André

I agree. Glee is a pathetic combination of cliches and just plain dumb but people think it's the most brilliant show ever. High School Musical was also full of cliches but at least it wasn't so over-rated and over-hyped.

Yes. It wasn't long ago. It was Jump then Fall by Taylor Swift (when her album was re-released).

Out of curiosity, how many copies you need to sell in order to be number 1 on the Spanish single charts?

Rage Against the Machine no doubt.

I really doubt Paul McCartney will accept Simon's invitation. And yes, Beyonce and Take That won't be on the final again I think.

Not a fair comparison. There was no iTunes in 2002-2005 and you needed huge airplay (which Britney never had) to reach the top of the charts. Now, you need to sell well on iTunes which makes it easier for popular non-Urban artists (like Britney) to reach good positions in the Hot 100.

Yes, she was on last year but it would be extremely controversial for a final imo since, although she's enormously popular, she's considered an act targeted to kids and the general public doesn't have a good opinion about her. Beyonce or Westilife are safe choices, for example, because they're established acts, with great voices, extremely popular for years and who can be enjoyed by people of all ages (although I despise Westlife).

So anyone have the FIRST WEEK sales number?

I wonder who will they book for the finals. I heard rumours it would be Madonna but I really doubt it: she won't fly to London just to appear in the show since she has absolutely nothing to promote (she's not interested at all in promoting her new greatest hits). Even when Madonna has a new CD out, she don't usually appear on TV so... Any guesses? Since Stacey is rumored to be singing "The Climb", maybe Miley Cyrus? She'll probably be in the UK (she's touring and she's booked to be in the Royal Variety Show) but I think it would be an EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL choice and The X Factor usually bet on safe choices... I dunno...

I know, it was directed to them, not to everyone in this posst obviously :P

Are you guys aware their rendition is not supposed to be taken seriously, right? It's a joke. Of course it's not a vocally stunning performance.

Exactly, Simon isn't a fool. He NEVER made any abrupt changes on the format, those were minimal changes. However, to add charts elements on the show would be a big change. The focus is on the contestants, not the musical guests. Of course have A-listers help build momentum and give the show some buzz, but to add over two acts would be pathetic. The public isn't tuning in to see Top of the Pops, they want to see a reality show. They couldn't care less about the charts. To assume they do is to risk losing a huge chunk of the show audience. What? It doesn't make ANY difference for Sting's public image if he decides not to go, it's not a lose-lose situation for him. By not going he is merely making it very clear he thinks the show is dumb and that he would never consider going on it. The only way he could "lose" was by accepting Simon's invitation which would never happen.

The album is REALLY high quality. I'm not even a Rihanna fan (I mean, I really liked the club bangers in GGGB) but I thought it was a really solid product, although less commercial (it grows on you though). But anyway, those who are afraid she'll sing Wait Your Turn on The X Factor, fear not: this won't be released as a single. It's just for promo. She'll most definitely sing Russian Roulette or, worst case scenario, Hard (which is the second single).

Wut? He OBVIOUSLY won't go. First of all, he don't need all this promotion. And even if he needed, he isn't THAT dumb to say all this stuff and to accept to go on the show the next week. It's funny you think Sting is THAT desperate... Well, Lily Allen and The Artic Monkeys have much higher UK sales than most artists that are invited to The X Factor. And Lily obviously would accept it. She was on Strictly Come Dancing and Ant & Dec Saturday Night Take-Away, why wouldn't she be on The X Factor? Why would they do that? The show is a huge hit as it is. They won't change the format and risk losing the audience.

Will Young is definitely not "over". His Greatest Hits album will definitely debut inside the Top 10. And Robbie Williams will probably be #1 next week considering he is topping sales in Amazon, Play, etc.

She didn't mention the album or the single during the interview (she gave ONE interview,). She didn't plug "Russian Roulette" or "Rated R" and didn't mention them at all. It didn't even play any new songs on the background.

Oh please. JLS song is also a tried-and-tested formula. JLS team only care about the commercialism too, there are no "moral" reason for them to be number 1. And also, I really doubt they have much input on their songs. Oh, not to mention, their songs are also crap. So there you go...

Miley Cyrus never had any credibility. Who cares? She still will be tremendously popular all over the world, she has already been in countless scandals and her popularity hasn't been hit a bit. She's dumb but she has charisma and a huge fanbase so she'll stick around. Besides, props for her to being CLEAR she does not write her own songs. Many huge artists (Beyonce for example) force producers to include her in the writing credits even though she does not writer her own songs (according to numerous reports she's not even in the room. A song from Victoria Beckham solo career appeared one of her CDs with her name among the songwriters) and Miley does not do that so good for her.

Leona new single is terrible. It may be #1 next week due to huge promotion and the X Factor plug but it'll soon drop and it won't be anywhere close to her previous hits. Beside, it flopped worldwide.

Definitely Top 3. #2, I think.

I don't think there's anything to be proud about Jay Sean. His song was designed SPECIFICALLY for the US market, released by a US company, produced by US producers. It was a song MADE for American radio. There's nothing British in it besides the fact the singer was born in the UK (it's not like he even has an accent in the song). When "You're Beautiful", "Rehab", "Viva la Vida", "Smile", etc. were hits in the US, it made sense to celebrate since they were British songs, by British producers which, even though were not originally for the US market, made it big there anyway. That's not the case with Down...

Are you guys serious? I mean, you're acting as if a British act NEVER reached number 1 in the US. Coldplay did it with "Viva la Vida". Leona Lewis did it with "Bleeding Love". James Blunt with "You're Beautiful". Natasha Bedignfield, Amy Winehouse, Corine Bailey-Rae and Lily Allen had successful songs and album sales over there. All of those in the last few years. Who CARES if Jay Sean reached number 1 with a song that was made ESPECIALLY for the US market? (which wasn't the case with any of the artists I mentioned before". There was a HUGE period of time no UK act had success in the US. This period is over. For the last 5 years, a few UK artists were able to crossover. Jay Sean reaching number 1 (again, with a song especially designed for the US market and produced by US producers and released by a US company) is nothing to write home about.

After? Japan is the 2nd biggest music market. UK is the 3rd. Then Germany and France.