Brer

Vote 20 Bjork sent the legendary American folk singer Tracy Chapman with her 1995 single 'Give Me One Reason'. Over in her home nation this is actually surprisingly her highest charting single, reaching #3 on the US Hot 100 while 'Fast Car' could only manage #6. The latter is of course her one big UK hit, originally hitting #5 in 1988 although not peaking until 2011 after a performance on Britain's Got Talent by some guy propelled it to #4. 'Give Me One Reason' could only manage #95 here and its parent album somehow didn't chart at all despite two of her previous albums getting to #1 here, curious how that happened. It's not been lighting up the scoreboard here earlier having been in the lower half of most of the scoreboards, currently in 17th. 1 103 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 88 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 79 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 71 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 67 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 6 65 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 7 65 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 8 59 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 9 57 Annerley - Save Me [???] 10 54 Helen Blobby - Imagination [WoW73] 11 52 Nu Blobz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 12 51 The Blobbors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 47 Nick Blob & The Bad Blobs - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 42 Blobby Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 15 35 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 16 34 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 17 31 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 18 30 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [Bjork] 19 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 20 25 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 21 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 19 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 23 17 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville keep racking up points but The Psychedelic Furs outpace them again and the gap reduces to 15 points, could they be slowly but surely clawing back victory? Army Of Lovers are unmoved in 3rd while White Town has another resurgence to the top 5, up 3 places to 4th, knocking Modern Talking down a place, while Cicero drops 2 to 7th. Nu Shooz are the latest to register a first 12, they move back closer to top 10 contention again with a 14-11 climb.

Vote 19 Suedehead2's entrant is another British post-punk/new wave act The Icicle Works. Their only UK top 40 single was 1983's #15 peaking 'Love Is A Wonderful Colour', but they had several further minor hits throughout the 80s and into early 1990. The entry here is 'Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream)' which was their first UK top 100 entry, initially peaking at #90 in 1983 but getting to #53 with a re-release the following year following the success of their bigger hit. This isn't the first time Suedey has sent The Icicle Works to a song contest as he sent another of their minor hits 'Understanding Jane' to BJSC, that fell some way short of qualifying for the final but they've been received much more warmly here, having been in the lead at one point and remaining as top 5 contenders since, currently in 5th place. 1 100 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 81 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 79 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 67 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 5 65 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 6 61 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [Suedehead2] 7 61 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 8 57 Annerley - Save Me [???] 9 54 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 10 53 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 47 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 12 46 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 42 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 14 40 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 15 34 Mr. Blobzo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 31 Young BlobB - Know How [jimwatts] 17 30 Tracy Blobman - Give Me One Reason [???] 18 28 Blobheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 19 27 Paula Blob - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 25 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 21 24 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 22 17 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 23 17 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville become the first to reach 100 points, just about. But it's another medal here for The Psychedelic Furs which puts them once again in the silver medal position and now cutting the gap to 19 points. Army Of Lovers also outscore Alphaville here but nonetheless drop into the bronze position. Modern Talking hold in 4th, while a medal position here for Cicero pushes him into the top 5 for the first time, up 2 places to 5th. He knocks Suede's own entry The Icicle Works back down to 6th. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds get their second 12 and rally closer to the top 10, up 3 to 11th. Nothing at all unusual is happening to the scoreboard.

Vote 18 awardinary sent 'Betcha'll Never Find', a non-charting 1993 single by American R&B singer Chantay Savage who would have her greatest success in the UK 3 years later with her version of Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive' which peaked at #12. Chantay was in the initial top 10 but has been struggling since then and is second in line for the wooden spoon as it stands. 1 97 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 74 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 71 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 4 67 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 5 61 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 6 61 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 7 57 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 8 57 Annerley - Save Me [???] 9 50 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 10 47 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 46 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 42 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 13 40 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 14 35 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 34 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 31 Young MC - Know How [jimwatts] 17 28 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 18 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 19 27 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 24 Blobbing Pink - Love Buzz [Scene] 21 18 2wo 8lob3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Blobbies - Purple Toupee [???] 23 16 Blobber & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [awardinary] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Nothing for Alphaville here, also nothing for The Psychedelic Furs though and a medal to Army Of Lovers allowing them to retake 2nd place, 23 points off the lead. Modern Talking collect a second 12 in relatively quick succession placing them back in the top 5, up 2 to 4th. The Icicle Works hold in 5th, treading water ahead of White Town who drops to 6th. A silver here for Cicero pushes him up 2 places to 7th.

Vote 17 AH Gold's entry comes from American group Nu Shooz from the difficult to define 'freestyle' scene. They're best known for 1986 UK #2 hit 'I Can't Wait' (later sampled in Mann's 'Buzzin' as I always feel obligated to mention) and are represented here by the follow-up single 'Point Of No Return' which peaked at #48 and is not to be confused with the song of the same name from around the same time by another freestyle act Exposé. Exposé's track was previously sent to a retro themed edition of the Pop Forum Song Contest where it came 4th, Nu Shooz got off to a similarly strong start being in the initial top 5 but have cooled off a bit and are now in 14th place. 1 97 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 71 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 66 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 4 61 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 60 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 6 55 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 7 52 Annerley - Save Me [???] 8 48 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 47 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 47 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 46 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 42 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 13 35 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 34 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [AH Gold] 15 34 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 17 27 Young MC - Know How [jimwatts] 18 24 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 21 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 18 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 23 16 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Blobbay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Blob-Blob Ma and Blobby McFerrin - Stars [???] More points for Alphaville and nothing for Army Of Lovers... but the gap between the top 2 remains at 26 points as we actually have a new runner-up, former leaders The Psychedelic Furs become the second act to have 2 12s and work their way back into 2nd place, 5 points ahead of Army Of Lovers. Can the late voters favour them to overcome that lead? White Town is up a place again to 4th, swapping with The Icicle Works. Also good news here for Helen Reddy who's up 2 to 8th.

Vote 16 jimwatts saw fit to give us a bit of diversity in the contest with a hip-hop entry and the only one by a one hit wonder from outside the UK - American rapper Young MC fits the bill in his home nation where his one big hit is 1989's 'Bust A Move' which hit #7 (it also made him an Australian one hit wonder where it got all the way to #1 but he had no other top 40 hits). 'Bust A Move' only got to #73 in the UK with two later singles charting higher but none cracking the top 40. The song here, 'Know How', was actually released just before 'Bust A Move' in 1988 and didn't chart at all in the US but did get to #95 here. It's been performing reasonably well for a hip-hop entry, having spent some time in the top 15 and currently just outside it. 1 92 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 66 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 59 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 4 57 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 5 53 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 6 52 Annerley - Save Me [???] 7 48 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 8 47 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 9 45 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 42 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 11 41 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 12 36 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 13 35 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 34 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 15 34 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 16 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 17 27 Young MC - Know How [jimwatts] 18 24 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 20 21 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 18 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 23 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville continue to race ahead and now near the triple figure mark, expanding their lead over Army Of Lovers to 26 points. The Psychedelic Furs now knock The Icicle Works off the podium as they swap over in 3rd and 4th, while White Town still can't be held down as he's back in the top 5 again jumping back ahead of Annerley. Helen Reddy is back in the top 10 again, once again knocking out Donna Lewis. And we have yet another new 12 this time for Mr. Oizo who rises 4 places to 15th as a result. A silver here is also good for Classix Nouveaux rising 2 places to 8th.

Vote 15 Herbs caused a very mild stir with his choice of entry, American singer Paula Cole's 'I Don't Want To Wait' - she certainly fits the bill for the contest as her only UK top 40 entry was 1997 #15 hit 'Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?' but this track which peaked at #43 the following year could arguably be considered to be her most well-known song these days, most likely thanks to being used as the theme song to Dawson's Creek which is a show I recognise the name of but could tell you absolutely nothing about. It has 114 million streams on Spotify compared to 34 million for her actual UK hit. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem to be benefiting too greatly from familiarity so far - it had a good start being in the initial top 3 but has had a gradual tumble since then and is currently in a surprisingly low 17th place. It was the first choice for ChrisJK as well but is only a little ahead of his replacement entry. 1 85 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 64 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 54 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 54 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 5 52 Annerley - Save Me [???] 6 49 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 7 48 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 8 45 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 9 41 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 10 37 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 36 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 13 34 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 14 29 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 16 27 Young MC - Know How [???] 17 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [Herbs] 18 23 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 20 21 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 18 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 22 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 23 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 11 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Alphaville slightly expand their lead again to 21 points as there's nothing for Army Of Lovers here. The Icicle Works stay in 3rd but are now tied in points with The Psychedelic Furs, climbing to 4th after they pick up a bronze medal here. Annerley hops into the top 5 for the first time, knocking White Town down two to 6th. (I laughed at that Steps comment - this Annerley song is from the same year as the last Steps album so maybe the cover is coming next time they reunite xx). Modern Talking are the latest to register a 12 pointer - that's now 14 different 12s from the first 15 voters! - pushing them back up 2 to 7th. Donna Lewis is back in the top 10 in place of The Vapors, while at the other end of the scoreboard Chantay Savage makes it to double figures leaving only Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin below 10 points.

Vote 14 Dobbo provided some classic europop from German duo Modern Talking, they had a number of big European hits in the mid 80s including this one, 'Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love)', but in the UK it could only make it to #55 in 1986 leaving their only big UK hit as previous release 'Brother Louie' from the same year which hit #4. Another of their big in Europe but less so in the UK hits 'You're My Heart, You're My Soul' was sent to BJSC recently and came 17th, they're currently on track to do a bit better here, having been top 10 since the beginning, getting as high as 2nd at one point and currently in 6th place. 1 81 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 64 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 54 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 49 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 46 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 6 45 Annerley - Save Me [???] 7 37 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 8 36 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 9 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [Dobbo] 10 35 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 11 35 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 12 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 13 33 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 14 29 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 28 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 16 27 Young MC - Know How [???] 17 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 18 23 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 19 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 20 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 17 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 22 13 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 9 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Nothing for Alphaville here but a medal for Army Of Lovers so the gap closes a little again to 17 points. The Icicle Works, White Town and The Psychedelic Furs all hold their positions also gaining no points. We're back to the first 12s as Annerley gets a gold medal here and climbs 4 places to a best-yet 6th place. Good hauls here for Classix Nouveaux and The Vapors place both back in the top 10, knocking out former leader Donna Lewis as well as Helen Reddy.

Vote 13 dandy* reaches into the 21st century for his entry, 2004 track 'Stunt' by French electronic producer Mr. Oizo who was a true one hit wonder in the UK, hitting #1 in 1999 with the iconic 'Flat Beat' and never sniffing the top 100 again afterwards. 'Stunt' took its time to get off 0 points but has worked its way up to low midtable at least, currently in 16th. Maybe it'd be doing better if he invited Flat Eric back for the music video again. 1 81 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 56 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 54 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 49 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 46 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 6 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 7 35 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 8 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 34 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 33 Annerley - Save Me [???] 11 31 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 12 30 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 13 29 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 29 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 15 27 Young MC - Know How [???] 16 24 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 17 23 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 18 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [dandy*] 19 21 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 20 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 22 9 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 9 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 24 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] The streak of unique 12 pointers finally ends and it's current leaders Alphaville who become the first to double up. Even better for them, there are no points here for Army Of Lovers so their lead balloons to a very healthy 25 points, is it all over already?! The Icicle Works continue to close in again on the top 2, as 8 points here moves them within 2 of Army Of Lovers. Strong points for White Town and The Psychedelic Furs also see them cement themselves more comfortably in their current positions in the top 5. A silver for Young MC pushes him up 5 places into the top 15.

Vote 12 First time song contest participant ChrisJK is next to be unveiled as we approach the halfway point, he sent electropop group 2wo Third3 who Wikipedia somewhat amusingly finds it important to label as being gay but doesn't bother specifying a nationality (I'm pretty sure they're British). They're probably best known for being the career origin of songwriter Richard "Biff" Stannard who would go on to play a pivotal role in many Spice Girls hits. 'Hear Me Calling' was their debut single and peaked at #48 in the UK in 1994, they only just qualified by the specification of this contest as they had one top 20 hit, 'I Want The World' getting to #20 later that year. 2wo Third3 were briefly top 10 in one of the early scoreboards but have struggled since and are presently in the bottom 5. 1 69 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 56 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 46 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 43 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 5 39 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 6 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 7 35 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 8 34 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 34 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 10 33 Annerley - Save Me [???] 11 30 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 12 28 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 13 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 14 24 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 23 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 16 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 17 21 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 18 21 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 19 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 20 17 Young MC - Know How [???] 21 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 22 9 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [ChrisJK] 23 9 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 24 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] No points here for either of the top 2 allowing the field a chance to catch up a little. The Icicle Works stay in 3rd and cut the deficit to the top 2 to 10 points. White Town is back in the top 5 again, back up 2 places to 4th, pushing The Psychedelic Furs down a place to 5th. 12 votes and 12 different 12 pointers, how long can this continue? This time it's Paula Cole getting her first gold medal, and she climbs 6 places to 15th. A medal position for Cicero pushes him back into the top 10 which he's been in and out of throughout so far.

Vote 11 A big hitter unveiled now and can we ever be surprised to see Addy! near the top of a song contest leaderboard? He's behind the current runner-up and former leader 'Obsession' by Swedish dance-pop group Army Of Lovers (who Mangø also tried to send with a different song). This charted at #67 in the UK in 1991 as a follow-up to 'Crucified' which originally peaked at #47, but a re-release the following year made it their only top 40 hit with a peak of #31. Both songs were big hits in several other European countries. 'Crucified' had its turn in BJSC where it placed 21st, 'Obsession' certainly looks to be comfortably bettering that. 1 69 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 56 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [Addy!] 3 39 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 39 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 5 36 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 6 35 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 7 33 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 8 29 Annerley - Save Me [???] 9 29 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 10 25 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 11 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 12 25 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 13 24 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 14 24 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 15 22 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 16 21 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 17 21 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 18 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 19 17 Young MC - Know How [???] 20 12 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 21 11 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 22 9 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 23 7 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 24 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] BLOBBY BLOBBY BLOBBY ...Addy engages in some prime foot shooting as he delivers Alphaville their 4th straight medal position and of course cannot vote for himself, meaning they jump out to a nice 13 point lead. He does however maintain his lead over an unmoved 3rd and 4th of The Icicle Works and The Psychedelic Furs, while Modern Talking return to the top 5 displacing White Town. Once again it's a first 12 pointer this time for Tracy Chapman, more than doubling her total score and pushing her up 5 places to 17th.

Vote 10 Chez Wombat has been a little cheeky with the definition of 'one hit wonder' as he went with Australian rock legends Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds who are by far the most decorated UK chart act in the contest with a dozen and a half chart entries spanning from 1984 to 2008 not to mention big success in the albums chart that continues to this day, but indeed by the letter of the specification they do qualify as their only UK top 20 hit was the #11 peaking 1995 track 'Where The Wild Roses Grow' with Kylie Minogue. Their song here is the gloriously intense track 'The Mercy Seat' from 1988 which peaked at #86. So far it's mostly been flitting around midtable, currently in 12th place. 1 59 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 56 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 3 39 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 39 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 5 35 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 6 30 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 7 29 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 8 28 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 10 25 Annerley - Save Me [???] 11 25 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 12 24 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 13 23 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [Chez Wombat] 14 19 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 15 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 16 17 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 17 17 Young MC - Know How [???] 18 15 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 19 11 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 20 9 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 21 9 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 22 9 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 23 7 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 24 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] The current top 2 also land as the top 2 in Chez's votes so they jump out ahead of the pack - it's a first 12 for Alphaville and a third medal position in a row for them, but they stay only 3 points ahead of Army Of Lovers. 17 points further back, The Icicle Works are back up to 3rd and The Psychedelic Furs to 4th, both leapfrogging White Town. Interesting to note that 10 votes in no one has got more than one 12 so far, we like to see the spread. (also Chez I clocked your deception on SyncTube to throw people off the scent of this being your entry xox)

Vote 9 Jade also plumps for a British new wave band, The Vapors [sic] who hit it big with 1980 #3 hit 'Turning Japanese' and are represented here with the follow-up 'News At Ten' which topped out at #44 (they would go on to have another #44 hit in 1981 but no further chart appearances after that). 'News At Ten' was topping the scoreboard after 5 votes but hasn't got any more points since then and has slid back down to the lower end of the top 10. 1 47 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 2 46 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 3 35 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 4 33 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 5 31 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 6 30 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 7 29 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 8 28 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 9 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [Jade] 10 25 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 11 24 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 12 23 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 13 20 Annerley - Save Me [???] 14 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 15 17 Young MC - Know How [???] 16 17 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 17 14 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 18 11 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 19 9 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 20 8 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 21 8 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 22 7 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 23 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 24 5 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] The new leaders keep coming with Alphaville now taking the lead for the first time, knocking Army Of Lovers back to 2nd but only 1 point behind. White Town holds in 3rd, The Icicle Works recover a place to 4th and The Psychedelic Furs rise 2 places to return to the top 5. Helen Reddy gets her first 12 and climbs 6 places to return to the top 10 at #8 as a result.

Vote 8 Ansel plucked for 'Never Never Comes' by British new wave band Classix Nouveaux. They had a slew of minor hits in 1981-1982 but only one that cracked the top 40 in the UK, 1982 #11 hit 'Is It A Dream'. 'Never Never Comes' post-dates all of their chart appearances (the last of which was somewhat hopefully named 'The End... Or The Beginning?'), having been released in 1983. Interestingly their singer Sal Solo would also have qualified for this contest in his own right as he had one UK top 40 solo hit. 'Never Never Comes' has been off to a slow start, still yet to crack double digits and placing just inside the top 20. 1 41 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 2 37 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 3 35 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 4 30 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 5 30 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 6 29 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 7 29 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 8 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 9 25 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 10 20 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 11 20 Annerley - Save Me [???] 12 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 13 17 Young MC - Know How [???] 14 16 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 15 15 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 16 11 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 17 10 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 18 9 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 19 8 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 20 8 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [Ansel] 21 7 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 22 7 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 23 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 24 5 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 25 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] It's a new leader alert again, Army Of Lovers collect their first 12 and now jump into the lead, 4 points ahead of Alphaville who also got a medal position here and rise 2 places to #2. White Town is back on the podium, up two to #3, Modern Talking fall a place to 4th and The Icicle Works' snub here knocks them from #1 to #5. Mr. Oizo gets a few more points which puts Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin back in last place, tied on points with Zager & Evans.

Vote 7 gooddelta's entry is 'Agenais' by Welsh singer Donna Lewis, an album track from her 1996 album which was also home to her one UK top 20 hit, #5 peaking radio staple 'I Love You Always Forever'. 'Agenais' has similar dreamy / new age vibes to her big hit. It got off to an excellent start as it got the first 12 of the evening and a second medal right after but it's not kept up that blistering pace and is currently in 5th place. 1 30 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 2 29 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 3 28 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 4 27 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 5 27 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 6 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 7 25 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 8 25 Donna Lewis - Agenais [gooddelta] 9 22 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 10 20 Annerley - Save Me [???] 11 18 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 12 16 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 13 15 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 14 15 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 15 11 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 16 11 Young MC - Know How [???] 17 10 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 18 9 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 19 8 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 20 7 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 21 7 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 22 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 23 5 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 24 5 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] 25 4 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] The Icicle Works hold at #1 but get no points, now having only a 1 point lead over Army Of Lovers who leapfrog Modern Talking back to 2nd place. Alphaville are on the rise, up 4 places to 4th, and White Town hops back into the top 5. Freiheit get their first 12 and lift 10 places to 11th, and everyone is now off 0 as Yo-Yo and Bobby get their first points of the evening, jumping back ahead of Mr. Oizo.

Vote 6 Jester is behind Indian-born British indie/electronic singer and producer White Town with 'Undresed', the follow-up to his 1997 UK #1 (and only top 40 hit) 'Your Woman'. It's fair to say very few people would be able to name a second White Town song off the top of their heads but this song did give him a very minor second chart entry, peaking at #57. 'Undressed' was on the podium a few votes ago and is currently mid top 10. 1 30 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 2 28 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 3 27 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 4 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 5 25 Donna Lewis - Agenais [???] 6 22 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 7 21 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 8 20 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 9 19 White Town - Undressed [Jester] 10 16 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 11 15 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 12 14 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 13 11 Young MC - Know How [???] 14 10 Annerley - Save Me [???] 15 10 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 16 8 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 17 8 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 18 7 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 19 7 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 20 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 21 6 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 22 5 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 23 4 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 24 3 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 25 0 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] B L O B B Y ahem... Jester's votes change the leader once again, it is now The Icicle Works who lead after picking up their first 12, 2 points ahead of a similarly surging Modern Talking who get 10 points here. You'll note that Jester made a bit of an error with the votes here and included a 9 pointer and 11 songs, I've just pushed everything below Modern Talking down 1 point. We'll blame Blobby interference. Army Of Lovers are back up to 3rd, The Vapors slip off the top spot down to 4th and Donna Lewis drops to 5th. Mr. Oizo is lifted off 0 leaving poor brave Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin alone at the bottom.

Vote 5 We now reveal the song that is currently topping the leaderboard in this early stage - Severin sent one of the original British post-punk bands The Psychedelic Furs with their 1982 single 'Love My Way'. It peaked at #42 in the UK and was at the time their highest charting song, outdoing the previous year's 'Pretty In Pink' which charted at #43, but it is that song which would end up qualifying them for this contest as a 1986 re-release made it their only UK top 20 hit as it reached #18 second time around thanks to its usage in a film of the same name. 1 25 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 2 22 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [Severin] 3 21 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 4 20 Donna Lewis - Agenais [???] 5 20 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 6 19 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 7 19 White Town - Undressed [???] 8 18 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 9 18 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 10 15 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 11 11 Young MC - Know How [???] 12 10 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 13 8 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 14 8 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 15 8 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 16 8 Annerley - Save Me [???] 17 8 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 18 7 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 19 7 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 20 6 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 5 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 22 4 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 23 3 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 24 0 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 25 0 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] The lead changes again as Severin foot shoots himself off #1 - The Vapors rise 4 places to hold a 3 point lead. The Psychedelic Furs slip to 2nd, with Nu Shooz, Donna Lewis and Army Of Lovers also shuffling down a place each as none pick up points here. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds get a welcome first 12 which propels them into the top 10. Already after 5 votes there are only 2 songs left on 0 points, who will get off the mark first?

Vote 4 Scene is up next with the oldest (I think) song in the contest, Dutch rock / 'Nederbeat' band Shocking Blue's 'Love Buzz' from 1969. It's from the same era as their one UK top 40 hit 'Venus' (#8 in 1970) although 'Venus' was omitted from the album in its original Dutch edition and only included in international releases. Although it wasn't a single, 'Love Buzz' much like 'Venus' would go on to have a notable cover version, as Nirvana's version served as their debut single in 1988 - Nirvana and Bananarama, what a range x Sadly 'Love Buzz' is currently sitting as one of the last 4 songs on 0 points. 1 22 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [???] 2 21 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 3 20 Donna Lewis - Agenais [???] 4 20 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 5 19 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 6 19 White Town - Undressed [???] 7 18 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 8 14 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 9 11 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 10 8 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 11 8 Annerley - Save Me [???] 12 8 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 13 7 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 14 6 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 15 6 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 16 4 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 17 4 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 18 4 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 19 4 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 20 3 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 21 3 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 22 3 Young MC - Know How [???] 23 0 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 24 0 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [Scene] 25 0 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] We have a new leader as The Psychedelic Furs snatching a silver medal pushes them up from 6th to 1st, 1 point ahead of a new runner up in Nu Shooz. Donna Lewis and Army Of Lovers drop to 3rd and 4th and the top 5 is now rounded out by The Vapors after they pick up their first 12.

Vote 3 Mangø fulfilled the prophecy of every song contest ever having a Pet Shop Boys entry despite their obvious lack of eligibility for this one - American born Scottish singer Cicero was a protégé of the duo, having signed to their label Spaghetti Records and receiving a helping hand on production from them on both his one UK top 40 hit 'Love Is Everywhere' (#19 in 1992) and this song, its follow-up 'That Loving Feeling' which peaked at #46 in the same year. He currently sits just inside the top 10. 1 20 Donna Lewis - Agenais [???] 2 20 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 3 19 White Town - Undressed [???] 4 13 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 5 12 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 6 12 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [???] 7 11 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 8 8 Annerley - Save Me [???] 9 8 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 10 7 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 11 7 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 12 7 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 13 6 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [Mangø] 14 4 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 15 4 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 16 4 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 17 3 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 18 3 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 19 3 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 20 2 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 21 1 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 22 0 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 23 0 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [???] 24 0 Young MC - Know How [???] 25 0 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] Donna Lewis' lead evaporates as she stays 1st but now tied with Army Of Lovers who zoom back up to 2nd (aside: all tiebreaks will be broken down to number of 8s in these scoreboards, if anything remains tied up to that point they're then listed alphabetically). White Town gets a first 12 and flies up to 3rd, with Nu Shooz and Modern Talking also rising into the top 5. (and that's the first 3 votes being the last 3 songs in the running order the pattern does break on the next vote, how freaky though xx)

Vote 2 King Rollo is behind German pop/rock band Münchener Freiheit - known as simply Freiheit for their English language releases - with 'The Land Of Fantasy', another track from the same 1988 album that housed their one and only UK chart appearance, #14 hit and pseudo Christmas classic 'Keeping The Dream Alive'. It's opened within the top 10 having picked up a couple of points from the first votes. 1 20 Donna Lewis - Agenais [???] 2 12 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [???] 3 11 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 4 10 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 5 8 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 6 7 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 7 7 White Town - Undressed [???] 8 6 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 9 6 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [???] 10 5 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 11 5 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 12 4 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 13 4 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] 14 3 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 15 3 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 16 2 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 17 2 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [King Rollo] 18 1 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 19 0 Annerley - Save Me [???] 20 0 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 21 0 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 22 0 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [???] 23 0 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 24 0 Young MC - Know How [???] 25 0 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] The Psychedelic Furs jump off the mark with a first 12 which pushes them straight into 2nd place, although a second straight medal for Donna Lewis gives her an 8 point lead at this early stage. The Icicle Works rise to 3rd having got points from both of the first two voters with Army Of Lovers and Paula Cole shifting down to 4th and 5th. (aside: just realising the first 2 votes are the last 2 songs in the running order - entirely coincidental!)

Vote 1 WoW73 is the first to be unveiled, bringing us Australian singer and actress Helen Reddy with her 1983 track 'Imagination', she was much more successful across the pond with 3 US Hot 100 #1s to her name but only hit it big in the UK with 1975 #5 hit 'Angie Baby'. Reddy is much more well-known for her more easy listening 70s releases and based on what I've heard from her I definitely wouldn't have guessed this was her - her transition into the more synth-heavy 80s sound alas didn't seem to pan out commercially as this song didn't chart anywhere. 1 12 Donna Lewis - Agenais [???] 2 10 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 3 8 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 4 7 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 5 6 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 6 5 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 7 4 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 8 3 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 9 2 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [???] 10 1 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 11 0 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 12 0 Annerley - Save Me [???] 13 0 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [???] 14 0 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 15 0 Helen Reddy - Imagination [WoW73] 16 0 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 17 0 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 18 0 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [???] 19 0 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [???] 20 0 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 21 0 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 22 0 White Town - Undressed [???] 23 0 Young MC - Know How [???] 24 0 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] 25 0 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] Donna Lewis is our initial leader with Army Of Lovers and Paula Cole completing the podium. How well will they hold up? o:

Thanks to all who have participated and voted in this tenth edition of The Best Song Contest In The World... Ever! - all votes have now been counted and verified and we have a winner which will be revealed tonight! (Let's just hope to avoid any further Mr. Blobby related shenanigans...) I've written up a little blurb about each artist/entry for anyone who cares to read such things, to be posted as each entry is unveiled. I'll be posting the votes in the order they were received so any rollercoaster movement across the scoreboards is entirely natural and not scripted. Will get started at 8:30 and will aim to post a vote every 5 minutes or so alongside a running scoreboard, should all be wrapped up in about 2 hours. x Here's a reminder of the songs in contention - but who will be crowned king(s)/queen(s)/monarch(s) of the one hit wonders? 1 0 2wo Third3 - Hear Me Calling [???] 2 0 Alphaville - Sounds Like A Melody [???] 3 0 Annerley - Save Me [???] 4 0 Army Of Lovers - Obsession [???] 5 0 Chantay Savage - Betcha'll Never Find [???] 6 0 Cicero - That Loving Feeling [???] 7 0 Classix Nouveaux - Never Never Comes [???] 8 0 Donna Lewis - Agenais [???] 9 0 Freiheit - The Land Of Fantasy [???] 10 0 Helen Reddy - Imagination [???] 11 0 The Icicle Works - Birds Fly (Whisper To A Scream) [???] 12 0 Modern Talking - Atlantis Is Calling (S.O.S. For Love) [???] 13 0 Mr. Oizo - Stunt [???] 14 0 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat [???] 15 0 Nu Shooz - Point Of No Return [???] 16 0 Paula Cole - I Don't Want To Wait [???] 17 0 The Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way [???] 18 0 Shocking Blue - Love Buzz [???] 19 0 They Might Be Giants - Purple Toupee [???] 20 0 Tracy Chapman - Give Me One Reason [???] 21 0 The Vapors - News At Ten [???] 22 0 White Town - Undressed [???] 23 0 Young MC - Know How [???] 24 0 Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin - Stars [???] 25 0 Zager & Evans - Listen To The People [???] oh well DONE 2wo Third3

I've not quite got the results fully prepped yet but will still be good to go this evening - will drop a thread shortly and probably aiming to start around 8:30 or so!

No worries, as long as I have them by tomorrow evening all is good! @!!! @danG last reminder for you guys to get your votes in as well (tonight if possible as I do want to get some prep done later tonight) x and a general PSA for voting in song contests, please don't just reuse an old PM 'conversation', it won't show up in the relevant inbox if the original message was deleted from there / not saved there in the first place (this was why I didn't receive Jim's votes, I do have them now) (edit: sorry I originally tagged Bjork here as well by mistake, I do have yours x)

I don't have your votes in my inbox yet @!!! @awardinary @Bjork @CowTzy @danG @Julian_ @Suedehead2 also awaiting your votes, you have just under 24 hours until the official deadline (need to send myself my own votes as well + if any non-participants may be lurking and considering sending guest votes (@Popchartfreak ?) also be my guest x)

Oop xx probably should have posted about it with a bit more notice tbf haha.