jimwatts

All my favourites from the Sunday session before last appear in this latest batch: 'Wood Beez' is so bright and quirky, 'Ain't Nobody' a classic 80s soul performance, and 'Swimming Horses' is brooding but tuneful. 'Nelson Mandela' is one the great protest songs, it's now hard to fathom how pop music could have such a political reach into the public conscience. 'People Are People' is far from Depeche Mode's best and I concur with the lyrical clunkiness, but it was forward thinking in the use of samples and its ambition was befitting of it being their joint highest charter.

Votes sent! Hope those attending enjoy the listenthrough (and stay to the end!)

They played it in 2018 when it was #1 after England's semi final elimination, and in 2021 and 2024 when it was Top 10 following England's Euro final defeats. So I'm sure it will be played. Personally it will feel more hollow to hear it tomorrow than on any of those occasions given the team's propensity to keep making the same mistakes when in good positions, but that's for a different forum.

Afraid not this time as I probably won't join - I've already decided on my votes and will send later.

A Gary Barlow bottom 2! Not sure it's well known he co-wrote 'Candy'. I found 'Sing' slightly less grating but still nothing I'd have any desire to go back to. ...and 'Turn Up The Music' is that song! A poor effort indeed, would certainly be bottom 3 for me too and possibly last. I've now thought of another "most non-number one" contender, and it's an act that's much easier to forget even existed, let alone had a #1 hit.

'1 Thing' is a great R&B-pop fusion for a breakthrough hit. Rhytmically it's in a similar vein to 'Crazy In Love' and although I wouldn't put it in quite the same gamechanging territory, it's my favourite song here. 'Pon de Replay' was a solid debut hit and 'Crazy Chick' was fun to do on Singstar, so it's good to see those high. Nelly's isn't quite as special as 'I'm Like A Bird' but still very unique, it did well for top 10. Enjoying the detail in these commentaries Jade, very informative! The amount of lore behind 'Some Girls' is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

Are you sure, I couldn't see any in the votes for it? I thought it a foregone conclusion it would win anyway.

My favourite out rooting for the other Linkin Park song to win now. Still voting 'Denial'

Spotify updated but who cares anymore. 'Three Lions' will inevitably be #1 in tomorrow's update because of pre-match streams, wonder if it'll go 1-OUT after that (it went 1-141 after the last Euros final)

Why do we never learn - Croatia 2018, Italy 2021, tonight, always the same after we go ahead - give them most of the pitch and time on the ball and the best teams will find a way through.

Switching to Angel City - the first major hit to sample 'Children', setting the not so great standard for all the other songs to do so that followed.

hmm makes me wonder whether they're planning to drop the main Top 40 show on Friday?

Just noticed before this thread came up that the seat numbers were on the boarding passes for the running order in the final! Fabulous detail.

Interesting place to start, but in the absence of an X Factor Finalists single or similarly formulaic slop that was guaranteed #1 regardless of how it sounded, it's a fair choice. I'm not a fan either - as with many of Robbie's lyrics he seems be on an endlessly sarcastic loop, and while Guy Chambers would usually find an arrangement to keep them afloat, Gary Barlow's just sinks it here and it ends up in holiday park entertainer territory. Intrigued by what's to come - when I first read "the most non-number one number one single of all time" my mind turned to the same song as when I then read "a disgrace of a human being that shouldn’t have been anywhere near the top of the chart", so now I'm wondering what else one or both of these songs could be!

Fantastic topper. 'We Found Love' was an omnipresent dance hit, and it feels strange to think of it as Calvin's big global breakthrough as he'd had considerable success in the UK with his earlier singles, but both he and Rihanna had UK #1s before and since that I prefer. However 'Someone Like You' is one of my favourite songs of the decade. The Brits performance is electric, you can feel it in the atmosphere and there's real emotion in Adele's voice - at the time I'd do most of my chart listening from the MTV Top 40 shows when they would play the video from that, so I rarely got to hear the studio version while it was at #1, and when I did, those high notes on the chorus were almost a jumpscare. However I soon became accustomed and downloaded that version, and even with the studio polish, Adele's vocals and lyrics landed in the gut with every listen, but the piano is like a warm hug to help accept that sometimes things last and sometimes they don't. At the time it was a rare case of my favourite song of the year being the best seller - although there'd be a few more that came close in future years, before it happened again at the end of the decade. Thanks Paddington for the countdown and your commentaries!