Biology, what a song <3 I love it even more now than I did at the time, think I had veered away from GA slightly in their mid 2005 dip (I wasn't super mad on Wake Me Up or Long Hot Summer, though have a lot more time for the latter these days) and this song took its time to really wow me, I suppose because it is so unconventially structured. But they were well and truly back on track with this indeed, ignoring See The Day perhaps, and elevated their career a level.

One Thing is great too, Amerie had some great brassy singles, I just wish Gotta Work had peaked higher as that to me sounded like a global hit, not a midtable one. Red Dress is decent but was never a big favourite of mine.

Forgot to comment on a couple of others. Pon De Replay is fine, catchy but Rihanna had much better to come and it really sounded like a one-hit wonder type song to me. Crazy Chick was such a great and unexpected swerve for Charlotte Church, I thoroughly enjoyed that album.

Edited Thursday at 21:333 days by gooddelta

Biology is still an extraordinary song isn’t it!

2 Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For?

avg: 9.14

👑 Pop Royalty: 11 (Juranamo, RyanFM, Chez Wombat), 10 (Nina West, Scene, ...ready for it, Roba., Henessy Lake, blacksquare, Jessie Where, Jade, Viper*, pavi, HarryInnanen)

❌ Pop Flop: 6 (ElectroBoy), 7 (DaTilt)

The wait is over to find a 9+ average as Gwen Stefani takes the runner-up spot with a strong 9.14 score.

Stefani carved out a successful career in the '90s and early 2000s as front woman of rock band No Doubt. The group formed in the late '80s but experienced their mainstream breakthrough with third album Tragic Kingdom in the mid-90s, which spawned signature song 'Don't Speak'. Stefani had a brief flirtation with solo success when she featured on Eve's 2001 track 'Let Me Blow Ya Mind', a top 5 hit here. But it wasn't until 2004, around the time she turned 35-years-old, that she'd properly launch her solo career.

Stefani was hesitant to properly break away from No Doubt but Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records was very keen for her to go solo. A breakthrough happened when fellow rock front woman Linda Perry, of 4 Non Blondes, approached Stefani at the 2003 Grammy Awards. Perry demanded that they were "gonna write songs together" to which Stefani reluctantly agreed. At the time, Gwen was exhausted from touring with No Doubt and even suffered an emotional breakdown. She wanted to rest but her label were insistent and explained that Linda Perry only had 5 days to work with her. Stefani was anxious about the idea but went ahead with it and later stated that Perry was "so incredible" when they were in the studio together. The two initially penned a song called 'Fine By You' but it didn't feel quite right. Stefani was struggling with self-consciousness and writer's block in that session and felt intimidated without her No Doubt bandmates. The two agreed to regroup the next day but Perry stayed up all night to start working on the foundations of what would become 'What You Waiting For?', to motivate Stefani.

Gwen was impressed with the sound of this new song and the two began writing lyrics. They poured the experience of Stefani's writer's block and self doubt into the words of the song. Perry also set up multiple microphones to record different "characters" for the song. The nervous side of Stefani's personality sings in a higher range, in the first person, while a more confident side contrasts this in the second person, performing in a lower fashion. The style of the song, much like a lot of debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., is inspired by new wave, synth-pop and dance-rock music from the '80s, which Stefani was very fond of. However, the track initially opens with an emotional piano solo, as a tribute to her time in No Doubt. The song was produced by Nellee Hooper who also worked on tracks for Club Classics Vol. I by Soul II Soul, Björk's Post, Massive Attack's Protection and Madonna's Bedtime Stories amongst others.

'What You Waiting For?' not only introduces Gwen as a solo star but is also the launchpad of the Harajuku Girls, four Japanese and Japanese-American backing dancers, that are present throughout her entire debut era and beyond. Stefani was inspired by the Gothic Lolita and cyberpunk fashions of women in Harajuku when she first saw them in 1996. The idea for this backing dancer group came to her when writing 'What You Waiting For?'. The girls are mentioned in the lyrics of the song and also appear in the music video.

The video for 'What You Waiting For?' was directed by Francis Lawrence. He was also behind the visuals for 'Play' by Jennifer Lopez and later moved into film-making. The video directly touches on the lyrical content of 'What You Waiting For?' as Stefani is desperately searching for inspiration to write a song. After a failed studio attempt, she finds a flyer advertising help for writer's block. She fills out a suspicious questionnaire and soon finds herself in a fantasy world. These visuals are inspired by the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Stefani plays several characters from the books - including Alice, the White Queen and Red Queen, while wearing Galliano dresses.

'What You Waiting For?' only reached #47 in the U.S. but was a smash hit in other parts of the world, including here in the U.K., where it peaked at #4. This was part of an opening trio of #4 hits for Stefani, following aforementioned Eve collaboration 'Let Me Blow Ya Mind', plus follow-up 'Rich Girl' which also featured Eve. 'What You Waiting For?' was the third highest debut of the week when it was released in the U.K., behind Girls Aloud's 'I'll Stand By You' at #1 and Lemar's 'If There's Any Justice' at #3. It was also the 66th best selling hit of the year here after less than two months on sale. Across the pond, the song was later nominated for a Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy but lost out to 'Sunrise' by Norah Jones.

Juranamo, RyanFM and Chez Wombat thought this was a pretty hot track indeed, awarding Gwen their 11s. However, ElectroBoy was less convinced it was worth the wait, scoring it with a lowest mark of 6. Pretty good going that everyone found this song at least above average.

1 thing is a bop

Biology is one of Girls aloud most underrated tracks top 3 is deserving

What you waiting for ? Well we are waiting for you to reveal the number 1 @Jade otherwise another great track from miss Stefani

What You Waiting For? is another excellent song. A worthy top 4!

1 Britney Spears - Toxic

avg: 9.61

👑 Pop Royalty: 11 (DaTilt, Nina West, Lee_J11, Henessy Lake, Jade, AllStarBySmashMouth, Tafty, Julian_, JosephStyles, Lukuzz, Bror, HarryInnanen), 10 (Doug, Juranamo, Josh!, Scene, Mack., Paddington James, blacksquare, Jessie Where, RyanFM, Viper*, troublepink, Jaz13music, Chez Wombat, pavi)

❌ Pop Flop: 1 (jimwatts), 5 (777666jason)

The majority of BuzzJack is intoxicated by this Britney Spears hit as she has decisively won the Pop Princesses 3 rate! Not only is she victorious here, but Britney also attracted the highest average across all three rates, as a score of 9.61 trumps 9.39 for Sophie Ellis-Bextor's 'Murder On the Dancefloor' in the first rate, plus Anastacia's 9.55 for 'Left Outside Alone' in Pop Princesses 2.

Spears' fourth album In The Zone was launched with Madonna collaboration 'Me Against the Music'. This song reached #2 here in the U.K. but could only make #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. On paper, this first single made sense, as a superstar collaboration. But the true smash of the era was waiting in the wings. This strategy feels reminiscent of the single choices for Thriller, when big name collaboration 'The Girl Is Mine' featuring Paul McCartney was pushed first, before launching 'Billie Jean' to the world next. Britney Jean's secret weapon instead came in the form of 'Toxic'...

'Toxic' was written by a team including British singer-songwriter Cathy Dennis plus Swedish talents Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and Henrik Jonback. Winneberg and Jonback are more commonly known as Bloodshy & Avant, who also produced the track. The song was originally written with Janet Jackson in mind but was instead offered to Kylie Minogue, who previously worked with Cathy Dennis on her biggest ever hit 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head'. However, Minogue turned the song down after hearing a snippet of it. In more recent interviews, she said she was unsure about recording a song called 'Toxic'. Kylie was a good sport and said she was not angry when it became a big hit for Spears.

Britney recorded the song in Murlyn Studios, Sweden and Record Plant in Los Angeles. The lyrics act as a metaphor for a lover who is like a dangerous, addictive drug. Kylie may not have recorded this track in the end but it still contains a lyric that talks of "spinning round and round", much like one of her biggest hits. 'Toxic' is a dance-pop song that also fuses elements of South Asian music. It contains a string sample from 'Tere Mere Beech Mein' by Laxmikant–Pyarelal, a Bollywood song from 1981.

The music video for 'Toxic' was shot by Joseph Kahn who had previously worked with Britney for her 'Stronger' video. She plays a member of cabin crew in a memorable blue ensemble. Britney's other standout look as a blonde is donning a flesh coloured outfit that is covered in diamonds. Elsewhere, she becomes a redhead and also rocks jet black hair. The visuals are influenced by a few other pieces of media. The birds at the very start are a reference to the works of Hong Kong director John Woo. The scene of Spears, as a redhead, standing in a futuristic Paris is a nod to Blade Runner. This look, with the red hair and catsuit, is inspired by Jennifer Garner's character Sydney Bristow in the TV show Alias. Finally, Brit took cues from the Marilyn Monroe film The Seven Year Itch when the draft from a motorbike lifts up her dress in the music video. The choreography throughout was handled by Spears and Brian Friedman; the latter very briefly replaced Louis Walsh as a judge in the 2007 series of the X Factor U.K. The elaborate dance moves in the video include a back handspring when Spears is trying to dodge a Mission Impossible style laser trap. The video has gone on to become one of Britney's most iconic, however, MTV shunted it to late-night slots only at the time, in the wake of Janet Jackson's Super Bowl controversy. Their 2004 statement on the matter included: "...given the particular sensitivity in the culture right now, we're erring on the side of caution for the immediate future".

'Toxic' was the course correction needed for this era in the States as it became Britney's fourth top 10 hit there, peaking at #9. In the Zone was off to a fine start here in the U.K. but the success of this song took it up a notch, as 'Toxic' was a U.K. #1 hit. This song blocked 'Cha Cha Slide' by DJ Casper from the top although that would get its turn the following week. 'Toxic' was the 9th best-selling song of 2004 here. It was Britney's fourth U.K. #1 single, following: '...Baby One More Time', 'Born to Make You Happy' and 'Oops! I Did It Again...'. 'Toxic' is responsible for Britney's sole Grammy Award as it won in the 'Best Dance Recording' category at the 2005 ceremony. Long term, 'Toxic' became Britney's first song to pass 1 Billion streams on Spotify and is very close to crossing the 2 Billion mark now too. The song made many end of decade critic lists and also features on Rolling Stone's '500 Greatest of All Time' list. The Glee Cast later charted a cover of it in the top 40 and it was used as Melanie Martinez's audition song for The Voice.

Britney received a staggering twelve sets of 11, from: DaTilt, Nina West, Lee_J11, Henessy Lake, Jade, AllStarBySmashMouth, Tafty, Julian_, JosephStyles, Lukuzz, Bror and HarryInnanen. However, she also got a far less flattering 1 from jimwatts, who was not so under its spell.

Congratulations to Britney Spears for winning the Pop Princesses 3 rate 👑

FULL RESULTS

Pop Princesses 3

1	9.61	Britney Spears - Toxic
2	9.14	Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For?
3	8.93	Girls Aloud - Biology
4	8.51	Amerie - 1 Thing
5	8.40	Rihanna - Pon De Replay (3 11s, 6 10s)
6	8.40	Charlotte Church - Crazy Chick (3 11s, 5 10s)
7	8.10	Sugababes - Red Dress
8	7.94	Rachel Stevens - Some Girls
9	7.81	Nelly Furtado - Turn Off the Light
10	7.49	P!nk - Trouble
11	7.43	Ciara - Goodies (feat. Petey Pablo) (4 10s)
12	7.43	The Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha (feat. Busta Rhymes) (2 10s)
13	7.39	t.A.T.u. - All About Us
14	6.99	Atomic Kitten - The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)
15	6.81	Mis-teeq - Can't Get It Back
16	5.97	Ashlee Simpson - Boyfriend
17	5.91	Dannii Minogue & The Soul Seekerz - Perfection
18	5.64	Louise - Pandora's Kiss
19	5.26	Lindsay Lohan - Over

Pop Princesses 2

1	9.55	Anastacia - Left Outside Alone
2	9.02	Avril Lavigne - My Happy Ending
3	9.00	Sugababes - Freak Like Me
4	8.66	Natasha Bedingfield - These Words (2 11s, 9 10s)
5	8.66	P!nk - Don't Let Me Get Me (2 11s, 8 10s)
6	8.45	Kylie Minogue - Better the Devil You Know
7	8.21	JoJo - Leave (Get Out)
8	7.97	Beyoncé - Crazy In Love (feat. Jay-Z)
9	7.92	The 411 - Dumb
10	7.82	Girls Aloud - Wake Me Up
11	7.42	Nina Sky - Move Ya Body (feat. Jabba)
12	7.02	Ashanti - Only U
13	6.98	Jennifer Lopez - Play
14	6.97	Dannii Minogue vs. Flower Power - You Won't Forget About Me
15	6.92	Ashlee Simpson - Pieces Of Me
16	6.84	Britney Spears - My Prerogative
17	6.77	Lucie Silvas - Breathe In
18	6.69	Christina Aguilera - What a Girl Wants
19	6.21	Christina Milian - Whatever U Want (feat. Joe Budden)
20	6.11	Rachel Stevens - More, More, More
21	5.05	Kim-Lian - Teenage Superstar
22	4.92	Verbalicious - Don't Play Nice

Pop Princesses

1	9.39	Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor
2	9.21	t.A.T.u. - All The Things She Said
3	9.14	Mis-Teeq - Scandalous
4	8.95	Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle
5	8.82	Avril Lavigne - Complicated
6	8.48	Rachel Stevens - Sweet Dreams My LA Ex
7	8.30	Kylie Minogue - Spinning Around
8	8.09	Anastacia - I'm Outta Love
9	8.02	P!nk - Get The Party Started
10	7.96	Destiny's Child - Survivor
11	7.82	Christina Milian - AM To PM
12	7.77	Emma Bunton - Maybe
13	7.63	Stacie Orrico - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life
14	7.57	Amy Studt - Misfit
15	7.50	Sugababes - In The Middle
16	7.13	Jennifer Lopez - Jenny From The Block
17	7.09	Girls Aloud - Jump
18	6.96	Lumidee - Never Leave You (Uh Oooh!)
19	6.86	Kelly Clarkson - Miss Independent
20	6.75	Delta Goodrem - Born To Try
21	6.66	Holly Valance - Kiss Kiss
22	6.23	Hilary Duff - So Yesterday
23	5.34	Atomic Kitten - Ladies Night

Thank you to everyone who submitted a rate during this series or just followed along it was good fun to watch the scores come in, write commentaries and source many glitter graphics straight out of 2006. This brought back a lot of nostalgia from growing up with the compilations as a kid. I hope you all enjoyed taking part. 🫶

Of course Toxic is undeniable, hard to argue with that outcome really.

Thanks again for your great work Jade, I really enjoyed following along!

I can understand why toxic won , I just think its overrated by her standards but it wasnt bad enough for a 1 vote 🤣

Edited yesterday at 19:341 day by 777666jason

Sorry if I missed this and if there has been many posts asking for the same thing but...

How long is the ban for @jimwatts from that absolute SLANDER of a vote for Britney?

2 hours ago, Jade said:

1 Britney Spears - Toxic

Oh that’s MOTHER

Whilst I can accept that people feel it’s overplayed and that they’re kinda sick of it (I don’t disagree to an extent), it’s still truly a modern day classic and the fact that people would name this as the pinnacle of her career (WHEN BABY ONE MORE TIME EXISTS), just shows what an iconic slice of pop this is ❤️

Oh and @jimwatts , sleep with one eye open xoxo

Oh yay best song won

Pretty good results in this on the whole. I’d have had “Turn Off The Light” a fair bit higher - I really like its folky charm. But the top few are all great.

I’m not a Britney fan but “Toxic” is hands down her best work and one of the best pop songs of the decade. I think Jim must have just missed a 1 from his score.

Thanks Jade again!

"Toxic" by far the outstanding song on this comp full of great songs - deserved winner!!! 12 times 11 points is a clear message.

Biology isn't my absolute favourite Girls Aloud song, but definitely appreciate its innovative structure and classic Xenomania sound.

What You Waiting For is such a wonderful pop song, so immediately striking, unique and filled with personality, it was everything you'd hope for from as unique a frontwoman as Gwen (although I knew her solo before I knew she was in No Doubt so can't fully comment on expectations that led up to that, ha x)

But Toxic is a worthy winner indeed, not much else I can add about it, one of the undisputed all time great pop songs (or at least I thought undisputed until I saw Jim's score :o) and was always going to slay competition here.

Thanks Jade for running these, I never bought these albums, but it's been nice to relive some great female pop moments of the 2000s and the commentary on each song has been really interesting to read.

A great top 3 there. All highlights from each artist.

Thanks for hosting these Jade. Been nice following and taking part and the commentaries have been fab!

Unsurprising winner and while not my favourite on the compilation it’s still an undeniable moment of pop excellence.

Thank you for running all of this Jade and the work you’ve put into the commentary, it’s all been fab!

Oh yes, also thank you @Jade

Jim said he only gave Toxic such a low score to try and stop it from getting an easy victory but the sheer number of those max votes put pay to that.

Not among my faves of hers actually but still a good song overall. But the other 2 rate winners are leagues better.

Thank you for the kind words ❤️

Just had a look back at my spreadsheets and @Bror was the only person who gave 11 to all three of the winners! *.*