It's not a flop for me, but far away from the brilliance of "Get The Party Started" - was just not my favourite P!nk era.

Oh that's my top 3 out now - I gave it 9.5 but kinda wish it'd been 10 so it wouldn't have lost its tiebreak. After the R&B of her first album and 'Get The Party Started', this felt like P!nk's first single where she put her own stamp on the song and lyrics.

Had to chuckle at the scenario of this being compared to a Britney Spears song in this very rate too!

Bit behind again

Crazy In Love, Leave and Don’t Let Me Get Me are some of my all time faves from the artists in question.

Kylie I love but I’ve never been a huge fan of Devil. It’s still a great song don’t get me wrong but not perfect

My second fave Pink song after Just Like A Pill, love it.

So good to see this P!nk song top 5. I purchased it at the time. It would’ve been my first P!nk purchase.

04 Natasha Bedingfield - These Words

avg: 8.66

👑 Pop Royalty: 11 (DaTilt, gooddelta), 10 (777666jason, Lukuzz, Henessy Lake, Doug, lewistgreen, JosephStyles, Nina West, HarryInnanen, Billy.)

❌ Pop Flop: 4 (Roba.), 6 (Scene)

So it was NatBed who won the tiebreak against P!nk. Both acts had an 8.66 average, including two 11s, but Natasha received one more 10 than P!nk.

Bedingfield spent her time growing up in both London and Auckland after being born in England to New Zealand parents. Her history with music began as a teenager when she was part of an electronic group called The DNA Algorithm with siblings Daniel and Nikola. She was later signed to BMG imprint Phonogenic Records, two years after her brother's solo breakthrough, after impressing with her singing ability and ad-libbing skills. Bedingfield soon got to work on debut album Unwritten and released 'These Words' as the record's second single, after lead choice 'Single'.

'These Words' was inspired by Bedingfield's writer's block and the pressure she felt to write a hit. She started to repeat "I love you, I love you" over and over again, which eventually turned into the song's hook. 'These Words' was written alongside Steve Kipner (funnily enough a writer on Christina Aguilera's 'Genie In A Bottle', which also placed 4th in the first Pop Princesses rate), Andrew Frampton and Wayne Wilkins, who all have production credits too. A particularly memorable aspect of Bedingfield's delivery is the mispronunciation of "hyperbole" during the bridge.

Bedingfield achieved her first U.K. #1 single on second try when 'These Words' reached the summit for two weeks in 2004, beating the chart placement of 'Single' by two spots. This result followed three chart-toppers for brother Daniel ('Gotta Get Thru This', 'If You're Not The One' and 'Never Gonna Leave Your Side') so they became the first - and so far only - siblings to separately achieve a U.K. #1. Their US counterparts were of course Michael and Janet Jackson, but Janet has infamously never charted higher than #2 in the U.K. As for Natasha's Stateside success, 'These Words' reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. She would later achieve two #5 hits there with 'Unwritten' and 'Pocketful of Sunshine'; the latter was shockingly never released in the U.K.

We love a hyperbolic 11/10 on this forum and it was DaTilt and gooddelta who found enough magic in this song to award it their top marks. Meanwhile, Roba. wasn't so impressed by Natasha's search for a killer hook, instead providing 'These Words' with its lowest score of 4.

Hoped NatBed might go Top 3, but #4 is also not bad.

LOL is that what the lyric is re hyperbole? I always thought it was "don't have a pole to hide behind"

I already posted other parts of this song (including the very next line afterwards) in the Misheard Lyrics Lounge thread recently but turns out there's even more!

I mean, it’s no Pocketful of Sunshine, but it’s one of R NatBed’s many pleasant bops!

'Don't Let Me Get Me' continues on P!nk's brilliant releases in 2002. Another standout from her big discography.

Yeah never been keen at all on 'These Words' unfortunately. Just annoys me for some reason. I do like plenty other Natasha songs though. It's not my least fave from her mind - that would be the horrific 'I Wanna Have Your Babies' :puke:

'These Words' is fine, probably Natasha's best song - whereas I was never that keen on 'Unwritten' and I'd happily never hear it again at this point.

Great to see NB finish top 5. This was my introduction to her and I loved it at the time. Still a good song but I think she has a few better.

‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’ has always been a P!nk fave for me! Sooo good. I always found it under appreciated by the general public.

‘These Words’ is a bop. A lot of fun and very catchy!

'Don't Let Me Get Me' is one of P!nk's absolute best. Always had so much love for it 💖

'These Words' is great also.

I never tire of hearing Better the Devil… even if it does seem a bit out of place here.

Don’t Let Me Get Me is one of Pink’s best for me. That intro is just so distinctive and the LA/Britney lines are iconic and helped set her apart from the other female pop stars of the time.

Never liked These Words - never knew it was so loved here! Not a patch on Single, Unwritten or POS for me.

03 Sugababes - Freak Like Me

avg: 9.00

👑 Pop Royalty: 11 (Paddington James, Doug, blacksquare, Jade, Nina West, leww, Roba.), 10 (ElectroBoy, Lukuzz, lewistgreen, vibe, RyanFM, JosephStyles, HarryInnanen, Chez Wombat)

❌ Pop Flop: 4 (Billy.), 5 (Henessy Lake)

Sugababes 2.0 achieve a satisfyingly round round average of 9.00 and take home the bronze medal in this rate.

'Freak Like Me' was an important moment in the career of the 'Babes. Founding members Keisha Buchanan and Mutya Buena had to weather the storm of fellow original Siobhán Donaghy departing the group ahead of their sophomore era. Ultimately, this didn't break them, instead it was just one of several revolving door moments that would become synonymous with their brand. Replacement member Heidi Range was ready to take on the challenge after already moving on from one pop dream to another. She firstly auditioned for Scooch in 1997 but was rejected for being too young. No 'Flying the Flag (for You)' on the CV then. She then became a member of Atomic Kitten alongside Liz McClarnon and Kerry Katona, but left and was replaced by fellow Liverpudlian Natasha Hamilton. So she swerved being associated with last placer 'Ladies Night' in the first Pop Princesses rate. Instead, she moved on and was cleverly inaugurated into the Sugababes in the club music video for 'Freak Like Me'.

'Freak Like Me' was the brainchild of producer Richard X. He created a bootleg mash-up called 'We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends' under the alias Girls On Top. This combined #1 hit 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' by Tubeway Army and Adina Howard's 'Freak Like Me'. 'We Don't Give A Damn About Our Friends' was an underground success but could not be released commercially, as Richard X wasn't able to get permission to use Howard's vocals. Therefore, he enlisted the Sugababes to sing the 'Freak Like Me' parts instead. The sample of 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' was retained in the production. Tubeway Army's Gary Numan went on to say that he preferred this version to his original song.

Sugababes released 'Freak Like Me' as the lead single from their second album Angels With Dirty Faces. It was quite a switch-up for them, with a more electro sound compared to their debut album One Touch, but certainly paid off in the eyes of the public. This song matched the chart position of 'Are 'Friends' Electric?' and became the girls' first U.K. #1 hit. They blocked 'One Step Closer' by S Club Juniors from the top and stayed in the top 10 for 4 weeks. Their future as a group was secure.

Turns out, I'm that kind of girl who would award 'Freak Like Me' an 11, alongside Paddington James, Doug, blacksquare, Nina West, leww and Roba., in an impressive haul of 7. Meanwhile, Billy. was not so satisfied and gave the girls their lowest mark of 4.

Oh my. Exactly 9.00 average!

And my highest scored tracks are in the top 2!

Pop masterclass, right up there with their very best.

A fantastic track there from the Babes but I’m glad the other two tracks are the top 2!

This was a convincing switch up in sound from their debut and the song merges so neatly with 'Are 'Friends' Electric?'. Satisfying to see it has an average score of exactly 9, that's what I gave it too!