PaulM1983

Nah, that's fake.

I'm struggling to believe that's a legitimate contender. That song reads and sounds like a parody of a pop song. It's so unbelievably awful. It's giving me zero points vibes all the way. What a spectacular fall from grace that would be for us.

You say that as if it's a stupid comment. You literally just acknowledged the song is 30 seconds under the limit. Songs often need to cut or change something from the studio version to fit to the 3 minute limit. This song is just really short and can easily fit in another chorus.

Are you talking about Loreen? What vocoder? I'd be absolutely confident that her live vocal will sound exactly like that snippet. The one thing I love most about her is how she uses her voice like a musical instrument. Even when she's not singing actual words, there's intricacy and melody in all the flourishes she does. She's an outstanding vocalist.

The live version of this is so powerful, it's going to do so well. The studio version lacks a bit of punch though. And it's too bloody short. They could easily have fit in another chorus.

Plenty albums have had much bigger falls, even recently. And it seems like Steps have climbed since that update, so I suppose that's fake too? Make it make sense please.

A done deal for Steps I'd imagine. Aitch only closed the gap by a few hundred and they've extended the lead over Madonna.

He kind of did though. He said it was pathetic if we didn’t see it his way. Getting that hot and bothered over some acts selling a few different versions of an album on what would otherwise be a dead sales week is certainly not how I’m spending my Tuesday evening. Jeez. Get some air.

It's not a fake number 1 when number 1 is determined by who sells the most. If Steps fans buy more copies of their album in the week, then they have the number 1. All of the main contenders this week have multiple formats and bundles available. Madonna included. So Steps don't have an automatic advantage just because they put more options out there. People still have to buy them.

Just an album track for Steps though. No promotion or mention of it potentially being a single.

No.

It hasn't happened yet. Nobody has called anything. For context, we were top 5 in the odds to win it for a week before the song was even officially announced. I hope it does well. It deserves and should get plenty of jury points. But I'm not confident the televote will play in its favour. We'll need to see what the staging is like.

Have been obsessed with this song for the last week. It's our best entry in many, many years and I honestly think he's the best vocalist we've sent in my lifetime (I'm 38). The man is a crazy good singer. Amazing live vocals are not something we need to be concerned about with him. I'm thrilled it's getting a positive reaction and I just hope that they do something really eye-catching and quirky with the staging. It wouldn't hurt to have him singing it high up off the stage, wind machine blowing, mimicking the video. That chorus will really soar over the audience in the arena.

The correct top 2. I would rank them differently depending on my mood. They're just absolutely perfect pop songs. Thanks for all the work you put into doing this. The write ups were great and it was lots of fun!

Folks, that build to the 2nd chorus of Don't Shut Me Down, followed by a key change and an army of harmonies, is life affirming. Absolute perfection. It still gives me goosebumps.

Everything left has a 10, 10.5 or 11 from me in the rate, so I'm very happy. I do feel like Mamma Mia is a bit too high. It's overrated. But really, this top 10 is impeccable. If Angeleyes had made it, it'd be perfection. Thrilled that One Of Us is still in the running too.

Slightest Touch

Super Trouper grew on me over many years. I initially hated it. Thought it was just the cheesiest thing I'd ever heard. Then one day it just kind of clicked. Now I love it. I love everything about it. That pre-chorus>chorus transition is sublime, and potentially one of their best. The chorus itself is majestic. Those harmonies. Wow. I don't know why I gave this less than a 10. Moment of madness clearly.

Same. I wouldn't mind that just bowing out now.

Gutted for the forever underrated Angeleyes. It's just the perfect example of the impeccable harmonies, with a soaring chorus melody, it's incredible. I am shocked at how low The Day Before You Came is though. I don't personally love it, but it's always top 3 on these "Best ABBA songs" polls that we see, and I just figured I was missing something, a bit like other people with Angeleyes!

I am shocked that Summer Night City is out already. And especially before Does Your Mother Know. I thought it was pretty much universally adored as a bit of an overlooked classic? It's bloody brilliant - particularly the live version.

Why does that mean that it won't be number 1 for multiple weeks? If anyone was almost guaranteed to be a good physical seller in the run up to Christmas, it's Adele.

I agree it won't sell 2 million, but am I missing something major that is replacing Easy on Me at number this week? Fairly certain that first prediction is coming true.

I don't think so. If Amazon Home Delivery data is missing, that's potentially a bunch more physicals still to be added for them, along with the small amount of streaming data they'll be missing.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Adele beats it in one day. I know sales are down across the board, but she doesn't work in line with any normal trends there. I just wouldn't be shocked at all if she pulled a 200k first day and then added another 100k across the week.