gooddelta

Quite enjoyed the partial Neighbours cast soundtrack in the Vic for the send-off to Australia (Stefan Dennis, Holly Valance, Jason Donovan). I wonder if including those (especially Stefan as a current cast member) was partly a deliberate nod in tribute to Neighbours ending as there are plenty of other Aussie artists that could have been played. Or maybe it's just a reflection of how much of Australia's music industry originated in Neighbours.

For sure, I think the meandering chart run and late peak is apt for this song because it's quite unusual and did take its time to grow on many.

Absolutely adored (and bought) Nature's Law. Agree it sounds like a prototype for the Take That comeback, I'll never forget Popjustice's (kind of accurate) view that it sounds like it was recorded by a stuck cow (Danny's voice is certainly sounding quite affected in parts on that record but I still love it <3) So Sick I find completely average, so I expect it would be in around here or a little lower for me. I did like a lot of Ne-Yo's stuff after his first album though.

All Saints - Never Ever Rate: 10/10 Reason: Into the top three with the first song I consider, basically, to be perfect. 1998 had about five songs of this nature, although this wasn't one of them...because it was released in November 1997! All Saints had launched their chart career with the cool I Know Where It's At, which hit No.4 right at the end of summer 1997, although Shaznay Lewis and Melanie Blatt had a minor top 100 hit a few years earlier when the group featured another member alongside the pair and was called All Saints 1.9.7.5. Anyway, fast forward to winter 1997 and it was, of course, time for a ballad. Co-written by Shaznay, the song owes a lot to Amazing Grace, at least in terms of the chord structure. But adds to that a captivating spoken word intro from Nicole Appleton against a piano backing and then after one minute of that, the silky smooth vocals of Mel and then Shaznay come in, while Nicole and Natalie Appleton bulk out the song with beautiful harmonies. Shaznay even teaches us the two different ways to say the letter 'Z'! And then there's a great outro that changes the dynamic of the song further too; 'you can tell me to my face...' I doubt anybody really imagined when the song had moved 3-5-6 in its first three weeks that it would emerge as a No.1 contender after the Christmas rush in early 1998, but that's what happened, the track reaching No.1 in its 9th week when (iirc) it had already sold three quarters of a million copies - the most any track had sold prior to hitting the top. But in many ways 1998 feels more fitting a year to top the charts for the song because, while All Saints were part of the fabric of 1997, it was 1998 where they were absolutely everywhere, dominating the airwaves and newspaper front pages, and hitting the top spot with three different singles. I was relieved that Never Ever got to No.1, because it would have been absolutely criminal for the song to have been saddled with a lower peak - it's a modern pop classic that won British Single of the Year at the 1998 BRIT Awards and set the group up for bigger things. A very cool and smooth production, its influence on music would be heard for years to come in singles like Pure and Simple by Hear'Say, as well as the launch of plenty of girlbands with a cooler vibe to them. The track also peaked at No.1 in Australia and New Zealand and reached the top ten across most of Europe. My fondest memory of it is my best friend in primary school randomly singing the word 'isolated' from the song in class during a quiet study period, me bursting out laughing while the room was silent, and the pair of us getting kicked out of class!

It’s time… for Mr Blobby. The 1993 Christmas No.1 now streaming.

Oh my, an immediate purchase. I was so OBSESSED with this album, I bought the CD on import months before it was released in the UK.

Star Girl is my favourite McFly song and the only one I listen to regularly of theirs, it has a real charm to it that I can't put my finger on exactly <3 Not big on Smack That or Nasty Girl so not too fussed to see them so low! The latter probably slightly better for me and it felt like something of a mini surprise chart topper at the time. At least Biggie had one to his name I guess but he had far better material. Interesting nugget of info there with the Twitter 'micro blogging' site, retro indeed!

Yes, who on earth let Spacedust in for a week when all of these great singles were primed and ready to go the following week. Surely one of them could have moved forward Was the Culture Club song a surprise top five hit, or was it expected to go in around the mid top ten and it just overperformed a little? As much as I like seeing a successful revival, I definitely don't remember hearing it anywhere near as much as those other four songs.

I went for S Club 7 although both tracks are great. Good to see that Don't Stop Movin' did so well in Australia, not sure I realised it was so big there!

Made a cheeky edit to my post to include Lentyll as not received any votes so far and the popularity of bbno$ on BuzzJack was an oversight. Not sure about a winner contender still tbh but must be in the mix for a hit somewhere.

Absolutely… not the only contender.

I only own Tales of a Librarian, but apparently had overlooked Spark. Generally I love her ballads most, like Winter and Silent All These Years.

Added!

Cool, updated. It's a great track, I confess I didn't know it well until Now decided to put it on the '98 Yearbook earlier this year.

Rather one sided for me, the OutKast song is a classic <3 Bob should have remained a one-hit wonder.

I did wonder why Tori's track wasn't submitted with the music video, was that an oversight @dandy* or a conscious choice? Obviously happy to change it if you want.

BJSC/180/Entry For our second AQ in three months, but the first we have been aware we were definitely getting since 2014, we have gone a little closer to home than Estonia and selected promising new art-rock group Man/Woman/Chainsaw, a mixed six-piece group hailing all the way from London, with their new single Only Girl. Made up of Billy Ward (vocals, guitars), Emmie-Mae Avery (vocals, keys/synths), Vera Leppänen (vocals, bass), Clio Starwood (violin), Lola Cherry (drums), and Billy Doyle (guitar), the group are all aged around 20 and their profile is currently on the up. Vera Leppänen sings lead vocals on the track, which Stereogram described as "90s pop-rock hooks with some striking violin and piano flourishes". Ricardo Delta of the RTVN explained the entry choice: "Choosing a home entry to represent you is not the easiest task. It's very easy to get lost or send either the same kind of song that you did before in the hopes of another hit, or something completely different that wouldn't make it through the semis, just because. "We considered doing all of the above and then threw everything to one side when we heard Only Girl, because we were immediately struck by the violin intro and then the rest of the track grabbed us in much the same way. We can hear shades of acts ranging from The Last DInner Party through to The Cure, but even similarities to some acts we have sent before like FIZZ and The Rua. We love a mixed gender group, we love a violin, and we love a great melody - throw it all together and you have an act that we could see doing rather well in the future. They may be an indie rock act but you can hear the commercial/pop elements coming through on Only Girl, and we are proud to have Man/Woman/Chainsaw representing FSR Rontvia in BJSC 180, here in Constarvan. Only Girl will be competing in the final for FSR Rontvia as our 10th qualifier of the year, therefore completing the calendar year qualification that we missed out on last year after falling at the final hurdle. The song has made an immediate impact in FSR Rontvia, debuting at No.1. Interest for the contest is at a very high level this month and many of the entries are anticipated to be huge hits in our December chart.

YouTube playlists now added to the first post, and I've put a strobe warning on Aesthetica too FYI.

Entered! Complete stabs in the dark on each one but I figured answering after the Sunday First Look would just confuse me as it's nonsense most of the time. Thanks for arranging Mango, a thinker for sure!

Ok thanks will add. Likewise if any others feel the same please shout.

It reminded me of My Wing and other ravey folk entries, I really think it will do big things. Especially with some of the returning participants who don’t strike me as necessarily pop or alt bloc countries so will go big for the other sounds.

I hadn’t seen this yet and your chart must be the first mention of my entry on BuzzJack, even beating it into my own chart lol. Cool to send something you already like, I heard it on NMF last week and was won over immediately by the violin intro and thankfully the rest of the song was just as good so I quickly confirmed it, obsessed! Chainsaw there and Chains at the top For Good was sounding good although I haven’t seen the film yet, I used to love a version of it by Delta Goodrem and LeAnn Rimes recorded in the 00s.

The semis have come out fairly mixed, each seems to have a good mix of pop, alt, dance and other, and with a few big contenders in both, although Semi 2 on first glance has more depth of quality based on my first listens. Btw, if I have the wrong version of anybody's song on Spotify, please shout. I'm happy that all the entries are on there but haven't cross checked all of the versions with the YouTube links provided yet as just wanted to get the semis up to maximise voting time.

Ooh amazing! I heard it last week and felt it was the kind of song I have been crying out for - a catchy indie/rock/pop song but with a prominent violin line ❤️

Before we get any votes or see any discussion or hype, RontBet are posting their one and only prediction for this month: We consider the win to be between Ojnoj, Bøtanikkä and FARC, with Ajanaeda, Cor Lupus, Danæviia, Aeroche, Hendinia, Cumulonimbia and Zanmatony in the top ten mix. We also predict big hits for Taahino, Aesthetica, Lentyll, POPHub, Jadakissnia, N DNTN, Neliönoir, Summericia, Herbilore, Utopia, Kathaldazia, The Spodic Empire and Elëdan among many others, in what is sure to be a competitive final contest of the year. That's it from us this month, over to you!