Chez Wombat

7-1 repeats again but a country on the other side of the world this time, oh my x Poor Curaçao, good on them that they managed one in and briefly were equalising!

I'm a few episodes behind (as I am with everything lol) but I agree, this is an excellent show, I really like the expanding of the mythos and the different directions it goes in with each episode, leaving a lot of mystery but also credit to the actors for not making it take itself too seriously.

It was quite openly desperate of X Factor to recruit JLS and One Direction due to the sales figures/interest in the finalists singles falling year by year (not that it worked at all), and hilariously inappropriate when there's a 'woo, JLS 1D!' on what's supposed to be an emotional charity single, and even funnier is it's just before the choir drowns them out which makes their contribution limited to just that...the whole thing is quite spectacularly bad, definitely for the best this was the last finalists song. That year definitely also felt like the beginning of the end of X Factor's dominance, outside of giving us one of the few genuine long lasting stars as the winners, it felt significantly less buzzy (didn't help that the judges were completely refreshed).

2011 was a huge transitional year for me, I went to university, moving out of my house for the first time. It was such a surreal experience as I had such a sheltered life beforehand and the social side of uni was a bit of a revelation. I do have some great memories attached to some of these songs so a real nostalgic year. Very much interested seeing your thoughts as an outsider to the UK Charts at the time.

It's horrendous to see, that's two in a short span of time where a single psychotic individual that happened to be from another country has resulted in widespread violence, and unfortunately we have prominent politicians egging them on with the 'legitimite concerns' bullshit, naming no names of course... Forgive the dark humour in this circumstance, but it is relevant

Good Times is a bit like Dynamite in that it's terribly dated and woefully cheap lyrically and production wise, but it's a time capsule that really takes me back, very strange chart run for it indeed getting three weeks at number 1 and then tanking down the chart, seemingly got very lucky the time it reached number 1. A good top 5 (see last thread for my comments on Bad Romance x), it's really quite hard to describe how stratospheric Rihanna was at the time, and looking back I think she really burnt herself out in the early 2010s, and a lot of songs from that era sound like pretty timeless hits, saying that, Only Girl got too overplayed for me and never really recovered, but I will have more positive things to say about one of her number 1s next year for sure. Airplanes was a real summer anthem for me at the time and I think it's still pretty nice in that classic 2010 style duet (much like what was the year end number 1, though I always much preferred this), I'm glad it got Hayley Williams a number 1 if anything, and I do think it's got quite a personal touch, certainly a peak for him before he ahem flatlined x Pass Out was a real cornerstone for that new sound of grime that a lot of early 2010s rappers tried to imitate, it was especially fresh when a pioneer of the genre like Dizzee Rascal had gone full on sellout, it's still a great song with some brilliant one-liners (it's still what I think of first when I think of Scunthorpe) and excellent production, his 2010 hits were a deserved breakthrough, a shame that it was just continuing diminishing returns after that. I suspected that number 1, but it's a worthy one, I definitely loved it more at the time, and have never got into the odd other tracks I've heard from him, but it's still a very unique number 1 with the sort of geeky, bedroom feel that relates to me very much so seeing that be a surprise January hit (helped by the publicity of the US number 1) was really great. I've not heard much of the Postal Service which I gather is why a lot of people had disdain for it so never had that connection, maybe I should listen to them x Thanks for this, Iz, some excellent commentaries throughout. My rough top 10 would be very similar to to yours, Bad Romance would probably be my number 1 but I'll exclude it for the sake of different songs, it's definitely an overstuffed year with a lot of filler largely shaped by nostalgia with a lot of sounds that haven't dated well, but I have a fondness for most of them: Tinie Tempah - Pass Out Cee Lo Green - Forget You Owl City - Fireflies B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams - Airplanes Tinie Tempah feat. Eric Turner - Written In The Stars Diana Vickers - Once Flo Rida vs David Guetta - Club Can't Handle Me Scouting For Girls - This Ain't a Love Song Yolanda Be Cool & D Cup - We No Speak Americano Roll Deep - Good Times Telephone, Only Girl, Dynamite and Just The Way You Are I think would be next

I trust no one will vote MGMT unless they want a ban B-) Gwen Stefani as it's a complete unlistenable mess and I have some nostalgia for the Martine and Chris tracks x

So basically confirming what we already knew that they completely mucked the revival up, it hasn't proven as profitable and they have zero idea of what to do with it now that Disney aren't taking it forward, frankly I had very little enthusiasm for a blatant fan-bait cliffhanger and I don't believe RTD had any ideas for it either so I can do with that just being slipped under the rug, though it is a disappointingly messy end for a Doctor that deserved better. I think this is overall for the best really, Out to tender doesn't mean gone, and I'm sure there will be a production company willing to invest in it eventually as it's still one of the most recognisable brands out there which hopefully gives it more time and attention. It'll give time for people to miss it and in this era of constant nostalgia being revived, it won't stay dormant too long.

I drew France and Spain for my family sweepstake, so that's another pretty good draw here!

That is seriously good for the Amazing Digital Circus, I know it has been a big viral hit but I wasn't sure how much that would translate into UK cinemas as this did strike me as a treat for the fans and is rather niche. You can watch all the episodes free on YouTube and this one comes out on June 19th so I'd recommend it to anyone interested, it helps Glitch fight the good fight for independent animation. It's got a lot of mystery and existentialism and some quite horrifying moments, I was quite surprised to see a lot of children in the screening x Intrigued as to how Disclosure Day will do next week, does seem to be marketed as the first big Spielberg blockbuster in the vein of Close Encounters... and Jurassic Park.

Confirmed, I found a great artist which really embodies that traditional Mexican sound in a contemporary stance, it's not the sort of thing I usually send and won't light up the scoreboard, but hoping it will appeal to ROSALÍA fans at least x (Also, I think this is the only the second time Mexico's been represented in Worldvision!)

According to Wikipedia, Led Zeppelin are the highest selling act worldwide to never have a UK number 1 (not that they ever tried given they never released singles), I would say they are a pretty big contender for that title in the UK for sure. AC/DC and the Eagles are next. I would personally probably say Bruce Springsteen or Bon Jovi in the UK given they've had a significant amount of singles and album success and most people would be able to name at least a few songs from both. Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers are other names up there that haven't been mentioned yet.

I wouldn't be opposed to a bit of a hiatus if I'm being honest, and I'm saying that as someone that did generally like RTD2 despite the poor conclusions to each season (although the second one wasn't entirely his fault given the circumstances we now knew happened), I think it just needs a chance for people to miss it again rather than relying on fan favourites (Although saying that, I am really missing Daleks/Cybermen/The Master, I'm not sure why BBC/Disney thought obscure past villains would be ratings winners for the big revamp) and having people be so angry about it over and over, and I think it has generally struggled to adapt to the streaming era which is quite overcrowded for sci-fi in particular. A small break and reset would go on to show that it can always bounce back.

We No Speak Americano was another very of the time moment that felt like it was designed to be used as a goofy montage, but it still is a lot of fun. Electro-Swing has definitely felt like it past it's peak in the mid-2010s, I will also shout out The Swingrowers from the genre, I sent their cover of Mr Sandman to a BJSC spin off *__ Diana Vickers was always my favourite on that series of X Factor and I have her album on CD! Her style and voice so much more distinctive than your typical contestant, and Once felt refreshingly different with it's electronic vibes so it was pleased it was a number 1, albeit a fleeting one. Shout out also to The Boy Who Murdered Love, was never big on My Wicked Heart though. I think I remember the play she starred in playing in my local theatre recently! Tinie Tempah was certainly one of the powerhouses of early 2010s grime, though he really was a bit of a one-trick pony and morphed into a really generic rent-a-rapper as the decade went on. But in 2010, he was undeniable and his other one to come this year is still great, I really liked Written in the Stars as well, mainly cos of Eric Turner's epic chorus which gives it a real stadium feel. I'm quite glad you ranked Scouting for Girls as high as the top 10, as they've always been a derided band I've had a soft spot for, I think that's their best song and yeah they had a sound they stuck to, but there's some real weight to that production that wasn't there before and a heartfelt delivery. (Have a lot of love for Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves) as well <3) I have a huge soft spot for landfill indie in general so it was a nice last hurrah for the genre commercially.

I think it was Princess Diana's death when I was 4/5, It must have interrupted Teletubbies at the time x I do also have quite clear memories of several early 2000s stories, obviously 9/11 but also the Queen Mother's Death, Brazil vs England at the world cup and Japanese tsunami. The 7/7 Bombings felt like the first major news story I felt right in the centre of living in London.

Hooray, I knew you'd come round eventually, welcome New Helvetica!

9 please!

I'm sorry this one wasn't quite for you, but don't worry, I've sent a wide variety of entries and this one I sent to the retro contest should be more up your street x

Oh ending with an 18 swap with the winner, love to see it *. Congrats Rollo! I should be kicking myself really, but I'm glad to see that song get so much recognition - it's a beautiful song that I'm sad I never heard of before, the melancholy strings, anthemic chorus and distinctive Scottish accent make for a wonderful song. I only pointed another three of the top 10 but they're all good ones, I already knew Someone Great through some scattered plays on 6Music but it's a fantastic song, and The Knife sounded like another great song from an album I should really check out. I had sacrificed my attempt at a hit with my choice, so I will take getting over 100 and avoiding the bottom 10 given I was languishing there for quite some time. Thanks to all who entertained the Panda, there were a few unexpected ones in there! Would've liked to Anathallo and Puracane a little bit higher as well. Many thanks Julian for hosting, made some excellent discoveries from this one.

So the song I passed on or a song that outperforms my own song by the same artist on the same album sent to another contest, what would make me less bitter?

This is really not needed at all. George Floyd's murder was one of many representations of systemic issues with racism in policing and was the straw that broke the camel's back. This is a tragic murder caused by an evil individual manipulating and feigning victimhood and a result of police negligence (I haven't seen the footage and don't intend to) that absolutely should be investigated, but I don't see how this is seem as a wider symptom of anti-white bias or how this can be turned back on the sikh community like certain voices seem to be doing, turning this into a culture war completely takes away from the tragedy of a young man dying.

Anathallo was a really standout pick and hooray an 18! Mid-20s here we come x

Great choice of number 1, I think that would be my favourite too and it was great to see a rare instance of rave/hardcore make number 1. The Real Thing's OK, but not one that sticks in my mind much, there were much better 90s dance songs. D:Ream is pretty cliched (I wasn't around for the first New Labour use, but did experience it's revival in the last election which...feels a long time ago now oops x), but it's quite fun and always very singalong and uplifting. Thanks for running this, I think this would be my top 10 roughly (scraping the barrel a bit after the top 5 whoops x): Baby D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy Doop - Doop East 17 - Stay Another Day Whigfield - Saturday Night D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better Wet Wet Wet - Love is All Around Tony Di Bart - The Real Thing Take That - Everything Changes Stiltskin - Inside Prince - The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

I mean I thought changing my signature would be a bit of a giveaway but clearly not I found this by browsing the AcclaimedMusic's best of 2006 (and several of what I found was also entered here including my 18!) and it was a pretty instant standout with it's psychedelic, dreamy vibes. I don't actually know much of Animal Collective's work and should really change that x I'm under no impression this will be a vote winner with everyone so I just hope the alt bloc is kind enough to me to get a decent position x Puracane was a great choice, I had that down as potentially being Jade so wondering what else could be her 🤔The Knife would ofc. be great winners if they hold (even if I'd be a bit salty that my entry from the same album couldn't win in Club Bizarre x)

I'm just posting here so we have official proof of this and Jane McDonald being the two most popular Pop Forum threads at the moment (#susanalbumparty)