jimwatts

30 Tinchy Stryder feat. Amelle - Never Leave You 1 week in August 2009: {1}-2-3-5-8-12-19-24-31-40-52-61-68->13 Kept off #1: none #51 in EOY 2009 If the three already out were rather easy targets, then here is where the order starts to get interesting. Ghana-born British rapper Tinchy Stryder had been part of grime collective Roll Deep before he had his solo breakthrough, which hit new heights in 2009 when 'Take Me Back' with Taio Cruz went to #3. His next two hits were #1s, of which this was the second, and he went on to have a further four Top 10 hits (kudos if you can name them all without looking them up). Having already reached, oh alright then, "Number 1" with his previous single (more on that later on of course), on its follow-up to trail the release of his second album, he enlisted Amelle Berrabah to appear on the track. Amelle was at that time a member of Sugababes in their "mk 3" line-up alongside Keisha Buchanan and Heidi Range, having joined them in December 2005, and when this song debuted at #1 with sales of 71k, it made her the only member of the group, past or present, to top the singles chart outside of the group. This apparently caused some friction within the group, as she alluded to in the BBC documentary covering all-female groups last year, and although the full details aren't relevant to this rate, Jade Ewen replaced Keisha for a Sugababes "mk 4" line-up the following month. Without focusing too much on this single's impact on Sugababes' line-up changes, at the time it did seem like it could have been a soft launch for a potential solo career for Amelle in a similar way that will.i.am's 'Heartbreaker' had been for Cheryl Cole, but whether that was the intention or not, the song didn't do much to showcase her vocals towards convincing that she could be the group's breakout star. In Tinchy's case it worked out in teeing up a #2 debut for his album Catch 22 as well as this single reaching #1, so it did the job in the short term, but for him too it's not a performance that lives long in the memory - his style of flow doesn't lend itself as well to this kind of slow jam as it does to his higher bpm hits which preceded it. It has a big string-heavy production like his previous #1, again not quite as memorable, and even if it may still have popped up on a few TV soundbeds, it does sounded rather dated now, like much music of the time in a similar genre does. One thing the song does have going for it however is the Fibonacci sequence of its 1-2-3-5-8 descent of the Top 10 - if only it had dropped to #13 rather than #12 the following week!

New peak for 'The Less I Know The Better' at #59 (and still only the third highest Tame Impala song if counting both versions of 'Dracula')! Weezer & Best Coast up to #98, and this has made it in: 172 NE Temper City - Self Aware

WHY AM I GIVING UP AGAIN GIVING UP AGAIN GIVING UP AGAIN GIVING UP AGAIN GIVING UP AGAIN GIVING AGAIN OH OH OH Voted.

31 Joe McElderry - The Climb 1 week in December 2009: 2-{1}-2-15-25-38-50-68->8 Kept off #1: none #5 in EOY 2009 In its sixth series in 2009, after several unsuccessful attempts, The X Factor appeared to have stumbled upon a male singer with the voice, presence and all-round entertainer charisma one suspects Simon Cowell and the show had been searching for all along. His name was Olly Murs. Unfortunately for them, he was defeated in the final, as the male singer who emerged victorious in it fit neatly into the squeaky clean popstar mould that appealed to the masses within the TV viewing audience - not necessarily an accurate barometer of those who regularly bought albums and invested in music. So it was that 18 year old Joe McElderry from South Shields got to release the chosen coronation single, a cover of a Miley Cyrus song from earlier that year which had become the second of her three #11 hits before she would first reach the UK Top 10, and which would go on to climb back into the Christmas chart (at #31, coincidentally enough matching this countdown placing) on the back of this one. Released specifically in time to debut in the Christmas chart, and following four successive Christmas #1s for equivalent The X Factor winner singles in previous series of the show, another procession to the festive top spot was assumed. Except, famously, it didn't quite work out that way - its opening sale of 450k instead became the highest recorded weekly sale for a song at #2, as a campaign with the aim to send a certain other song to Christmas #1 instead had incredibly succeeded, with sales in excess of 500k. For those who know me, it may not come as a surprise that it will be some time before said song appears in this countdown. However in the following week, with the campaign having achieved its aim, the final chart of 2009 saw sales of said song sink faster, allowing Joe McElderry to complete "the climb" to #1, despite his own sales falling by more than 50% to 195k, before being deposed the following week in the first chart of 2010 by a song returning to #1 (again, one which won't appear in this countdown for some time). It certainly feels harsh to be critical of Joe as a winner of the show, a thoroughly likeable personality and talented vocalist, and with the bar not exactly set sky high by some of the earlier male winners. The main problem for him was that with the show itself six series deep and showing no signs of reining in its saturation of all forms of media, many people just wanted something new. That's not to say that the campaign wouldn't have taken place if, say, Olly had won instead, so in some ways winning the show was a poisoned chalice for Joe. However if we judge the single on its merits (which is the idea of the countdown after all), there isn't a great deal to help his case. There had been some talk that Joe had been due to record a version of 'Don't Stop Believin'' as his single if he won, having already performed the song on the show (following which Journey's original version finally made its Top 40 debut, and after Joe performed it again in the final, it shot into the Top 10 for the first time), however this idea was shelved - perhaps Glee had something to do with this - and the Miley song was chosen instead. By coincidence, Miley's version made its first Spotify top 200 appearance since at least 2016 only last week - so it clearly still has some resonance and has weathered the passing time, which perhaps vindicates its choice as a winner's song, befitting the lyrical theme that one gains the most from the struggle that comes with working towards their goals. There just isn't enough of a spark to Joe's version to make it feel in any way essential - it's a competent vocal, give or take a jarring overdub on the first chorus, and the usual tricks are thrown into the production, including the key change timed alongside the announcement of the winner as "Joe!" in the promo video's standard chronicling of his 'journey' as a contestant on the show, but none of this resembled anything we hadn't heard before. As it turned out, only one further Top 40 single followed for him before parting ways with Simon Cowell in 2011, and despite finding later success in musical and theatre, this coronation single would represent something of a false start for him.

Hope ANOTR stays in the Top 40!

Would be extraordinary if this climbed to its #3 peak on three different runs in the Top 10!

+5 Zara Larsson - Lush Life +4 Tame Impala - Dracula +3 Sombr - Homewrecker +2 Olivia Dean - Man I Need +1 Sam Fender & Olivia Dean - Rein Me In -1 Dominic Fike - Babydoll -2 Harry Styles - American Girls -3 Bella Kay - iloveitiloveitiloveit -4 Alex Warren - FEVER DREAM -5 BTS - Swim

The Top 10 return for this in 2026 is still on!

Switching to Honeyz, this one doesn't have the sheen their first few singles had.

Voted for 'DANCE...' (yay for it being out in front!), 'Aperture' and 'Dry Spell'

Voted for 'Plush', 'Raft In The Sea' and 'Stomp Your Feet'!

Well done to Robyn for the first song from the 2010s or later to win one of these - I don't remember the song too clearly from when it came out, but it gained a following to keep it alive, and deservedly so as it's a strong pop song. I would have liked Amy to take this, but second place is great for her - as a mere #25 hit it was in my top 50 songs of the 2000s at the decade's end, and although since her death 'Lose Is A Losing Game' has hit me to the point that it's moved ahead as my favourite of hers, both are stirring heartbreak anthems and testament to her talent lost too soon. Thanks Rollo for hosting and running this over the last few months!

32 Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West feat. Sir Tom Jones and Robin Gibb - Barry Islands In The Stream 1 week in March 2009: {1}-3-23-51->4 Kept off #1: none #108 in EOY 2009 Comic Relief was still a two-yearly event in the 2000s, and tie-in singles had been part of the event since its inception, then in 2005 the "official" Comic Relief single (McFly's #1 double A-side of 'All About You' and 'You've Got A Friend') was joined by '(Is This The Way To) Amarillo?' credited to Tony Christie feat. Peter Kay which, although an unchanged re-release of Tony Christie's 1971 hit, now had a video starring Peter Kay alongside a host of celebrity figures, as a "comedy" alternative single. After the latter spent 7 weeks at #1 and ended the year as 2005's biggest seller, the pattern was repeated in 2007 with Sugababes vs. Girls Aloud's cover of 'Walk This Way' being joined by The Proclaimers feat. Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin's '(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles' as a new recording of The Proclaimers' 1988 hit with the actors behind the latter names performing their verses as those characters. Again, both singles reached #1, so when it came to 2009, a winning formula was reused - this time with The Saturdays' cover of 'Just Can't Get Enough' being joined by the single in question here. As with the previous two occasions, the releases of the singles were staggered to give both a chance of entering at #1, however The Saturdays only made #2 - I'll touch on that again when discussing the song which reached #1 ahead of it. There was no such problem for its "comedy" partner, as this single duly debuted at #1 the following week with sales of 87k. The concept for the single, a cover of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's 1983 hit 'Islands In The Stream' which reached #7 in the UK and was written by The Bee Gees, stems from BBC TV sitcom Gavin & Stacey of which Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West are two of the main characters played by Ruth Jones (also one of the show's writers) and Rob Brydon, as they perform the song in one episode. The video above stretches this scenario to the pair performing the song at a karaoke championship in Las Vegas, to which en route their car breaks down, and they are rescued by a chauffeur-driven Tom Jones who allows them to share a lift to their destination alongside him, and later appears at the end of their song performance to help them to a victory. One of the song's writers Robin Gibb makes a cameo appearance at the start, but the main sub plot plays into one of the series' recurring 'jokes' of Vanessa recounting her previous liaisons, usually romantic, with various famous people - in this case alluding that she and Tom Jones had been in a relationship which ended acrimoniously, but the famous singer now wants to make it up to her - and duly saves the day. Now if you followed the show, this may have made some sense, but if you didn't, I can't imagine my explanation above being the most thrilling of reads, so we're just left with the song, and its video, for your entertainment. Except that even if you did follow the show, the end result is still pretty underwhelming, and in any case, I'm reviewing the songs, rather than the videos - so to hear the studio version, which isn't on Spotify, refer to this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTQA8zv1ijE - and here, there's no backstory, just the unspoken addition of "Barry" to the song's title as a reference to Barry Island where the two characters live in the show, and a spoken line from each of the 'characters', before the pair launch into a suitably karaoke standard vocal performance of the song - with added Robin Gibb vocals - until the middle eight where Bryn chips in with "crikey Nessa, it's Sir Tom Jones!" who sees the song through to its conclusion. There really isn't much to it, other than being for the most part a substandard duet performance by two people who aren't vocalists by trade, and while I have something of a soft spot for the 2007 '500 Miles' cover which does pay off quite nicely with the original performers The Proclaimers appearing for the final verse, this 2009 sequel falls flat by comparison. It perhaps should have been bottom in this countdown, as it's a cobbled together mess even in comparison to the 'You Are Not Alone' cover, but it does at least raise a wry smile for me that everyone involved was at least trying to have fun with it, however flawed the concept and execution. There will be one more single in this countdown that was wholly produced for charity, fortunately it was one that got many more things right, which means it will be appearing a little while later.

New peaks on the Audio Streaming chart for songs either on ACR or starred out - all are new entries this week: 72 RAYE - The WhatsApp Shakespeare. 74 RAYE - Beware... The South London Lover Boy. 86 RAYE - Winter Woman. 93 RAYE - I Will Overcome. 96 RAYE - Life Boat. 99 RAYE feat. Amma & Absolutely - Joy.

33 X Factor Finalists 2009 - You Are Not Alone 1 week in November 2009: {1}-2-5-11-12-29-51->7 Kept off #1: none #28 in EOY 2009 Despite, or perhaps because of... but mainly despite, this being the only UK #1 to feature the vocals of Jedward, The X Factor's class of '09 bring up the rear in this list. As Herbs mentioned regarding the equivalent 2008 single, not content with having assumed a stranglehold over the Christmas #1 with the winners' coronation singles, The X Factor sought to expand its empire to a #1 of its own each November while the live shows were in full swing. A formula was therefore established by the aforementioned X Factor Finalists 2008 single, a cover of Mariah Carey's 'Hero' which became that year's second best seller, and the final 12 acts of the 2009 series who had made it to the live shows were brought in to record their parts for this one. Where sales of 'Hero' had been in aid of the Help for Heroes charity, proceeds of this one went to Great Ormond Street Hospital, and the promo video intersperses the matching darkly clad contestants singing with footage of them visiting children in the London hospital. The acts who performed on the single of course reconvened on a live show in November 2009 for the first public performance of the song, and it was then released, guaranteeing it the #1 the following week with sales over 193k, albeit this was a comedown from the 313k 'Hero' opened with, and it managed a single week at the top compared to three the year before. As you would expect, it's all very competently put together, with the more talented vocalists, starting with Joe McElderry, Olly Murs and Lucie Jones, getting their moments in the verses (Jedward get a whole line to themselves in the middle) and the group coming together for the big final choruses, yet it's all so clinical that the singers are rendered devoid of showing any real character in their performances and it has the tired feel of a production line. As I mentioned in the OP, Michael Jackson had died that summer, so his best-known songs had been much in the conscience in the months prior to this single - indeed, his original of this song, which had been a UK #1 in 1995, climbed back to #35 from download sales in the immediate wake of his death, and lyrically (for the title at least) it fit the brief for the charity single - however for one of his major hits it is one of the least fondly remembered, even more so in more recent years given that the song's writer is one R. Kelly. So it is that there aren't many redeeming features for the X Factor Finalists 2009 version, other than the "it's for charidee!" angle that the show clearly pushed, and it's hard to imagine it having had a lot of repeat plays from buyers or perhaps any in many cases, although it has now crawled past 1 million plays on Spotify. Still, of course, this wasn't the end of the charting road for some of the acts who would go on to make chart appearances of their own, one of which could well be soon to follow in this countdown.

Wow, Top 3 for Tame Impala!!

oh, BTS better not have blocked Tame Impala from Top 5 too...

Finally another Top 10 for Dominic Fike, and the song still predates '3 Nights' getting there!

It was, the novelty of not being another #3 for them.

Finally a song makes it to 8 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 while on ACR! 19 in total for this.

ugh

Soon to find out if the BTS multibuying has denied Hans Zimmer a Top 10 appearance

Skipping 'Midnight Sun' when it finally gets a new peak on a 2-hour show is a choice

'Ordinary' gets a 53rd week in the Top 20, just 1 week off the most for a non-Christmas song as achieved by... 'Beautiful Things'

Robyn's first Top 10 album!