Ghoulian

“We Can’t Be Friends” now struggling quite a bit so if we lose 3 next week that might leave alongside “GBP” and one of the oldies like “Don’t Stop Me Now”

I know the follow up is probably better regarded hit I’ve always loved “Like I Love You”. It drew Jacko comparisons at the time but I find it very authentic. There’s some other great stuff entering towards the bottom of the chart but none of it quite beats JT. 9 Justin Timberlake Like I Love You His 1st solo hit and a wonderfully punchy, well composed statement of intent with excellent vocal range and charisma 8 DJ Shadow Six Days His last Top 40 sampling the anguished vocal from Colonel Bagshot's "Six Day War": another very atmospheric track 8 Paul Masterson Presents Sushi The Earthshaker Only hit for this DJ and a very hypnotic and effective 8 minute dance track that builds up over a repeated spoken line 8 The Polyphonic Spree Hanging Around 1st hit for this US band known for combining orchestral and choral styles with rock: this is a joyous and charming track 7 Who Da Funk Featuring Jessica Eve Shiny Disco Balls 1st hit for this DJ act with a really intriguing dance track with a spoken hook that builds up to a shout: it is very catchy 7 U2 Electrical Storm One of my favourite U2 tracks from this time, with lovely lyrics linking emotions to the weather and natural beauty 6 Hell Is For Heroes Night Vision 1st Top 40 after a couple of misses for this UK band with an emotive heavy rock track that's good but quite intense 6 Blue One Love The lead from their 2nd album missing #1 in a competitive week: nothing new but a strong song in their usual style 6 Groove Armada Purple Haze Sampling a Status Quo song, a reggae style track with a ritualistic hook that's slightly repetitive but well produced 5 Red Hot Chili Peppers The Zephyr Song By far the lowest score I've given a Chilies hit: it's still good but feels a little flat and lacking their usual panache for me 5 Idlewild Live In A Hiding Place The follow up to the excellent "American English" this is nice but feels too much like a slightly lesser version of that 4 The Streets Don't Mug Yourself Very different in style from their other singles so far and feels like the precursor to "Fit But You Know It": jolly but silly 4 Turin Brakes Long Distance This was the lead from their 2nd album: the follow up will be much bigger and this feels like it's lacking a proper tune 3 The Calling Adrienne Their 2nd single: unlike the 1st which is certainly well remembered, this is so nondescript that there's not much to say 2 Rosie Ribbons Blink 1st hit for this "Pop Idol" 6th place contestant with a very uninspiring and slice of typical early '00s style RnB pop 2002 Week 45: #1566 09/11/2002 DJ Sammy And Yanou Featuring Do Heaven 1 {1}-2-3-7-11-12-20-26-20-24-31-38-36-47-46-54-59-54-56-69R(244)-65R(29)-71-63-67->24 #1567 09/11/2002 Madonna Die Another Day 3 {3}-12-18-18-16-20-24-32-34-29-43-56-63-63-47-52->16 #1568 09/11/2002 Craig David What's Your Flava? 8 {8}-18-24-36-41-48-54-58-52-55->10 #1569 09/11/2002 Romeo Featuring Christina Milian It's All Gravy 9 {9}-16-23-35-46-59->6 #1570 09/11/2002 Shaggy Hey Sexy Lady 10 {10}-19-25-40-53-63-72R(2)->7 #1571 09/11/2002 Whitney Houston Whatchulookinat 13 {13}-32-50->3 #1572 09/11/2002 Jan Wayne Because The Night 14 {14}-21-28-43-72->5 #1573 09/11/2002 Soda Club Featuring Hannah Alethea Take My Breath Away 16 {16}-27-41-69->4 #1574 09/11/2002 Mad'house Holiday 24 {24}-43-74->3 #1575 09/11/2002 Pearl Jam I Am Mine 26 {26}-53->2 #1576 09/11/2002 Tom Jones Tom Jones International 31 {31}-61-> #1577 09/11/2002 McAlmont And Butler Bring It Back 36 {36}-69->2 #1578 09/11/2002 Amerie Featuring Ludacris Why Don't We Fall In Love 40 {40}-66->2

“Seventeen Going Under”, which must have a very good premium ratio as it’s easy to underestimate.

Week 20 with bonuses: 1 1 Lola Young Messy 837,000 1,020,000 2 2 Rosé and Bruno Mars APT. 790,000 1,150,000 3 4 Alex Warren Ordinary 735,000 4 3 Gracie Abrams That's So True 699,000 1,130,000 5 5 Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars Die With A Smile 646,000 1,280,000 6 6 Chappell Roan Pink Pony Club 605,000 1,050,000 7 7 Chrystal The Days 551,000 720,000 8 8 Billie Eilish Birds Of A Feather 518,000 1,740,000 9 10 Benson Boone Beautiful Things 507,000 2,300,000 10 9 Chappell Roan Good Luck, Babe! 504,000 1,710,000 11 11 Gigi Perez Sailor Song 482,000 1,080,000 12 12 Sabrina Carpenter Espresso 457,000 2,210,000 13 13 Sabrina Carpenter Taste 454,000 1,250,000 14 14 Teddy Swims Lose Control 453,000 2,290,000 15 15 Teddy Swims Bad Dreams 420,000 660,000 16 16 Teddy Swims The Door 409,000 1,080,000 17 17 Tate McRae Sports Car 399,000 18 18 Kendrick Lamar Not Like Us 393,000 1,010,000 19 19 Myles Smith Nice To Meet You 393,000 500,000 20 20 Shaboozey A Bar Song (Tipsy) 378,000 1,710,000 21 21 Myles Smith Stargazing 367,000 1,380,000 22 22 Hozier Too Sweet 363,000 1,830,000 23 23 Lady Gaga Abracadabra 361,000 24 24 Sabrina Carpenter Please Please Please 350,000 1,490,000 25 25 Noah Kahan Stick Season 346,000 2,870,000 26 26 Sabrina Carpenter Bed Chem 332,000 720,000 27 27 Sonny Fodera, Jazzy & D.O.D. Somedays 328,000 800,000 28 28 Alex Warren Carry You Home 327,000 630,000 29 29 Kendrick Lamar & Sza Luther 316,000 620,000 30 30 Sabrina Carpenter Busy Woman 309,000 31 31 Chappell Roan Hot To Go! 307,000 970,000 32 32 Gracie Abrams I Love You, I'm Sorry 305,000 790,000 33 33 Doechii Anxiety 296,000 34 34 Ravyn Lenae Love Me Not 293,000 35 35 The Weeknd and Playboi Carti Timeless 292,000 520,000 36 36 The Killers Mr Brightside 288,000 6,350,000 37 37 Sam Fender People Watching 285,000 390,000 38 38 Kendrick Lamar & Sza All The Stars 284,000 2,200,000 39 39 Billie Eilish Wildflower 280,000 790,000 40 40 Doechii Denial Is A River 277,000 280,000 41 40 Bl3ss & CamrinWatsin featuring BbyClose Kisses 276,000 930,000 42 41 Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen I Had Some Help 276,000 1,190,000 43 43 Goo Goo Dolls Iris 265,000 4,070,000 44 44 Dasha Austin 262,000 1,410,000 45 48 WizTheMc & Bees & Honey Show Me Love 262,000 46 45 Fleetwood Mac Dreams 256,000 3,480,000 47 50 Drake Nokia 240,000 48 46 Charli XCX & Billie Eilish Guess 239,000 740,000 49 47 Pawsa and The Adventures Of Stevie V Dirty Cash (Money Talks) 238,000 300,000 50 49 Coldplay Viva La Vida 238,000 3,830,000 53 53 Alex Warren Burning Down 224,000 350,000 56 54 Kendrick Lamar TV Off 216,000 310,000 57 62 Tate McRae Revolving Door 216,000 59 57 Sabrina Carpenter Juno 212,000 450,000 60 59 Imogen Heap Headlock 210,000 300,000 61 66 Chappell Roan The Giver 205,000 64 61 Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Defying Gravity 202,000 330,000 67 60 Jimin Who 200,000 470,000 69 72 Leon Thomas Mutt 199,000 220,000 70 81 Ed Sheeran Azizam 199,000 71 67 Tyla Push 2 Start 197,000 260,000 81 88 Morgan Seatree featuring Florence + The Machine Say My Name (Remix) 179,000 82 78 Sam Barber featuring Avery Anna Indigo 177,000 200,000 85 86 Disturbed The Sound Of Silence 175,000 1,780,000 86 82 Chappell Roan Red Wine Supernova 175,000 600,000 87 84 Sam Fender Arm's Length 174,000 88 87 Tate McRae It's OK I'm OK 172,000 360,000 99 91 Central Cee & 21 Savage GBP 166,000 100 - Benson Boone Sorry I'm Here For Someone Else 165,000 “505” leaving again

I’ve decided to add bonus information for Week 20: 1 1 Sabrina Carpenter Short n' Sweet 291,000 660,000 2 2 Sam Fender People Watching 165,000 3 3 Ed Sheeran +-=÷x (Tour Collection) 164,000 270,000 4 5 The Weeknd The Highlights 134,000 1,370,000 5 4 Chappell Roan The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess 133,000 430,000 6 6 SZA SOS 131,000 610,000 7 7 Fleetwood Mac 50 Years: Don't Stop 129,000 1,600,000 8 8 Elton John Diamonds 122,000 1,780,000 9 9 Central Cee Can't Rush Greatness 115,000 10 10 Lady Gaga Mayhem 115,000 11 11 Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department 113,000 900,000 12 13 Charli XCX Brat 113,000 400,000 13 12 Billie Eilish Hit Me Hard And Soft 113,000 460,000 14 14 Tate McRae So Close To What 105,000 15 15 Noah Kahan Stick Season 104,000 570,000 16 16 Gracie Abrams The Secret Of Us 98,000 240,000 17 17 ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits 97,000 6,000,000 18 18 Oasis Time Flies... 1994-2009 97,000 2,130,000 19 19 Michael Jackson The Essential 96,000 1,930,000 20 20 Arctic Monkeys AM 94,000 2,190,000 21 21 Eminem Curtain Call: The Hits 92,000 3,410,000 22 24 Fleetwood Mac Rumours 86,000 2,630,000 23 23 The Weeknd Hurry Up Tomorrow 84,000 24 22 Kendrick Lamar GNX 83,000 140,000 25 25 Olivia Rodrigo Guts 81,000 570,000 26 26 Linkin Park Papercuts 79,000 250,000 27 27 Olivia Rodrigo Sour 78,000 1,130,000 28 28 Ariana Grande Eternal Sunshine 77,000 260,000 29 29 PartyNextDoor & Drake $ome $exy $ongs 4 U 73,000 30 30 Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory 72,000 5,380,000 31 32 Calvin Harris 96 Months 69,000 140,000 32 31 Teddy Swims I've Tried Everything But Therapy, Part 2 68,000 33 33 Benson Boone Fireworks & Rollerblades 68,000 190,000 34 34 Queen Greatest Hits 68,000 3,110,000 35 35 Alex Warren You'll Be Alright Kid (Chapter 1) 67,000 90,000 36 36 Pitbull Greatest Hits 64,000 530,000 37 37 Post Malone The Diamond Collection 63,000 400,000 38 39 Fontaines D.C. Romance 62,000 180,000 39 38 Teddy Swims I've Tried Everything But Therapy, Part 1 62,000 220,000 40 41 Ed Sheeran ÷ 60,000 4,390,000 41 40 Maroon 5 Singles 60,000 900,000 42 43 Billy Joel Piano Man: The Very Best Of Billy Joel 58,000 1,600,000 43 44 George Michael Twenty Five 58,000 1,800,000 44 42 CoCoMelon Nursery Rhymes By CoComelon 58,000 280,000 45 45 Taylor Swift Folklore 57,000 900,000 46 46 Eminem Curtain Call 2 57,000 430,000 47 47 Oasis Definitely Maybe 56,000 2,850,000 48 49 Katy Perry Teenage Dream 56,000 1,950,000 49 50 Bob Marley Legend 56,000 3,330,000 50 51 Hozier Hozier 55,000 960,000 56 48 Robbie Williams Better Man (OST) 53,000 57 57 Taylor Swift 1989 (Taylor's Version) 52,000 590,000 64 64 Taylor Swift Midnights 49,000 1,010,000 65 60 Playboi Carti I Am Music 49,000 67 68 The Beatles 1967-1970 48,000 1,250,000 69 65 Taylor Swift Lover (Live From Paris) 47,000 73 71 Sabrina Carpenter Emails I Can't Send 46,000 200,000 75 75 Little Mix Between Us 45,000 600,000 76 77 Billie Eilish Happier Than Ever 43,000 450,000 77 76 Mumford & Sons Rushmere 43,000 81 81 The Beatles 1962-1966 41,000 1,050,000 85 86 Bad Bunny Debí Tirar Más Fotos 40,000 87 89 Tyler, The Creater Chromakopia 39,000 110,000 89 87 Elton John & Brandi Carlile Who Believes In Angels? 39,000 96 96 Harry Styles Harry's House 37,000 890,000 99 97 Linkin Park From Zero 36,000 100,000

22/5: 1 1 Ordinary (1) 2 2 Love me not (2) 3 3 Pink pony club (2) 4 4 Show me love (4) 5 8 Undressed (5) 6 6 Messy (1) 7 5 Azizam (3) 8 7 APT (2) 9 10 The days (5) 10 9 Beautiful things (1) 11 14 Birds of a feather (2) 12 - Blessings (12) 13 12 Sports car (7) 14 14 That’s so true (1) 15 11 Anxiety (4) 16 15 Die with a smile (3) 17 16 Good luck, babe! (2) 18 19 Bad dreams (13) 19 20 Nice to meet you (12) 20 21 Carry you home (17) 21 24 Back to friends (21) 22 22 Lose control (2) 23 29 Mystical magical (23) 24 23 The door (13) 25 28 Stargazing (6) 26 18 Busy woman (11) 27 26 Espresso (1) 28 25 Taste (1) 29 43 Shake it to the max (29) 30 30 Sailor song (2) 31 31 A bar song (2) 32 38 Revolving door (17) 33 33 Nokia (18) 34 32 Old phone (32) 35 27 Abracadabra (4) 36 17 Steve’s lava chicken (13) 37 35 Too sweet (1) 38 40 Sorry I’m here for someone else (34) 39 39 Somedays (10) 40 41 Mr Brightside (10) 41 36 Mutt (29) 42 42 Stick season (1) 43 44 Tell me (43) 44 37 The giver (2) 45 45 Dreams (22) 46 34 What was that (17) 47 46 Kisses (9) 48 47 Iris (3) 49 50 I had some help (2) 50 49 Say my name (49)

Well ever since the voting has been split between juries and televoting there have been big differences between the two. I think that took some getting used to but the consensus now seems to be that this is not a problem. Whether it’s Russian grannies or Tommy Cash it’s perfectly normal for something entertaining but technically not great to be Top 3 in the televote and nowhere with the jury. Most of us think that technical quality and entertainment value should both count and that it’s right for the final to be based on a combination of the two. I’ve always resisted the idea that the voting is political as being a slightly lazy thing to say. There may be a few pockets here and there but mostly it’s just cultural. We exchange more points than average with Ireland because we have more in common culturally. Whoever else it is, say Slovenia and Croatia, they do it too for the same reason and that’s OK as it balances out across all countries. I tend to be strictly apolitical when it comes to Eurovision. However this is the first time I’ve seen obvious continent wide political voting significantly affecting the result of the contest, so I’m now joining those saying this is not OK.

In countries where there’s a clear favourite it might not be worth chasing the 12, but you can still get 10 or 8 points with 10-15% of the vote.

1 Amelie Lens 2 SG Lewis 3 Wilkinson

It’s been confirmed that 145,000 Spanish televotes were cast in the final. So not a lot really. You might need 30,000 or so to get 12 points, but divide it by 20 and any single country only needs to mobilise 1,500 people who are in Spain.

I’m happy with no jury in the semis. You don’t need something like Switzerland 2022 going through on jury votes because it’s technically competent only to bore everyone to tears on Saturday. I think many of the Western nations and especially 4 of the Big 5 have struggled most of this century with what is our national identity and what are we bringing to this competition? In a sense it’s worst of all for the UK who have been responsible for so much of what everyone has listened to over the last 60 years. How can you stand out in that position? Italy and some other countries have been very skilful in making their entries just different enough year on year and yet keeping that national character running through. But that’s a discussion for another thread.

I think he just means Ireland needs to find a way to qualify more regularly. 😅

I doubt this process is going to do much other than give us stats lovers more to chew on. What would be really interesting is to know if, say, only the 1st vote from each user counted how that would change the results. But I very much doubt that information is held. It only takes a small proportion of voters to be giving 20 votes to the same country while all the casual viewers are giving 1 or 2 to their favourites to heavily skew the results.

So maybe all we need to do is mention all the other countries in our song!

A close round but “winning” by just a lil’ bit is 50 Cent. This was his 8th straight Top 10 hit, reaching #10 in May 2005. The Game later recorded a version dissing 50 Cent. 9th: 50 Cent - Just A Lil’ Bit 10/31 votes (32%) 10th: Ronan Keating - I Hope You Dance 14/27 votes (52%)

I enjoyed this selection - more than half would come above my favourite from the pop list! 1 Wolf Alice 2 King Gizzard 3 Nova Twins But I’d be happy for Lola to get another hit with that.

@Scene can you help us? 😅

1 Skye 2 Morgan 3 Jessie

OK I think it is time to switch to “Heartbroken” now, but I do like it much more than I did at the time.

I won’t tell her that she exited in the first half straight after winning an Ultimate. This grungy song was the lead from her 2nd album “Under My Skin”. It reached #5 in May 2004, but was outsold by the also #5 peaking follow up. 6th: Avril Lavigne - Don’t Tell Me 15/33 votes (45%) 7th: Eminem - When I’m Gone 8/30 votes (27%) 8th: Stereophonics - Handbags & Gladrags 10/31 votes (32%) 9th: Puff Daddy featuring R. Kelly - Satisfy You 27/29 votes (93%) 10th: Cliff Richard - Santa’s List 18/30 votes (60%)

Going for Deadmau5 - such a blissful track.

My gosh it was rather a good final 3, and Basement Jaxx take the bronze. This was their last Top 20 hit to date, reaching #8 in March 2005 and having its run extended slightly by downloads coming in. Vula Malinga did the vocals after they saw her performing with the London Community Gospel Choir. 3rd: Basement Jaxx - Oh My Gosh 17/33 votes (52%) 4th: Razorlight - America 15/30 votes (50%) 5th: Arctic Monkeys - Leave Before The Lights Come On 14/31 votes (45%) 6th: Mis-Teeq - B With Me 9/28 votes (31%) 7th: Javine - Real Things 8/29 votes (28%) 8th: Pink - There You Go 8/30 votes (27%) 9th: Steps - Here And Now / You’ll Be Sorry 14/30 votes (47%) 10th: Basshunter - Angel In The Night 14/33 votes (42%)

Hoping to move this forward today!

Albania 16th with the juries and 5th with the public is wild. That should have done better with the juries than the televote if anything - the televotes were well deserved but it isn’t a super catchy gets in your head tune or anything. But on what objective metric were the juries marking it down?

Presumably the whole point of allowing 20 televotes per person is so that they can spread their points between a few countries they like, and not so that they can allocate 20 to the same entry. It should be maximum 3 or 4 for a single country I reckon.