Toni Basil autocorrecting to Cyndi Lauper, I’ve seen it all now

Britney falling two spots in that second week but increasing in sales! I suppose it was a busy week in the top 5!

Oh god Ann Lee. I used to have an irrational hatred for her - I think it was because she stole my name

3 minutes ago, Lee_J11 said:

Oh god Ann Lee. I used to have an irrational hatred for her - I think it was because she stole my name

Omg, is your first name Ann?

To say Macy Gray - I Try was on the music channels a lot at the time is an understatement.

Genie In A Bottle is a good #1.

I really like Ann Lee Two Times, production is a bit Vengaboys but it is still good.

Interesting couple of episodes tonight. How timely that as Mel C enjoys her highest charting album as a solo artist this week that she should be on the first rerun with the first single from her debut. "Goin' Down" was definitely a risky choice in sound and style, but as we'll see into the 2000 reruns it paid off in the end for her with the Northern Star era.

Loved Gabrielle, Eurythmics and James tonight as well, "Just Like Fred Astaire" from the latter in particular is one of their best singles and it should have been bigger. Very surprised a few artists didn't make it on the episodes tonight, Adam Rickitt for one on the second episode. I actually thought "Everything My Heart Desires" was better than "I Breathe Again", and it was still top 20.

9 hours ago, Jester said:

I was on a wet holiday in Devon when Cristina Aguilera beat B*witched and it was a big shock!

Great songs from Ann Lee, Jordan Knight, Gabrielle & Christina.

I like Goin Down is a very overlooked and forgotten Mel C top 5.

Yeah B*Witched in my memory were expected to get to No.1 too, with Christina set for No.2 and Ann Lee for No.3/4 (I'm sure the Woolies chart of the time suggested the same). I bought the latter two that week and still love both now. Ann Lee did really very well there with over 150k at No.2, and she must be minted having also been behind Saturday Night and Rhythm Of The Night! The song is such an earworm. Genie In A Bottle is a pop classic though, a deserved chart topper of course for somebody who would become one of my favourite artists (if not favourite overall even from 2000-2003 until Delta emerged).

I didn't really get the point of Jesse Hold On, quite a limp effort, but then was there really anything better they could have gone with? Jump Down has the same issue and some odd lyrics while I Shall Be There would have been a massive risk of a lead single that I don't think would have paid off. Basically nobody wrote them any hits for the second album, or maybe they were a 1998 thing and everyone had already moved on by this point, I'm never quite sure, probably a combination of things.

I love Gabrielle's Sunshine <3 The start of a great era for her. I remember watching that first episode at the time for several reasons - my mum loving Gabrielle (and declaring that she would buy the album) and also not loving Macy Gray's song (which would become very overplayed in the weeks to come), and me being annoyed that they didn't play York's The Awakening at No.11 - which I loved and also bought that week! At least York and Fragma (who also ended up at No.11 in recent weeks) would both go onto bigger things in 2000.

Some nice performances as mentioned from James (good song indeed, classic sound to it), Macy Gray and Eurythmics. I do like the Adam Rickitt song that wasn't played too (also recorded by Mandy Moore on her 2000 album weirdly). I can't say I'm a fan of Goin Down, but it was a very brave lead which I respect Mel for doing, and she clearly knew she had the material to keep the era going. I will always love the fact she basically released songs from four completely different genres as the era's first four singles, and all were big hits.

I Try is one of my favourite tracks of the year, a classic <3