They always seemed to release loud singles with swagger and attitiude as leads, but they were never the best that the eras had to offer. This is rubbish, and would be lower for me, glad they left it off the tour setlist. Agreed that the next single was better, one of their best of the 00s, and one that really should have been on the setlist.

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by gooddelta

Echoing the rest here. Not crazy on 'Lyla' and the next one is in my top 3 of their noughties releases!

18. Akon - Lonely

#1 for 2 weeks W/E 7th May-W/E 14th May

#7 in EOY

Here we are with the first number 1 for Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam...or just Akon x He arrived with two rather distinct breakout hits - two months before (a whole year after it's initial release in the States), Locked Up was his debut, marketed as a 'street record' and intended to build credibility , with some hard-hitting lyrics about the ongoing incarceration of young black people (apparently inspired by his own experience, but this was never proven), it peaked at number 5 here and the next step is to really break him commercially which is where Lonely comes in, a far more conventional love song taking a sample of Bobby Vinton's 1964 hit Mr Lonely and pitching it up to give it that Chipmunk Soul label that was popular for a while. This also made it fit in quite well with the growing ringtone landscape (more on that later x). Cynical strategy, but it worked perfectly, Lonely got to number 1 in nine countries and would pave the way for him to become one of the biggest hit makers of the next few years, getting several hits for the next four years. He would have a few hits through features in the early 2010s, but otherwise went almost completely quiet musically, focusing on philathropic works like Akon Lighting Africa, with many attempted comebacks after which did nothing and/or were postponed. His most prolific project post 2010 would be Akon City, a now abandoned crypto based project which...I don't have time to go into right now, but do look it up if you're not aware, it's a ride x

I know a lot would rank this lower and I do get why this would be supremely irritating, but it is one I have a lot of nostalgia for. Helped by being on Now 61 which I spammed repeatedly that year, I can't count how many times I heard this on TV, radio, ringtones and watching amateur online parody videos and songs (the one that sticks in my mind is this random Indian parody replacing Lonely with Curry, which I found quite funny at the time and realise is so blatantly racist now, sorry, cancel me etc. x). I'll always look back on it fondly, but likewise with JCB, it's definitely not something I'd seek out much these days, but I'd still take this over most of his discography, which is all very throwaway and rancid lyrically as well as his voice really grating on me. I think he actually sounds alright here, quite soulful and restrained and I do like the idea of the song as an modern duet with a 50s ballad, I think it could've really worked if not for the Chipmunk sound effect, I don't mind it and does make it sound fairly unique as a ballad, and again as a pre-teen hearing a high-pitched voice like that was the sort of thing that humoured me, but it definitely ruins any kind of emotional connection he was going for and gives it more of a novelty feel that it probably didn't intend for (similar thing with Ironik's Stay With Me a few years later, which had a much darker subject matter). I completely get why this one is so maligned, but it's one of those classic time capsules that defines the year, so I can't hold a lot of resentment.

Oh blimey, utterly vile song.

I use to absolutely despise Lonely at the time. If it came on the radio, id change stations. If it came on the tv, id change channels. I’ve mellowed to it slightly now. Whilst I never seek it out, I would change stations or channels if it came on.

'Lonely' is another one that would rank highly for me, I find something quite soulful about the early verses. Probably just as well I didn't have this as my year x No complaints about 'Lyla' being that low though, it's probably their weakest #1 for me.

I think that JCB Song is my favourite so far. I don't really listen to it now but I think it is sweet and really distinctive, plus the video was always cute too.

(I should add that however much of a soft spot I have for it, Lonely beating Feel Good Inc. to number 1 is one of the biggest chart injustices ever x)