Ooh, we nearly had the same number one, I was almost right!

Though both of your top two are fantastic, Pass Out just had such energy and it felt it was breaking new ground in UK rap music, so that’s the one for me.

Here’s my ranking (though Love The Way You Lie would be number one if it had reached number one…if that make any sense)

1. Pass Out – Tinie Tempah

2. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga

3. We No Speak Americano – Yolanda Be Cool vs. D Cup

4. Once – Diana Vickers

5. F*** You – CeeLo Green

6. Airplanes – B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams

7. Fireflies – Owl City

8. Only Girl (In the World) – Rihanna

9. When We Collide – Matt Cardle

10. Good Times – Roll Deep

11. California Gurls – Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg

12. Dynamite – Taio Cruz

13. Written in the Stars – Tinie Tempah

14. This Ain't a Love Song – Scouting for Girls

15. All Time Low – The Wanted

16. Telephone – Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé

17. Just the Way You Are – Bruno Mars

18. Club Can't Handle Me – Flo Rida ft. David Guetta

19. Nothin' on You – B.o.B ft. Bruno Mars

20. Green Light – Roll Deep

21. OMG – Usher ft. will.i.am

22. Dirtee Disco – Dizzee Rascal

23. Please Don't Let Me Go – Olly Murs

24. Beautiful Monster – Ne-Yo

25. In My Head – Jason Derulo

26. Love You More – JLS

27. Start Without You – Alexandra Burke ft. Laza Morgan

28. The Time (Dirty Bit) – Black Eyed Peas

29. Replay – Iyaz

30. Gettin' over You – David Guetta ft. Chris Willis, Fergie & LMFAO

31. The Club Is Alive – JLS

32. Promise This – Cheryl Cole

33. Everybody Hurts – Helping Haiti

34. Heroes – X Factor Finalists 2010

35. The Climb – Joe McElderry

36. Shout – Shout for England ft. Dizzee Rascal & James Corden

Thank you so much Iz for your fantastic thread and commentaries, I loved listening and following along! Hope I can be anything near to as good as yours in 2013!

Great top two and finish here Iz, thanks for a very detailed and insightful countdown, your writeups were great.

Pass Out is great. My favourite memory of it is when I still worked at Asda early in the year when it came out, I was covering on the checkouts and Asda FM, known to be... eclectic and with the volume up quite loud, directly followed Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again with Pass Out. One of the old ladies loading up her shopping on the checkout belt I was at had quite a fright when it switched from Vera – which she had been enjoying – straight into that bassline.

Fireflies was No.22 in my end of year 2009 chart, and peaked at No.2 in my weekly chart in September that year. I was racking my brain as to where I heard it so early and think the answer is that it was sent by someone to Unknown Pleasures when it was still on the CHC Media forum, before it migrated over to Buzzjack! I can't really remember how it did, but I remember instantly loving it, maybe @dandy* or @RabbitFurCoat can remember!? I certainly recall people making comparisons to The Postal Service straight away with it. Weirdly as much as I love it, and enjoyed a lot of Adam's output over the coming few years, I actually preferred Good Time, which was No.2 in my 2012 end of year chart behind only Euphoria, and which is in my all-time top 50, I just love that one.

Here is my full rank, and glad I didn't count it down as it would have been wildly unpopular:

1 - Roll Deep - Green Light

2 - Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

3 - Owl City - Fireflies

4 - Roll Deep - Good Times (feat. Jodie Connor)

5 - Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

6 - Cheryl - Promise This

7 - Katy Perry - California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)

8 - Cee Lo Green - f*** You

9 - Lady Gaga & Beyoncé - Telephone

10 - Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak Americano (feat. Dcup)

11 - Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

12 - Diana Vickers - Once

13 - B.o.B - Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)

14 - Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

15 - Flo Rida - Club Can't Handle Me (feat. David Guetta)

16 - Taio Cruz - Dynamite

17 - B.o.B - Nothin' On You (feat. Bruno Mars)

--

18 - Tinie Tempah - Written In The Stars (feat. Eric Turner)

19 - Matt Cardle - When We Collide

20 - Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster

21 - Iyaz - Replay

22 - Scouting For Girls - This Ain't A Love Song

--

23 - The Wanted - All Time Low

24 - Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)

25 - Usher - OMG (feat. Will.i.am)

26 - Jason Derulo - In My Head

27 - Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go

28 - Alexandra Burke - Start Without You (feat. Laza Morgan)

29 - JLS - Love You More

30 - David Guetta - Gettin' Over You (feat. Fergie & LMFAO)

31 - Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Disco

32 - JLS - The Club Is Alive

33 - Joe McElderry - The Climb

34 - Helping Haiti - Everybody Hurts

35 - The X Factor Finalists 2010 - Heroes

36 - Shout For England - Shout (feat. Dizzee Rascal & James Corden)

A very clear divide here. I still really enjoy all of my top 17 a lot, can take or leave the next five, and don't particularly care for everything in the third section. The Time is only high because it brings a bit of nostalgia from when I used to go clubbing a lot back then, but there were way better club banger type songs out that year.

Edited Wednesday at 21:153 days by gooddelta

'Pass Out' is a good debut for Tinie. Don't think I ever loved it though but can appreciate it was a cool introduction for him and like it a fair bit more now.

'Fireflies' is a very deserving number one. I did think that would be what would come out on top for you. A really great atmospheric track and the video is superb too. Also like those 2 other songs of his too, especially 'Umbrella Beach' which I thought sounded joyful and fun.

Not at all bothered it kept Jedward or Glee off either. The former being horrendous and the latter I wasn't a fan. Much much prefer Journeys.

36 JLS - The Club Is Alive

35 Shout For England Ft Dizzee Rascal and James Corden - Shout

34 Scouting For Girls - This Ain't A Love Song

33 Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)

32 Jason Derulo - In My Head

31 X Factor Finalists 2010 - Heroes

30 Joe McElderry - The Climb

29 JLS - Love You More

28 Dizzee Rascal - Dirty Disco

27 Usher Ft Will.I.Am - OMG

26 Alexandra Burke Ft Laza Morgan - Start Without You

25 Cheryl - Promise This

24 Helping Haiti - Everybody Hurts

23 David Guetta & Chris Willis Ft Fergie and LMFAO - Gettin Over You

22 Iyaz - Replay

21 Yolanda B Cool vs D Cup - We Speak No Americano

20 Matt Cardle - When We Collide

19 Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

18 Diana Vickers - Once

17 Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster

16 Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

15 Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go

14 Roll Deep - Good Times

13 Flo Rida Ft David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me

12 Roll Deep - Green Light

11 B.o.B. Ft Hayley Williams - Airplanes

10 Taio Cruz - Dynamite

9 The Wanted - All Time Low

8 Katy Perry Ft Snoop Dogg - California Girls

7 B.o.B Ft Bruno Mars - Nothin On You

6 Owl City - Fireflies

5 Tinie Tempah - Written In The Stars

4 Lady Gaga Ft Beyoncé - Telephone

3 Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

2 Cee Lo Green - f***/Forget You

1 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Thanks Iz. Really a splendid job well done on the fantastic commentaries and the effort put in. It has been an engaging one for sure!

I’m not really familiar with Pass Out, but it’s sounding ok on first listen.

I was t a fan of Fireflies at the time, I found it really irritating. I don’t mind it now though.

34 minutes ago, gooddelta said:

Pass Out is great. My favourite memory of it is when I still worked at Asda early in the year when it came out, I was covering on the checkouts and Asda FM, known to be... eclectic and with the volume up quite loud, directly followed Vera Lynn's We'll Meet Again with Pass Out. One of the old ladies loading up her shopping on the checkout belt I was at had quite a fright when it switched from Vera – which she had been enjoying – straight into that bassline.

Cheeseblock specifically at this.

I remember at one point when I needed a more stress free job I was offered roles at Tesco and Asda. I chose Asda purely because Asda FM was actually very good! (Their Christmas playlist, in particular, was brilliant in that it had a great selection of classics, minor hits, and non hits long before streaming was really a thing.)

6 minutes ago, Juranamo said:

Cheeseblock specifically at this.

I remember at one point when I needed a more stress free job I was offered roles at Tesco and Asda. I chose Asda purely because Asda FM was actually very good! (Their Christmas playlist, in particular, was brilliant in that it had a great selection of classics, minor hits, and non hits long before streaming was really a thing.)

Yeah, pretty sure it's a large reason as to why I stayed there for over seven years. Their radio was genuinely good and diverse, a mix of old and new, hits and flops. It really made the day more enjoyable, especially when I worked when the store was shut and it was still on, e.g. early on Sunday mornings (I worked in the bakery so started as early as 4am) they would play ballads and slower numbers just for staff. You could also text in and request songs at one point.

Great Top 2, Iz!

I wouldn't place Owl City at the top of mine, but it would certainly be in the top half! I do remember when you were first on here and how much you liked Owl City though, so not that surprised at it topping this list!

'Pass Out' is iconic and I still listen to it regularly! 😍

Great countdown!

I think my top 10 would be:

1 - Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

2 - Diana Vickers - Once

3 - Taio Cruz - Dynamite

4 - Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go

5 - Lady Gaga & Beyoncé - Telephone

6 - Cheryl - Promise This

7 - Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

8 - Cee Lo Green - f*** You

9 - Owl City - Fireflies

10 -B.o.B - Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)

Good Times is a bit like Dynamite in that it's terribly dated and woefully cheap lyrically and production wise, but it's a time capsule that really takes me back, very strange chart run for it indeed getting three weeks at number 1 and then tanking down the chart, seemingly got very lucky the time it reached number 1.

A good top 5 (see last thread for my comments on Bad Romance x), it's really quite hard to describe how stratospheric Rihanna was at the time, and looking back I think she really burnt herself out in the early 2010s, and a lot of songs from that era sound like pretty timeless hits, saying that, Only Girl got too overplayed for me and never really recovered, but I will have more positive things to say about one of her number 1s next year for sure.

Airplanes was a real summer anthem for me at the time and I think it's still pretty nice in that classic 2010 style duet (much like what was the year end number 1, though I always much preferred this), I'm glad it got Hayley Williams a number 1 if anything, and I do think it's got quite a personal touch, certainly a peak for him before he ahem flatlined x

Pass Out was a real cornerstone for that new sound of grime that a lot of early 2010s rappers tried to imitate, it was especially fresh when a pioneer of the genre like Dizzee Rascal had gone full on sellout, it's still a great song with some brilliant one-liners (it's still what I think of first when I think of Scunthorpe) and excellent production, his 2010 hits were a deserved breakthrough, a shame that it was just continuing diminishing returns after that.

I suspected that number 1, but it's a worthy one, I definitely loved it more at the time, and have never got into the odd other tracks I've heard from him, but it's still a very unique number 1 with the sort of geeky, bedroom feel that relates to me very much so seeing that be a surprise January hit (helped by the publicity of the US number 1) was really great. I've not heard much of the Postal Service which I gather is why a lot of people had disdain for it so never had that connection, maybe I should listen to them x

Thanks for this, Iz, some excellent commentaries throughout. My rough top 10 would be very similar to to yours, Bad Romance would probably be my number 1 but I'll exclude it for the sake of different songs, it's definitely an overstuffed year with a lot of filler largely shaped by nostalgia with a lot of sounds that haven't dated well, but I have a fondness for most of them:

1. Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

2. Cee Lo Green - Forget You

3. Owl City - Fireflies

4. B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams - Airplanes

5. Tinie Tempah feat. Eric Turner - Written In The Stars

6. Diana Vickers - Once

7. Flo Rida vs David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me

8. Scouting For Girls - This Ain't a Love Song

9. Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup - We No Speak Americano

10. Roll Deep - Good Times

Telephone, Only Girl, Dynamite and Just The Way You Are I think would be next

Thanks for the countdown @Iz様 🌟, you did a great job!

I’m up next with the #1’s of 2011. I’ll be aiming to start that over the weekend.

Ahh the number 1 I thought you would have and this would be mine as well. Fantastic song.

First of all thank you @Iz様 🌟 for the great countdown and background information to each song. I seem to have a quite different taste compared to the majority here. Around 2010 I was listening to a lot of dubstep/grime/UK bassline, but did not focus much on what was hot in the charts. When I was coming back to pop, I checked out what I missed. Due to listening previously to all that underground grime stuff, it might that I was not very keen on the more commercial stuff like Roll Deep and Tinie Tempah and when re-listening to all #1's of 2010 "Written In The Stars" was the only song of those 2 acts which I liked. So it came of big surprise for me to see "Pass Out" that high as for me this is average at best. I love Wiley "Wearing My Rolex", but that Roll Deep stuff is painful for me. "Fireflies" is a nice song, but I never really get connected with it.

My two favourites of that list by far are "Just The Way You Are" and "Only Girl In The World" followed by "Dynamite" - pop music at its best. Here is my full ranking (not counting those who were already #1 in 2009):

1. Bruno Mars - Just the Way You Are

2. Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

3. Taio Cruz - Dynamite

4. Katy Perry; Snoop Dogg - California Gurls

5. Scouting For Girls - This Ain't a Love Song

6. Yolanda Be Cool; DCup - We No Speak Americano

7. Iyaz - Replay

8. Diana Vickers - Once

9. David Guetta; Chris Willis; Fergie - Gettin' Over

10. Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster

11. B.o.B; Hayley Williams - Airplanes

12. Lady Gaga; Beyoncé - Telephone

13. Owl City - Fireflies

14. The Wanted - All Time Low

15. CeeLo Green - Forget You

16. Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go

17. Tinie Tempah; Eric Turner - Written in the Stars

18. B.o.B; Bruno Mars - Nothin' on You

19. Jason Derulo - In My Head

20. Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Disco

21. Flo Rida; David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me

22. Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

23. Cheryl - Promise This

24. Alexandra Burke; Laza Morgan - Start Without You

25. JLS - Love You More

26. USHER; will.i.am - OMG

27. Roll Deep; Jodie Connor - Good Times

28. Helping Haiti - Everybody Hurts

29. JLS - The Club Is Alive

30. Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)

31. Shout for England; Dizzee Rascal; James Corden - Shout

32. Roll Deep - Green Light

33. Matt Cardle - When We Collide

34. X Factor Finalists 2010 - Heroes

Place 1 - 19 are great to good; 20 -24 average and 25+ I never want to hear again

Pass Out is very British, the production keeps it bangin and interesting, and the raps bliss compared to certain acts who've become massive since that shall remain nameless but sound like a constipated Dalek. And yet oddly I didnt like the lack of a hook at the time and didnt even bother to chart it. It has aged well I think.

Fireflies was and is lovely, proper tune and seemed to come out of nowhere in terms of genres popular at the time. I still like the odd Owl City single along the way too, ticks most of my music boxes and was a top 3 personal charter so good to see it on top, though it would be a bit lower down for me.

Great set of reviews Iz, very enjoyable!

Deserving no.1. Fireflies is a great track. I would have had Bruno and Cee Lo top 5 and maybe Matt Cardle higher but I think this list is generally otherwise accurate to my own thoughts.

Brilliant top two, I think 'Fireflies' is a worthy winner. I'll never tire of that song.

'Pass Out' is a fine runner-up, with the standout features being Labrinth's production ranging from video game-like to dub reggae / DnB, and Tinie's trademark "yeaaah" punctuating his verses, where the Scunthorpe lyric sticks in the memory from the catalogue of rhymes. As I mentioned, I may prefer 'Written In The Stars', but this did more for both Tinie and Labrinth in defining their new sound in the new decade.

However I'm very pleased to see 'Fireflies' at the top, a huge favourite of mine that was a pleasure to hear in such prominence during those early months of 2010. Its multi-textured sound and lyrical imagery are so delightful, and made for a wonderfully unique #1. I also hadn't heard of The Postal Service before it charted - eventually I tracked down 'Such Great Heights' a year later and could kind of see where the comparisons were coming from, but much prefer 'Fireflies' out of those songs.

I think my own top 10 would be:

1 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

2 Owl City - Fireflies

3 Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak Americano (feat. Dcup)

4 Tinie Tempah - Written In The Stars (feat. Eric Turner)

5 Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

6 Cee Lo Green - Forget You

7 Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

8 Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

9 B.o.B - Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)

10 Taio Cruz - Dynamite

Thank you Iz for this countdown and your very insightful and engaging commentaries!

I think I agree with Iz’s top 3 but I might just switch them around and slot the repeat song in towards the top. “Pass Out” wouldn’t have been my #1 at the time but I think now it’s a total one off - the way the production bubbles on it and complements the rap is just brilliant.

Thank you so much for a wonderful thread!

1 - Tinie Tempah - Pass Out

2 - Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

3 - Owl City - Fireflies

4 - B.o.B - Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams)

5 - Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

6 - Yolanda Be Cool - We No Speak Americano (feat. Dcup)

7 - Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

8 - Tinie Tempah - Written In The Stars (feat. Eric Turner)

9 - The Wanted - All Time Low

10 - Flo Rida - Club Can't Handle Me (feat. David Guetta)

11 - Lady Gaga & Beyoncé - Telephone

12 - Cee Lo Green - F You

13 - Diana Vickers - Once

14 - B.o.B - Nothin' On You (feat. Bruno Mars)

15 - Taio Cruz - Dynamite

16 - Scouting For Girls - This Ain't A Love Song

17 - Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster

18 - Roll Deep - Good Times (feat. Jodie Connor)

19 - Dizzee Rascal - Dirtee Disco

20 - Usher - OMG (feat. Will.i.am)

21 - Cheryl - Promise This

22 - Iyaz - Replay

23 - Jason Derulo - In My Head

24 - Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go

25 - Roll Deep - Green Light

26 - David Guetta - Gettin' Over You (feat. Fergie & LMFAO)

27 - Matt Cardle - When We Collide

28 - Black Eyed Peas - The Time (Dirty Bit)

29 - Katy Perry - California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg)

30 - JLS - The Club Is Alive

31 - Alexandra Burke - Start Without You (feat. Laza Morgan)

32 - JLS - Love You More

33 Joe McElderry - The Climb

34 - Shout For England - Shout (feat. Dizzee Rascal & James Corden)

35 - Helping Haiti - Everybody Hurts

36 - The X Factor Finalists 2010 - Heroes

Thanks @Iz様 🌟 for this enjoyable trip back to the 2010 #1s

1. Lady Gaga- Bad Romance

2. Usher ft will.i.am- OMG

3. Rihanna- Only Girl (In The World)

4. Flo Rida ft David Guetta- Club Can't Handle Me

5. B.O.B ft Hayley Williams- Airplanes

6. Owl City- Fireflies

7. Tinie Tempah- Pass Out

8. Tinie Tempah ft Eric Turner- Written In The Stars

9. Lady Gaga ft Beyonce- Telephone

10. Ne-Yo- Beautiful Monster

11. Jason Derulo- In My Head

12. Iyaz Replay

13. B.O.B ft Bruno Mars- Nothin' On You

14. Taio Cruz- Dynamite

15. Yolanda Be Cool and D-Cup- We No Speak Americano

16. Cheryl- Promise This

17. Diana Vickers- Once

18. Cee-Lo Green- Forget You

19. Alexandra Burke ft Laza Morgan- Start Without You

20. Matt Cardle- When We Collide

21. Black Eyed Peas- The Time (Dirty Bit)

22. Scouting For Girls- This Ain't A Love Song

23. Roll Deep- Green Light

24. Joe McElderry- The Climb

25. JLS- Love No More

26. The WANTED- All Time Low

27. Katy Perry ft Snoop Dogg- California Gurls

28. Olly Murs- Please Don't Let Me Go

29. Roll Deep- Good Times

30. David Guetta & Chris Willis ft Fergie & LMFO- Gettin' Over You

31. Dizzee Rascal- Dirtee Disco

32. Bruno Mars- Just The Way You Are (Amazing)

33. Helping Haiti- Everybody Hurts

34. JLS- The Club Is Alive

35. The X Factor Finalists 2010- Heroes

36. Shout for England ft Dizzee Rascal & James Corden- Shout