You know I was worried for a minute that the song you were teasing as being even worse than Leon Jackson would turn out to be a song I really like.

No, you're right. Kid Rock is garbage and that song is garbage.

2007 felt like such a transitional year for X Factor between the 'accidentally found a global superstar and on the right path' 2006 to the 'genuine unmissable Saturday night TV' of 2008-2011 (and a bit beyond but these were the peak years). 2007 was full of quite weak acts though and certainly nobody with any international appeal, I just rewatched Kimberley's performance and she has a great voice but not sure about the 'X Factor' - likewise Leon though. I was backing Same Difference all the way, as naff as they were, but there hadn't been a group making pure pop for many years. Rhydian was super talented, maybe would have done better on Britain's Got Talent than a pop show like this? I can't remember being too bowled over by Hope but did like their performance of Hurt.

Edited January 25Jan 25 by gooddelta

Pleased to see Kid Rock dead last here! I remember finding 'All Summer Long' annoying and obnoxious at the time, due to the bro country lyrics, plus leaning way too hard on 'Werewolves of London' and 'Sweet Home Alabama'. It was even easier to dispose of this when learning he was an unpleasant individual.

That X Factor summary was a right throwback. As mentioned in Scene's thread, I was rooting for Same Difference in 2007, so that final did not go my way at all when they were out first! The mention of Hope has reminded me of Leon's victory lap 'When You Believe' performance, where he sings the lyric "...hope is very near" while the other contestants are filing out behind him, so Hope were indeed very near

I remember seeing that Kid Rock track rising in the mids here back in 2008 and I hadn’t actually heard the song. I’m still not sure why it became popular or was pushed or anything.

Been a busy week work wise. Will resume tomorrow with a probably unsurprising next placed song!

Any predictions?

Both of those are hideous!

2008 was one of my least favourite years in music this millennium, probably second only to 2016 - but there's the odd gem scattered around.

I’m predicting the X Factor charity single Hero to be your next one. 🔮

33 minutes ago, Scene said:

I’m predicting the X Factor charity single Hero to be your next one. 🔮

But Ruth Lorenzo though!

19 X Factor Finalists Hero

#2s held off #1: TI ft Rihanna - Live Your Life (week 3)

You guessed it! Next up it's the annual charity song released by X Factor Finalists.

If milking the British public for sales of the winners single wasn't enough, they came up with the genius idea of getting all of the live show finalists on a charity single. I'd say this was a bit of a risk at the time (the Pop Idol version of Happy Xmas slightly bombed a few years before), but a bit of a safe risk as the show was really at its peak.

For this set of finalists they chose the song 'Hero' by Mariah Carey. Is it anywhere near as good as the original? No. Not even close. Did they produce it in a way that showed off the better singers talents, relegating the weaker singers to 'oohs' and 'aahs'? (and the odd line sung with a better singer). 100%.

I remember this year being the year that f***Ing average at best Daniel Evans kept making it through week after week, with stronger singers like Ruth Lorenzo/Rachel ending up in the sing off multiple times and others like Laura White/Austin being eliminated early. Going back to Ruth, she was my favourite of the series and her performance of 'Purple Rain' to this day stands the test of time as reaching the upper echelons of quality X Factor performances. It was great to see her pop up in Eurovision a few years later and get a rare top 10 finish for Spain (pre-Ruth/Chanel days for Spain were not kind).

The live performance saw the twelve finalists lip sync their way through, leading to a rather hilarious moment where a dodgy door prevented Ruth & Daniel from appearing on stage. Others had to lip sync Ruth and Daniel's parts, even though it was glaringly obvious the voices didn't match (see the clip below!)

The song itself did remarkably well - selling a bucket load and staying at number one for three weeks. A yearly charity record then became the done thing, with each release decreasing in sales.

FYI - the number 18 song may be a controversial choice for some......

2008 had loads of strong #1's - so I am curious who will be next. Is Alexandra Burke next? Totally agree with places 21 to 19.

Edited Thursday at 13:094 days by DaTilt

My God! That X Factor song is just awful. 😱

I know it's for a good cause, but really?!

I'm in the minority but I don't mind that X Factor song. Well I like Alexandra, Ruth, Laura and Diana.

I only bought Hero because of Alexandra tbh. Her and Ruth made that series of X Factor SO GOOD. I still remember Take That week where Alexandra and Ruth looked to be in danger of falling into the bottom two due to performing early but both managed to escape through sheer performance quality. I think Ruth was probably the intended casualty that week but blew everyone out the park with Love Ain't Here Anymore. IIRC Alexandra narrowly escaped the sing-off that week and JLS were there instead! Still the most exciting series of X Factor for me (along with Little Mix's year)!

Incredibly soulless and phoned in cover. The only surprise is that it took X Factor so many years to do a group single. At least these songs were met with diminishing returns in sales as each year went on though, even if they all did get to No.1.

15 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

Incredibly soulless and phoned in cover. The only surprise is that it took X Factor so many years to do a group single. At least these songs were met with diminishing returns in sales as each year went on though, even if they all did get to No.1.

The series 3 group single would have been The X Factor Finalists featuring Leona Lewis. 😂

1 hour ago, Scene said:

The series 3 group single would have been The X Factor Finalists featuring Leona Lewis. 😂

Do you mean Series 5 if there had been one? Series 3 was 'Heroes'

2 minutes ago, jimwatts said:

Do you mean Series 5 if there had been one? Series 3 was 'Heroes'

No I meant if Simon decided to do the group charity single as early as series 3, he would’ve made Leona front and centre given she was the chosen one. 😋

4 minutes ago, Scene said:

No I meant if Simon decided to do the group charity single as early as series 3, he would’ve made Leona front and centre given she was the chosen one. 😋

Ah yes of course. I'd envisaged that if they'd carried it on, they'd need to bring Leona back along with former contestants, like they did with "JLS 1-D!"

2008 was a bit of a transitional year for me, I was still at school and still listening to the charts, though musically, I really tired of a lot of 2008's hits due to them constantly being on the radio, was perhaps the year where I started to gain more of a liking for the smaller hits and those just outside the mainstream.

I didn't mind All Summer Long at the time, but it was always quite a random hit, I guess he was on the fringes of success before and this one succeeded due to the time of year and being so radio-friendly and at the right time of year. I don't listen to it these days, it relies way too heavily on the samples which highlights how little he can give himself. Not to mention a pretty awful person these days x

The X Factor charity covers were the nadir of Reality TV domination, was Cowell shamelessly flexing and adding a charity element to be extra manipulative. All of them are awful, although in this case, the original Hero wasn't that good anyway. The only redeeming thing is realising I have the ability to remember and name all the contestants singing in them as it was pretty much household TV at that time so remember it very well x

There is one song I here I particularly despise, I hope it's not too much higher for you x