Not too keen on Everybody In Love either, I did buy the parent album at the time as liked other singles and found it a bit whelming, neither here nor there really but with some good parts.

One Shot and Eyes Wide Shut (third singles from the album) were my pick from them.

Everybody In Love has held up better than I'd have expected as a radio recurrent though, I still hear Heart play it fairly regularly.

I don’t like anything by JLS so the lower the better. What an awful slushy song though. Eurgh!

Never cared for or liked pretty much anything of JLS's. This one being no exception.

JLS' topper I do remember at least, and my memory is I quite liked it - let's see if that bears out on the A to Z (it does, top 20 for me, and their biggest - they never made my top 20 again!).

I do t recall JLS releasing much in Australia if at all, they might’ve released Beat Again but that would’ve been it.

Saying that though Alexandra Burke from the same years X Factor only ever charted here with All Night Long. Only that and Bad Boys got a release here. Compared to other X Factor acts like Leona Lewis, One Direction, Olly Murs and even Cher Lloyd and Rebecca Ferguson. I find it a little strange that nether JLS or Alexandra were pushed much here.

I quite enjoyed Everybody In Love. It does the job, not every song has to be groundbreaking, some can just be nice.

Pixie Lott though, I never got. Or that Tinchy Stryder song. It felt with those two that they went to no.1 off the back of previous no.1s. Pixie seemed to lack a big voice, star quality and just about anything a popstar needs so her limited success always baffled me.

27 Alexandra Burke feat. Flo Rida - Bad Boys

1 week in October 2009: {1}-2-4-5-10-11-18-26-26-22-25-12-27-34-35-39-48-54-58-56-64-71-67-70-72->25

Kept off #1: Robbie Williams - Bodies

#9 in EOY 2009

And we're sticking with The X Factor today. So far in this countdown we've had the 2009 charity single and the winner's Christmas single, and now we move to the show's other set piece shot at a UK #1: the first "proper" single from the previous year's winner to coincide with the live shows in the current series. This pattern was established two years earlier when 2006 winner Leona Lewis performed 'Bleeding Love' in the 2007 series, helping it to race to #1 on the way to becoming that year's biggest seller. There was something of a hiccup the following year when the 2007 winner Leon Jackson could only reach #3 with 'Don't Call This Love' given the same platform, but no such issue for 2008 winner Alexandra Burke. Having originally auditioned in 2005 before being eliminated at the judges' houses stage, she returned three years later and emerged victorious. Following the success of her coronation single which stormed to an expected #1 debut in the Christmas chart and remained there into the start of 2009 (and you may have gathered that it is still to come here), her first subsequent release shot to #1 on the back its performance - including a blink-and-you-missed-it cameo from featured US rapper Flo Rida - in the 2009 series, with sales of 187k in its opening week, and her debut album followed it to #1 a week later.

We continue the run of #1s in the countdown which followed up a #1 for the same artist that I have at a higher rating. I'll talk about that song when it comes up, but with it having become 2008's biggest seller, a lot was expected of Alexandra's "proper" debut, and the stakes had been heightened with the relatively big budget video and Flo Rida's presence (himself following on from a 2009 #1 yet to appear). Her voice is on point as expected and the main hook is catchy, however the song's generic production and composition and some clunky lyrics ("it's the risk I take for the chemistry" - if you told me Simon Cowell wrote that himself, I'd believe you, what with him often talking to contestants about taking a risk), along with Flo Rida's rent-a-rap which feels like it's covering a gap where there might have been a middle eight or something climatic, make for a less than triumphant result. It did everything asked of it at the time and had reasonable longevity, but for me it didn't escape the orbit of The X Factor and feels like a product of the show rather than a big statement for Alexandra. I think her next couple of hits were an improvement on this, but ultimately it felt like she became another of the show's victims of mismanagement over time.

Robbie Williams suffered another blockade from The X Factor alumni as his comeback single 'Bodies' was held to #2 this week, a month before JLS pipped him to the #1 album as mentioned above. I wouldn't classify this as one of Robbie's best hits, but I would say it was the better of that Top 2.

A tad surprising to see that down this low but 'Bad Boys' is another one that didn't click with me for whatever reason, production was fine I guess. I think it will place around here for me too when I post my rank. 'Broken Heels' and 'All Night Long that followed are far superior.

I quite like Bad Boys but can see why it is as low as it is. 2009 did have some fantastic #1's.

I also agree now that it doesn't really scream 'launch single', but it's still a serviceable song. She did have better on her debut album though.

It's a shame her pop career fizzled out like it did. I think she wa rather poorly handled.

Bad Boys is quite iconic really, I remember how massive it sounded on the X Factor. I don’t love it but would definitely have it higher.

'Alexander girl, I know what you like' 🤩

I liked this one, it just about crept into my top 100 of the year and I bought her album off the back of it, which I enjoyed. Very catchy song and good melody (lyrics quiff naff indeed), like a lot of 2009 pop the production has dated a lot now; this quite cheap sounding electro-pop party stuff that just pre-dated the Club banger era of 2010-12.

7 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

'Alexander girl, I know what you like' 🤩

I liked this one, it just about crept into my top 100 of the year and I bought her album off the back of it, which I enjoyed. Very catchy song and good melody (lyrics quiff naff indeed), like a lot of 2009 pop the production has dated a lot now; this quite cheap sounding electro-pop party stuff that just pre-dated the Club banger era of 2010-12.

I do agree.

I think late 00s and early 10s pop represents the attitude of the time, 15 minutes of fame, sex, partying and getting drunk. It feels as if the uniqueness and talent came second. Although, there were some great artists at the time.

As opposed to now, where pop music is quite dark and moody.

Edited April 10Apr 10 by Charlielargepotatoes

I still absolutely love this, she smashed it out of the gate for me here. It's a shame how it all panned out for her within the space of about two years, but she kind of has herself to blame in a way.

Poor Robbie being blocked twice there! The album battle was neutralised in our house, as my dad always bought a new Robbie release and I got JLS' CD as a Christmas present that year, as family members knew I watched The X Factor at the time. Long term I have actually returned to Robbie's more recently and enjoy 'Bodies' a lot. The follow-up 'You Know Me' was very classy also, love the Françoise Hardy sample. Quite a few frustrating #2s in his world at that time with 'The Flood' the following year too, less gutted about 'Shame' though

JLS were huge with girls my age at the time and well marketed with a colour associated with each member. I liked their first single but was admittedly less enthusiastic about 'Everybody In Love', which now feels quite of its time lyrically with that whole "hands in the air" era dominating for a few years. But fair enough if it's still part of Heart's roster!

I'm really not keen on 'Bad Boys' oops, the production is so dated and quite headache-inducing for me. As pointed out there are some lyrical clunkers too. Not for me. I preferred the follow-up single 'Broken Heels'.

Not heard Bad Boys in yonks. It's quite jolly and upbeat, ah memories of pop music being upbeat! I don't mind it, it's not the greatest record ever but the obligatory rent-a-rap-break present and correct and works quite well. I prefer Pixie Lott's though, and JLS'. Her best track comes in 2010 with Pitbull (eek!) All Night Long and Broken Heels is also better.

Not a great fan of Bad Boys, it’s okay really, not exactly groundbreaking or memorable. Alexandra could certainly sing though.

26 Flo Rida feat. Ke$ha - Right Round

1 week in March 2009: {1}-2-2-3-4-9-11-14-20-27-33-42-46-57-64-66-75R(4)-71-65R(3)->19

Kept off #1: The Saturdays - Just Can't Get Enough

#22 in EOY 2009

It's back-to-back Flo Rida as the rapper and singer from, you've guessed it, Florida, is the first to lose multiple credited #1s in this countdown. With his global breakthrough hit and UK #2 'Low' alongside T-Pain having amassed a year in the Top 100, the first single for his following era - an interpolation of Dead Or Alive's 1985 UK #1 'You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)' - had some anticipation. It set a then-record for first week download sales in the US, although few would have thought a UK #1 debut was a given. However that's what it did, with an opening sale of 72k overcoming The Saturdays' aforementioned Comic Relief single which had been ahead in the midweeks, but ended up short with 64k. As Flo Rida wanted a female voice on the track, it also marked the chart debut for Ke$ha (as she was then styled with "$" in place of "s") through the association with producer Dr. Luke, while one of the song's writers was a pre-breakthrough Bruno Mars. It has gone on to exceed 1 billion streams on Spotify worldwide, although it still trails some way behind 'Low'.

This is the first song to appear in this countdown that has some significant presence today (in the version presented) - I heard it in the wild at a New Zealand airport last month, for example. Perhaps the biggest factor in that isn't either Flo Rida or Ke$ha, but (unfortunately, given later revelations) the producer, as the song's production is laced with the sort of retro video game aesthetic sounds which made it different at the time and would become something of a trademark. The lyrical interpolation replaced the bit about being like a record with the line "when you go down" which was a none-too-subtle reference to fellatio, and Ke$ha singing that line after Flo Rida was perhaps somewhat groundbreaking for a female take within chart topping music. Overall though (and like many I expect), I would prefer to have seen 'Low' take his first UK #1 accolade - his rapping style here is a bit monotone for my liking and there isn't as much to elevate the song as it goes on.

For 'Just Can't Get Enough' at #2, this still marked the only time a song originally performed by Depeche Mode made the UK Top 3 (yes I know, Susan Boyle's 'Enjoy The Silence' cover truly missed its calling), but left The Flying Pickets' 'Only You' as the only Vince Clarke composition to make UK #1. The original is still perhaps my favourite song either the band or composer have been involved in despite much competition in later years, though it certainly lends itself to popular interpretation. I find The Saturdays' version a bit shouty though, and didn't have any complaints about it taking second place in this chart battle.

Quite liked that and enjoy hearing it whenever I hear it somewhere. Nothing groundbreaking of course but better than some of Flo Rida's later efforts!

I can take or leave Right Round, it's not his best but it's far from his worst.

I'd probably have it below Bad Boys myself.

I enjoy it for the tat it is, and of course it brought us the delightful Ke$ha.

I always thought the backing track shared similarities with 'I Kissed a Girl', which funnily enough The aforementioned Kesh starred in before her breakthrough.