Lee_his_cheeks

Also #1 Belgium Flanders and Wallonia

01 NZ 01 Australia 01 Germany 01 Ireland 01 UK 01 Italy 01 Scotland 01 Norway 02 the Netherlands 02 France 02 Sweden 03 Lithuania 06 Iceland 14 Japan

#2 in France and the Netherlands

Yeah, here we have our final results! I hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for all the votes/comments :heart:

Full list 12. Light up the world 11. The last dance 10. Tears on the dancefloor: Crying at the disco 09. The ultimate collection 08. The Platinum collection 07. Steptacular 06. What the future holds 05. Buzz 04. What the future holds pt. 2 03. Gold 02. Tears on the dancefloor 01. Step one

#1 Step one So here we have it..our ultimate Steps album ends up being their debut album Step one! It was released in the UK and Europe on 14 September 1998. The album contains some covers; ‘Last Thing on My Mind’ was originally released in the 1980s as a single by British girl group Bananarama, while ‘Love U More’ was originally recorded by techno/house band Sunscreem. ‘Experienced’ was originally recorded by boybands The Bario Boys & Worlds Apart, and ‘Stay With Me’ appears on Romeo's Daughters' self-titled debut album. ‘Tragedy’, which was recorded for a Bee Gees tribute album, was paired with ‘Heartbeat’ as a winter holiday double A-side single (included on the group's second album, Steptacular), but is also featured as a bonus track on some international editions of this album. In February 2000, the album was re-released in the US, containing songs from both Step One and its successor, Steptacular. The album charted at number two on the Albums Chart upon its release, going on to spend 64 weeks in the chart. It was beaten to number one by This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours by Manic Street Preachers, who also beat Steps' single ‘One for Sorrow’ to number one on e with ‘If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next’. Current sales stand at 1.405.470 with a 5 times platinum certification. It was also their biggest succes on a global scale hitting the charts in: Belgium Flanders (#1), Scotland (#1), Australia (#5), NZ (#6), Ireland (#8), Taiwan (#9), Japan (#19), the Netherlands (#33), Sweden (#46) and the US (#79). It sold 2,5 million copies worldwide getting certified in 12 countries. Oh, the nostalgia of this album! It was such a great way to start their career. Love seeing the global succes, even getting some here in the Netherlands. Such a shame tier global succes faded after this album. Personally, I really enjoy this album. Especially the singles are fantastic. Still, this isn’t my favorite Steps album. Especially some album tracks like ‘Experienced’ are one of my least favorite Steps songs of all time. But hé, I do enjoy the album when I give it a spin! Your thoughts?

#2 Tears on the dancefloor Taking the silver, with only 1 vote away from the top spot, it’s Steps 2017 comeback album Tears on the dancefloor. This one got released on 21 April 2017 by Absolute and Fascination Records. The album is Steps first album in five years since Light Up the World, and their first proper album since Buzz in 2000. Following two years of planning, recording began in October 2016. The Alias was enlisted to serve as the executive producer and various songwriters submitted songs (including Steve Mac, Ina Wroldsen, TMS and Fiona Bevan). The album artwork was inspired by the album cover of their debut album, Step One. There was enough buzz around the release of the album and it peaked at a steptacular #2 on the album chart. Even the lead single, Scared of the dark, got them another certified top 40 smash. Clearly this was a succes! Current sales, including the re-release, stand at 125.940 copies getting Steps a gold certification. The album also reached the charts outside the UK, including Scotland (#1), Ireland (#10), Belgium Flanders (#20) and Australia (#46). What can I say about this album? Such a glorious comeback (and no, we are not taking Light up the world into account) with a lot of great memories attached to it. If only for hearing Scared of the dark for the first time! This album really works for me as they updated their sound but still having Steps written all over their songs. So, nothing but love for this album :heart: Your thougts?

In a few moments I’m going to finish this countdown :cheer:

Happy to hear and there will be some changes

Me too! The duet was a top 10 hit, you would think that was enough to materialise a second single?

Yes, I’m going to do my ‘25 edition after I finished our favorite album countdown :cheer: (And no, it’s not a way to spam this forum. For me it’s way of sharing our love for Steps and their material. I will also do a more compact version this year)

#3 Gold Taling the bronse in our countdown is their last remaining Greatest Hits, Gold. Steps announced the release of their greatest hits album in May 2001. Shortly after, rumours started surfacing that the group would be splitting up following the release, although these rumours were continuously denied by the group during TV shows and interviews. The album was released 15 October 15 that year and reached number one on the albums chart. The lead single ‘Chain Reaction’, a cover of the Diana Ross hit reached number 2 and was their highest selling single since ‘SayYou'll Be Mine/Better The Devil You Know’. To support the release of the album the group embarked on their fifth concert tour (Gold Tour) on 24 November 2001. The tour ended on 22 December 2001 and it was revealed on the TV show Steps Reunion that band members H and Claire had announced their resignation to the rest of the group two hours before going on stage for the last show. Lisa and Faye stated that the concert was difficult to perform, while Lee said that he felt the concert cheated the audience. Back to the release and chart succes of the album. It got to the top spot, 2 weeks after the album was released and spent 2 weeks at the top of the chart. It has sold over a million copies, giving the album a certification of x4 Platinum. Current UK sales stand at 1.140.928 copies. In the UK it was a big succes and got them back on the map as UK’s biggest pop act. Internationally it reached the charts in Ireland (#1), Scotland (#1), NZ (#17), Japan (#92) and Australia (#155). I love this one as it’s so nostalgic! It perfectly sums up the best of Steps and the new tracks are good as well. The only thing I don’t enjoy is the cover and ofcourse the break-up..I was really devastated back then. Luckily they gave us much more many years later so the bitter after taste is gone. Thoughts?

Yes, happy about that. Really doing her own thing and staying active/keep focus on her target market.

The song was more an example of Lisa doing a tacky dance number Maybe a rockier song would suit Lee (or a pop/rock a la Maroon 5).

Also, the top 3 is incoming! Any guesses?

Glad Buzz grew on you :heart: HGL is great as well! Yes, LIAL. And the Slightest was a missed oppertunity indeed. Could’ve reached top 100 with some promo/physical release.

03 UK 04 Germany 05 Austria 05 Switzerland 06 Ireland 07 Finland 08 Sweden 08 Norway 12 the Netherlands 12 Australia 13 US 13 France 13 NZ 18 Belgium Wallonia 23 Spain 24 Portugal 26 Belgium Flanders 28 Italy 31 Denmark

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#4 What the future holds pt. 2 With an extra round What the future holds pt. 2 ends at #4. This album started as a deluxe version. However, on April 2021 Steps announced there wouldn’t be a what the Future Holds deluxe but a full seventh studio album, What the Future Holds Pt. 2. Claire said: ‘We see What the Future Holds Pt. 2 as the perfect companion piece to the original album’. ‘The new record is classic Steps but also explores some brand-new sounds’. The album was released on 10 September 2021 in the end by BMG Rights Management. What the Future Holds Pt. 2 was another album that got close to the top spot. It debuted at number 2 in the album charts with 20.000 (only 4.000 copies behind Manic Street Preachers). This was the second time the two groups competed for number-one position, after their albums This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and Step One also charted at number 1 and 2, respectively, way back in 1998. In the end it charted for 7 weeks inside the top 200 selling around 37.000 copies. Light up the world and this album are the only studio albums without a certification in the UK. It also reached the charts in Scotland (#2), Australia (#11), Ireland (#22) and Belgium Flanders (#99). Though part one had the better singles in my opinion, I enjoy this album more as a whole body of work. I’m happy we got so much more material after their 2017 reunion. And, finding a way to sound like Steps with a modern twist. Maybe not a smart move commercially but I’m not that bothered to be honest. Thoughts?

#5 Buzz Kicking off our top 5 is Buzz! It was Steps third studio album and was released on 30 October 2000. This album saw the group starting to move away from the PWL sound to a more mature sound. They worked with producers from Sweden and songwriters such as Cyndi Lauper. This more mature sound was also echoed in the new material from Gold. Each member of the group also co-wrote a track on the album, consequently doing lead vocals on their respective track. The lead single Stomp got them their second #1 single (and sadly their last). Buzz received favourable critical response from different music magazines and websites. Everyone noticed the group's departure from the ‘ABBA sound’ into their own musical style. AllMusic stated: ‘They do in fact have their own sound, and it has revealed itself here, crystal clear’. However, on a commercial level the album is said to be less successful than their first releases, peaking at number four on the album chart and achieving double platinum status. It did hang around the album top 100 for 32 weeks and current sales stand at 711.000 copies. On a global scale their succes was fading as well. Buzz manager to reach the charts in Scotland (#4), Belgium Flanders (#11), Ireland (#23), Japan (#53) and Australia (#112). This is actually my favorite album as it has a more mature sound. Personally I do think it deserved a top 3 placing. It also features the single that got away, Paradise lost. The only thing I don’t enjoy is H’s solo track and the UK cover is a bit tacky. I wonder what would happen if they didn’t split and we got a 4th album though? Your thoughts?

I see. With?

I think so too sadly. Their streaming numbers aren’t great and I don’t think they are selling a lot of physical copies after the first weeks of release. I’m going to continue the countdown in a minute or 15 :cheer:

I think that would happen and I would love every minute of it :heart: With a song similar to this: I wonder what kind of song Lee would do?

:lol: and guilty as well ;) Paradise Lost

I’m curious what the exact current sales are and how far gold status is for this one. Top 5 coming soon!