Chez Wombat

Gosh, this lot are hopeless, David is right in that a traitor wouldn't speak up suddenly as that would be a silly thing to do as it puts a target on their back. Mark feels a random choice too as he hasn't really done anything particularly suspicious, the big dogs theory would make total sense to me if I was there so I don't know why they're not pushing with either Stephen or Jonathan and Jonathan is very clearly the more suspicious of the two. Also. Charlotte Church has never had a number 1 single or album! (unless you count this 'classical crossover' chart which I have never heard of?)

Oh wow I really thought Sigur Ros would win!

Moskau is a banger, I didn't realise it was here when I looked at the song list, would be here for this contending x

Saved from being the United Kingdom by 8 points, whew x

No one reading my album bucket list 2.0 thread confirmed! 😁😪 (edit: except Bre haha) I didn't really know Selena, but I really enjoyed Amor Prohibido more than I expected. This one was a highlight and was a forerunner in the Cumbia genre which tied in a lot to modern latin music and I thought it was a real standout....clearly not to everyone's taste going by that listenthrough reception oops 😅 Maybe I should've sent the title track, it's a bit more ordinary. Not expecting to do very well here, but pleased to have some points at least, Euroshima is my favourite revealed so far, banger and a half x

28 Nelly feat. Tim McGraw - Over and Over #1 for 1 week W/E 5th March #25 in EOY Nelly's third number 1 in the UK was an unlikely crossover that nowadays would not be seen as so unlikely as Country and Hip Hop have since become more coordinated, at the time though, this was quite a novelty that paid off for him. The second single from his fourth album, Suit (not be confused with his third album, Sweat, which was also released at the time) was also his second number 1 in a short time following My Place/Flap Ya Wings. Country music charting in the UK has historically been a lot rarer than across the pond, and sure enough, Tim Mcgraw had not a trace of a hit in the UK despite being very much a big deal in the US. It is quite surprising then that this managed to cross over so well, doing ever better here than in the States where it was #3, I'm guessing the low sales and lack of big releases at the time helped. This would be the peak of Nelly's success in the UK but he would have the odd hit/feature over the next decade, Tim Mcgraw unsurprisingly never had another hit (except a #63 collaboration with Gwyneth Paltrow, who knows what that was about x) One thing I cannot stand in a song is if it bores me, that's even worse than hatred, because I at least feel something there. I feel nothing when listening to Over and Over. It's slow, there's no real switch-ups or interesting places the music goes, it just drones on and on (I suppose it's the point, but that doesn't make it interesting) with little sense of feeling or even interest, just paint-by-numbers R'n'B slow jam, and it's rather disappointing as a hip hop-country crossover should not be this boring, I wasn't a fan of the Tim Mcgraw album I listened to for my lockdown album bucket list, but he was at least capable of adding a bit power or emotion to songs, but instead he's barely there, and just blends in to the dull vocals and beat. I can't say I remember or have any fond memories associated with it, so all I have towards it as apathy, which I can't in good conscience rank any higher.

OK, we have 29 number 1s to go through (including last year's runner on as I guess we're sticking with this x), and yes I will be including the Elvis reissues and ranking alongside, as tough as that is to do, they have a story in themselves to tell x I will say there's not a lot between some of these, but there's one very obvious last placer so let's get to that! -x- 29 Steve Brookstein - Against All Odds #1 for 1 week, W/E 8th January #127 for 2005 What would become quite a force in the UK certainly started with a whimper. Steve Brookstein was the first winner of the X Factor and his cover of the Phil Collins classic, Against All Odds, was his famed coronation release. Much like previous reality show winners like Michelle McManus and Will Young, the release topped the charts, though with pretty strong first week sales of over 127,000, but was unfortunate to run into Band Aid 20, so it only climbed there the following week, albeit almost 100,000 sales down on the debut week, it remained the lowest selling winners single from X Factor until 2015. Something that would be reflective of what would come next... Steve was always on course to win the X Factor, receiving the most public votes every week and winning comfortably against G4 (fun fact: Their winning single would've been Radiohead's Creep, I'm scared to think of how that sounded x), his mangling of his winning performance earned a strange faux outburst from judge, Sharon Osbourne, which was a teaser of the many dramas the show would go through. That many votes sadly didn't translate into long term potential, following one album of covers, Steve was dropped by Syco just eight months after being signed, beginning a still ongoing vitriol towards Cowell, complaining his creative freedoms were restricted and criticising the show as fixed to this day, even writing a book about it. Performing on Ferries was sadly the highs of his ongoing music career, though he remains active on Twitter, with strong views on football, the Israel-Palestine conflict and Jeremy Corbyn, including some retweets from David Icke and Tucker Carlson, well then xx It's conflicting for me really as it's hard to disagree with some of his points about the X Factor, yet based on this, you can hardly blame Cowell for dropping him as it is utter bottom of the barrel, pub singer garbage. I do enjoy the original, MOR staple it may be and whatever you think if it, it's hard to deny the emotion and soul Collins puts into it. There is just none of that here, it struggles to reach karaoke standard, his vocals are so weak and overpowered by the backing track, and they don't even get the climax right in the video with the 'Steve!' moment which makes the dramatic high point of the song feel feeble, it's like he can't wait to finish singing it. Disowned by him, Cowell and not even uploaded officially to YouTube or on Spotify, it's tough to find a single redeeming thing anyone has to say about this, even Westlife and Mariah put some effort in. He may well have been a restricted genius, but there's certainly zero evidence of that here.

Today I learned! I have good memories of BJSC 92, was my 50th contest and I sent a wonderful classical epic and finish top 10, but the music was really great and I still have some of the MP3s from it on my Apple Music, Saving Light was a fantastic winner and top tier emotional trance, and I loved Mutant Brain too for it being one of the most out and out insane entries I've heard here.

Twenty years ago today, we saw the arrival of YouTube and Reddit (and don't we still just love them), Angela Merkel, Pope Benedict XVI, the dwarf planet Eris, Guitar Hero, the Xbox 360 and Live 8. It was also the tragic year of Hurricane Katrina, the 7/7 bombings and the Kashmir earthquake, but let us not dwell on that and turn to the music of that year. 2005 in many ways was an important year for me personally in my following of music, while I didn't discover the charts until a year later, it was the first year I felt properly aware of the mainstream music around me, at 12 and equipped with my personal CD player (that would soon be replaced a year later with an iPod) I was purchasing/gifted Now albums regularly so was attuned to the hits around me and I started to develop some favourites (notably Coldplay, who would go on to be my favourite band whose X&Y still stands as the first album I really loved, even if I wouldn't rank it particularly high within their discography these days). 2005 was also quite a significant year, if not one of the most significant in chart history. Not the least as digital music was beginning to take off before it would finally be allowed in the charts a year later, and despite my age, even at the time I remember how novel and great possessing a digital download of the song felt, and it wasn't long before it became a daily habit. The 1000th number 1 happening this year almost signalled the end of an era, where many of the quirks that had existed for decades gradually started to be reinvented for the new digital era and many of the key trends of the 2000s and beyond started to occur - virality, social media campaigns proving viable alternatives, the classic rock sounds being reinvented by the next generation, the changing stance of boy/girlbands, revival of older songs becoming more commonplace, the domination of singing contests and a gradual end to the kitsch and strange novelty songs that would occasionally flood the charts, many of which I think can be traced back to this year. It was a gateway year in many cases. But personally, it's also a year I have many favourites from so I'm very pleased to be ranking it. I will say the quality of chart toppers varies, it doesn't generally get to the really good stuff until well over halfway through the rank, but they all hold some kind of memory to me so I have a soft spot for even the most naff. My inspiration will be the Popular project on FreakyTrigger, which while slow going, writes about every number 1 in the kind of dry, analytical way I love, I will possibly feebly attempt to write as well as Tom Ewing does throughout x TL:DR: I'm ranking and writing about the 2005 number 1s, starting soon x

I can get on board with the top 5 here, Lola's Theme is my absolute favourite number 1 of the year, one of the most sunny and uplifting dance tracks with a great vocal delivery as well as production, however Toxic was Britney at her peak, still sounds so big and ahead of it's time in a similar way to how Kylie sounded with Can't Get You Out of My Head. Everytime was also an effective show at her vulnerable side. Yeah is definitely Usher at his peak as well, though Climax comes close as well. I admittedly don't remember the Robbie one too well, but Vertigo is classic U2 at their most zany and I do have a soft spot for Mysterious Girl, cheesy as it is x My own top 10 (not counting Mad World as that was last year): Shapeshifters - Lola's Theme Britney Spears - Toxic U2 - Vertigo The Streets - Dry Your Eyes Usher feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris - Yeah Eric Prydz - Call on Me LMC vs U2 - Take Me to the Clouds Above Natasha Bedingfield - These Words 3 of a Kind - Babycakes McFly - Obviously Nostalgia overtaking me for those last few x Thanks for doing this, John, looking forward to 2005....

30; Wolf Alice - The Last Man On Earth 29; CHVRCHES (feat. Robert Smith) - How Not to Drown 28; Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever 27; Go_A - Shum 26; Weeknd - Save Your Tears (Original / Ariana Grande Remix) 25; Little Simz - Introvert 24; Wet Leg - Chaise Lounge 23; Mitski - The Only Heartbreaker 22; Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet 21; Coldplay - Coloratura 20; Let's Eat Grandma - Hall Of Mirrors 19; Wolf Alice - Lipstick on the Glass 18; BICEP (feat. Clara La San) - Saku 17; Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow - Industry Baby 16; Olivia Rodrigo - Brutal 15; DJ Sabrina The Teenage DJ - Try Not To Be Afraid 14; Caroline Polachek - Bunny Is A Rider 13; Black Country, New Road - Concorde 12; Wet Leg - Wet Dream 11; Anxiety - Meet Me At Our Spot 10; Wolf Alice - How Can I Make It OK? 09; Silk Sonic - Leave The Door Open 08; Encanto Cast - We Don't Talk About Bruno 07; Olivia Rodrigo - Good 4 U 06; Jockstrap - 50/50 05; Bicep - Apricots 04; Coldplay - Higher Power 03; Elton John & Dua Lipa - Cold Heart (Pnau Remix) 02; Lil Nas X - Montero (Call Me By Your Name) 01; Majestic & Boney M. - Rasputin

Department S - Is Vic There? Adam And The Ants - Stand And Deliver Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes Toyah - I Want To Be Free Vangelis - Chariots Of Fire Crocodiles, Keep on Loving You, Chequered Love, The Sound of the Crowd, Pocket Calculator, Funeral Pyre and Spellbound also very good x

Congrats Jade! It definitely sounded like something that would appeal widely and had a great dose of drama and atmosphere that always elevates pop songs. I'm pleased I was able to vote for it this time after two rare snubs to Jadakissnia in a row. Hooray as well for this breaking the winner with a previous top 10 stranglehold we seem to have (still a recycle but halfway there x) Fantastic to see East Rukahavian in the top 5, that's my favourite discovery from this month in one where there was a lot of them. POPHub, Kathaldazia and Cor Lupus are also good additions, though I'd have liked to have seen Bronzil and Danaeviia there too. Harmonica doing that well is a pleasant surprise, a really beautiful song I was unsure would even qualify! Pagasa that low is sad, but to be expected with the deduction :'( Like last month, I was pleasantly surprised to have qualified at all here so around the same placing feels right, I'm more annoyed I've again just missed 25th, what do I have to do to get a full set of 10 finishing positions! I always try to be diverse in BJSC, but hip hop/rap has always evaded me so I'm pleased I can finally put that right as I think Kids of the Apocalypse way back in 2016 was the last time I sent anything vaguely in that genre. I'm pleased it got several high marks as well, many thanks to Kath, Mack, Bre, Iz, Lex and anyone else I missed! I will take being the highest rap entry too B-) (sorry for not returning the votes to either of you though, strong contest x). Pleased I seem to be making up ground in the EOY too after a poor start, I'm hoping I can leave this year with just the two DNQs, would still be one of my better ones and I do have a few (slightly cheap, sorry) potentials for next time so hopefully not. Thank you for the excellent hosting blacksquare, although how dare you expose my image faux-pas ruining my otherwise perfectly formed Twin Peaks not at all ChatGPT assisted votes! 😬 (what is up with this PM system where it doesn't delete an image from a PM after you remove it, is there a workaround? Grr x)

I'm a little biased as I've never got the fuss with him, but Sam Fender's an underwhelming and safe winner and far too convenient given it's hosted in his local Newcastle, CMAT and Fontaines would've been much more worthy as it feels like they've reached new peaks and there were several artists that were more in need of a profile boost.

A shame for Ruth, she clearly had the right idea, but was perhaps a bit too forthright (and I'm glad she's putting her name out there as she was fab in Fall of the House of Usher) and it was a good strategy. I'm stunned that Jonathan survived even if the supposed double bluff worked and the blatant lying about an alliance, the choices have been pretty out of nowhere. Part of me can't help but think producer interference as I imagine they wouldn't want a final without at least two of Jonathan, Stephen and Alan. (I'm watching a celebrity series of a reality show, what is wrong with me x)

Based purely on the song, Rooftops is one of the best here, but I can’t ever listen to nor support anything featuring that scumbag even remotely so it has to go. I will resume voting on song merit after this x

Call on Me and Take Me to the Clouds Above were both decent songs, there was a much better dance number 1 this year (which I'm pleased to see in your top 10 x), but I'd rank them a fair bit higher. Dry Your Eyes is probably my favourite so far and would be in my top 10, it's definitely not in the same league as the songs on Original Pirate Material which were groundbreaking, but the use of monotone spoken word and heavy strings really gives it an authentic emotional feel. I agree it is such a shame that Girls Aloud's many pop classics that year like Love Machine or The Show didn't get to number 1 and instead a boring, charity cover got there, that's the UK public for you x Although I do appreciate that it has acquired new meaning in recent years as a tribute for Sarah. Both Thunderbirds Are Go and Cha Cha Slide are pure nostalgic classics, I'm not sure they'd be that high for me but I enjoy hearing them both. The Thunderbirds movie was utterly terrible, but man that theme song was always on our car radio x

Oh dear, Lisaturday Night Fever is an embarassing miss, wrong artist + didn't read the question right! Oops *___ I have terrible facial recognition of most musicians, but it was in my mind for most of it that it was only the last few letters of the word that could be smashed rather than the whole one, Chase & Status Quo is so obvious in retrospect x Oh no at not recognising the Doors too, annoyed at myself for that x

While I'm glad for the genocide to stop even momentarily, This just reads as Trump's attempt at a Nobel prize and good PR , there's far too many unknowns about this deal that Hamas haven't agreed to and Israel have violated their word too much over the last few years for me to be sure they'll stick to it.

Catching up x The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar - This was generally very solid, some quite naff elements that didn't work so well (take those glasses off, Doctor x) but I really liked the Doctor/Davros connection and feel that's the best presentation of him we've got this era. The Snowmen - One of the best Christmas specials, Moffat did them very well as it really felt like there was a scary threat and got the emotion right, it sits in between the season arcs so doesn't lend itself the best to rewatches, but I did really like Clara here, better than she was with Smith. Listen - This is actually a hot take from you I share - I've always found this episode a bit overrated, it's very emotional and I do think it does bring out the human in the Doctor's very cold character at the time, but I just never liked Danny Pink and it was just too slow paced for me to really get into. I do understand it's esteem and appeal, but it's just never quite clicked. The Christmas Invasion - Probably still my favourite Christmas special, though it is the one I remember the best. My only issue with it is the pacing is really languid before Ten wakes up. The threat is really strong and for a generally silly outing with murderous Santa robots and Christmas trees, the dark images of the population walking close to their deaths and the Doctor's opening ramble and subsequent swordfight and ultimate merciless act I think made him stand out instantly as a more perky yet still PTSD-driven version. My favourite is the ending though, goes very dark after the celebratory scenes and how the Doctor reacts to such a cruel act is such a subtle yet very pertinent way of showing how politicians can become undone by rumours. Under the Lake/Before the Flood - The classic Doctor Who two parter formula of a very intriguing and tense first act undone by quite an uninteresting second act, I barely remember the conclusion and how it was resolved it was so brushed over, a shame, the Doctor's cue cards were indeed a standout little moment I remember. The Caretaker - I find this one quite underrated actually, the villain is silly, but the tension building between the Doctor and Clara and Danny is a good set-up for Kill the Moon, and the comedy is excellent, Clara shouting 'HUMAN BEINGS ARE NOT OTTERS' in response to the Doctor does make me laugh for some reason x Voyage of the Damned - I think this is one that I really liked at the time as it was seen as a bit of a blockbuster with the show in it's imperial phase and Kylie featuring, it's not stuck in my mind as well, but I have still got some nostalgic fondness for it. Kylie was a much better character than I was expecting, her death was very sad. The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood - I get this confused with the Crimson Horror in my mind, I think their aesthetics are similar. I recall both parts being one of those decent but not too memorable episodes of the Smith era. A Good Man Goes to War - Like most of arc-based S6, very timey-wimey and confusing, but I do recall this being better than how it concluded. Need to revisit this era really so I can give it a fresh perspective. Demons of the Punjab - Chibnall definitely did the edutainment historical episodes very well, this is a really good episode, at the time, I thought it was just retreading the same paths as Rosa did, but on reflection, I do prefer it to that one. Not only is the concept something that hasn't always had the same level of exposure as the US Civil Rights movement, but the deceiving aliens, as well as having very good designs, have more of a purpose and aren't superfluous and the ending scene hits a lot harder and is more brutal. Plus, I do like that we finally learn something about Yaz (Ryan and Graham are useless as a result of this, but that was par for the course at this point). I think this is my favourite episode from S11 actually, a diamond in the rust x

30; London Grammar - Baby It's You 29; Taylor Swift & Bon Iver – Exile 28; Dua Lipa - Physical 27; Weeknd - Blinding Lights 26; Miley Cyrus - Midnight Sky 25; Lykke Li - BRONN 24; Taylor Swift - Cardigan 23; Jessie Ware - What's Your Pleasure 22; HAIM - The Steps 21; Doja Cat - Say So 20; Eric Prydz - NOPUS 19; Royal Blood - Trouble's Coming 18; Chappell Roan - Pink Pony Club 17; Dua Lipa - Levitating (Original / DaBaby Remix) 16; Phoebe Bridgers - I Know The End 15; Taylor Swift - Willow 14; aamourocean - Parmi les Mortels 13; Nora En Pure - Wetlands 12; Megan Thee Stallion - Savage (Remix) [feat. Beyoncé] 11; Weeknd - In Your Eyes 10; Cardi B (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) - WAP 09; Christine and the Queens - People, I've been sad 08; Everything Everything - Violent Sun 07; Taylor Swift (feat. HAIM) - No Body, No Crime 06; Rina Sawayama - XS 05; Miley Cyrus - Angels Like You 04; Taylor Swift - August 03; Harry Styles - Watermelon Sugar 02; SAINt JHN - Roses (Imanbek Remix) 01; Powfu (feat. Beabadoobee) - Death Bed (Coffee For Your Head)

Youth is one of my favourites from Dobago, love the tranquil piano bursting into harsh drops, it definitely captures the vibe of the title <3

Ooft that wheel was close for comfort x defying the odds (well one set of them), thank you all (fantastic to see Danaeviia through as well, not that I doubted it would)

Another SF1 DNQ in my votes, Lookylion's sounded very Human League-esque and deserved better. Pleased to see Harmonica make it though, Song to the Siren is a classic and this one was fab too x

Literal wheel of fortune, love it Oh no, I thought Cow would be OK this month, was a great D'n'B-esque track. Other SF1 Qs are mainly great, not certain I'll be amongst them, but here's hoping x