jimwatts

pretty extreme to do it for the other 3 too, but makes sense

Why no clips on the album rundown?

All Olivia's charting songs on ACR then (except the obvious duet)

Going up up up for the first time in 6 weeks (and only the second time since the Christmas clearout)

Finally, this is the only/highest Taylor song in the Top 40 again

Double Kanye skipped and now more pre-2020s music saving the chart in 2026

Two weeks since I woke up in Dunedin, NZ, and first thing I did was check this thread to see if this had made 6 weeks in a row at #35 - I did have a feeling it would climb eventually

"Don't know where the switches are" makes me think of losing some electricity including the wifi in an Airbnb on my hols Guess 'The Hardest Part' has finally gone back to ACR now after a long stretch

35 Top 40 hits, though his last completely solo Top 10 was over 3 years ago now

First time hearing this on the show great for it to have a rerun!

First time tuning in since February... and yay I missed at least 3 plays of this, probably 4 when the site was down

They'd better not skip any climbers or new entries after all this... (Kanye excepted)

with a smile... on this hill

Two "Die" songs back to back, ballads as well

This has now had more weeks Top 40 in its current run on SCR (now 12 weeks) than on its original SCR run of 10 weeks!

better still, the Top 5!

Before we get started, here are links to the previous #1 reviews in this forum's series: 2000 by gooddelta 2001 by awardinary 2002 by Roba 2003 by Julian 2004 by Popchartfreak 2005 by Chez 2006 by Jade 2007 by Scene 2008 by Herbs Also in case it were needed, to confirm that I will not be using AI for any of these commentaries - the words and opinions presented are my own, and if I can't remember something and haven't taken the time and effort to research it, it probably isn't too important in the context of this thread. As a final preface note, this was released in 2009, and 15 years later won the first edition of this forum's Bop Idol for me, still my only win in 80+ song contests entered on Buzzjack:

I DREAMED A DREAM IN TIME GONE BYYYYYYYYYY WHEN... oh hello, sorry I hadn't realised we'd started already. Welcome to the final thread in the 2000s decade series of UK #1s ranked by members of the community - in this case, my good self! Over the course of the next month or so, I'll be taking you through the 33 (yes there were that many!) UK #1s during the year 2009, from those I've ranked lowest to highest, with some of my commentary about the songs and why I've put them where they are. For some musical context, this was the year when downloads truly moved clear as the format of choice, and labels were maximising the held back approach in this media to give rise to 23 of these songs debuting at #1. Personally, 2009 is not a year I remember with particular fondness. My wife and I both lost a grandparent that year - the last surviving one in her case, and I was left with one grandmother, who is still with us. I visited USA, and New York, for the first time in the February, and loved it - walked almost everywhere and took a boat to Liberty Island in the freezing cold. Almost everyone I knew was on Facebook, although I didn't have a smart phone until the following year. The decline in the physical market made it increasingly difficult for alternative / independent acts to enter the singles chart - when the gorgeous 'White Winter Hymnal' by Fleet Foxes which Radio 1 had playlisted could only chart at #77 (I only followed the Top 75 closely at this point), that was the signal for me that I could no longer rely on the singles chart as a source for music of my tastes. At the same time, my first green iPod remained my favourite item and I would regularly visit my local library to scour the CDs and borrow them for £1 each a week, identify my favourite tracks and then add those to it alongside my old CD tracks and the old and new songs I'd downloaded. Michael Jackson died aged 50 on 25 June 2009, and the following week he had 13 songs in the Top 40, and 37 (if counting his brothers' band) in the Top 100 - the three-track rule was still eight years away, although Spotify opened registration in the UK during the year. And of course there was The X Factor, and fellow Simon Cowell enterprise Britain's Got Talent, dominating TV viewing, discourse, and in the former's case, the singles charts and indeed many of the #1s to be discussed here - some of which you will not be surprised to know will be appearing very soon. Hope you enjoy reading about them all!

1 David Bowie - Five Years 2 ABBA - Chiquitita 3 Kelly Clarkson - Piece By Piece (Idol Version) 4 ROSALÍA - Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti 5 Scissor Sisters - Mary 6 Florence + the Machine - Cosmic Love 7 HAIM - Gasoline 8 Conan Gray - Forever With Me 9 Delta Goodrem - Not Me, Not I 10 Atomic Kitten - The Last Goodbye 11 Lily Allen - Pussy Palace 12 Chappell Roan - Casual 13 Troye Sivan featuring Betty Who - Heaven Classic album opener from Bowie - long build, love the line "don't think you knew you were in this song" and the rousing finish, if he goes out for this the forum has suffered a taste fail. I fear for HAIM too - the "Big Band week" memes apply as this theme doesn't do a lot for them, nevertheless I'd have loved 'Hallelujah' here. Don't object to the Lily choice so much for the theme as for whether we need so many tracks from an album which has already been very much in the Buzzjack conscience of late, though this is undeniably a highlight from it. Kelly always consistent and still my tip to win, this is very stark but hit me more than expected.

Can't do justice to the months since I last commented, but 'No Scrubs' and 'That Don't Impress Me Much' had some of the most fascinating chart runs of the time and were both close to a #2 peak at least once (the former closest when dropping 3-5). Some of those opening sales were phenomenal, with ATB and Shanks & Bigfoot doing over 250k, and even Baz Luhrmann exceeding 200k! Love both of those sentiments - I often think I look at 1999 with rose-tinted glasses as I had just started uni and was in many ways living my 'best life', but so much of music of the year, particularly from the late spring and summer months, does make it feel looking back like it was one big party before the millennium. The revised chart week had the effect of belatedly creating a few Top 40 hits, perhaps most notably Tina Cousins - Forever at #38 when at the time it looked like all her post-'Thank ABBA For The Music' releases had flopped completely. The missed shows are frustrating, especially as the vast majority of the footage is unaffected, but I'd much rather be talking about the music where there are plenty more 1999 essentials to come.

My favourites since I last commented: 'Even Better Than The Real Thing' (although I much prefer the non-remix album version which reached #12), 'Achy Breaky Heart' (gotta love it), 'Don't You Want Me', 'This Charming Man', 'Ebeneezer Goode', 'Alive And Kicking', 'Who Needs Love Like That', 'Out Of Space', 'November Rain' - although maybe it says a bit that around half of those were reissues. I still wouldn't get into pop music at the time until the following year. Thanks as ever Gezza!

Lots revealed since I last commented: Happy to be top scorer for 'Just Can't Get Enough' - I downloaded it in 2008 shortly after I got an iPod, so long before the Saturdays cover which doesn't affect my appreciation of it, and although the remaining members of Depeche Mode (it's Vince Clarke's composition after all) went on to darker themes, it hits a sweet spot that all parties rarely matched since. 'Try' is Pink's best song, good to see it at 15. I do marginally prefer 'Rent' to 'Suburbia', but both are essentials from Pet Shop Boys' imperial phase and they're popular on Buzzjack generally so I can see why both songs have done well. 'Live Forever' missing the top 10 is a strange one considering it would often place highly on all-time lists without any restriction on peaks (I remember a Q Magazine poll from 1998 which had both it and 'Fools Gold' in the top 10), but the Gallaghers are clearly divisive in such a rate as this, and perhaps there's an element of Oasis fatigue that wouldn't have been present if this had been a #10s rate in early 2024 - even so, it was only 4 points short. Fantastic to see 'Fade To Grey' top 10, a synth-pop classic that I know is a huge favourite for some but wasn't sure how well it was known generally. 'Family Affair' and 'Ain't Nobody' have both aged very well and feel larger than their peaks. As Jade mentioned, 'Yesterday' hasn't had a great reception in the comments since it was revealed and back in the late 90s when I got the red and blue albums it wouldn't have been high in my Beatles favourites either, but it has crept up on me over time - it's its simplicity and clarity that holds strong. 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' is one of my favourite tracks on American Idiot which possibly still ranks as my favourite album of the 2000s - I gave it 46 points but would probably rank it a place higher if I think about it, which would have placed it in the top 5 overall - however 'In The End' is also a classic of its genre and does hit harder since Chester's death. 'Enola Gay' as high as #4 is wonderful, one of my earliest memories of 80s synth pop hits is hearing it on a compilation in the 90s and being transfixed by that riff. I must have heard 'Smooth Criminal' before I took much interest in pop music, but I only truly became aware of it through the Alien Ant Farm version too - it's a good song and certainly one of MJ's signature hits, but there are bigger fans than me so I guess I'm in its bottom 3 voters by default. Both songs left are great - one of them has been a Record of the Decade winner, but I'd slightly prefer a shock win for Amy, although equally I wouldn't be surprised if Robyn ends up top by a huge margin...

Comparing UK Spotify streams of 'Where Is My Husband!' from Fri-Wed last week (20-25 March) to the same days this week (Thursday streams are estimated), it is only 19.7% higher in total, which suggests that unless the increase is far more pronounced on other platforms, it won't be reset. Interestingly, the only day on which it was more than 25% above the same day the previous week was yesterday (27.6% above last Wednesday). Hopefully that clears the way for 'Click Clack Symphony.' to go Top 10 officially, and 'Dracula' Top 5!

Ditto - lovely song from him!

Another week where I'm not really fussed with any of these. Voted for John Summit (not exactly helping with the tied situation as it stands).