Hung Up took a while to grow on me, but I remember Sorry being far more instant. Aside from Frozen I think Sorry is the only other Madonna song I've loved from the start.

Sorry would definitely be towards the top of the pile for me, all of the singles from Confessions were great. Have to say though that the Corinne Bailey Rae track is probably even better and I'd have loved to see her get a #1, she's quite underrated and has a few decent albums.

Sorry is wonderful and I was so pleased to see it getting to the top of the charts.

The whole album is fantastic, the last time I really rated Madonna.

Let's see, 'Thunder In My Heart' is very nostalgic as it was definitely showing up all around the place back in 2006, must have really caught the bug of retro (of the time) dance hit.

'America' is one of my absolute favourites and probably would have been in my top 5, yes it's lyrics aren't as sharp as some other critiques of America but that instrumental line is gorgeous and it builds really well to a satisfying climax, always loved it as kind of a way to cap off Razorlight's career, they'd made some good singles up to now and this was a great final attempt for them to have some relevance - and you might say what about 'Wire To Wire', and I'd respond 'Wire to what?'

'Smile' and 'Sorry' are good to start the top 10, I'd probably put them similar, both strong efforts from the artists but while I do really like early Lily, 'Smile' has worn a bit over the years. 'Sorry' has lovely production but lives in the shadow of 'Hung Up' a little too much, so similar experience to you.

'Sorry' really is so underappreciated, it's my shining jewel of Confessions these days.

Can't abide 'Smile', 'LDN' was a lot better.

Sorry is great, the whole album was, although I too actually did prefer Put My Records On, which is such a soulful, smooth gem.

It was great to see Madonna get two No.1s from the same album though. Even getting a top ten from Confessions Part 2 would be a dream (and unlikely, but if Kylie can do it then I won't completely rule it out).

Madonna was peaking for me, Confessions was her best tour of 3 I've seen, Sorry was fabulous and would be high up for me, and the album was her last wholly satisfying effort, one of her best. Much as I rate Corinne, Sorry is the better track, but Corinne was robbed with her non-hit power-punk fabulous New York Transit Queen in 2023, which should have been a comeback chart-topper. I realise I'm in a minority on that, but I take comfort with all the 5-star album reviews...

08 Justin Timberlake - SexyBack

Kept off #1: nothing directly, but the highest non-#1 that week was Fratellis - 'Chelsea Dagger' at #5

Next we move from one artist present on Madonna's final chart-topper '4 Minutes' to the other two features! Justin Timberlake had successfully made the transition from boyband heart throb to solo superstar with his debut album Justified. This record produced an impressive but frustrating three U.K. #2 hits - with 'Like I Love You', my personal favourite 'Cry Me A River' and 'Rock Your Body' all stalling for him. He could either fly higher or sink with the direction for his sophomore record. Timberlake decided that he wanted to do something completely different with his next project FutureSex/LoveSounds, including lead single 'SexyBack'. He worked with both Timbaland and Danja to write and produce this track with a more hard, electronic edge. He claims his vision for this song was "David Bowie and David Byrne doing James Brown's 'Sex Machine'" which is a very interesting description indeed. He listened to both Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel' and dance-punk group The Rapture's 'House of Jealous Lovers' the day before recording 'SexyBack'. Timberlake also claims that his vocal delivery was inspired by Prince. His moodboard was full of legends, down to the video, as he wanted to work with Michael Haussman, due to being a fan of Madonna's 'Take A Bow' video.

Timberlake may have been inspired by many other names but created his own moment in time as "I'm bringing sexy back" impacted pop culture lexicon, where "sexy" could also be replaced with a number of other adjectives. The working title of 'SexyBack' was originally 'Be Gone With It', a repeated line from the chorus, but Timberlake changed it at the last minute to the far more quotable word from the opening line. 'SexyBack' was an instant hit, debuting at #13 on downloads alone, before its physical release then propelled it to #1 for a week. That top 5 contains an impressive 4 #1 hits (Timberlake, Shakira, Beyoncé and Scissor Sisters) plus 'Chelsea Dagger' by The Fratellis which has established itself as a modern classic, so what a jam packed time in the chart. Timberlake had lifted his #2 curse here (in addition to 'SexyBack', he'd go on to have 3 more U.K. #1s: 'Give It To Me', '4 Minutes' and 'Mirrors') and also spent an impressive 7 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. 'SexyBack' won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording too.

2010s kids got Timberlake on family-friendly film Trolls with 'Can't Stop The Feeling!' but, as a child of the 2000s, this was filling the airwaves a decade earlier for me instead. I'm sure all of the explicit references went over my head at the time but I do remember enjoying the production from the word go. Timbaland's electro-R&B style remained fresh into the noughties and has held up incredibly well even now. I see 'SexyBack' is sitting at the top of Timberlake's 'Popular Songs' list on Spotify, with an impressive 1.2 billion+ streams. Away from the production, I also enjoy the stylistic choice of Justin's distorted vocals thoughout. The whole package is pleasingly experimental. "I'm bringing sexy back" could've been cringeworthy in the wrong hands but I feel his confident vision and charisma as a performer pulled this one off. My favourite single from this era is 'What Goes Around... Comes Around', which made it to #4, but 'SexyBack' was still a bold, exciting start to a juggernaut sophomore era.

All three very good songs. Madonna had a weaker phase through the midnineties, but from 98 onwards she was back releasing many great songs - this is one of it. Justin also had many great hits - SexyBack is no exception. "Smile" is my favourite out of the so far listed songs. A feel good hit - absolutely love it. There is also a brilliant drum & bass mix by Shy FX:

Whilst SexyBack isn't my favourite from FutureSex/LoveSounds I can appreciate the cultural impact it had at the time. It certainly was a floorfiller at the graduation parties for high school in late 2006.

Not a fan of 'Sexyback' but do like 'What Comes Around... Goes Around' and so would agree it's his best from this era!

'Sorry' is another superb Madonna single for me and would say it's my fave out of the 4 singles from the Confessions era. A jam!

I remember the first few times I heard 'SexyBack' I was like "this is a mess, what on Earth is he doing?", then I gave another listen about a week before it was released and it hit me! I became hooked.

I still love it now, it's certainly unique.

Sexyback took a few listens to hook, and it's very Prince via Timbaland - but that hat-trick of Justfied singles is top-notch. Bought the album, and Cry Me A River, Rock Your Body both topped my charts where this fell short. 4 Minutes and Mirrors are both classics to, Can't Stop The Feeling not far behind, and Justin generally has been pretty good throughout the last 28 years or so, as 'NSYNC knocked out pop bangers too. Prefer Sorry to this one, though, and 4 Minutes to both, probably.

07 Scissor Sisters - I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

Kept off #1: The Killers - When You Were Young

American pop-rock group Scissor Sisters took the U.K. by storm with their self-titled debut album. This glorious injection of camp in the charts narrowly pipped Keane's Hopes and Fears to become the best-selling album of 2004 here. This record contained four top 20 hits and two top 10s - the group's disco take on Pink Floyd's 'Comfortably Numb' and also 'Filthy/Gorgeous', their first top 5 hit, despite being pushed last in the campaign. Scissor Sisters members Jake Shears and Babydaddy were also involved with writing and producing Kylie Minogue's 'I Believe In You', which stalled at #2. That record was unlucky to run into the mighty Band Aid 20. Following such a successful start, the group felt primed to go all the way in the singles chart if they played their cards right. 'Filthy/Gorgeous' proved their peaks could scale new heights despite the album selling so much. So perhaps the stars would align next time a brand new era was underway.

'I Don't Feel Like Dancin' was chosen as the lead single from their second album Ta-Dah and this quickly proved to be a smart choice. It debuted at #4 in the U.K. charts and then spent an impressive 4 weeks at #1. This number continued to follow the song around as 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin' was the fourth best-selling single of 2006 too! Ta-Dah didn't produce as many top 20 hits as its predecessor but was the third best-selling album of 2006 nevertheless. This record was a step down in quality for me, after they'd set the bar so high with their debut, but I think 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin' was a great lead single and I can see why it caught on so much. The protagonist may feel like a rubbish dancer but this track is a floorfiller for all ages. I remember 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin' coming on at my uncle's wedding the following year and both me and my nan got up to dance to it, she was an even bigger fan than me!

It has quite a classic feel, with obvious parallels to the Bee Gees thanks to its disco DNA, very catchy melody and of course, falsetto. Jake Shears gives a particularly impressive performance during the bridge. Elton John is also another legend in the mix as he appropriately provides piano while the group sings "I don't feel like dancing while the old Joanna plays" and elsewhere. I'd say overall this package is great fun, if a little more pedestrian compared to their own high standards, when something like 'Laura' from the previous record has such standout production. The lyrics still have their quirks, with lines such as "cities come and cities go, just like the old empires, when all you do is change your clothes and call that versatile" particularly jumping out at me as an amusing comparison. They were a wonderful group to have around and I'm pleased they achieved a big #1 with this. Their next album Night Work was brilliant and runs Scissor Sisters close as their best record for me.

'When You Were Young' by The Killers spent both of its weeks at #2 stuck behind the Scissor Sisters. I'm pleased this gave them a new career best at the time but a shame it had to miss out on #1. My ideal scenario would've been them nabbing one of Scissor Sisters' weeks as 3 at the top is still impressive. Alas, The Killers never quite managed a #1, although I suppose 'Mr Brightside' should never be ruled out one day with the right set of circumstances and a reset...

I absolutely loved that at the time, I can't 100% remember what's still to come but that would definitely be top 3 for me I think. I did eventually get a bit sick of it through overplay (it really was absolutely everywhere wasn't it!) but I've grown to really like it again now and I agree with you that it just sounds timeless. I also just really loved that the UK embraced such a gay band so wholeheartedly - I know they're far from the first band to be from LGBTQ+ backgrounds but they were very overt about it and I remember feeling so proud that the public here had made their debut album the best selling of the year, especially as I bought it in week one (sorry that is so kinda braggy!) and was so surprised when it gradually became so popular over the year.

I agree with you that Ta-Dah! was quite a step down from their debut (although happily they rebounded in quality with the fab Night Work, even if the public had pretty much abandoned them by then!) - I think only Dancin' really stands up these days, although I do have a soft spot still for Kiss You Off.

Smile was so different to everything else at the time. 😍 the chorus is so infectious.

SexyBack has always been overrated to me. The production is slick but there’s something super grating about it.

IDFLD is one I absolutely detested back in the day but have grown to adore it. So much fun!!

IDFLD would be very high up for me. So may great memories, it was no.1 when I turned 18 and it always takes me back there.

Edited Wednesday at 19:511 day by T Boy

I started off not liking IDFLD at the time, then it really grew on me and I loved it, then I went back to hating it. Now I'm impartial to it. It is a very catchy soon.

Possibly my number 1 of the year (though possibly something to come could beat it!). I was obsessed with this at the time and I still love it now. A fabulous number 1.

Love 'I Don't Feel Like Dancin'. A really fun hoot of a song and one that I hardly grew tired of it either. Deserving to be their only #1 hit but they should have had several more!