and a gospel choir. In the UK it ended up being a decent sized No.6 hit for her but it's in the US where it really caught fire after it was used as the theme song to The Hills, going top five and even managing an end of year top 10 placing (in 2006). Sadly her US success meant she all but abandoned the UK market, basically signalling a big downturn in her career here. This would also be her second and final No.1 for me, but what a pair of genius pop songs they were in that glorious late summer/autumn of 2004.

 

Finally resuming this - my birthday followed by Eurovision week followed by a week working in Germany have rather diverted proceedings, but I'm back!

 

2007

 

1/18: Mason vs. Princess Superstar - Perfect (Exceeder) (2 weeks at No.1)

 

 

In 2007 I was well into my second and then going into my final year of uni, so as the soundtrack to that period it was another year I look back on incredibly fondly. I do feel that this was a year that started off well, took a dip in the summer, with a few unexpected chart toppers for me, and then the final third of the year is one of my all-time favourite periods for music - late summer to Christmas was ridiculously stacked. On a personal level, I also started learning to drive this year, and had a holiday to the Isle of Wight - my last ever holiday with my family, as we were growing up and doing our own thing by this point.

 

Anyway, Take That's Shine continued its run long into this year, racking up nine weeks in total as it also topped the UK chart, but the first 'new' chart topper was Dutch producer Mason whose brilliant electro instrumental track Exceeder had peaked at No.3 for me in late 2006. The addition of a vocal from 2002 icon Princess Superstar pushed it all the way to the top. I see this as part of the 'holy trinity' of electro hits around at that time, along with the aforementioned Fedde Le Grand and Bodyrox songs. This is absolutely irresistible and went to No.3 in the UK too.

 

Will finish this off soon, but for now, a celebration of these three No.1s of mine unexpectedly returning to prominence simultaneously. That final line in my Sophie write-up proved weirdly prophetic.

 

They were also my end of year chart No.9s for 2001, 2004 and 2007 - so if the pattern continues then my end of year chart No.9 for 2010 should be next. And I'm sure we're all in agreement that Kylie's Get Outta My Way deserves a second wind *.*

Edited January 23, 20241 yr by gooddelta

Wow that is quite a coincidence!

Incredible coincidence! Seems Mason has peaked now but Sophie is stable and Natasha still gaining.

 

I suppose stranger things have happened (pun intended) than a revival for a Kylie hit.

Would be all for a 'Get Outta My Way' revival tbh or another go round for ATL!

Such an amazing coincidence!

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.

 

This sounds decent. Must've flown over my head being in Eurovision let alone that year though!

 

Speaking of Eurovision from 2009. Did you chart that Ronan soundalike? :lol:

This sounds decent. Must've flown over my head being in Eurovision let alone that year though!

 

Speaking of Eurovision from 2009. Did you chart that Ronan soundalike? :lol:

 

Sadly it was a DNQ, so you'd have only heard it if you watched the semi-finals.

 

Yes, Believe Again by Brinck got to No.3 for me :lol: It was indeed written by Ronan too.