Herbs

Pussycat Dolls…. I mean Libertines…. I mean Katy Perry….. Ok go on then, Stereophonics

Craig David

What a surprise!

6 Beyonce If I Were A Boy #2s held off #1: None If you don't like ballads or someone gushing over them, this post is not for you! Next up is Beyonce's 4th number one. I actually find it crazy that in the 18 years since, she has only reached the summit two more times! For me, Beyonce fits into that bracket of artists who can effortlessly flit between genres and still produce cracking songs. This would be evidenced during her Sasha Fierce era with follow up releases including genre hopping hits in 'Single Ladies', the glorious 'Halo', 'Diva', 'Sweet Dreams', 'Broken Hearted Girl'. I actually didn't know before writing this that there is some controversy over 'If I Were A Boy'. The song was originally written by relatively unknown songwriters BC Jean and Toby Gad. Jean wrote the song post-break up, upon realising that thoughts of going on a diet would not even be considered if she were a boy. Jean presented the song to her record company, who rejected it. Beyonce then got hold of it, recorded it and released it as a single. Jean was initially hurt that something so raw and personal had been released in this way, expressing these views on social media. I adore this song and video - especially the black and white aesthetic, interspersed with the story of gender imbalance. As someone who loves a good story-telling ballad, I was pleasantly surprised that this song reached number one. And before I forget - Michelle Williams' solo output is soooooo underrated. 'We Break The Dawn' was also released in 2008 and just missed reaching the top 40. I firmly believe if Beyonce had released it, it would have been a big hit.....

All I can say is the Take That haters are all wrong! Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong 😜

Ouch - with Coldplay and Duffy then I've taken out some people's number ones

Let's do a protest vote!

Really looking forward to hearing one more song from lesser known artists. Although think it's obvious who is in contention to get through

The shock for me is Lily! I can guess who voted against her

Don’t be shy with the Take That hate guys!!!

One half of The Ting Tings as well!

Hang on so Duffy wasn’t your other song?!

Just to pre-warn - I am planning on finishing this countdown by the end of this week, as I'm off on hols for 2 weeks. My final six in alphabetical order are: Beyonce - If I Were A Boy Estelle ft Kanye West - American Boy Girls Aloud - The Promise Leona Lewis - Run Pink - So What The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

7 Take That Greatest Day #2s held off #1: None Now be nice! I like this song. I like the anthemic feel of it. I also think it's a great number one. I'll admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of Take That first time round. But that's probably because my primary school 'girlfriend' was obsessed with them and maybe I was a little jealous. She was heartbroken when they originally split, although I don't think she was heartbroken enough to call the special hotline set up for grieving fans. I do have a nice memory of taping 'Back for Good' off the radio though - that is and will always be a superb number one. This song would become their 11th number one (only one more has followed) and their third post comeback (after 'Patience' and 'Shine'). It came off the back of a monster hit in 'Rule The World' the year before (one of my fave TT singles). If I could choose which of the two songs would get number one, I would have selected Rule The World, but they stupidly released the same week as Leona Lewis' 'Bleeding Love'...... This song also inspired the jukebox musical based around the bands music. 'Greatest Days' was originally titled 'The Band' and featured a fictional band that comprised of winning contestants on the reality show 'Let It Shine' (which a certain Callum Scott-Howells of 'It's A Sin' fame auditioned for). I never saw the stage musical, but have watched the film version (featuring comedian Aisling Bea) more than once. IMO it's a superb film, which puts many of Take That's songs to good use, including this one.

Yeah I fully expect Mercy would have been in a lot of people’s top 3 - so was a bit nervous about this reveal!

And still no Take That appearance! What the hell am I doing?!

8 Duffy Mercy #2s held off #1: Nickelback - Rockstar, H Two O ft Platnum - What's It Gonna Be, Leona Lewis - Better In Time/Footprints In The Sand It's time for me to tell a story (and make it all about me for a bit!) In 2003, 18 year old Herbs wanted a fresh start. After going through a pretty sucky time in 6th form, the opportunity arose to head off to Uni. And after falling in love with the place on an Open Day, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (since renamed to Aberystwyth University) called my name. A world away from the rest of the world. It was perfect. Yet during my 1st year of uni, I was still firmly in the closet and not ready to be myself. I went to over half of my lectures (some with a certain Green Party leader - my new claim to fame!), but on the whole I went in on myself. TV, music and forums (Cool Clarity at the time) were my comfort blanket. For you young folk, this was back in the day of square box TV sets and five channels. C4 was my constant fave - home to one of my all time fave shows in The Secret Life Of Us. But at points during the day certain programmes were replaced with S4C - the Welsh version of channel 4. Where does all this link to Duffy you might ask?! Well, it turns out, Wales had their own version of X Factor. It was titled 'Wawffactor' and ended up having three seasons. I think I casually watched it at different points. Think X Factor on a heavily reduced budget and you'll get the idea. Across the 3 seasons, none of the winners really amounted to much. But two of the runners up did. One was Peaky Blinders actress Aimee-Ffion Edwards. The other was a certain Aimee Duffy. Four years after she finished runner up on Wawffactor, she'd re-appear as Duffy. And 'Mercy' was an instant smash, spending five weeks at number one and holding off newly crowned X Factor winner Leona Lewis and Nickelback. This was followed by further hits and a massive album in Rockferry. Back in 2008 I was more of an Adele fan - and I remember some people comparing Adele & Duffy, with the latter seeing more success with their first albums. Many expected Duffy to return with a big second album, particularly when we know what became of Adele! But a poorly judged advert appearance and the lukewarm reception to the 2nd album's lead single stopped any momentum Duffy had. Still this is a cracking pop song and the one that I grew to like more over the years.

Damn watch it be my number 8!

Jakatta - but this is clearly going to win Go on then - vote the 'phonics out!

Down 4 U I have 2 clear faves here - Jack & Vanessa. Hope they last a few rounds

Think I'm the same with the Coldplay song I should have added to Katy Perry - I prefer Hot N Cold and Thinking Of You (video featuring an early celeb crush of mine in Matt Dallas)

Am I surprised our rankings wouldn't align?!

And oh dear guys, still no Take That. I must be really trolling the lot of you! But sorry (not sorry), there's a reason I love every song still to appear! Slight spoiler - the next song is a song I liked but didn't love upon release. Over time I've found myself appreciating it more :) Songs still to appear in alphabetical order: Beyonce - If I Were A Boy Duffy - Mercy Estelle ft Kanye West - American Boy Girls Aloud - The Promise Leona Lewis - Run Pink - So What Take That - Greatest Day The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name

9 Katy Perry I Kissed A Girl #2s held off #1: The Script - The Man Who Can't Be Moved, Eric Prydz - Pjanoo I've always loved how subjective music is - and that extends to how you can personally like/relate to songs. If I'd done this ranking in 2008, this song would probably have appeared near the top. I looooove a good pop song, with a catchy hook. Always have, always will. And this hit all the marks when it was released. There's a reason it spent five weeks at the top (and thankfully ended Kid Rock's reign). Based on chart stats, it was a debut release ~ debut number one scenario. But Katy's success did not come out of nowhere. Seven years earlier, under her actual name 'Katy (short for Kathery) Hudson' released her debut album 'Katy Hudson'. I remember reading the story of this album and how it came from a singer so far removed from the singer we know today - heavily routed in Christian Pop and not a cheeky lyric in sight. Not to be confused with the actress Kate Hudson, Katy changed her industry name to 'Katy Perry' and left her Christian routes behind. Before her debut Katy Perry album she released the EP 'Ur So Gay'. For those of you who remember that song, I'll let you make your minds up about what you think about the song now! And then we move onto 'I Kissed A Girl'. In a way it's quite surprising that this song was so embraced by the music world. Some saw it as offensive to the LGBTQIA+ community, fetishising what it means to have a same sex kiss. Others saw it as a gateway to starting their own journey. To be honest, I am never sure what I think (and the aforementioned 'Ur So Gay' song). I kind of have to take it as something of the era - which in itself is a slight echoing of the heavily gendered culture of the 90's and early 00's. Katy would go from strength to strength, scoring four more number one singles and countless other hits. She's recently had quite a dramatic decline from the top, but remains a constant figure in the US due to her role on the American Idol panel.

10 Coldplay Viva La Vida #2s held off #1: None Next up is a little known group called Coldplay! The group had first appeared on the charts almost a decade earlier and quickly became a juggernaut on the world stage. By 2008, they'd released three massive selling number one albums and released countless hits. But somehow none of them had reached the top spot in the UK Charts. They had peaked at number two twice with 'In My Place' and 'Speed of Sound', although I think we can all agree they had bigger songs in their discography (i.e. 'Yellow' and personal faves of mine, 'Trouble', 'Fix You' and 'The Scientist'). And for this release the stars aligned. The similarly titled album had hit number one the week before and the momentum that came with that helped this song to finally give the group their debut number one. Future releases would solidify Coldplay's ability to create anthemic songs, perfectly suited to large arena audiences.