gooddelta

2011... a contest to forget with a scoreboard to forget. Quite a lot of great songs, but Popular aside they all tanked. Running Scared is - at best - a 15 point DNQ. I have no idea how it won with such ropey vocals and with nothing going for it. Miracle would have made my top 10 over Hold Me (and I still don't love that) but other than that I agree.

I really like that track, I think it's still possibly my favourite One Direction single and probably in my top ten No.1s of the year. Big pop that's held up well for the era. I'm glad they went the pure pop route with their first album rather than with club banger type songs like JLS and The Wanted, as I think it has helped it to date less badly.

Had to try and stay awake to get through the Example number. Moves Like Jagger completely robbed there, moreso than on most other weeks. Also Ed's You Need Me, I Don't Need You was released that week and 'only' got to No.4. Always funny how that kind of quickly came and went in the UK chart when it's such a big fan favourite and still a main staple in his live shows. Not sure they got the studio version for the single mix quite right though, I prefer the rawness of the live version and earlier studio/demo recordings, possibly a little overproduced.

MGMT, even though it's great. The other three are big favourites of mine.

Dance With Me. It was all over the music channels back in the day, but can't say I go back to it that much.

Not a country I am fond of particularly but agree that Always was a deserved hit and I did like Drip Drop, I actually feel that underperformed and deserved a place or two higher. Hold Me is the true baffling hit for me, second place??????! But then it will have been due to antics anyway. The 2013 full results remain unpublished to this day.

Pretty sure the version of Heartbroken by T2 on streaming is a re-recorded vocal too, certainly doesn’t sound quite right to me.

Yeah it's mainly the intro vocals on Saltwater that changed, if you compare it to the Now 43 version. It got replaced on streaming by that other version years ago but isn't the hit version. This was the hit version in 1999, I recently replaced it on BuzzJack Presents 1999 as the version Now used was only available at the time we compiled that. Weird, because the version on Now 43 of Hey Boy Hey Girl was definitely on the radio at the time with that intro, strange they were playing an album version if this radio edit was available.

This is the worst one, surely! Jenny wasn't even in the band until 2001. But yeah, you're right on Steps, Westlife and 911 too (oops at the album versions that don't have as much oomph). Thank goodness they used the hit versions of ATB and The Corrs <3 The latter deserved a spot on the vinyl.

Saltwater, King Of My Castle and Hey Boy Hey Girl all aren't quite right either. I think the former is a 2008 vocal re-record (Chicane finally added the original 1999 version to streaming last week), Wamdue Project and Chemical Brothers just aren't the versions on now 44/Now 43. Sometimes and Secret Smile also aren't the single versions. Interesting that Shania is the correct UK mix though after being listed as the album version.

I always order bang on midnight of release day from Amazon, and 90% of the time they will deliver between 5pm and 10pm on the Friday, even if beforehand they have shown a later delivery date. I did that last night and it's coming later today. I would prefer to use HMV but I can't get there on a Friday, and I find their online service very patchy. When I've ordered with them I either get stuff a day early or several days late. I know it's down to Royal Mail and isn't necessarily their fault when it's late though.

Pixie is like a female JLS conundrum. Riding high by copying whatever the in sound was at the time to grab a hit. Her first album was really great pop, one of my favourites, and while it aped that soul pop vibe, a lot of the album tracks and later singles were more pure pop, but I didn't care much for the second album. I'd probably rank this track in about the same area, quite fun and nice to see her get another No.1, but did feel a bit like a box ticking exercise to get another hit, and it does sound dated indeed now. Kudos to her for serving a brave follow-up in What Do You Take Me For? though, which didn't sound like it was chasing trends. Looking at that release week, All Fired Up is by far the better pop song for me.

I ordered the delxue CD and vinyl from Amazon, should come later this evening. Not too bothered about the vinyl usually but 1999 was one of my favourite years. Got Cascada's Everytime We Touch album vinyl at the same time

Bronzil beats Brazil! Congrats Jim. Well deserved win, a very inspired choice. Netherlands was great, as good as many of my main contest BJSC 18s, nice one Scene! 9th is a great finish for She Past Away, I had a good look around for an act I hadn't already sent to the main contest but got stuck on this one as I enjoyed it so much again from them. Glad it did well for them again. Thanks Dan for a great spin-off, a lot of fun with some nice discoveries.

I enjoyed both of these but one was my top scorer.

Knowing BuzzJack, England/MEEK for the win. Would love to see Netherlands personally.

Loved Japan, shame it's not on Spotify!

I enjoyed the Swedish entry, shame to see it knocked out. Glad She Past Away have progressed!

Linkin Park

The Game again

Quite a statement debut single, not sure it was in a good way, but the album had some better stuff on it. Living by the seaside growing up, the melody Oh My Darling Clementine just reminds me of amusement arcades at the beach which always had that melody pumping out.

Think this might be the worst thing i've heard this year. Absolutely drowned in autotune, and the lyrics don't rhyme at all and sound so clunky all the way through 🥲 Eternal Kane would have been more fitting.

Are there enough significant extra tracks for it to potentially steal the streams away from 50 Years - Don't Stop, or are all the songs included on that already anyway? As it looks like this will be the biggest 'selling' album of the 2020s unless something puts a fly in the ointment, like another compilation being expanded.

The middle eight of this is genuinely always in my head. "It's Neville to Cambell Cambell to Rio Rio to Scholesy Scholesy Gerrard Gerrard to Beckham Beckham to Heskey Heskey to Owen, to Nodd (five one)" Wavin' Flag and Waka Waka are great, we were spoilt in 2010, not by Shout though, which just spoilt it for us.

I found Wasted Love too contrived to enjoy unfortunately, it's like it was a meticulously crafted tick box exercise for jury points. I can't deny JJ's talent though. And the last 30 seconds of the track I enjoy for the switch up. Conchita was a great winner for the contest, a grand sounding production and an amazing performance. But the studio version isn't exactly a track I rush to play, and I feel this is why it was so low in the odds until the semis. Conchita is the real star in the package and sold it so beautifully. I didn't get much out of Nobody But You, but I do see why the juries liked it, it's a well sung strong composition. I really enjoy Loin D’Ici, the juries undermarked this a little I feel. Just checking some of the stuff I don't know, Keine Mauern Mehr sounds good, I need to go through the 90s contests properly. Falter Im Wind sounds nice too.