Torple

Sight For Sore Eyes and Itchycoo Park are fun enough, but there is nothing in that top (11) I would honestly replace them with. Angel St was dreadfully lazy and cynical. They just took the melody of Search For The Hero and set it to the backing track of Moving On Up.

It's not dreadful, but I really can't see a Heather Small album (even a pseudo-best of) doing any business. Which would be a shame. I've long thought it a little odd that M People have remained so forgotten, when Jess Glynne has managed to score so many #1s in recent years by rinsing-and-repeating the M People formula. And on paper they're the absolute ideal fit for the orchestral dance trend. But if the anaemic Moving On Up update is anything to go by (now on Spotify), I think this will be a sad disappointment. M PEOPLE TOP TEN 01. Search For The Hero 02. Colour My Life 03. One Night In Heaven 04. How Can I Love You More? 05. Renaissance ("I'm coming home, I'm coming home.... TO YOUR HOUSE" - wonderful NONSENSE) 06. Just For You 07. Open Your Heart 08. Moving On Up 09. Don't Look Any Further 10. Heather's shriek-off with Tom Jones at the end of "Perfect Day" 11. The ridiculous ad-libs in "You Need Love Like I Do" with HIM AGAIN Sir Tom - "I'm a girl and you're a guy"... "YES it's TRUE!"

+12 Black Box Recorder - The Facts Of Life +10 Mint Royale feat. Lauren Laverne - Don't Falter +08 Moby - Natural Blues +07 Lucy Pearl - Don't Mess With My Man +06 Savage Garden - Crash And Burn +05 Macy Gray - Still +04 Paul Van Dyk - We Are Alive +03 Gabrielle - Should I Stay +02 Eels - Mr. E's Beautiful Blues +01 System F - Cry -02 Christina Aguilera - I Turn To You

This might be the first vote EVER where I have ignored The Corrs Black Box Recorder - The Facts Of Life Lucy Pearl - Don't Mess With My Man Mint Royale ft. Lauren Laverne - Don't Falter Moby - Natural Blues Savage Garden - Hold Me These five could easily be my picks even if we were talking the whole decade rather than just the year

+50 Seal – Kiss from a Rose / I'm Alive +49 New Order - True Faith +48 Erasure - A Little Respect +47 Savage Garden – Truly Madly Deeply +46 Garbage - Stupid Girl +45 Nelly Furtado – All Good Things (Come to an End) +44 Katy Perry - Hot n Cold +43 Robbie Williams - Feel +42 TLC - Waterfalls +41 Tracy Chapman - Fast Car +40 William Orbit – Barber's Adagio for Strings +39 Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark +38 Keane - Everybody's Changing +37 Tears For Fears - Shout +36 Elbow - One Day Like This +35 U2 - With Or Without You +34 Prince - When Doves Cry +33 Madonna - Don't Tell Me +32 Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday +31 Coldplay - Yellow +30 Girls Aloud - Biology +29 Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever +28 Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer +27 Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer +26 Madonna - Open Your Heart +25 Utah Saints - Something Good +24 Radiohead – No Surprises +23 U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name +22 Coldplay - Fix You +21 Muse – Supermassive Black Hole +20 Lady Gaga - Paparazzi +19 Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You +18 Gwen Stefani – What You Waiting For? +17 Aerosmith – I Don't Want To Miss a Thing +16 Janet Jackson - Together Again +15 Belinda Carlisle - Leave A Light On +14 Rihanna featuring Mikky Ekko – Stay +13 Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music +12 The Beatles - Something / Come Together +11 The Ronettes - Be My Baby +10 Cutting Crew - (I Just) Died In Your Arms +09 Taylor Swift - Blank Space +08 Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana +07 Lana Del Rey featuring Cedric Gervais – Summertime Sadness +06 Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood +05 Robbie Williams - Angels +04 The Prodigy – No Good (Start the Dance) +03 Christina Perri – Jar of Hearts +02 Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love +01 Sixpence None The Richer – Kiss Me

25 - Billie Myers - Kiss The Rain 24 - Seal - Kiss From A Rose / I'm Alive 23 - Erasure - Love To Hate You 22 - Anastacia - Sick And Tired 21 - Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply 20 - Garbage - Stupid Girl 19 - Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl 18 - TLC - Waterfalls 17 - New Order - Regret 16 - Nelly Furtado - All Good Things (Come To An End) 15 - Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark 14 - Robbie Williams - Feel 13 - Coldplay - Yellow 12 - Madonna - Don't Tell Me 11 - Tears For Fears - Shout 10 - Utah Saints - Something Good 9 - Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer 8 - Radiohead - No Surprises 7 - Mariah Carey - Fantasy 6 - U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name 5 - Nik Kershaw - Wouldn't It Be Good 4 - Nickelback - How You Remind Me 3 - The Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now 2 - Naughty Boy featuring Beyonce and Arrow Benjamin - Runnin' (Lose It All) 1 - Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For?

Oh I wasn't suggesting the article SHOULD have been written that way. I can just understand the possible motivation for doing so. And it's not out of character for the OCC. The majority of their content is obviously written with a pop bias. Most of their retro / flashback articles will really just be about "celebrating" a mostly forgotten teen pop star or a girl band from the Noughties. The OCC website's mission isn't really to provide sales data; it's to try to bring Samantha Mumbas, Stacie Orricos and Hilary Duffs back into the public consciousness.

As strange as the terminology is, I do get why a camp pop fan might choose to claim one of his favourite singers is shifting six-figure streaming sales vs "Samantha Mumba is racking up less than 20 official sales per week. Silver certification in the year 2122 guys."

+25 New Order - True Faith +24 Erasure - A Little Respect +23 Kelly Rowland - Work +22 Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al +21 U2 - With Or Without You +20 Tracy Chapman - Fast Car +19 Katy Perry - Hot n Cold +18 Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar +17 Keane - Everybody's Changing +16 William Orbit - Barber's Adagio For Strings +15 Elbow - One Day Like This +14 Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer +13 Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever +12 Prince - When Doves Cry +11 Hellogoodbye - Here (In Your Arms) +10 Girls Aloud - Biology +09 Erasure - Always +08 Bloodhound Gang - The Bad Touch +07 ABC - The Look Of Love +06 Nelly Furtado - Turn Off The Light +05 Belinda Carlisle - Circle In The Sand +04 Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You +03 Dodgy - Good Enough +02 Lady Gaga - Paparazzi +01 Gabrielle - Out Of Reach

It really is a shower of shite in this category. Four duds out already, and I see another four that still need to be culled. I'm going for Adele. I know she's now a national heroine, but "Chasing Pavements" was basically James Morrison's "You Give Me Something" two years late. And that was a crap song to begin with.

01. Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under 02. Aaliyah // The Weeknd - Poison 03. Josef Salvat - I'm Sorry 04. White Lies - As I Try Not To Fall Apart 05. Baby Queen - Wannabe 06. Post Malone // The Weeknd - One Right Now 07. Tep No - Say What You Wanted 08. The Wombats - Everything I Love Is Going To Die 09. Calum Bowie - Call Me Back 10. Deadmau5 // Foster The People - Hyperlandia 11. White Lies - I Don't Want To Go To Mars 12. Josef Salvat - The Drum 13. Deco - Bitter Sweet Symphony 14. Of Monsters And Men - Phantom 15. DJ Snake // Rick Ross / Rich Brian - Run It 16. Confidence Man - Holiday 17. Khruangbin // Leon Bridges - B-Side 18. Wolf Alice - How Can I Make It OK? 19. Mathilda Homer - Rock Bottom 20. Coldplay // BTS - My Universe 21. Holly Humberstone - Friendly Fire 22. The Knocks // Parson James - River 23. Alicia Keys - Best Of Me 24. Majid Jordan // Drake - Stars Align 25. FKA Twigs // The Weeknd - Tears In The Club 26. Feeder - Wall Of Silence 27. INNA // Sean Paul - Up 28. Wolf Alice - Smile 29. Rxseboy // The Bootleg Boy // Heroe - Leaving 30. Years & Years // Galantis - Sweet Talker 31. Purple Disco Machine // Tasita D'Mour - Rise 32. Adele - Can I Get It 33. ILLENNIUM // Sueco // Trippie Redd - Story Of My Life 34. SAINt JHN - The Best Part Of Life 35. Tears For Fears - The Tipping Point 36. NEIKED // Mae Muller / Polo G - Better Days 37. Griff - One Night 38. GAYLE - abcdefu 39. Bring Me The Horizon - DiE4U 40. Shawn Mendes - I'll Be Okay

I'm completely on the same page as Dandu* on this - "Holiday" is a very good backing track that badly needs someone to write a decent song for it. No more juvenile nonsense about being naked and living for weed.

30 New Order - True Faith 29 Billie Myers - Kiss The Rain 28 Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene Part IV 27 Erasure - A Little Respect 26 Seal - Kiss From A Rose 25 Michael Jackson - Stranger In Moscow 24 Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply 23 The Source feat. Candi Staton - You Got The Love 22 Inner City - Good Life 21 TQ - Westside 20 Anastacia - Sick And Tired 19 Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl 18 Texas - Insane 17 Erasure - Love To Hate You 16 China Black - Searching 15 Lauryn Hill - Ex-Factor 14 Garbage - Stupid Girl 13 Kelly Rowland - Work 12 Dido - Here With Me 11 Honeyz - Finally Found 10 Post Malone feat. Ty Dolla $ign - Psycho 09 Mr Mister - Broken Wings 08 Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al 07 Robbie Williams - Feel 06 Katy Perry - Hot N Cold 05 Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere 04 TLC - Waterfalls 03 Limahl - Never Ending Story 02 Elbow - One Day Like This 01 The Verve - Love Is Noise

01. Sam Fender - Seventeen Going Under 02. White Lies - As I Try Not To Fall Apart 03. Baby Queen - Wannabe 04. Josef Salvat - I'm Sorry 05. Post Malone // The Weeknd - One Right Now 06. Josef Salvat - The Drum 07. Deadmau5 // Foster The People - Hyperlandia 08. Coldplay // BTS - My Universe 09. Confidence Man - Holiday 10. Bring Me The Horizon - DiE4u 11. The Wombats - Everything I Love Is Going To Die 12. Wolf Alice - How Can I Make It OK? 13. Alicia Keys - Best Of Me 14. Mathilda Homer - Rock Bottom 15. White Lies - I Don't Want To Go To Mars 16. Adele - Can I Get It 17. DJ Snake // Rick Ross // Rich Brain - Run It 18. Feeder - Wall Of Silence 19. Majid Jordan // Drake - Stars Align 20. Of Monsters And Men - Phantom 21. Wolf Alice - Smile 22. Shawn Mendes - It'll Be Okay 23. Leona Lewis - If I Can't Have You 24. NEIKED // Mae Muller // Polo G - Better Days 25. Tears For Fears - The Tipping Point 26. Justin Bieber - Ghost 27. Holly Humberstone - Friendly Fire 28. The Knocks // Parson James - River 29. Dermot Kennedy - Better Days 30. Picture This - Things Are Different 31. Pete Tong // Eats Everything // Vula // Jules Buckley - Hideaway 32. Charli XCX // Christine & The Queens // Caroline Polachek - New Shapes 33. Foals - Wake Me Up 34. The Kid Laroi // Justin Bieber - Stay 35. Tears For Fears - No Small Thing 36. ILLENIUM // Sueco / Trippie Redd - Story Of My Life 37. Texas - Unbelievable 38. Purple Disco Machine // Tasita D'Mour - Rise 39. Maverick Sabre - Can't Be Wrong 40. Adele - Oh My God

+5 Forbidden Love +4 Isaac +3 Future Lovers +2 Push +1 Let It Will Be +0 How High +0 I Love New York +0 Like It Or Not

+12 All Saints – Pure Shores +10 Pink – Just Like A Pill +08 Coldplay – Viva La Vida +07 Lily Allen – The Fear +06 Lady Gaga – Bad Romance +05 Robyn with Kleerup – With Every Heartbeat +04 Stereophonics – Dakota +03 Madonna – Hung Up +02 Eminem – Stan +01 Roger Sanchez – Another Chance

From BEST to WORST +5 Sky Fits Heaven +4 Skin +3 Swim +2 Shanti/Ashtangi +1 Mer Girl +0 To Have And Not To Hold +0 Little Star +0 Candy Perfume Girl

+12 David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over +10 Lily Allen - The Fear +08 Lady Gaga - Bad Romance +07 Black Eyed Peas - Meet Me Halfway +06 La Roux - Bulletproof +05 Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden - Bonkers +04 Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling +03 Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You +02 Lady Gaga - Poker Face +01 Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone

+12 Kings Of Leon - Sex On Fire +10 Coldplay - Viva La Vida +08 Ne-Yo - Closer +07 Mint Royale - Singin' In The Rain +06 Duffy - Mercy +05 Dizzee Rascal featuring Calvin Harris & Chrome - Dance Wiv Me +04 Beyonce - If I Were A Boy +03 Take That - Greatest Day +02 Estelle featuring Kanye West - American Boy +01 Girls Aloud - The Promise

HUZZAH I can now say I like every song remaining in this countdown I agree - if I'm really in the mood for early-era Britney (which is very rare) - I'd go for Stronger or perhaps You Drive Me (Crazy) over Baby One More Time.

Brimful Of Asha in the top 10 is a fantastic and just result. I'd be happy with any of the remaining tracks winning, with the exception of Britney which I've always found incredibly meh. Max Martin produced better tracks in that era, but none of them had schoolgirl outfits sadly.

Blinding Lights is fantastic, and a well deserved #1. But... Buzzjack... really voting for a male winner? I daresay there'll be a few members clutching their pearls.

+12 Robyn with Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat +10 Rihanna feat. Jay-Z - Umbrella +08 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love +07 Sugababes - About You Now +06 Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & DOE - The Way I Are +05 Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby +04 Beyoncé & Shakira – Beautiful Liar +03 Take That - Shine +02 Kanye West - Stronger +01 Eva Cassidy & Katie Melua - What A Wonderful World

Unfortunately the correct decision would have been Jewel. Jewel 20 times over. 9pm is fine, but I far prefer Don't Stop, which was basically the same song but with far more urgency and energy.

I loved what Aurora did with "Ordinary World". But "Sleeping Satellite"? Hard pass. Dandu* - I do think Tasmin was my #31. With so much MOR and beige dance in the 90s, deciding what to leave out was a real Sophie's Choice :/ (I actually preferred some of the more minor hits / album tracks from her - especially "In Your Care" when she suddenly spits out "Son-of-a-bitch" having lulled you into thinking you were listening to a tepid piano ballad)