Like I said in my post it would have been interesting to see how 'Lover' would have fared, coz it was planned for around March/April 2002, I remember seeing it on release schedules & was excited for it as it was one of my faves from 'Read My Lips'. They should have went ahead with it anyway. it could have easily been another top 10 hit for her & still kept the June release for 'Get Over You' along with the repacked version of the album.

So the release schedule could have went like this

AUG '01 - Take Me Home

DEC '01 - Murder On The Dancefloor

MAR '02 - Lover

JUNE '02 - Get Over You/Move This Mountain

NOV '02 - Music Gets The Best of Me

Also I would have moved 'MGTBOM' to around September or October instead of a 5 month gap between releases. Also of note 'The Universe Is You' was also being lined up as the 4th single at some point, but that was during the original album cycle before they changed gears with the re-release. I understand the label doing this because the reception to the album was rather polarizing with people (including myself) expecting tracks more along the lines of the first 2 singles. The sales were struggling before the re-release came along, so it was a smart move I guess.

5 minutes ago, Nina West said:

Like I said in my post it would have been interesting to see how 'Lover' would have fared, coz it was planned for around March/April 2002, I remember seeing it on release schedules & was excited for it as it was one of my faves from 'Read My Lips'. They should have went ahead with it anyway. it could have easily been another top 10 hit for her & still kept the June release for 'Get Over You' along with the repacked version of the album.

So the release schedule could have went like this

AUG '01 - Take Me Home

DEC '01 - Murder On The Dancefloor

MAR '02 - Lover

JUNE '02 - Get Over You/Move This Mountain

NOV '02 - Music Gets The Best of Me

Also I would have moved 'MGTBOM' to around September or October instead of a 5 month gap between releases. Also of note 'The Universe Is You' was also being lined up as the 4th single at some point, but that was during the original album cycle before they changed gears with the re-release. I understand the label doing this because the reception to the album was rather polarizing with people (including myself) expecting tracks more along the lines of the first 2 singles. The sales were struggling before the re-release came along, so it was a smart move I guess.

Knowing all that it certainly was the right call to do the re-release as there weren't any other songs on the album like Murder On The Dance Floor and Take Me Home.

You're revised release schedule would've been perfect too.

Moreover regarding 'Lover', I remember when the album came out she did this live gig on Radio 1 and performed 'Lover' which she said would be the next single (as in, in place of 'Murder On the Dancefloor'!)

Interesting to see how everything would've panned out for her if that had gone ahead

Ready for the next entry?

Yes, please!

Does it reach 8.9? Or even a 9.0?

Yess please!

Can we crack the 9.0 scores?

I'm more of a 'Move This Mountain' girl but 'Get Over You' is fun and I've revisited it since PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson paid homage to its music video in their 'Stateside' one!

No substitute for real pleasure

#04. Bittersweet - 9.25

Highest Scores: 11: (Jessie Where, Viper), 10: (Paddington James, Scene, Jade), Lowest Scores: 7.5: (dandy)

At #4 is 'Bittersweet', released in May 2010 as the 3rd single from Sophie's 4th studio album 'Make A Scene', this was the first solo song to be released following the previous 2 which were both collaborations. It was written by Sophie herself, James Wiltshire, Russell Small, Richard Stannard and Hannah Robinson, and production was handled by Freemasons and Biffco, the former collaborated on the lead single 'Heartbreak (Made Me A Dancer)'. The song's B-side 'Sophia Loren', was for a time, going to be the album's lead single, but these plans were scrapped due to a change in direction for the album. Upon release 'Bittersweet' received positive critical reviews and managed to peak at #25 on the UK singles chart becoming her 11th top 40 hit.

An elegant synth pop track that blends electronic dance beats with Sophie's signature classy vocals. The production by Freemasons is fantastic with its melancholic yet uplifting sounds that goes well with the thumping club disco beats and catchy chorus that soars over the production. This us yet another great song from Sophie Ellis-Bextor that deserved far more attention and success than it had when it got released, but perhaps it fell in line with the dance sound that was very popular at time a bit too well and kinda got lost in the shuffle. A brilliant dance pop bob that deserved at least a top 20 chart placement.

Love 'Bittersweet', definitely up there with her best, and I love 'Sophia Loren' too - though I can see why scrapped it and switched the sound of the album!

I love Bittersweet too, such a brilliant song.

Sophia Loren is a rather nice song as well. It’s a shame it’s not on streaming.

I've tried to hold myself together

#03. Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) (ft Freemasons) - 9.343

Highest Scores: 11: (Liam.k.), 10: (Nina West, Paddington James, Jessie Where, JosephStyles,, HarryGarfield, Jester), Lowest Scores: 8/8.5: (gooddelta, Mango, AllStarBySmashMouth, dandy)

At the #3 spot is the fabulous 'Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)', a song by English production duo Freemasons and featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor on lead vocals. Released in June 2009 as a single from Freemason's 2nd album 'Shakedown 2' and as the lead single from Sophie's 4th studio album 'Make A Scene', which wasn't released until 2011. The song was written by the production duo James Wiltshire and Russell Small, Richard Stannard and Sophie herself, and production was handled by Wiltshire and Small. The track was first uploaded to Sophie's official MySpace page back in June 2008, but it wasn't announced as a single until February 2009 and made its premiere BBC Radio 1's The Scott Mills Show in April 2009 where it was quickly added to the station's B-list. Upon release the song received wide critical praise and reached a #13 peak on the UK singles chart, becoming her 9th and to date final UK Top 20 hit. Elsewhere it scored massive success on various dance charts worldwide where it reached high positions in Russia, Belgium, Australia and the UK dance chart. The song charted in several countries worldwide with a top 10 peak in Hungary, top 20 in Finland as well as top 40 peaks in Belgium (Flanders) and Ireland.

I always thought that this titled 'Heartbreak (Made Me A Dancer)' instead of 'Make Me'🫢. This is a masterful club track with sleek production, infectious beats and brimming with euphoric energy. Sophie's signature icy vocals combines brilliantly with the dramatic build up to the soaring high energy chorus as well as the urgent dance sounds that brings a sense of joy and wonder to the already fabulous song. Why wasn't this a bigger hit a #13 peak seems so criminally low for a quality track such as this. I remember the hype surrounding it when it was first uploaded to Sophie's MySpace, but instead of cashing in on the hype, they took so long to actually release it. This had all the makings of becoming more of an all-time classic, but the release was botched and like many of her other songs, a major missed opportunity. Great song nonetheless and one of Sophie's finest releases of her career.

Groovejet VS Murder On The Dancefloor

Who will win?

Stay tuned to find out....

Completely unsurprising top 2, but never mind that.

'Groovejet' 2nd I think or maybe MOTD for the possibility that some might have gotten a bit tired from its resurgence and overexposure...

'Bittersweet' went over my head a bit at the time but it's blossomed into such a favourite, what a gorgeous song.

Elegant is the perfect word to describe it yet it still has a real punch to it.

Freemasons were on a roll during the late '00s although my favourite element of 'Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer)' has got to be the very Sophie pronunciation of daaaaaaaancer *.*

'Groovejet' would be my preference from the top 2 but fully expecting a 'Murder On the Dancefloor' win, which would also be a great champion!

Love 'Heartbreak'

MOTD will win by a country mile!

Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) is such a brilliantly produced song. I agree that it deserved far better than a #13 peak.

I wasn’t aware of how long it took to get released after appearing on her MySpace page.

Heartbreak is spectacular

'Bittersweet' has emerged over time as my favourite, it's just f***ing amazing. It's up there with Beethoven and should've had at least 17 weeks at number one.

'Heartbreak' is a timeless classic that still gives me a rush. I have to say though, Radio 1 certainly didn't quickly add it to their playlist - they refused to playlist it at first, only when it got released and started doing reasonably well did they add it. Also the version that was uploaded to MySpace was pretty different to this, so I don't think that affected anything.

Before the final results gets announced, I wanted to a little post about Sophie's Trip The Light Fantastic era, this is what could/should have been kinda thing. This was such a fantastic album that had so much potential for hits & it felt very slept on during its release which is a shame as its the best album of her entire career. The first 3 singles were perfect & deserved far more success than they got & not had the botched releases some of them had. 'If I Can't Dance' & 'Love Is Here' should have went ahead and been released as well as a deluxe edition version of the album that included the b-sides & the brilliant 'Love Is The Law'.

The release schedule could have looked something like this (note I changed the chart peaks).

FEB '07 - Catch You - [#5] - Maybe release this on a less busier week & it could have had a higher chart peak.

May '07 - Me and My Imagination - [#8] - If the botched iTunes mishap didn't happen, then this could have been possible.

Aug '07 - Today the Sun's On Us - [#23] - This could have fared better if the previous single didn't underperform & there would have been more hype for this.

Nov '07 - If I Can't Dance - [#16] - Release this in November to keep the momentum going & this had all the makings of becoming a top 20 hit.

May '08 - Love Is Here - [#64] - Accompany this with a brand new radio edit & a re-release of the album to include extra tracks, then this would have been the perfect era closer. I know the #64 peak is rather low, but given that this would be a 5th single fan favourite release, just being somewhat realistic.

Just for fun here's what the deluxe re-release version could look like =

1. Catch You

2. Me and My Imagination

3. Today the Sun's On Us

4. New York City Lights

5. If I Can't Dance

6. The Distance Between Us

7. If You Go

8. Only One

9. Love Is Here [Radio Edit]

10. New Flame

11. China Heart

12. What Have We Started

13. Can't Have It All*

14. Supersonic*

15. Down With Love*

16. Move To The Music*

17. Here's To You*

18. Duel*

19. Love Is The Law*

Edited Saturday at 12:423 days by Nina West

I'd have definitely released 'If You Go' somewhere along the line, probably in place of either 'Me And My Imagination' or 'Today The Sun's On Us'

Edited Saturday at 16:423 days by Jessie Where