March 7Mar 7 4 hours ago, Paddington James said:Are they red nickers on t-shirts of the Westlife boys?The theme for Comic Relief that year was ‘Pants to Poverty’ and people were encouraged to wear their undies over their trousers for charity.
March 7Mar 7 'Dilemma' is pretty nostalgic, the twinkly R&B production is very of the time and I heard it so much growing up. Excelly Rowland an eternally iconic music video moment!Similar to T Boy, 'Just Dance' didn't do much for me at the time, with 'Poker Face' instead turning me into a fan overnight. But I enjoy it more now than I did in 2009.'Stan' is Eminem's magnum opus for me gripping, raw storytelling with a genuine cultural impact. Masterful Dido sample too of course.
March 7Mar 7 Author 20. HEY BABY- DJ Otzi (776,100) YEAR: 2001PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 29 Our flirtation with DJ Otzi was relatively brief compared to mainland Europe so let’s be thankful for that! His version of the 1962 Bruce Channel #2 hit conquered most of Europe through 2000 and 2001 and following those summer holidays in 01 it was heard by million of brits which seemed to wet appetites for a UK release. It was subject to a chart anomaly when it charted on import at No 45 then rose to No 1 on official UK release due to the catalogue number being identical, it therefore scored the highest climber to No 1 at the time, albeit on a technicality. Apparently sales were initially driven by Northern Ireland and northern England, and it was also subject to a phenomenon which became much more popular later in decade- the dreaded cover! A rip off version by 2 Amigo’s hit No 90 in the week DJ Otzi released his version. It was also made into an equally annoying world cup version a year later which no-one needed.
March 7Mar 7 Author 19. HERO- X Factor Finalists (804,700) YEAR: 2008PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 12 The format of getting all the finalists from a reality show together to record a single had been tried before (see the pop idol finalists in 2003), but come season 5 of “The X Factor” the idea got revived and this cover of the Mariah Carey #7, 1993 hit. The song was famously written to be given to Gloria Estefan to sing for the film of the same name but kept in the end by Carey, it had been a staple of shows like “X Factor” for some time and this version sold a mighty 313k in its first week lifting to over 600,000 after 3 weeks and was by far the biggest selling X Factor finalist single despite the format being replicated every year until 2011.
March 8Mar 8 Author 18. HERO- Enrique Iglesias (836,500) YEAR: 2002PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 20 Iglesias became only the third act from Spain to hit no 1 when this track was released (Baccara in 1977 and his father Julio in 1981 being the other two). Therefore they became the first instance of son and father having separate solo chart toppers, “Hero” hung around for a month on top fuelled by Valentine’s day and a promo featuring Mickey Rourke and Jennifer Love Hewitt , pretty high budget for a pop promo. It was a hit in the US in late 2001 after 9/11.
March 8Mar 8 Author 17. I GOTTA FEELING- Black Eyed Peas (848,648) YEAR: 2009PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 29 I’d forgotten that David Guetta both co-wrote and co-produced this track which was a second straight No 1 for the BEP in 2009 spending two non-consecutive weeks at the top (the second week they were actually knocked off by Guetta). It was even more successful in the US where it made No 1 for 14 weeks knocking themselves off the top and resulted in a record of 26 consecutive weeks at the top combined between the singles. Whilst it didn’t have that longevity in the UK charts it did end up as their biggest hit of the decade!
Monday at 10:285 days Author 16. A MOMENT LIKE THIS- Leona Lewis (862,000) YEAR: 2006PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 14 You’ll recall no doubt that this started off as Kelly Clarkson’s winners single from the US “Pop Idol” series launching her into the pop charts with a US No 1 in 2002. As we never got the show we didn’t get the version released here so it was ripe for a UK version and when Lewis won “X Factor” this was handed to her to record and it didn’t disappoint selling 571k in week 1 breaking the record (for the time) of 50,000 downloads in its first 30 minutes of release and over 100,000 by the end of its first day bus she did at least buck the trend of X Factor winners (In the 00s at least) of actually outselling their coronation single! Co-written by John Reid of Nightcrawlers fame FYI.
Monday at 10:305 days Author 15. POKER FACE- Lady Gaga (882,059) YEAR: 2009PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 50 Gaga’s biggest seller of the 00s was her second single, it seems so obvious now that it would be a No 1 with its iconic video but it’s easy to forget that it really struggled to make it there moving 30-26-28-24-22-15-3-3-4-1 and when it did make No 1 did so by just 221 copies (although its other weeks were by a larger margin). Gaga confirmed later on that the song was about bisexuality with more than a smattering of sexual innuendo which only contributed to the hype surrounding her at this time- Two chart toppers to start off your career (and one of them the best seller of the year) can’t be bad though!
Tuesday at 13:474 days Author 14. SEX ON FIRE- Kings Of Leon (903,070) YEAR: 2008PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 67 Catapulting them to a whole new level of fame when it was released, this was, by the end of 2009 the second most downloaded track of all time. Nanthan Followill revealed the origin of the title “ It was actually going to be "Set Us on Fire", but one of the sound mixers in the studio walked in as we were playing and said, "'Sex on Fire', huh?" And it just kind of became a running joke, and we stuck with it.” It spent it’s first 35 weeks in the top 40- notable longevity for the time.
Tuesday at 13:484 days Author 13. WHOLE AGAIN- Atomic Kitten (965,200) YEAR: 2001PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 23 It’s pretty well known now that this was the single that saved them from being dumped by the label who had lost patience with the group after their previous singe made No 20 and the album had underperformed. OMD’s Andy McClusky pleaded with the label to release one final track which succeeded and then Kerry Katona quit the band mid promotion for the track- it seemed doomed! But the track proved everyone wrong by becoming their first chart topper and led to a long career for the girlgroup who called it a day eventually in 2004
Wednesday at 11:073 days fascinating stuff! Obv early and late part of the decade, X Factor hits etc were always going to dominate but still quite a few surprises in amongst the positions!
Wednesday at 11:153 days Can't say I care for either song musically but the back-to-back 'Hero' placements are pretty neat.My biggest highlight since I last commented is 'Poker Face' I can so vividly recall watching the music video for the first time and being transfixed by her star power and the song itself. I'd forgotten how much of a slow burn chart run it had, wow!
Wednesday at 11:253 days Author 12. CRAZY- Gnarles Barkley (972,400) YEAR: 2006PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 18 A history making track! It had been hanging around since Christmas 2005 when the track was initially leaked creating a fair amount of anticipation which was only added to when it was used to promote Zane Low’s Radio 1 show on the BBC. It was released digitally in early March 06 but could not chart due to chart regs needing a physical release to be available or available within a week (it would have made No 3 had it been eligible before it was). The week that it was eligible it flew to No 1 with no physical release- the first song in UK chart history to be No 1 on downloads alone- and there it stayed for a total of 9 weeks (the longest since Wet, Wet, Wet in 94). It was deleted whilst still at No 1 (again the first time this was done- rumours that Wet, Wet, Wet had done it in 1994 were a record label lie to generate a 16th week at the top) and so disappeared from the charts whilst at No 5 though it returned to the top 30 when the rule around physical copies was removed in January 2007.
Wednesday at 11:273 days Author 11. BLEEDING LOVE- Leona Lewis (973,800) YEAR: 2007PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 28 The song that proved precedent wrong- it became the first X Factor winners song to outperform their coronation single and it hit No 1 in the US as well making Lewis into a genuine international star. Written by OneRepublic Ryan Tedder and Jesse McCartney and recorded by the latter first though given away to Lewis ultimately, it immediately smashed into the charts at No 1 where it stayed for 7 weeks becoming the best selling single of 2007. The promo got remade for the US but the European version featured the now fabled £100,000 crystal D & G dress.
Wednesday at 23:413 days On 08/03/2026 at 21:51, Gezza said:17. I GOTTA FEELING- Black Eyed Peas (848,648) YEAR: 2009PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 29 I’d forgotten that David Guetta both co-wrote and co-produced this track which was a second straight No 1 for the BEP in 2009 spending two non-consecutive weeks at the top (the second week they were actually knocked off by Guetta). It was even more successful in the US where it made No 1 for 14 weeks knocking themselves off the top and resulted in a record of 26 consecutive weeks at the top combined between the singles. Whilst it didn’t have that longevity in the UK charts it did end up as their biggest hit of the decade!26 weeks for The Black Eyed Peas at #1 in the US for 2009? That's half the year! Crazy!
Thursday at 18:032 days Author 10. CAN WE FIX IT?- Bob The Builder (1,009,400) YEAR: 2000PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 22 So to the Christmas No 1 for 2000 and the one that denied the odds and beat a Westlife single to No 1 in its first week! It was only denied a No 1 berth by Eminem’s “Stan” and 10,000 copies but accelerated away to not only spend 3 weeks at No 1 but become the best seller of 2000 and the decade’s first million seller! The brand even proved themselves no one hit wonder with another chart topper in 2001 before not outstaying their welcome, the show itself was only at the end of season 3 when the record was released and went on until 2011 so it could have been worse!
Thursday at 18:052 days Author 09. PURE AND SIMPLE- Hear’Say (1,081,700) YEAR: 2001PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 25 Before “X Factor” and “Pop Idol” we had “Popstars”- the first time that the formation of a group was itself the focus of the show, the selection, the rehearsals, the drama, reality TV vs the pop world- and we lapped it up! Though it proved nothing we didn’t know (i.e give something prime TV week in and week out then it will get attention) the format was new and made the subsequent group Hear’Say the brightest thing in pop in March 2001. The song itself had a tortured past being written with the original intention of being given to Girl Thing and was co-written by Betty Boo (90s popstar) but it was “given away” by their management to the newly formed group with Girl Thing’s version appearing on their album which was not released in the UK until 2013. Regardless of the history the song sold 549k to enter at No 1 (an event which was filmed in real time to see the group react)- that was a weekly tally beaten only by Elton John (1997) and Band Aid (1984) but it spawned a new way of finding and marketing pop and one that change the music industry for years to come. The tale is cautionary however and it was all over 18 months later for the group.
21 hours ago21 hr Author 08. THAT’S MY GOAL- Shayne Ward (1,098,400) YEAR: 2005PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 21 Moving on 4 years from Hear’Say and “X Factor” was dominating the festive race with Shayne Ward winning in 2005 and rushing his single out he following day on downloads with a physical copy making the shops on the Wednesday before the festive chart was announced. First week sales made Hear’Say’s opening tally look like a flop week with a mighty 742k sold- the highest weekly tally of the whole decade, the song itself had been floating around for some time being offered to Westlife to record for the 2004 Special Olympics but turned down by them.
21 hours ago21 hr Author 07. CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD- Kylie Minogue (1,104,600) YEAR: 2001PEAK POSITION: 1WKS ON CHART: 25 If “Spinning Around” reminded us all that Kylie could still compete the younger generations as a chart force then this elevated her back to the heights she was last at in the late 80s- an international popstar who could command the best songs around. Written by former Mud member Ron Davis and Cathy Dennis (who were chucking out No 1 singles all over the place at this point), it was released in a much publicised chart battle with Victoria Beckham which included daily updates on sales via big breakfast news and a live performance by Beckham sporting a lip ring (which was fake but not revealed before the papers had spilled columns over it), in reality as soon as the first sales flashes were released it was clear that the battle was pretty anticlimactic with Kylie romping to the top with 306k.
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