March 19Mar 19 I never thought Fly On The Wings of Love would get all the way to the final when I gave it a wildcard, I'm glad I'm not the only one with a soft spot for a bit of turn of the century eurodance cheese x Guilt and Firestone are quite of their time, but I do still enjoy both, the former in particular still holds up well.I prefer the Bananarama version of Venus, sorry if that's sacrilege x
March 19Mar 19 Author 42. Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) 924ptsWriters - Greg Kurstin, Jorgen Elofsson, Ali Tamposi, David GamsonTop scores - JackJones 50, ElectroBoy 48, Alex! 48Low scores - Liamski689 1, Bror 1, danG 2, jimwatts 2Average score - 21.5Stronger was originally intended for Leona Lewis who turned it down. It ended up being an eighth top 10 hit for Kelly Clarkson, spending two weeks at number 8 and then returning to that peak position four weeks later. It was also her third Billboard chart topper.
March 19Mar 19 Shame Venus is so low and below the cheesy Bananarama cover! The Boys Are Back In Town is a rock classic, it came on at the pub during a secondary school reunion a year ago and it fit the mood perfectly. I liked Stronger when I was extremely young as it was on the radio all the time but now I don't think it's very good.
March 19Mar 19 I'm not at all surprised that the Bananarama version of 'Venus' is higher and I did know that iteration first, but prefer Shocking Blue's in the long run.I hope 'Cruel Summer' finishes higher from their two songs. Interesting that the Ace of Base version peaked at #8 too!
March 19Mar 19 I think both versions of 'Venus' offer something different but I do prefer Bananarama's if I'm honest. The Shocking Blue one is good too but it's a bit too out there for me. I quite like Don Pablo's Animals version of it too, and that got all the way up to #4 in 1990 (though I can't recall where it finished in the #4s poll). 'Stronger' is a timeless pop classic, I'm shocked it's gone out this early, I thought it was really well regarded on here!
March 19Mar 19 I wasn't aware that Stronger was intended for Leona Lewis. I think it suits Kelly pretty well though.
March 19Mar 19 3 minutes ago, Mangø said:Yeah I can't really imagine what Leona would have done with it!I just looked it up on Wikipedia. It looks like Kelly Clarkson and Greg Kurstin made a few changes to it and added lyrics to it. So it’s safe to say what Leona was offered wasn’t what Kelly released.
March 20Mar 20 Bananarama’s version of Venus rated higher than Shocking Blue’s is quite a statement! Famously one of the few examples of both versions reaching US #1
March 20Mar 20 Definitely prefer Bananarama’s version of Venus! But likewise I ranked Cruel Summer higher (though unlike Venus - I like the Bananarama and Ace of Base versions equally - though AoB had two mixes, and I prefer one to the other). Stronger is the first song from the top half of my votes to go out, though none of the songs in the final who I voted for in the very first round have gone yet (my top 12 - Kelly was 13).
March 20Mar 20 The good old Buzzjack (relative) recency bias with Shocking Blue vs Bananarama, I’m afraid :(
March 20Mar 20 It’s always been a millennial weighted poll to an extent I guess which is fine. There’s never been a winner from before 1985 or after 2005 and I doubt that will change this time!
March 20Mar 20 20 minutes ago, chartjack2 said:The good old Buzzjack (relative) recency bias with Shocking Blue vs Bananarama, I’m afraid :(Or maybe Bananarama's version leans in more to people's pop tastes rather than being to do with recency? A 40 year old song isn't really that much more recent compared to a 56 year old song!
March 20Mar 20 4 hours ago, Julian_ said:It’s always been a millennial weighted poll to an extent I guess which is fine. There’s never been a winner from before 1985 or after 2005 and I doubt that will change this time!Out of interest, do you think Live Forever should be counted as a 90s song (release), or a 2020s song (chart peak) where it has been placed in the chronological order of the finalists?Just wondering as I’ve noticed a few people saying they think that it might win the poll?
March 20Mar 20 4 hours ago, Mangø said:Or maybe Bananarama's version leans in more to people's pop tastes rather than being to do with recency? A 40 year old song isn't really that much more recent compared to a 56 year old song!I’m sure you’re right. Though I think Shocking Blue’s version was as ‘pop’ as anything else at the time it was released.
March 20Mar 20 5 hours ago, chartjack2 said:The good old Buzzjack (relative) recency bias with Shocking Blue vs Bananarama, I’m afraid :(and I'm on Shocking Blue's side. Sorry!
March 20Mar 20 Author 41. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five - The Message 927ptsWriters - Edward G. Fletcher, Melle Mel, Clifton 'Jiggs' Chase, Sylvia RobinsonTop scores - Jade 45, Scone1 45, Julian 44, Chez Wombat 44Low scores - Alex! 2, Leonardo 2, GreyAsh 3Average score - 21.6One of the earliest hip hop singles, The Message still features highly in polls and was the highest placed song from the 80s in Rolling Stones' 2004 list of the Greatest Songs Of All Time.
March 20Mar 20 Author 40. The Beloved - Sweet Harmony 936ptsWriters - Jon Marsh, Helena MarshTop scores - Julian 50, dandy* 49, jszmiles 47, DaTilt 47Low scores - ...ready for it 1, ElectroBoy 2, Mack 2Average score - 21.8From 1993, this was the only top 10 hit for the London group. One of the models in the video was a young Tess Daly.
March 20Mar 20 6 hours ago, Julian_ said:It’s always been a millennial weighted poll to an extent I guess which is fine. There’s never been a winner from before 1985 or after 2005 and I doubt that will change this time!2010 is calling this time around!
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