August 8Aug 8 I found this from its Wiki pretty wild! Quote"It Wasn't Me" was originally never intended to be released as a single. Before the original version of Hot Shot was released in August 2000, Hawaiian DJ Pablo Sato downloaded the album from "a Napster like MP3 site he won't name" and discovered that "It Wasn't Me" was "the album's standout cut." He played the song on American radio the next day, and in an interview, claimed, "The phone lines lit up right away. Within a couple of days, it was our number-one requested song."[9][10] The song was released to radio on 7 November 2000,[11] then was given a retail release on 6 February 2001 following its airplay success.[12]
August 9Aug 9 Scott Mills really pushed it in the UK. Shaggy was going to be dropped by his label apparently so It Wasn’t Me saved him!
August 9Aug 9 Author #7Roger Sanchez – Another ChanceDate Charted: 14/07/2001Weeks at #1: 1UK Chart Run: {1}-3-8-11-13-20-29-32-42-62-70-73->12Chart CommentaryA little bit of an anomaly for the standard of UK #1s from 2001 now. This dance record by Roger Sanchez made it to the top in the Summer and would go on to become his most widely recognised single to date. The American DJ had been producing music from the early 90s and achieved a couple of minor hits to his name before 'Another Chance' happened. The music video depicts a woman with a large plastic heart walking the streets of New York at night. I know this record is adored by many on BuzzJack, and it's not hard to see why at the time. It's definitely one of the standout #1s from 2001 that didn't follow the usual formula, and that makes it quite an iconic hit.
August 9Aug 9 A solid dance track and an unusual No.1, it heavily samples a Toto song for its main hook - it’s interesting how many of the No.1s in this year were covers or featured samples. The video is great.
August 9Aug 9 The video to Another Chance is gorgeous, it's a really nice song anyway but played alongside makes it hit a lot harder.
August 9Aug 9 Another Chance is by far my favourite song to feature so far, and probably actually the only one so far that I would choose to listen to
August 9Aug 9 'It Wasn't Me' was my 5th favourite #1 of the year at the time, and a memorable representative as best seller of the year.'Another Chance' was my favourite #1 of 2001 during the year, and is still my favourite now - a dance hit that takes you through the layers.
August 10Aug 10 Another Chance I remember at the time being surprised but overjoyed this actually made #1!
August 10Aug 10 “Another Chance” is fab - packing emotion into a dance track can be hard but it does it beautifully.There’s 1 to come that I can’t believe is still in.
August 10Aug 10 'Gotta Get Thru This', 'It Wasn't Me' and 'Another Chance' all top tier in their own ways. The video for the latter will forever remain iconic with the girl walking around with the massive ❤️.
August 11Aug 11 Another Chance would be my number 1 of the year. Superb song that has aged very well.
August 11Aug 11 Author #6Atomic Kitten – Whole AgainDate Charted: 10/02/2001Weeks at #1: 4UK Chart Run: {1}-1-1-1-2-3-4-4-7-7-8-14-16-17-19-21-26-31-30-38-46-63-73R(2)->23Chart CommentaryThe longest running UK #1 from 2001, spanning 4 consecutive weeks at the top in February. It would go on to be Atomic Kitten's most widely regarded single. Something that made the song itself quite unique at the time is that two recordings were made for release; the first featured band member Kerry Katona before she abruptly left the group due to supposed conflicts with the other members. A replacement was quickly found for Kerry, Jenny Frost, and as such, another recording of 'Whole Again', including a new music video, was shot. Before the release of 'Whole Again' the band were to be dropped, but this single reignited their flame (pun intended) and they were able to carve out a very successful pop career in the few years to follow. As well as in the UK, the single went to #1 in many other countries too. On a personal level, it is more enjoyed than many other singles by the trio and deserved it's success at the time to spark new life into the group, quite literally.
August 11Aug 11 'Another Chance' appreciation post That emotive Toto sample is utilised so well alongside the swirling house production and impactful double drum kick. Agreed that the video enhances the experience even more. I recently got around to JADE's 'Plastic Box' video and it reminded me of this one with the giant heart concept.
August 11Aug 11 Whole Again is a funny one for me in that I really liked the prior single Follow Me that flopped at No.20. Then the label thought 'let's push out another similar tempo song as the FIFTH single from the album as the last attempt worked so well'. Logically and by usual perceived wisdom it should not have been a success, yet it became a million selling No.1?To this DAY I do not know how this song debuted at No.1. I'm sure the Woolies chart had it in at about No.15 and I remember thinking the midweeks were a mistake when I saw them as Atomic Kitten had never had a hit anywhere near even half as big, and there was very little to suggest this song was going to change that ahead of release. Especially not when up against U2, who were expected to debut quite easily at No.1. The only extra push it had beyond the previous releases is that it was a well publicised 'last roll of the dice' single - maybe that encouraged more people to take notice, and also clearly the song did click with people in a way that their others didn't. I'm amazed though that there were even enough copies of it sent to the shops in week one to enable it to debut at the top as pre-release hype was so low, and the video budget looked like about £20.The song itself is nice, not a big favourite of mine, but has a good strong chorus and middle eight and I can see why it did quickly take off with the public and gained in sales for a few weeks after it started getting airplay and the exposure of being No.1, well timed around Valentine's Day too. Funny how it changed the trajectory of their whole career too, making the first three singles sound like a massive anomaly. I did prefer Jenny in the band though, she suited their more laidback vibe and I can't see Kerry have being too happy with churning out constant ballads and midtempos for years. I did grow to love the group funnily enough, from Eternal Flame onwards, they were just more my MOR cup of tea with Jenny there, although I do think the Kerry middle eight version of Whole Again is better, albeit not the original version which she talk/sings the whole thing on the Japanese edition of the album. I think a No.15 peak would definitely have been the ceiling for it if this version had been released:
August 11Aug 11 13 minutes ago, gooddelta said:To this DAY I do not know how this song debuted at No.1. I'm sure the Woolies chart had it in at about No.15 and I remember thinking the midweeks were a mistake when I saw them as Atomic Kitten had never had a hit anywhere near even half as big, and there was very little to suggest this song was going to change that ahead of release. Especially not when up against U2, who were expected to debut quite easily at No.1. The only extra push it had beyond the previous releases is that it was a well publicised 'last roll of the dice' single - maybe that encouraged more people to take notice, and also clearly the song did click with people in a way that their others didn't. I'm amazed though that there were even enough copies of it sent to the shops in week one to enable it to debut at the top as pre-release hype was so low, and the video budget looked like about £20.I remember this as well! I was fully expecting it to debut somewhere between 10 and 20 and I was a bit like when it went straight in at #1.Of course it remains a well-known classic to this day.
August 11Aug 11 I remember first hearing “Whole Again” in the credits to one of those shows like “CD:UK” a week before it was released and immediately thinking it sounded much more grown up than anything that had come before. Obviously it’s not my standard cup of tea these days but somehow I do still love it - would have been my #4 here.
August 11Aug 11 'Whole Again' was my 8th favourite #1 of 2001 at the time, and I'd rank it higher today. An assured performance from the group in either line-up (Kerry's middle 8 shades it for me), it's a really good song too and it was great that OMD's Andy McCluskey got a writing credit on a #1.It was my #19 tba on page 4 - only #12 & #17 remain from it now. One of the other three really should have been in my list but it came towards the end of the year and I took a while to be sold after being kinda lukewarm on their previous #1. Another isn't a huge fave of mine but I appreciate it's well loved. That leaves one more which I was convinced must be already out, but it seems not...
August 11Aug 11 13 minutes ago, Julian_ said:I remember first hearing “Whole Again” in the credits to one of those shows like “CD:UK” a week before it was released and immediately thinking it sounded much more grown up than anything that had come before. Obviously it’s not my standard cup of tea these days but somehow I do still love it - would have been my #4 here.Just remembered they performed it at that Eurovision week opening event we saw in Liverpool a couple of years ago, it did go down very well. I also saw them do it live in 2021 in Newcastle as part of a 90s/00s revival festival and they played parts from the Southgate version too that had just recharted at the time.
August 11Aug 11 20 minutes ago, jimwatts said:That leaves one more which I was convinced must be already out, but it seems not...“Pure And Simple” not the biggest shocker of the countdown after all!
August 11Aug 11 Whole Again is inoffensive pop and it was great to see Andy McClusky get the much-deserved chart-topper after 21 years of fabulous tracks that many of which should have achieved top spot. Atomic Kitten did better tracks though, and also much worse tracks, but a yay for Birkenhead and area. Another Chance is another pleasant track, dance-sampling a pleasant original, and I had given up watching videos by this time so that never really affected me either way. It's good, I like it, but I don't love it to bits or anything. It Wasn't Me is amusing - credit should have been given to The Simpsons: "It wasn't me, I didn't do it, you can't prove anything" © Bart Simpson, but also condemnation to both for inspiring so many politicians to use it as a way of avoiding consequences and Truth. As long as I don't hear the track too often it's fine. I'd rather hear Oh Carolina though.
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