Love ‘I’m Not Alone’, I think in general I prefer the Calvin singles without the collaborations.

'Bulletproof' is good and a much more tolerable listen than 'In For The Kill' which that in itself I didn't mind for a couple of listens but begun to irritate me a lot thereafter.

'Bonkers' never charted for me but I didn't mind it either. Come to appreciate it more nowadays too.

'I'm Not Alone' is definitely top tier Calvin and absolutely the right song to gift him his first #1 by himself.

Great yes and would there be the early Swedish House Mafia hits without 'I'm Not Alone' refreshing the big room synth sound - maybe not?!

Edited April 29Apr 29 by TheSnake

'I'm Not Alone' was such a delightful surprise in sound at the time, not only for him but chart music in general. It showed he was really progressing and developing leaps & bounds as a producer.

He's bettered it a few times since for me, but it's such a gem.

I love I’m Not Alone. Calvin at his best!

I had totally forgotten Calvin Harris had this number one, and replaying it is like hearing it for the first time. Bizarre as it hung around my charts for 18 weeks without going top 10! I can only assume those brain cells containing the song have been deleted! It's OK. Quite pleasant, but not especially memorable other than that synth riff pah-pah PAH-pah-pah. I suspect that is why I havent heard it since it left the charts. This would be lower than all the ones I've been more positive about so far....

I like I’m Not Alone, much more than I did back in 2009. Saying that though it probably really wasn’t what I was into at the time. And whilst I’m probably not into this type of music much now either I can certainly appreciate it a lot more.

'I'm Not Alone' is one of my favourite Calvin Harris songs and a glimpse into what the 2010s will sound like.

I noticed that producers like Martin Garrix, Hardwell and Swedish House Mafia tried to replicate this sound later on. However, it doesn't really compare to this song.

Edited April 30Apr 30 by Charlielargepotatoes

I never got into the La Roux songs - the only one I like is the Skream remix of "In For The Kill" - the production sounds so much better than on the original. "Bulletproof" just sounds boring to me and would be beyond the 20. A Skream Remix of this might have worked ;).

Don't remember the Calvin harris song - I must re-check all the stuff, but generally I am not a big fan of music from 2009.

Ooft, you're really going through my favourites now, Bulletproof and I'm Not Alone would be in my top 5, the former was a very refreshing sound in a year quite dominated by that club-dance pop sound, In For The Kill I can get is an acquired taste due to the vocals but Bulletproof is a winner, amazing synths and wonderful delivery throughout. I'm Not Alone really did help shape the sound of the time, not the least Chris Brown ripping it off as mentioned, as well as really open the door to Calvin the dance megastar. It was so huge at the time and it's still one of my favourites, great atmospheric build and his own vocals are indeed always the best.

Bonkers was a highlight from Dizzee's elite era, before he went way too mainstream and generic with his next few, amazing production which works so well with Dizzee's flow, I saw him perform it live at the Summertime Ball (yeah I used to actually be interested in that x) and he absolutely stole the show.

6 The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling

2 weeks in August 2009: 70-68-39R(2)-10-3-3-{1}-2-1-2-3-5-5-7-6-5-8-6-7-10-16-14-14-17-20-20-27-24-14-22-28-31-31-33-35-33-41-48-50-50-45-50-45-54-54-45-46-45-43-60-52-49-56-52-54-53-47-50-51-55-53-57-62-65-74-73R(4)-73-59R(8)-63-69-55-62-68R(5)-71R(4)-64-68-58R(56)-47->78

Kept off #1: none

#2 in EOY 2009

The Black Eyed Peas' last stand in this countdown came in the middle, not just from their 3 in 2009 but from their 5 in total, and in terms of omnipresence it eclipsed the lot of them. Fresh from the first UK #1 of his own, David Guetta, again with that song's co-producer Fred Rister, took up production duties on BEP's second single from The E.N.D. as they set out to follow up 'Boom Boom Pow' with a full-on party anthem. It certainly worked - like its predecessor it spent two non-consecutive weeks at UK #1, with sales of 61k in each, although that was just the tip of the iceberg as it would go on to set a new record at the time of 63 consecutive weeks in the Top 75, more than 30 years after its expansion from a Top 50, in which the previous record of 56 weeks had been set in 1967. In the US it was even bigger, spending 14 weeks at Billboard #1 immediately after the 12 of its predecessor, to give BEP half a year of continuous occupation of the top spot.

I might expect the "o" word to have a few outings in reference to this one, although I always say songs become overplayed for a reason - because lots of people like them - and it's easy to see why here. The unmistakeable riff and the chorus with its "woo-hoo"s are fairly basic but infectious, and also anchor the song along with another basic riff as the group ratchet up the party atmosphere. The rest of the song is pretty freeform - Fergie sings half a verse, but for most of it will.i.am and co. chuck in what they like, usually with an exclamation mark. These might seem played out by now, but some highlights: "Jump off that sofa!", "Mazel tov!", Guetta pausing the beats on "we'll shut it down!", Fergie's ad-libbing segment ("smash it!"), the days of the week shoutout with "Saturday" twice. The best bit comes with the big drop that follows all the "do it!" shouts into "Here we come, here we go!" for the peak moment of communal jumping around - there's a lot of that in these last few songs. From such inane touchpoints have memories been made... even if this marks BEP's exit from the countdown before their fellow 2009 #1 trilogy-maker has been sighted!

I liked this briefly at the time, but I can't bear it these days. I groan and roll my eyes every time that intro starts.

Utter banger. I understand why others got sick of hearing it but not for me, didn't seem to tire of it unlike other songs that year.

I didn't mind I Gotta Feeling at first but it was so over exposed that by the end of the year I was completely sick of it.

I'm not a huge fan of it still, but I can at least enjoy it a little when I hear it now.

Yes, hearing it at seemingly every celebration, sporting event etc etc ever since has dulled its effect. I have a funny relationship with it, still liking but not really needing to hear it again. For me it always has been inferior to Boom Boom Pow though.

'I'm Not Alone' is fantastic and would probably be top 3 for me. I associated Calvin with quirky upbeat songs like 'Acceptable In the 80s' and 'The Girls' at this point, so this darker more atmospheric pivot was a bit unexpected, but very much welcomed. Those silver glasses in the video / single cover are quite a memorable, of the time aesthetic too. My mum actually bought 'I'm Not Alone' on CD single at the time which I eventually swiped for my own collection when she moved on from physical media that was probably the last physical single she ever purchased, a strong one to go out on.

I have to agree that the overplay for 'I Gotta Feeling' became pretty unbearable but it's fine as a piece of music, if a bit safer than 'Boom Boom Pow'.

My mum is an unlikely fan of “I Gotta Feeling” and I can see why. It’s one of those songs like “Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Mr Blue Sky” that’s just so effortlessly happy. The verses are quite messy but I don’t mind that. It would probably be in a similar position for me.

“I’m Not Alone” is beautiful - one of his very best for me and would be in my Top 5.

Party and club anthem I Gotta Feeling. Stick it on loud, it's euphoric. I'd rather hear Boom Boom Pow outside of a club, but this is just such a guaranteed crowd-pleaser it has to be up there really. I didn't get it totally until I heard it in Mykonos club in Gran Canaria with a couple of beers that year. Utter banger! Of course here in the UK we pronounce our T's and G's and O's and I Got A Feeling would suffice as a title, whereas the BEP's say I Gad A Feelin'. That's just laziness... 😇

5 Lady Gaga - Poker Face

3 weeks in March / April 2009: 30-26-28-24-22-15-3-3-4-{1}-1-1-2-3-4-5-5-6-9-11-12-14-20-24-31-26-24-22-24-31-34-38-41-41-45-51-52-58-54-60-67-60-63-66-70-74-56R(2)-69-51-32-39-56-63-69-70-74-53-58-63-68-61-66-68-74-75R(3)-61R(2)->66

Kept off #1: Noisettes - Don't Upset The Rhythm (Go Baby Go)

#1 in EOY 2009

After nearly all of 14 pages, Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta enters the countdown! As Lady Gaga, she arrived more or less fully formed when her debut single entered the UK chart at #3 in the first chart of the year. That would climb to #1 the following week, and I suspect would have been many people's choice for her first appearance in this countdown (it might have made for a more chronological commentary too). However from the launch of debut album The Fame a week later, this joined it in the Top 40 and began its slow journey to the top. Once promoted as the second single, it jumped to #3 and looked to have peaked there, until it finally found its way past all the competition with 53k in a week, preventing 'Right Round' from returning to #1 by a margin of less than 250 sales. A further two weeks followed, with 57k and 55k holding off the Noisettes' song in both, and it would continue on the way to outselling its predecessor and becoming the best seller of 2009.

Like many, I would recognise this as a key moment in crystallising Gaga's image and visual art direction, with the mask and the poolside video, and also her vision to make bold statements within her music. There's ample continuity from her preceding hit with RedOne's electropop production bearing many of the same synth hallmarks, but there's a darker and more robotic tone, which she carries with the "mum-mum-mum-mah" hooks. While the verses largely hold to this monotone, the big chorus is sticky and anthemic, as is the "p-p-p-poker face" bridge... but listening closely, she doesn't sing the same line twice there - and then you realise the repeated "she's got me like nobody" doubles as Gaga's own feelings for a woman. Later on she's "bluffin'" (which I originally heard as "lovin'") the man she's with, and the love-as-poker-game metaphors become clearer. It can't be understated that this was radical ground to cover within a pop song in 2009, even setting aside the smuggled in expletives. It was marvellous to see the song works its way to the top of first the weekly chart, and subsequently the EOY for 2009, beginning a strong run of yearly best sellers which would continue into the next decade (with 2013 being one exception).

If the Noisettes' song had made it to #1, it might have been on the cusp on the top 10 in this countdown, however I haven't gone back to it a great deal, whereas their more soulful Top 20 follow-up 'Never Forget You' became one of my top favourites of the year - that made it onto my iPod, while from this countdown only a select few did (space was at a premium!), those being the 4 songs which are yet to come.

I was obsessed with it for months before release and delighted at how big it went on to become. It remains an absolutely brilliant song, I'm just not sure it's aged quite as well as Bad Romance or Paparazzi.