I can see why Black Legend are this low. It does make sense that it is one of the weaker #1 hits of the year. I too can see the karaoke resemblence too. Interesting hearing about the sample dibacle.

I pretty much despise Geri and 'Bag It Up' is undeniably tacky, but I still somehow love it!

Black Legend - I like it, but it's not an essential for me. Two weeks at #1 felt really bizarre at the time considering most were only lasting one week!

15 minutes ago, Dobbo said:

I remember actively disliking that song years ago but I quite enjoy it for what it's worth nowadays.

Same! I used to find the vocal re-record off-putting but the whole package has grown on me in time, especially the bassline.

My least favourites are Sonique and both from Mel C.

Good countdown, a very interesting year for #1s and one I have studied quite a lot in retrospect - also because of the sheer number some really interesting gulfs in quality, the poorer side of that well covered in the bottom end.

good of course to get the bad boyband singles (and covers, sheesh!) and badly thought out sample pieces out of the way, Oxide & Neutrino and Black Legend are just really bizarre #1s if nothing else.

Bob The Builder though, that's an odd one, I was pretty much exactly the generation for the show, but had no conception of what a chart was at that time so it looks really odd how that impacted the adult world even if I was very familiar with it as a child, not a great adult song though.

35. Spice Girls - Holler/Let Love Lead The Way

Rate: 5.5/10

Reason: Starting to look a bit anti-Spice here, but Mel C won't feature again for a while. I absolutely LOVE all of Spice Girls' other No.1 singles, even Mama and Too Much, but when they arrived back on the scene in late 2000, it did feel like the bubble had burst a bit, with the media for some reason pitting them against Westlife (a boyband who were much newer?). They were a quartet for Goodbye, which was a strong track for me and proved they could make it work as a four even though Geri was missed, but this double a-side is - for me - a bit of a miss. Holler didn't particularly hit the right buttons as a Spice Girls single for me, it sounded more like a TLC filler although the chorus isn't bad. I never fully warmed to it though and the likes of TLC and Toni Braxton were doing the same thing far better at the time. Let Love Lead The Way is nice enough in an album track kind of way but a bit limp, albeit still better than 2008's Headlines. No further singles were taken from the album, I'm not sure if any other songs would have really done any better as I never got into the album.

Edited Friday at 16:033 days by gooddelta

54 minutes ago, Jessie Where said:

I pretty much despise Geri and 'Bag It Up' is undeniably tacky, but I still somehow love it!

Black Legend - I like it, but it's not an essential for me. Two weeks at #1 felt really bizarre at the time considering most were only lasting one week!

I believe Black Legend was another one-week wonder, deposed by Kylie on week two!

Spice Girls meh

Geri rubbish

The Black Legend is a really interesting one off; the tinny bassline being the best part

Bag It Up low!! I know she's Ego spice abd has ZERO talent, negative talent in writing she's THAT BAD, but Bag It Up is just like a Temu Spice Girls song. Waaay better than the Westshite dirges.

I'd have ranked Bob the Builder above a fair few of these so far, but otherwise in agreement x

I do like Bound 4 Da Reload though, a rare instance of proper unsanistised garage at number 1.

34. Madonna - American Pie

Rate: 5.5/10

Reason: 2000 was a successful year for Madonna, with two chart-toppers and a big album, ensuring she would continue her success into the new millennium. Her first single of the year was American Pie, a cover of the Don McLean classic recorded for the soundtrack of her film, The Next Best Thing. The production is probably the star here, a typically solid swirling effort from William Orbit, who had a hand in other number one singles still to come in this countdown. Whether this particular song actually needed to be covered, and by a superstar who was putting out some really great original music of her own around the turn of the century - the jury is out on that. I guess it has a nice clear vocal but I'd rather listen to the original than this edited down version that peaked at No.29 in the US - which I think was a fairer placing for this cover than No.1.

A lot of these I don't hate as such but also are dated and haven't held up that well so seem fair ranks thus far. Do still unashamedly like 'Bag It Up' though even with it's naffness and would probably put Bob higher up a little too.

'American Pie' I like in both versions but understandably also not essential Madonna.

And there it is, straight in the bin for me!

Rupert Everett convinced Madonna to record American Pie. Not sure she originally wanted to.

It peaked low in America as was not released physically and only sent to radio so the peak is on airplay only.

Madonna didn't want to include it on Music, but a record company executive twisted her arm. She later regretted it and banished it from GHV2 when she released that.

I love her version.

First song I ever sang in public at Karaoke.

Listening to both those Spice Girls songs again with the videos definitely shows to me they were trying to go down a pop-R&B route to try and cater to a changing audience. It just didn't work anymore for them.

Madonna's hit was... ok, but not the best at all.

5 minutes ago, ChrisJK said:

Rupert Everett convinced Madonna to record American Pie. Not sure she originally wanted to.

It peaked low in America as was not released physically and only sent to radio so the peak is on airplay only.

Madonna didn't want to include it on Music, but a record company executive twisted her arm. She later regretted it and banished it from GHV2 when she released that.

I love her version.

First song I ever sang in public at Karaoke.

That's fair, didn't know that about it being airplay only in the US but it makes the chart peak make sense.

I certainly wouldn't begrudge anybody enjoying it, my sister bought it too so I heard it a lot at home. And clearly, a certain unloved collaboration from 2000 is still to come here...

33. Westlife - Fool Again

Rate: 6/10

Reason: We're now out of the bottom ten and really, by Westlife standards, I don't mind this one. An album track given a 2000 Remix with a more 'hit' sounding intro, and with a video filmed in Mexico City, this would be their fifth No.1 single although they got very lucky on this occasion, only narrowly edging out Melanie C and Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes on their second week around. And the chart run showed that it was time to move on from the debut album, this song diving to No.8 in its second week, which was pretty unusual in 2000. Still, Fool Again isn't a bad original from them, following the usual formula but at least not a cover or quite as MOR as they would later become. There may be a slight element of nostalgia here because the first concert I ever saw, in March 2000, was a multi-artist local radio station affair called Music Jam. Westlife were a last-minute headliner after Craig David pulled out, so yes, they were the first ever headline act I saw live - albeit not through choice, and they performed this there among all their other No.1s up to that point.

2 hours ago, gooddelta said:

35. Spice Girls - Holler/Let Love Lead The Way

Rate: 5.5/10

Reason: Starting to look a bit anti-Spice here, but Mel C won't feature again for a while. I absolutely LOVE all of Spice Girls' other No.1 singles, even Mama and Too Much, but when they arrived back on the scene in late 2000, it did feel like the bubble had burst a bit, with the media for some reason pitting them against Westlife (a boyband who were much newer?). They were a quartet for Goodbye, which was a strong track for me and proved they could make it work as a four even though Geri was missed, but this double a-side is - for me - a bit of a miss. Holler didn't particularly hit the right buttons as a Spice Girls single for me, it sounded more like a TLC filler although the chorus isn't bad. I never fully warmed to it though and the likes of TLC and Toni Braxton were doing the same thing far better at the time. Let Love Lead The Way is nice enough in an album track kind of way but a bit limp, albeit still better than 2008's Headlines. No further singles were taken from the album, I'm not sure if any other songs would have really done any better as I never got into the album.

WAT WAT WAT WAAAAAT

HOLLIER IS ONE IF THE BEST NO.1S OF SLL TAEM AND LLLTW IS AN EXISTENTIAL MEGA BOP!!!!

 

1 hour ago, awardinary said:

Listening to both those Spice Girls songs again with the videos definitely shows to me they were trying to go down a pop-R&B route to try and cater to a changing audience. It just didn't work anymore for them.

Madonna's hit was... ok, but not the best at all.

WROOONG!!!

Two of the best Spice tracks EVER!!!

The albun is onw of the worst of ALL TARM though

 

BOB WAAAAY TOO LOW TOO!!!

That and Spicy Ladies and all solo Spice no.1s from that year would be in ny top 10!!

Fool Again is another key-changing fit using the same formula with the some kind of music video of a helicopter-shot of the band at an altitude in a place far away from home! Annoying that most compilations at the time used the wrong version of the song though.

Great countdown, Rich!

The number 1s were a very mixed bag, no arguments from me so far.