We have the same top 4 for this year, hooray *. I enjoy all of 5-10 though and heard them all many, many times on the music channels back in the day, I do think most of these artists have better in their discography (Scissor Sisters in particular I prefer a lot of their first album to this), but these were all great too and deserved big hits. Take That's later revival material got a bit too MOR for me, but Patience was fantastic and opened the gates to the boybands revival.

I liked 'Hips Don't Lie' at the time, but I can't bear it now. Like, I'll audibly groan if I hear the intro come on anywhere.

...where as I hated it at the time but actually quite like it now!

I prefer Patience though, I think it's probably my second favourite of theirs these days after The Flood. Rule the World was up there for a while too but I've tired of that one just a little over the years, albeit it's still good and they are definitely their 3 best songs.

“Hips Don’t Lie” was such a huge noughties chart moment. I loved Shakira from the start - I think she’s really intelligent and I always enjoyed the quirky second language lyrics. I’m sure she did have good marketing behind her but it still always felt authentic, like it was just magnifying the star quality she had anyway. I feel slightly differently about an artist to come.

I didn’t have high expectations for this after “Don’t Bother” was such a letdown. I heard it on the radio and really liked it but thought it was so different it could easily flop. And went out entered at #54 I thought oh well that’s a shame, not realising that wasn’t the full release. When it climbed to #3 that was far beyond my expectations. Then even when it climbed to #2 I thought it must have been a default climb due to very low sales, but in fact it was genuinely building. And then when it snatched a week at #1 that was still only the beginning of the story. A true phenomenon.

A true phenomenon is what 'Hips Don't Lie' was - not playlisted by Radio 1, it seeped into the public consciousness and very much became the sound of the summer 2006. I have reminded myself that its run of 12 weeks in the Top 3 was the longest since 1994, and there wouldn't be a longer one in the 21st century until 2013/14!

Whenever Wherever should have been a number one, so this is a well-deserved chart-topping substitute, and it's almost as good. Love those rhythms, hip-shaking-inducing indeed. Oops at the Fugees non-reunion, shoulda coulda, but hooray for Shakira. Some people just dont know a great song when they hear one.....

04 Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down

Kept off #1: nothing directly, but Will Young - All Time Love at #3 was the highest non-#1 that week

Sheffield indie rock band Arctic Monkeys were off to a flying start when their debut single 'I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor' reached #1 in 2005, covered in Chez's #1s countdown. Both second single 'When the Sun Goes Down' and accompanying album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not were scheduled for a January 2006 release following this success. The record was a critical and commercial hit, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history at the time. My mum bought this CD so I heard it a lot in her car growing up and later added it to my own vinyl collection as an adult, finding their energy and lyricism appealing. 'When the Sun Goes Down' was a second #1 hit for the group and their final to date. Arctic Monkeys spent a singular week at the top with this song, dislodging X Factor U.K. winner Shayne Ward's 'That's My Goal'. Therefore, 'When the Sun Goes Down' was the first new #1 of 2006, following Shayne's four weeks split over 2005 and 2006.

'When the Sun Goes Down' was originally known as 'Scummy', a word that appears in the song during the line "...and what a scummy man". It was then reported that this new single would simply be called 'Sun Goes Down', but the full title was unveiled on the band's website. This song is about prostitution in the Neepsend district of Sheffield. Lead singer Alex Turner explained that the group had a practice room in the area and the engineer came out with: "oh make sure you lock that door because it changes when the sun goes down". The chorus notes the difference between the appearance of the city during the daytime and the dark prostitution trade that occurs at night. There's a narrator, who turns down a scantily clad lady's advances, but he also observes the "scummy man" who appears to be the woman's pimp, exploiting her. The scene setting in this song is brilliant and the group tackles quite a real, dark subject with humour still in tact, such as "she don't do major credit cards, I doubt she does receipts", also highlighting how dodgy the circumstances are. The band explains the woman's struggles and desperation, such as being "f****g freezing", but don't shame her situation - instead directing the venom towards the man exploiting her, in Alex Turner's charming drawl. 'When the Sun Goes Down' also references 'Roxanne' by The Police in the lyrics, a fellow song about prostitution.

The production starts off slow, with softer singing from Alex accompanied by electric guitar chords, before launching into a harder, faster instrumental break after "I said, he's a scumbag don't you know?". The riff is suddenly exhilarating and Turner's delivery becomes a lot more vitriolic to match, a very welcome progression. All components then slow down again towards the end as the lyrics reach their climax. I adore the relentless energy that commands the majority of the song and the raw, engaging storytelling. 'When the Sun Goes Down' stands out a lot in the list of chart toppers this year. I'm also a big fan of 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' so approve of both their #1 hits. It's a shame they never got back up there again as they still have many career highlights in later years. However, their Spotify numbers are eye-watering, so interest has clearly carried over to the streaming era nevertheless. Arctic Monkeys' art rock direction over the past decade has been more polarising, but their albums still boast strong chart positions, with latest The Car only blocked by Taylor Swift. Their 2006-2013 back catalogue particularly remains beloved.

We once had a BJSC spin-off called 'Japan vs. South Korea' and my entry, which finished 3rd, really reminded me of the riff of 'When the Sun Goes Down':

This Arctic Monkeys #1 did not directly block anything from the top, 'Nasty Girl' was just waiting in the wings to ascend, but Will Young was stuck in third with 'All Time Love'. I think this is a lovely ballad and it was impressive that Will was still achieving hit singles several years on from his Pop Idol win. 'When the Sun Goes Down' is my favourite of the top 3 though, so I'm glad they pulled it off.

Now I'm sure that the worst single from 2000s decade will win here.

This follow up wasn't as good as IBYLGOTD for me, but it's still ok.

The Arctic Monkeys song is fine, but nothing too spectacular. Time to reveal my places 10 to 4:

10. Madonna - Sorry 

9. Take That - Patience 

8. Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down 

7. Nelly Furtado - Maneater 

6. Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancin' 

5. Justin Timberlake - SexyBack 

4. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy 

And yes, while re-listening to the songs, I really liked "Patience" so that it made it into my top 10. Looking forward to your placings of the final 3. I have 3 different songs in my top 3 😉

'Patience' is fine enough a song but for me it's not something that's impressed me as such oops, prefer 'Shine', 'Rule The World' and 'The Flood' to it from their comeback stuff.

'Hips Don't Lie' however is a pop classic and was thrilled for Shakira nabbing a number one though she deserved to get there in 2002 with both her first two hits imo. The album is quite good too which I got for a birthday present that year!

'When The Sun Goes Down' is a pretty good follow up for the Arctics too.

Arctics with two great singles from two, both #1s. I do prefer their debut, but I like the contrast between the start/end sections and the middle with the gritty storytelling and memorable riff.

I love anything Arctic Monkeys to be honest. That debut album, we used to play it non stop in our sixth form common room. Those were the days.

Scissor Sisters, Shakira and Arctic Monkeys all incredible parts of your top 10 so far, would probably have them all as my favourites, all with excellent memories associated with them of that time.

'When The Sun Goes Down' probably stuck with me the most for its storytelling potential, dark song and how it fits with the rest of that album. The other two very much fun songs that are always a good time hearing, my school year at the time did a stage show that included a curtain call set to 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin' which was just kind of brilliant, don't even remember what the play was about now but the rhythm on that song has made me remember that clearly nearly 20 years later.

Patience has never been a fave of mine. Much prefer Shine and The Flood.

Hips Don’t Lie was such an oddity at the time. A success despite no Radio 1 support, rebounding to #1 after a month gap… Definitely one of her best though it took a while to grow on me.

03 Nelly Furtado - Maneater

Kept off #1: nothing directly, but Embrace - World At Your Feet at #3 was the highest non-#1 during these three weeks

Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado made a big impact with debut album Whoa, Nelly! which spawned two top 5 hits in 'I'm Like A Bird' and 'Turn Off The Light'. She then suffered the sophomore slump with follow-up record Folklore, failing to produce any top 10 hits. Furtado went back to the drawing board and had the desire to make a pop album next, using Madonna's much celebrated Ray of Light as an influence, having dabbled in trip-hop herself before. The chairman of Interscope suggested that she should work with Timbaland on the project, which turned into third album Loose, taking her career to new heights. Many artists from the 1980s were on their moodboard - in addition to Madonna, they also looked to the music of Talking Heads, Blondie, The Police and Eurythmics. Furtado also claimed to be influenced by Hall & Oates' 'Maneater' for her own track of the same name, with Daryl Hall himself pointing out the similarities later on. Nelly's 'Maneater' was chosen as the first single, of a very strong run, for the U.K. market. This song was produced by the same team as Justin Timberlake's 'SexyBack' earlier, both Timbaland and Danja. Its creation was delayed after a speaker caught fire in the studio control room. The team were hesitant to return to it for a short while, feeling a bit spooked by what had happened, but then moved past the incident and created a bonafide smash hit. 'Maneater' debuted at #8 on the U.K. chart a week before its physical release was available. It then climbed to #1 for three weeks, becoming the first of two chart-toppers for Nelly Furtado to date.

'Maneater' begins with the self-assured "everybody look at me, I walk in the door, you start screaming" and continues with the same level of commanding confidence and attitude throughout. Furtado said the song both celebrates and parodies the 'maneater' cliché at the same time; they have a lot of fun with the concept. On top of her delivery, I am also massively taken in by Timbaland's left-field production choices. Immediately you're hit with hypnotic, rhythmic percussion, his stomping in-your-face beats and a strange wailing sound in the background. It gives this inviting floor-filler ("I wanna see you all on your knees!") an appealing dark, mysterious edge. I remember loving the very catchy 'Maneater' at the time and also recall the Chris Moyles Show team on Radio 1 unleashing a parody of it called 'Anteater'. What a time to be alive. Nelly, Timbaland and Danja were a dream team - with my love for 'Maneater' also extending to 'Say It Right' (that might actually be my favourite single of this era, but of course peaked at the other end of the top 10), the beautiful 'All Good Things (Come to an End)' and SingStar classic 'Promiscuous', which has found a huge audience in the streaming era, with over 1.7 billion Spotify streams. 'Maneater' is not doing too shabby itself though as it has also passed 1 billion streams. Loose really takes me back to the 2000s, with the artwork even reminding me of the iPod campaigns of the time, but the music still feels forward-thinking and exciting all the same, so I can see why it's a popular choice of noughties nostalgia into the streaming era.

Nelly did not directly block anything from #1, as Sandi Thom fell behind her to #2 and Shakira was ready and waiting to take over during her third week at #1, but Embrace had the highest non-#1 over those few weeks with football anthem 'World At Your Feet' reaching #3. I do have some affection for 'Nature's Law' as aforementioned but am not too fussed about this one.

Big change of sound at a time I was used to the I'm Like A Bird - Nelly Furtado

Basically the start of EDM-pop.

Maneater is a great song deserving a Top 10 spot - for me slightly lowernot making my Top 3.

Maneater is fantastic. Such a powerful return by Nelly Furtado.

When the Sun Goes Down is probably my favourite from the Arctics, it's such a great thrill ride with the quiet starts and finishes launching into that fearful, ominous tale complemented brilliantly by the fast paced vocals and dark guitars, Dancefloor... was definitely fun, but this showed they can do more conscious rock just as well.

Nelly Furtado's reinvention was excellently done and still sets a standard now, saying that, my favourite from the era was the very underrated All Good Things Come to an End, but Maneater was close behind, Timbaland's production was at it's peak at this point, though it wouldn't have worked as well had she not sold it so well vocally and attitude wise.