Yeah I was delighted at the time when this made it too, although I much prefer the UK single mix with an actual beat. The other version sounds wrong and a bit plodding!

My favourite version is that one too - it's all about the bass synths that come in at 0:24, and the trebly one at 1:09

The Tomcraft track is great, a surprising #1 indeed.

Leave Right Now would be my number 1 of the year. Such a fantastic tune, coupled with his good the whole of the Friday’s Child album is.

Release it on vinyl already!!!

4

Girls Aloud - Sound Of The Underground

Score: 9/10

28/12/2002	Girls Aloud	Sound Of The Underground
Peak: 1 Chart run: {1}-1-1-1-3-5-9-15-19-19-22-27-38-42-57-56-71-67-56-71-73->21

“Popstars: The Rivals” chose 5 members for the winning boyband and girlband respectively, and in cruel early ‘00s reality TV fashion pitted them against each other for the 2002 Christmas #1. Xenomania were very wisely picked to write the girls’ single, having already written the #1 “Round Round”.

The result was a 4 week #1 for the girls. However it was only the first of 20 consecutive Top 10 hits for them over nearly a decade, a record for a female group.

This of course is a wonderful record with drum and bass and electropop influences. David Sneddon knocked this off #1, reminding us that reality TV producing good music would remain an exception rather than a rule.

A pop masterclass.

All these years on, it's hard to believe that a reality winning act's debut single coming out as a product of the show could ever be so good. I doubt it was ever bettered by any other act in the same circumstance.

I agree Rich, it’s an anomaly for sure!

3

Evanescence - Bring Me To Life

Score: 9/10

14/06/2003	Evanescence	Bring Me To Life
Peak: 1 Chart run: {1}-1-1-1-2-5-4-5-9-13-20-24-32-37-47-68-73->17

This was the American rock band’s debut single. Vocalist Amy Lee wrote it aged 19 about having been in an abusive relationship.

The song is in the nu metal style that was popular at the time, partly using rap rock. The band were heavily influenced by Linkin Park, and I think it’s really interesting that Linkin Park’s 2024 comeback with a female vocalist in turn reminded me of Evanescence.

This and the beautiful “My Immortal” are the only tracks from them I have loved. But I think this is a hugely important and inspirational track that set a precedent for what could be achieved with this style of music.

Love Bring Me To Life, it was the first time I really liked a song that wasn’t ‘pop’.

Katherine Jenkins version was # 1 in my chart.

'Leave Right Now', 'Mad World' and 'Bring Me To Life' are all brilliant and would be in the top end for me too.

Wow. What a great top 7.

Everything in the top 10 so far has been reasonably decent, and it's good to be reminded just how varied the number ones were this year too. I love one of the songs that is left to come so hoping that wins out...

This would be second of the three songs left for me. An incredibly powerful song, and both female and male vocal parts work so well. It was a really arresting and memorable debut single.

I did prefer My Immortal, but both are classics and it was great to have a No.1 single that sounded like this. Nu metal and emo rock were some of the memorable styles of my time at secondary school but there weren't many No.1 singles to show for it and this crept in just before I left for good.

My Immortal was incredible. I preferred the album version.

'Bring Me To Life' is a great start to the podium and a pretty landmark #1 hit, nu metal with a female lead singer at that!

Love the ethereal, piano laden beginning of the song and how it builds into crunchier guitars and a vocal showdown.

Heartbreaking subject matter too as touched upon above. I can feel the pain in her powerful vocals here and even moreso in 'My Immortal'.

Amy falling in the music video is one of the most memorable visual moments I can remember watching on the music channels as a kid.

Bring Me to Life would be my number 1<3 As with many rock number 1s, I'm not sure what happened that allowed that to go to number 1 as it's so different to everything else , I guess it's use in Daredevil and the peak popularity of Nu Metal helped (though I'd think of them as more of a gothic rock group). It's a beautiful song with touching lyrics and a wonderful melodrama to the whole thing, it's a shame that she experienced sexism as apparently no one would listen to a female singing a rock song without a male, but I like to think she absolutely blows away any doubts with that vocal performance (with that said, the duet before the last chorus is a great dramatic high point).

2

Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z - Crazy In Love

Score: 9/10

12/07/2003	Beyonce Featuring Jay-Z	Crazy In Love
Peak: 1 Chart run: {1}-1-1-2-5-10-12-16-19-25-36-35-40-46-64->15

Beyoncé’s solo career had had a slightly faltering start with the rather forgettable #7 hit “Work It Out”. She then had featured on future husband’s Jay-Z’s “‘03 Bonnie And Clyde”, which again wasn’t a particularly memorable record. So this was what really lit the fire for

her.

It’s surprising that this wasn’t that big a seller at the time. It was the 15th biggest of 2003 but with less than 300,000 sales, and was outsold by relatively forgotten hits such as “Turn Me On” by Kevin Lyttle. However it now has more than 1.6 million streams on Spotify, only beaten by “Halo” in Beyoncé’s catalogue.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked this the best song of the century. While I wouldn’t quite go that far I do think it’s one of the finest pop rap crossover records ever, with an outstanding riff and

timeless sounding production.

Oh, no. How you can give # 1 for that song in this ranking ?

Edited Sunday at 18:275 days by Last Dreamer

I certainly wouldn't call 'Turn Me On' forgotten, I still hear that around regularly and it feels very well-known.