Julian_

The closest final we’ve had in ages! 15-15, 16-16, 17-17 and now 18-18. Who’s going to break it this time?

A very stacked couple of weeks here! We had the only single ever to sell more than a million in its debut week, though it isn’t one of the musical highlights. I know Nickelback’s hits are a mixed bag overall but I still think “How U Remind Me” is an all time great of its genre. We have an incredibly influential White Stripes track. And and the top we have one of my favourite pop songs ever and my second 10 of the year. Shakira was such a different emerging pop star, and like with ABBA I think there’s a real second language charm to her lyrics. 10 Shakira Whenever, Wherever 1st hit for the Colombian singer songwriter and a huge selling #2: to me this is perfect pop that's quirky and full of hooks 9 The White Stripes Fell In Love With A Girl Their 2nd hit: a wonderful punchy and frantic punk rock style track that rightly brought them wirdespread critical acclaim 9 Nickelback How You Remind Me Debut hit for this Canadian rock band and a US #1: this has a great flow to it and it's a very powerful and emotional track 8 Alanis Morissette Hands Clean Her biggest hit this century and a #1 in her native Canada: great storytelling here that's up with her '90s vintage period 8 Lasgo Something 1st hit for this Belgian group: I love how the melody, production and soaring vocal come together to convey the emotion 8 A Nothing 1st Top 40 for this long standing UK rock group: this has a great intensity to it and a powerful rhythmic rapped chorus 7 Jam And Spoon Featuring Rea Be Angeled The only hit this century for the German dance duo used for a film with the same name: it's quite a little gem of a track 7 Kylie Minogue In Your Eyes The follow up to "Can't Get You…" this is more in a retro disco style and nothing groundbreaking but a lovely intimate track 7 Beverley Knight Shoulda Woulda Coulda The 1st Top 10 in her career: it's very radio friendly but a lovely track that shows off her vocal and performance talent 6 R. Kelly The World's Greatest The impassioned uplifting gospel style isn't always for me but I do think it's well done here and this is one of his best songs 6 Westlife World Of Our Own 919th #1: one of their best songs breaking the usual formula and going in a slightly retro sounding upbeat pop direction 6 Angie Stone Featuring Alicia Keys And Eve Brotha Part II Angie's signature track is to come but this is an interesting collaborative remix of her album track with soulful harmonies 5 Mis-Teeq B With Me Their 4th Top 10: it's enjoyable and high energy but very similar in style to the first couple and doesn't show anything new 5 Gorillaz Tomorrow Comes Today The 4th hit from their eponymous album: I like the ritualistic feel and it's a good listen but seems more like an album track 5 Jamiroquai Love Foolosophy The 3rd single from "A Funk Odyssey": again this is perfectly good but doesn't do much that "Little L" didn't do better 4 Junior Jack Thrill Me This is based on a 1981 track "The Beat Is Mine" by Vicki D: it probably works better in a club than as a track for listening 4 Will Young Anything Is Possible/Evergreen 920th #1: "Evergreen" is a little formulaic but "Anything Is Possoble" is a very sweet track, and Will himself sounds great 3 Bubba Sparxxx Lovely I quite like that his 2 Top 40s are called "Ugly" and "Lovely": this one doesn't pop like the other but it's inoffensive RnB 3 Distant Soundz Time After Time Only hit for DJ Mark Christopher Shrimpton with a dance cover of the Cyndi Lauper hit: it doesn't leave much impression 2 Lighthouse Family Run The last Top 40 for them and it does feel rather like they're running out of batteries: this doesn't have a lot of energy to it 1 Princess Superstar Bad Babysitter Her only solo hit but thankfully she will be featured on something far better: this is lewd and quite an unpleasant listen 2002 Week 11: #1184 16/03/2002 Rik Waller I Will Always Love You 6 {6}-11-16-38-61-68-67R(2)-52->8 #1185 16/03/2002 Platinum 45 Featuring More Fire Crew Oi! 8 {8}-15-21-25-40-53-61-63->8 #1186 16/03/2002 City High Featuring Eve Caramel 9 {9}-13-17-22-31-41-49-61-74-65->10 #1187 16/03/2002 Busta Rhymes Break Ya Neck 11 {11}-17-26-33-49-62->6 #1188 16/03/2002 Minimalistix Close Cover 12 {12}-23-33-47-67->5 #1189 16/03/2002 Creed My Sacrifice 18 {18}-29-36-50-71->5 #1190 16/03/2002 Hundred Reasons If I Could 19 {19}-39-55->3 #1191 16/03/2002 The Electric Soft Parade Silent To The Dark II 23 {23}-50->2 #1192 16/03/2002 Smoke 2 Seven Been There Done That 26 {26}-44->2 #1193 16/03/2002 Gomez Shot Shot 28 {28}-62->2 #1194 16/03/2002 Alcazar Sexual Guarantee 30 {30}-54->2 #1195 16/03/2002 Steve Balsamo Sugar For The Soul 32 {32}-56->2 16/03/2002 The Dandy Warhols Get Off {2002} 34 {34}-61->2 #1196 16/03/2002 Mauro Picotto Pulsar 2002 35 {35}-53-75->3 #1197 16/03/2002 Cornershop Lessons Learnt From Rocky I To Rocky III 37 {37}-70->2 #1198 16/03/2002 Brancaccio And Aisher It's Gonna Be (A Lovely Day) 40 {40}-65->2

Mirrors Drunk In Love Counting Stars

Oof not sure I’ve seen a drop of more than 50% in one day before, apart from for seasonal tracks.

I really quite enjoyed the Lil Nas X track so went for that. 2 Sugababes 3 Jade Not feeling “The Giver”

They definitely ain’t playin’ as The Pirates drop out. The answer song to the chart topping “I Don’t Wanna Know” by Mario Winans following the Eamon & Frankee model from the same year, “You Should Really Know” reached #8 in September 2004. The Pirates appear to have been a DJ group and this was their only hit. 6th: The Pirates featuring Enya, Shola Ama & Naila Boss - You Should Really Know 9/29 votes (31%) 7th: Stephen Gately - New Beginning 10/27 votes (37%) 8th: U2 & Green Day - The Saints Are Coming 8/30 votes (27%) 9th: Chipmunk featuring Emeli Sandé - Diamond Rings 7/30 votes (23%) 10th: Son Of Dork - Ticket Outta Loserville 15/31 votes (48%)

I’m moving to BBMak - perfectly pleasant but hardly inspiring as a first single to show everyone what you’re about.

The curtain falls on Blue as they exit. This was the last of their 11 Top 10 hits, reaching #4 in November 2004. However they would be back in the charts 7 years later with their Eurovision entry “I Can”. 9th: Blue - Curtain Falls 15/32 votes (47%) 10th: Natasha Bedingfield - I Wanna Have Your Babies 15/31 votes (48%)

Aaliyah for me! What a talent and a brilliant RnB track.

The bongos have stopped bonging as Safri Duo exit in 3rd. They are a classically trained Danish percussion duo, and “Played A Live” was huge across the continent and reached #6 here in February 2001. Their only other chart appearance, 18 months later, was “Sweet Freedom”, which reached #54. 3rd: Safri Duo - Played A Live (The Bongo Song) 16/32 votes (50%) 4th: Daniel Bedingfield - James Dean (I Wanna Know) 16/30 votes (53%) 5th: Christina Aguilera featuring Lil’ Kim - Can’t Hold Us Down 15/29 votes (52%) 6th: Fergie - London Bridge 17/30 votes (57%) 7th: Craig David - Hot Stuff 12/28 votes (43%) 8th: Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West featuring Sir Tom Jones and Robin Gibb - Barry Islands In The Stream 21/35 votes (60%) 9th: Ronan Keating featuring Yusuf - Father And Son 13/30 votes (43%) 10th: Leon Jackson - When You Believe 12/35 votes (34%)

“360” did bounce 98-96 last week; not sure how hard it fell back this week. Could be “Another Love” we lose instead.

“APT.” confirmed as having a record 10th week at #2 on old rules. “Pink Pony Club” still hasn’t climbed higher than #3.

The year end survivors had been running with 2 rounds at a time for many years. For a few months I have been trialling running 3 rounds at a time and I would like to hear which you prefer. Do you find having 3 rounds at a time feels too rushed or overwhelming? Does it clutter the forum too much? Alternatively do you find it even more enjoyable having 3 rounds a time? Does it allow a greater variety of tracks to be considered at any one time? Do you like the fact that we are progressing more repidly?

Definitely Placebo for me - I guess it’s just more my thing really.

Alizée’s follow up single “J’en Ai Marre” earned me a bronze medal in the first edition of Bop Idol. In researching that I found she has quite the discography of excellent pop songs, but this probably remains the best. 9 Alizee Moi... Lolita Only hit here for this French singer and it was big across the continent: it's a beautifully atmospheric piece of electropop 8 The Hives Hate To Say I Told You So 1st hit for this Swedish rock band who had been active a while: this is their signature song and a delightfully punchy track 8 DB Boulevard Point Of View Only hit for this Italian dance group fronted by lovely Moony who we'll hear from again: a gorgeous fresh sounding track 7 Timo Maas To Get Down Biggest directly credited hit for him featured in "The Italian Job": this track is hypnotic and reminds me of the Stereo MCs 7 Ian Brown Whispers Another very enjoyable and atmospheric track from Ian in a similar style to "F.E.A.R." with a rich orchestral arrangement 7 Dilated Peoples Worst Comes To Worst 1st hit for this US hip hop trio with a track that's different and works well: I really enjoy the warm orchestral production 6 Spiritualized Do It All Over Again I found their last hit rather a dirge but I enjoy this one far more, and it has a Phil Spector style wall of sound production 6 Puddle Of Mudd Control 1st hit for this US rock band who had been active 10 years: it's nothing groundbreaking but a strong gritty rock number 5 S Club 7 You A little on the sugary sweet side but all in all this is a well written pop song that they carry off in their happy, carefree style 5 LeAnn Rimes But I Do Love You Other than "Can't Fight The Moonlight" it's been slightly pedestrian ballads from her lately, but she performs this soulfully 4 Brandy What About Us The album lead and an aggressive, hard edged sounding track with highly processed vocals: bold but not quite to my taste 3 Victoria Beckham A Mind Of Its Own Her 2nd #6 hit: I do slightly prefer this to "Not Such An Innocent Girl" and it's a pleasant tune but quite underpowered 2 Ana Ann Ride Only Top 40 for this UK singer though she will later reach #44 with a UNICEF record: it's a forgettable pop RnB number 2 O-Town Love Should Be A Crime Their last hit: they seem to be impersonating Bon Jovi and it's not as poor as some of their singles but highly forgettable 2002 Weeks 9 and 10: #1163 02/03/2002 Westlife World Of Our Own 1 {1}-6-7-14-22-30-42-47-46-47-48-60-74->13 #1164 02/03/2002 Kylie Minogue In Your Eyes 3 {3}-7-13-22-28-34-41-46-42-40-43-50-55-62-65-67-70->17 #1165 02/03/2002 R. Kelly The World's Greatest 4 {4}-8-10-12-15-20-26-29-39-38-44-59->12 #1166 02/03/2002 Mis-Teeq B With Me 5 {5}-11-17-24-30-35-50-64->8 #1167 02/03/2002 A Nothing 9 {9}-19-29-36-46-66->6 #1168 02/03/2002 Princess Superstar Bad Babysitter 11 {11}-17-25-32-38-48-68->7 #1169 02/03/2002 Alanis Morissette Hands Clean 12 {12}-22-39-51-63-57-63->7 #1170 02/03/2002 Junior Jack Thrill Me 29 {29}-48-75->3 #1171 02/03/2002 Jam And Spoon Featuring Rea Be Angeled 31 {31}-49->2 #1172 09/03/2002 Will Young Anything Is Possible/Evergreen 1 {1}-1-1-2-4-8-12-19-20-21-32-42-40-49-54-61->16 #1173 09/03/2002 Shakira Whenever, Wherever 2 {2}-2-3-4-3-3-3-6-6-8-11-18-25-30-28-38-51-68-67->19 #1174 09/03/2002 Lasgo Something 4 {4}-5-6-10-10-11-14-14-19-22-31-36-49-63-70->15 #1175 09/03/2002 Nickelback How You Remind Me 4 5-{4}-5-9-6-5-4-7-5-7-8-14-19-22-22-33-47-48-50-65-73->21 #1176 09/03/2002 Beverley Knight Shoulda Woulda Coulda 10 {10}-15-19-25-32-44-54-64-75->9 #1177 09/03/2002 Jamiroquai Love Foolosophy 14 {14}-22-34-41-61-75R(2)->6 #1178 09/03/2002 Distant Soundz Time After Time 20 {20}-33-38-49->4 #1179 09/03/2002 The White Stripes Fell In Love With A Girl 21 {21}-54->2 #1180 09/03/2002 Bubba Sparxxx Lovely 24 {24}-50->2 #1181 09/03/2002 Lighthouse Family Run 30 {30}-51-63->3 #1182 09/03/2002 Gorillaz Tomorrow Comes Today 33 {33}-64-74R(3)->3 #1183 09/03/2002 Angie Stone Featuring Alicia Keys And Eve Brotha Part II 37 {37}-58->2

Yeah I find it really hard to predict how any new song will do out of the blocks these days. Hype doesn’t seem to be enough - it needs to be making it into Instagram reels.

Ooh nice turnout!

Best: Adele - Rolling In The Deep JAY-Z - Empire State Of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) Owl City - Fireflies Katy Perry - Firework Rihanna - What's My Name? (feat. Drake) Worst: Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent - Crack A Bottle Katy Perry - California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg) Rihanna - S&M Remix (feat. Britney Spears)

We’ve made up our minds… and it’s time for Stephen to go. I neglected to include his cover of “Bright Eyes” but it was in fact a double A side. It was his debut solo single and became his only solo Top 10, reaching #3 in June 2000. 7th: Stephen Gately - New Beginning 10/27 votes (37%) 8th: U2 & Green Day - The Saints Are Coming 8/30 votes (27%) 9th: Chipmunk featuring Emeli Sandé - Diamond Rings 7/30 votes (23%) 10th: Son Of Dork - Ticket Outta Loserville 15/31 votes (48%)

Went for Blue - they really had become dull by that point.

It’s a double eviction for the Bedingfields as “I Wanna Have Your Babies” gets a premature delivery. The track reached #7 in April 2007 and was the lead from her 2nd album “N.B.” Apparently she wanted to show a maturer side by writing a song about wanting to settle down (!) 10th: Natasha Bedingfield - I Wanna Have Your Babies 15/31 votes (48%)

Kaisers for me - really strong debut but singles 2 and 3 were even better.

Not getting thru this is “James Dean (I Wanna Know)”, the 2nd single from Daniel Bedingfield. It reached #4 in August 2002, and has a similar home made electronic sound to his debut. It was the first of 2 Daniel tracks to be sandwiched by #1s. 4th: Daniel Bedingfield - James Dean (I Wanna Know) 16/30 votes (53%) 5th: Christina Aguilera featuring Lil’ Kim - Can’t Hold Us Down 15/29 votes (52%) 6th: Fergie - London Bridge 17/30 votes (57%) 7th: Craig David - Hot Stuff 12/28 votes (43%) 8th: Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West featuring Sir Tom Jones and Robin Gibb - Barry Islands In The Stream 21/35 votes (60%) 9th: Ronan Keating featuring Yusuf - Father And Son 13/30 votes (43%) 10th: Leon Jackson - When You Believe 12/35 votes (34%)

Really like both but went for Weezer

1 Flaming Lips 2 Perez ‘Prez’ Prado 3 Chappell Roan 4 Zach Bryan But gave all 4 a vote