Attention! Katy Perry has left the Hot 100!

It's amazing how long it's been!



Spyke

On the 15th May 2010 Katy Perry entered the Hot 100 at #2 with her lead single from her blockbuster album 'Teenage Dream'.  It was only a few weeks later that California Gurls would become the first of 6 singles from the album to reach #1 on the chart. Subsequently we had Teenage Dream, Firework, E.T. and Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) all topping the chart. The One That Got Away did as the song suggested and missed the top peaking at #3 before Ms Perry was re-releasing the album with Part Of Me. In the process those songs spent helped Katy amass a recording breaking 69 consecutive weeks in the chart's top 10.  After having this epic Teenage Dream we all ended up Wide Awake with the final single which has only just left the Hot 100 this week - going on to the re-currents chart.

Can I just emphasise that in total it means that Katy Perry has been sitting pretty on the Hot 100 for 931 days! That means that if you started listening on repeat to the title track from the album as soon as she entered the Hot 100 for this stint then you would have amassed a play count of over 352,800 times!  Ridiculous!

Amelia Lily- Shut Up (And Give Me Whatever You Got)

What a fantastic little pop song



Spyke

I know that given Amelia Lily was my favourite to win the X Factor last year probably means I'm a little bit biased, but I love this! After eventually coming third in the competition to Little Mix and Marcus (who?), Amelia got signed to Xenomania's label and unleashed the wonderful Kelly Clarkson-esque pop belter You Bring Me Joy, which saw her enter the UK charts at #2.  Here she is with her second single hoping to go one better. This track establishes Amelia Lily as the UK's very own Miss Clarkson; there are elements in the video where she looks a bit like Miley Cyrus - but surely all this bodes well for the potential Pop Princess.

As far as I know the single isn't out until the start of 2013 but I reckon in the long run that the song will benefit from the delayed release - hopefully avoiding it getting lost in all the Christmas happenings. All I can say is that I'm very much looking forward to hearing her album in the new year...

One Direction - Take Me Home: Yearbook Edition

A track by track review if you please...



Oli

Two years ago, One '1D' Direction were doing Bonnie Tyler covers on The X Factor, Liam had the best hair in the group and JLS were the biggest boyband in the UK. Clearly, a great deal can change in a couple of years. Now a global phenomenon almost at Bieberish-levels, it's time to 'take stock' and have a listen to their new album. (Marks out of ten are just my guts reactions, so they don't mean a lot unless you want them to).

1. Live While We're Young

We know all about this one. Similar in style to What Makes You Beautiful (cowbells alert!), it doesn't quite have the same charm or sparkle as their debut single. However, I am partial to a bit of the 1D boisterousness, which is certainly in evidence here. 7/10

2. Kiss You

This has a great, bubblegum feel to it, not unlike Cher Lloyd massively addictive (and underrated) debut album. Zayn's voice is in particularly fine form here. Rowdiness is still in evidence, with the na-na-na-na bits reminding me of the Kaiser Chiefs (?!) from back in the day. 8.5/10

3. Little Things

Jesus wept. What a come down after Kiss You! Ed Sheeran's bed-wetting lyrics are a bit much for me to stomach (the 'cup of tea' bit makes me want to punch Louis in the face and he's my favourite member). However, you can't deny how lovely the melody is for the chorus, which ultimately rescues this song from being an unforgivably sappy mess. 6.5/10 (2/10 for the 'authentic' lyrical quality).

4. C'mon, C'mon

This is a bit more like it. It sort of feels like an uptempo song Westlife would have released if they'd been allowed to leave their stools. A bit dated, a bit cheesy, but also a bit of tune. 7.5/10

5. Last First Kiss

*ACOUSTIC GUITAR ALERT* *MIDTEMPO ALERT* *HANG ABOUT THIS CHORUS IS PRETTY GREAT* *I SUPPOSE THE VERSES ARE OK* *THE OOOH-OOOH BITS ARE AMAZING* 8.5/10

6. Heart Attack

We're back to Kiss You territory here, which is no bad thing. I'm not quite sure why it sounds like a baby goat is crying in the background (is that you Niall?). Still, you can't knock a chorus which manages to slip in a Michael Jackson impression without you even realising it. 'Aowah!' 9/10

7. Rock Me

Hmmmm...not convinced with this one. On the one hand, it's quite pleasant to listen to. On the other hand, the chorus goes 'I want you to rock me, rock me, rock me, yeah,  I want you to hit the pedal, heavy metal, show me you caaaaarrre'. Which - let's be honest - is a bit shit. 6.5/10

8. Change My Mind

INSERT BORING ALBUM FILLER HERE. (bonus 1/2 mark for including 't'wards' in a pop song). 5.5/10

9. I Would 

While it sounds like something Harry might say about your mother, I Would is a bit more charming than the title implies. Written by McFly, there are lots of great ideas splayed all over the place here (whistles, the '27 tatttoos' bit). But the pre-chorus is a bit sub-The Wanted and unfortunately it doesn't quite hold together. 6/10

10. Over Again

Ed Sheeran's dusted off some boring songs he didn't want for his first album and passed them to One Direction, hasn't he? 6/10

11. Back For You

Put What Makes You Beautiful, One Thing, and Live While We're Young into a blender, and you get Back For You. I was enjoying it at first, but by the final chorus the 'YOU-YOU-YOU-YOU!!!' bit was becoming a bit wearisome, as you might expect. 6.5/10

12. They Don't Know About Us

Piano? Check. Lyrics referencing their first album? Yep. Some generically crap synth strings? For sure. Naturally, I really liked it. 7.5/10

13. Summer Love

This is an unforgivably country-tinged kiss-off pile of wank. Snow in September indeed. 3/10

BONUS TRACK LAND

14. She's Not Afraid

I'm not sure why She's Not Afraid didn't make the main tracklisting. It could have easily replaced a couple of the borathon ballads, and is one of my favourite songs on the album. 9/10

15. Loved You First

Despite the first note sounding like a hoover being switched off (not the most auspicious of starts), Love You First has a fine, effortless powerpop strut about it. Maybe the bonus tracks are where the real 1D magic is hiding? 8.5/10

16. Nobody Compares

There isn't anything particularly memorable going on here. That being said, it goes down very nicely and I wouldn't mind hearing it again if I hadn't heard 15 One Direction songs beforehand. 7/10

17. Still The One

After a mid-album sludge, these final upbeat songs turn Take Me Home from a slight disappointment into a triumphant finale. Still The One is the type of track I enjoy seeing from One Direction - fast, unashamedly melodic tunes that aren't trying particularly hard to be (in Tulisa's words) 'Camden cool'.  7/10

FINAL RECKONING

 SEVEN LOUIS' OUT OF TEN. 

You just can't argue with that sort of  logic.

Taylor Swift Feat. Ed Sheeran - Everything Has Changed

It may have escaped your attention but Taylor Swift is releasing her new album this week. After managing to rack up more top 40 UK hits in the past month than she's managed over the course of the rest of her career, she seems to have cracked this promo single malarkey.

In the US however she really is quite the tour de force. She managed to get a whopping 10 top 40 hits from her sophomore album 'Fearless'. On the opening week of follow up album 'Speak Now' she managed to place every track off the album onto the Hot 100 that week. In the US alone she has sold over 50 million downloads - a tally which I'm sure is just going to rocket once more this week. Here's what's happening on US itunes right now:

1 Taylor Swift Everything Has Changed (feat. Ed Sheeran) 

3 Taylor Swift I Almost Do 

4 Taylor Swift 22 

5 Taylor Swift All Too Well 

8 Taylor Swift Treacherous 

11 Taylor Swift Stay Stay Stay 

13 Taylor Swift Starlight 

14 Taylor Swift The Last Time (feat. Gary Lightbody) 

15 Taylor Swift Holy Ground 

16 Taylor Swift The Lucky One 

17 Taylor Swift Red 

19 Taylor Swift Sad Beautiful Tragic 

20 Taylor Swift We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 

21 Taylor Swift I Knew You Were Trouble 

22 Taylor Swift I Knew You Were Trouble. 

31 Taylor Swift Begin Again 

32 Taylor Swift State of Grace 

38 Taylor Swift State of Grace 

39 Taylor Swift We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

65 Taylor Swift Red 

So I think it's safe to say the invasion has begun. Interestingly enough it is her duet with the UK's own Ed Sheeran that is leading the pack with this nice little number:

P!nk - Try

The second from P!nk's new album



Spyke

Ever since P!nk delivered the incredible Who Knew (with the help of Max Martin and Dr Luke) I have been very much into her pop music.  Some of her earlier hits like God Is A DJ, Get The Party Started and Trouble just never really clicked with me.  So over the past few years P!nk has really delivered some top notch pop albums in my opinion (namely 'I'm Not Dead' and 'Funhouse') so you can imagine my excitement at the prospect of a new album.  The thing is it's all starting to get a bit too formulaic for my liking - we had So What then Raise Your Glass and now Blow Me all of which seem like weaker imitations of their predecessor.  Now don't get me wrong Blow Me (One Last Kiss) is still an 8/10 pop song but I'm just passing comment.  Hence when listening to 'The Truth About Love' I felt that the album was very consistent and delivered some good pop tunes from P!nk but it just lacked those glimmering tracks of greatness.  Though one of the bonus tracks Is This Thing On? is a particular favourite of mine at the moment and has been played quite a lot today.  Who knows why that didn't make to official cut.

I found it interesting in one review I read of the album said that the simple fact was that the singer formerly known as Alecia Beth Moore was just too happy.  She'd recently got back with her ex-husband and everything seems as happy as larry for her.  But happiness doesn't necessarily bode well for good song writing.  If you're looking for the incredible heartbreak tracks like P!nk's I Don't Believe You, Adele's Someone Like You or Kelly Clarkson's Because Of You then you need to get your heart broken.

Anyway this is the second single from the album and is one of the stand out tracks for me.  It's the only track on the album that P!nk didn't have a part in writing herself - instead it was written by Ben West and Michael Busbee.  I think the theme of the video seems to be dancing out a domestic violence scene but it does make for a bit of an uncomfortable watch in scenes.  I'm sure this will take off nicely in time fro Christmas and give the album a nice boost in sales.  Well done P!nk.

Paloma Faith - Never Tear Us Apart

So this is the new John Lewis advert.



Spyke

With the X Factor Live Shows just around the corner then it must mean one thing - John Lewis have got their Christmas advert ready.  After the huge success of Ellie Goulding's cover of Your Song after it became featured on their advert I wonder if this year that fortune could fall upon Miss Paloma Faith.  I've become quite fond of Paloma over the past few months and her new album 'Falling To Grace' with incredible lead single Picking Up The Pieces.  The song just works so perfectly and I imagine on a cold winter's night when your sat by the fire (watching the X Factor) this advert will make you feel all warm inside.

The track was originally a #24 hit in the UK all the way back in 1988.  It was released by Australian Rock group INXS but you may have heard other versions of it along the way - as it really is one of those songs that everyone's heard of but very few actually know what it's called or who sings it.  One way or another Simon Cowell has a knack for getting these classic songs back into our charts.

You can download the song from Monday.

Here's the original:

Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me

This is rather good...



McLovin

As the proud owner of more than one Justin Bieber album, I have absolutely no qualms about my fandom of the teen idol. I don't find him a particularly charismatic presence (surely someone this popular should be a little more charming, right? He got this monotonous dead-eyed blandness thing going on in interviews already...maybe it's his way of coping with it all, who knows?) - ANYWAY - as a pop phenomenon, he's had more than his fair share of fantastic singles so far, with As Long As You Love Me the latest slick and polished addition.

After half-watching the video one lazy afternoon and not being particularly impressed with the song, it took a certain Mr. Craig Scott to convince me to give it another listen. And then another. And again and again everyday for the past week. Turns out it's a bit of 'grower'.

First things first though: the lyrics are mind-numbingly banal and were probably knocked together on someone's lunch break while they were concentrating harder on the content of their sandwich. It's inexcusable that the lyrics should go 'I'll be your platinum, I'll be your silver, I'll be gold' for the sake of a (barely there) half rhyme. It's like saying 'I'll be amazing, quite good AND also very good'. In that order! (I'm not really a stickler for dodgy lyrics if the melody is strong, but these are embarrassingly clunky).

Once you get over JB's imagining himself starving, homeless and broke, the subtleties of the production start to win out. Coming from Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins (he of 'The Boy Is Mine', 'Say My Name' and 'You Rock My World' fame), he resists pop's current trend of basically throwing the kitchen sink all at once. Removing the beat from the first chorus works really well (almost 'Hold It Against Me'-esque), while Big Sean's rap adds a welcome tempo increase towards the final third of the song (something that Craig also drew my attention to).

Possibly my favourite part of song is how the word 'love' is cut, spliced, dissected and staccato-ed out of all recognition in the chorus. It really irritated me at first; an example of production-overload, distorting something just for the sake of it. But since realising it makes him sound like he's singing (brace yourself) 'as long as you la-la-la-la-la-la-laaa! la-la-la-la-la-la-laaa!-la-la-la-la-la-la-love me, love me!'*, it endeared me to the song even more. Somehow, they've made a hit single with a chorus constructed entirely around the first musical phrase (or 'solfege', according to wiki) anyone ever learns to sing. Which the more you think about, the more amazing it becomes.

*That's right I counted the la's - 46 per chorus, stat fans.

Frank Ocean - Pyramids

Set the cheetahs on the loose...



McLovin

Lately I've been really enjoying Frank Ocean's debut album ' Channel Orange'. Of the recent crop of RnB singers associated with the rap scene (Drake half of the time and, erm, Chris Brown), there seems to be something else about Ocean. Maybe he is more sincere; certainly he is more ambitious and creatively driven than his peers.

Take this album track 'Pyramids' as an example. Close to ten minutes in length, the first half of the song is all about the Egyptian ruler Cleopatra, all crunching synths and abstract imagery. It then brilliantly shifts gear into some sort of 90s club slow jam, with a stripper/prostitute who also happens to be called Cleopatra. It then ends with an extended guitar solo, not a million miles away from someone like Prince. Somehow, it all makes a dreamy kind of sense.

I really admire the imaginative scope of Ocean. He doesn't seem afraid to experiment, and he's willing to push boundaries. Refreshingly, he also isn't heavily reliant on autotune; 'Thinking About You' features some gorgeous falsetto, while the album as a whole is as rich, subtle, and just downright fun as 'Pyramids'.

The Olympic Closing Ceremony London 2012 - Playlist

On Sunday evening I was the very proud owner of a ticket to the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games in London and it was just fantastic!  What an incredible line up there was and it goes straight in at #1 on my favourite Live Music Event I have ever attended - so I felt it only right to try and put in to words some of that awesomeness I experienced.

1 Take That - Rule The World
The pinnacle of the evening for me; I bought my parents the live DVD of Take That's last tour as the band always put on such a fantastic show. I know many people are fond of 'Rule The World' but seeing it being performed there on Sunday with all the fireworks and all really was something quite special that I'll never forget.

2 Queen [Feat. Jessie J] - We Will Rock You
This had everyone in the stadium chanting along; I can only begin to imagine what the band were like lead by Freddie Mercury himself - for some reason Jessie J managed to get back on stage for the third time of the evening.

3 Beady Eye - Wonderwall
This song struck a chord with me when I heard it at the end of my Inter-railing trip two years ago underneath the Eiffel Tower.  My friend Jacqui says that seeing Oasis live was one of her live music highlights and after seeing just half the band with this one song - I have no doubt she's right.

4 Spice Girls - Wannabe/ Spice Up Your Life
A flashback from 15 years when I first got into pop; what a moment.  It's hard to comprehend the hysteria in the Arena when Ginger Spice's Taxi lit up with the Union Jack.

5 Emeli Sande - Read All About It (Part III)
Love this version of the Professor Green track and following the success of Alicia Keys' Empire State Of Mind Part II I knew that if this ever got the chance it would be a massive hit.  The Ceremony provided a perfect launch pad for the track which is currently sitting at #3 on UK itunes.

6 One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
I was sat next to two American Girls for the show and needless to say that we were all over this!  In the pre-show they'd told us to sing along and they didn't need to tell us twice.

7 Muse - Survivor
Now this is the third time I've seen Muse and albeit for just the one song they were epic: it's just a bit of a shame that the song isn't quite up to their best.

8 Kaiser Chiefs - Pinball Wizard
It's also the third time I've seent he Kaiser Chiefs and Ricky Wilson is just such a fantastic frontman for the band.

9 Taio Cruz - Dynamite
You can't deny that Max Martin and Dr Luke came up with a corker of a track with this song.  Taio certainly has come a long way since I saw him perform 'Come On Girl' at V Festival 2008.

10 John Lennon (Tribute) - Imagine
Now it's no secret that I think this song is grossly overrated but hearing the tribute performance in the Stadium really struct a chord with me. Its pure simplicity and beauty brought the crowds to a standstill, it was really quite moving.


Now that's not all: there was also performances from the Pet Shop Boys, Madness, George Michael, Annie Lennox, Russell Brand, The Who and Tinie Tempah to name but a few. Such a phenomenal lineup that I'm not sure anything will be able to top it for me. Since the Ceremony it has been interesting to hear other people's thoughts on the show. Some thought there were obvious omissions like Boy George; and although I did get falsely excited after I thought I'd heard the intro to Set Fire To The Rain - I wouldn't change a thing.  Now I've just watched it back on TV and it was interesting to see some of the more intricate parts but the televised version didn't even begin to capture the atmosphere and excitement that all 80,000 of us felt on Sunday night in that Stadium. I'm very happy to say that #IWasThere.

David Guetta Feat. Sia - She Wolf (Falling To Pieces)

This duo prepare to assault the charts for round two

Spyke

A year ago yesterday I downloaded a fantastic new track from David Guetta featuring vocals from Sia.  It managed to chart in the top 40 as one of the pre-album releases.  This early success, based on the quality of the track itself and Guetta's reputation, was only the beginning for the track and when it was released as the umpteenth track from the album it topped the UK charts early this year.  Since then the track has gone on to sell over 850,000 copies here and will no doubt one day become Guetta's first track to top that 1 million mark.

Sia capitalized on the success by providing guest vocals on Flo Rida's Wild Ones and now she's reunited will  David Guetta to score what will inevitably be her 3rd global hit of 2012.  I don't think it quite has the same power as it's two predecessors but Sia's vocals work magically to encapsulate the energy coming from the accompanying production. 

Surely this has UK #1 written all over it . . . 

Michel Teló - Ai se eu te pego!

This sounds very Eurovision



Spyke

Last time I got recommended that a certain European track was going to be massive was with Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know.  A song that has since gone on to become the biggest selling single of the year in the UK selling over 1 million copies and in the US selling over 4 million copies.  I personally think it's grossly overrated but obviously a lot of people seem to like it.  So in a similar vein; this track was played to me several months ago and once again I thought nothing of it.  Now that I've seen its chart success across Europe I'm beginning to reconsider my judgement.  Not only is this song the biggest selling single in Germany since 2006 but it has topped charts in France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Greece, Latin America, Belgium, etc. etc.

This track is in Portuguese and is incredibly catchy yet annoying.  Just as we saw Sak Noel top the UK charts after its success across Europe I could very much see this doing exactly the same thing.  This is exactly what this year's Eurovision Song Contest was missing - some shamelessly cheesy Euro-pop!

edit: oh and never fear - of course there is a Pitbull remix just ready and waiting for the UK release

Pitbull Feat. Shakira - Get It Started

Pitbull's big hit of 2012?



Spyke

After quite a bit of resistance I am beginning to accept that Pitbull is just a feature of the charts that you just can't avoid.  Some of his raps are just absolute cheese and some are just absolute nonsense, can you recall which recent hits these unique lines are from?

1 "I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan"
2 "Yeah, right, picture that with a Kodak"
3 "Yabba-dabba-dooo - make her bed rock"
4 "Tiger Woods times Jesse James equals Pitbull all night long"
5 "Mami got an ass like a donkey with a monkey, look like King Kong"
6 "Now pump it up, And back it up like a Tonka truck"

This song is no different as the self-proclaimed 'Mr Worldwide" raps "I went from evictions to food stamps,To back in work, what damn" which makes absolutely no sense to me.  At some points of the song he just resorts to listing random things "Tom Cruise, Mumbai, All it up like 4th of July, Vanilla Sky".  I just don't get it.  However all is not lost we have Shakira to provide us with some hooks in the chorus; combine that with the epic production then this track is an absolute club banger.  Just as I feel that Ne-Yo couldn't quite pull off Give Me Everything by himself; I feel this track wouldn't have been anywhere near as good just being a Shakira solo effort.

My last.fm from the past month would suggest that all I've been listening to is Maroon 5's new album 'Over Exposed' (which is awesome FYI) with 14 out of my 15 most played tracks coming from the album - this was the other track and I am expecting big things from it on charts worldwide.

Answers 
1 Give Me Everything Tonight
2 Give Me Everything Tonight
3 DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love
4 I Like It
5 I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
6 On The Floor

Flo Rida [Feat. Georgi Kay] - In My Mind Pt. 2

A great track off Flo Rida's new EP



Spyke

After commenting for a while that one of my new favourite things to do is to make condensed 8 track EPs from some of the biggest album releases as of late - Flo Rida has saved me the hassle and done it for me!  Despite having clocked up some massive sales from all his pre-album release singles; he hasn't really been able to convert that success in to album sales. Low, Club Can't Handle Me and Right Round have all been #1 smashes around the globe but they clearly haven't inspired you to go out and listen to the rest of his album tracks.  Plus given that his singles perform pre-album launch it would appear that it was time for a change of tact....

So far this year in the UK, Flo Rida has hit #1 with Good Feeling, #2 with Whistle and #4 with Wild Ones. This 8 track EP is already sounding rather appealing, so what do the remaining 5 tracks have to offer then?  Well there's a Jennifer Lopez feature (Sweet Spot) and Let It Roll which are fighting it out to be the fourth single.  However this track is the real gem you should be checking out; Georgi Kay is the guest vocalist but you'd be forgiven for thinking she sounds like Ellie Goulding.

If this was released pre-album then I fully believe it could be a potential #1 but given that it probably won't be now, with the album out in 2 weeks, I do hope that it can still turn out to be a monster hit!


Edit: I've just looked at the official track listing and discovered that the album is 9 tracks in length!  The article still stands as Run isn't particularly anything to shout about so you may as well just trim it off - 8 track EP sorted.

Will.i.am Feat. Eva Simons - This Is Love

Could this challenge Payphone for the #1 spot next week?



Spyke

Following his recent success on The Voice Will.i.am is releasing his fourth solo studio album this year.  The lead single took quite a while to grow on me and I still find the inclusion of Mick Jagger on 'T.H.E.' rather unnecessary: this track however is so much more instant and infectious.  After his performances at the Radio 1 Big weekend, and a highly entertaining appearance on this week's Graham Norton Show the track has received quite a bit of exposure so should perform well on the charts next week (especially as it is already up to #2 on itunes).

The production, energy and video for this all remind me of that of 'I Gotta Feeling' and so you've got to wonder whether this was yet another track meant for a potential Black Eyed Peas album before they split.  So in the absence of Fergie this track features vocals from Eva Simons.  A Dutch artist who has been around for a while but never seemed to be able to quite catch a break.  I first heard about her on her 'Silly Boy' (see below) release in 2009 which seemed to have all the potential to be quite the smash hit - though it only just managed to creep to #149 in the UK.  She might have her signature haircut but it seemed everything else about that release was lending itself from Lady Gaga's Poker Face and Rihanna's Disturbia.

Will's album entitled #Willpower is out later this year.

Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen - Good Time

Well I wasn't expecting this collaboration . . . 



Spyke

So here we have two artists who have both just had one hit single each; obviously not just any old hits though - they both had massive transatlantic #1 smashes.  In fact Carly is still sitting pretty comfortably a top of the Hot 100 and on her way to selling her millionth copy in the UK.  Owl City on the other hand haven't really being troubling our charts since Fireflies early 2010.

The song is exactly how you would have imagined it might sound.  The subtle Owl City production has been beefed up and accompanies Carly's "Wooooaaaahhh-oh-oh"s very effortlessly.  The song does sound very dreamy and fun - just the sort of thing that you need to be a great summer anthem.  It is the sort out track that Glee could quite easily do a version of; so in that sense I don't think the song is going to be a massive hit with the more mature audience.  That said with a good video this song could be everywhere in a few months.

Chart Predictions:
Spyke 8
McLovin -
Actual -

Maroon 5 - Overexposed

I suppose it Makes You Wonder...

Spyke

With Payphone all set to race to #1 this next week in the UK I think it's about time to check out Maroon 5's fourth studio album - Overexposed.  It had looked as though the band had passed their best with the diminishing returns they got with their last album 'Hands All Over' and lead single Misery.  However thanks to Adam Levine's stint on The Voice US and them teaming up with some of the world's best song writers they are all over our charts once again.  I'm a little surprised they haven't decided to add Moves Like Jagger as a bonus track to this album given that it would fit so well and is such a loved song.

One thing I like to do these days is to take an album and refine it on my itunes to make a succinct but brilliant 8 track EP.  It's not as though there's anything wrong with the omitted tracks (as there isn't really any duds on this album) but given my short attention span when it comes to listening to albums; it helps establish the sound of the album without turning into too much of a chore - see Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'.  So anyway here's my edit:


1. One More Night
Works really well as an album opener; I'm not fully convinced about it yet but it's very reminiscent of earlier Maroon 5 with an added Pop influence.  It's all set to be the album's second single but I can't see it setting the charts alight too much.

2. Daylight
As I have the single edit of Payphone, this track automatically followed One More Night on my track listing and it blends in nicely.  There's nothing like a double whammy of Max Martin to open any album in my opinion.

3. Moves Like Jagger [Feat. Christina Aguilera]
Time to kick things up a notch.

4. Payphone [Feat. Wiz Khalifa]
Time to kick things up an extra notch.

5. Lucky Strike
Love the intro to the track.  Then it just so such energy about it with the fast paced thumping beat it almost makes you feel like you're in a hurry for something. Which makes the slowed down middle eight really stand out as something special.

6. The Man Who Never Lied
The racing drum beat continues into this track which really makes the most of the gap-less album feature.  It is rather good but just feels like a slight continuation of Lucky Strike which isn't distinctive enough to get forgotten.

7. Doin' Dirt
Wasn't expecting to find a gem like this so late through the album but it is fantastic.  It just sounds so familiar but I can't put my finger on what it is.

8. Sad/Beautiful Goodbye
The only downside to having made an eight track EP is that you don't quite get taken on the same journey that the artist intended for you to; so where do you fit the ballads in?  Beautiful Goodbye does a good job at closing the album yet I personally believe Sad is far superior.  Each Maroon 5 album has delivered me with a slow (marginally depressing) heartbreak track and this is it.  Just as you have to omit You & I from a 'Born This Way' homemade EP, as it has no place there, Sad doesn't really fit with the feel of the album so ultimately is probably the one to get the chop.

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [1-10]

1. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE/ EVERGREEN- Will Young (1) 1,799,000

It was one of the biggest TV Moments of the 21st Century - right back in 2002 Pop Idol had everyone talking.  Whether you were team Will or team Gareth the show most certainly caused a stir - I remember there being quite a stir around school that final week as both finalists toured the country to gather up support - so whatever the result they were going to shift big numbers.  This became the fastest selling debut single in history managing to shift over 400,000 copies on the first day of release alone.  I remember being rather fascinated by how fast this climbed the All-Time biggest sellers list where it currently sits at #13.

It wasn't all bad news for Gareth; he managed to de-throne Will from the top of the charts after just 3 weeks with his debut single - Unchained Melody - which sits at #3 on this countdown.



2. SOMEONE LIKE YOU- Adele 1,348,000
3. UNCHAINED MELODY- Gareth Gates (2) 1,342,000
4. I GOTTA FEELING- Black Eyed Peas (17) 1,289,000
5. IT WASN'T ME- Shaggy Ft Rik Rock Ducent (4) 1,255,000


6. MOVES LIKE JAGGER- Maroon 5 Ft Christina Aguilera 1,239,000

This is undeniably infectious.  After Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera experienced a surge in popularity following their appearance on The Voice US, they teamed up to produce this foot tapping, head bopping, body shuffling party tune!  The first debut performance of the song on the show left me feeling a little underwhelmed but this is such a grower and is great for strutting down escalators on the tube to.

Having spent 7 consecutive weeks there without going any higher this is our biggest selling #2 single of the 21st Century.  Bettering the success of Eminem and Rihanna from the year before this collab reminds us that it's not all about hitting that top spot.  As digital sales continue to grow I get the impression that the UK's 8th 2 million seller might be just a few years away. . .



7. (IS THIS THE WAY TO) AMARILLO?- Tony Christie & Peter Kay (3) 1,204,000
8. HALLELUJAH- Alexandra Burke (5) 1,193,000
9. SEX ON FIRE- Kings Of Leon (14) 1,188,000
10. DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?- Band Aid 20 (6) 1,174,000

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [11-20]

11. CAN'T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD- Kylie Minogue (7) 1,142,000

This iconic pop song cemented Kylie's status as Queen of Pop.  This song was the start of a run of 12 consecutive top 10 hits in the UK; just as Spinning Around in those hot pants marked her return to prominence in 2000; this track secured her place in chart history and the nation's heart.  Managing to keep Michael Jackon's You Rock My World from the #1 spot this had everyone singing 'La la la, La la la la la, La la la' - even my neighbour's 3 year old daughter.  It is a once in a career song and I don't think without it Kylie would have had so much longevity on the charts; it may have suffered slightly from overplay but it is still one of my favourite singles of hers (a list which of course is topped by On A Night Like This).



12. JUST THE WAY YOU ARE (AMAZING)- Bruno Mars 1,123,000
13. WE FOUND LOVE- Rihanna Ft Calvin Harris 1,109,000


14. POKER FACE- Lady Gaga (15) 1,104,000

This had us bluffin' for her muffin'; after Lady Gaga had just taken the globe by storm with Just Dance she was back with this slick slice of pop perfection.  Back in a time when her quirkiness was intriguing rather than verging on try hard and her brilliant pop songs subtly made their points rather than screaming at us we were born that way.  She may not have been the regular popstar but by gosh did she make the rest of them pick up their games.  Lady Gaga set that bar just so high - she was writing and helping produce her tracks, she was singing live with ambitious dance routines and she was selling records by the bucket load as a result.  You just need to look at the albums Katy Perry and Rihanna came out with to try and compete - judging by the success of Teenage Dream and Loud they fair tried and upped their games.



15. THAT'S MY GOAL- Shayne Ward (8) 1,103,000
16. PARTY ROCK ANTHEM- LMFAO Ft Goonrock & Lauren Bennett 1,097,000
17. PURE AND SIMPLE- Hear'Say (9) 1,083,000
18. PRICE TAG- Jessie J Ft B.o.B 1,038,000
19. LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE- Eminem Ft Rihanna 1,035,000
20. ONLY GIRL (IN THE WORLD)- Rihanna 1,027,000

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [21-29]

21. BLEEDING LOVE- Leona Lewis (11) 1,021,000



Showing that there really is life after the X Factor for exceptional talent; Leona took the world by storm.  Simon Cowell's change of tact with the winners of the show saw him rope in Jesse McCartney and Ryan Tedder to write this masterpiece.

In my first term at Uni I spent many a Sunday night in Oli's room listening to Radio One announce the week's  #1 single - and for 8 weeks it was this treat.  At the time everyone associated me with my love for Leona and Rihanna and would all look to me to see an excited young teen when one of their tracks came on in the student union.

22. CRAZY- Gnarles Barkley (12) 1,016,000
23. CAN WE FIX IT?- Bob The Builder (10) 1,013,000
24. WHEN WE COLLIDE- Matt Cardle 999,000


25. FIGHT FOR THIS LOVE- Cheryl Cole (27) 992,000


So the nation's sweetheart took the country by storm during her first couple of series on the X Factor.  After a performance slot had given Girls Aloud's The Promise a huge boost in the charts a year later Cheryl was out to prove she could do it alone.  When I first heard the track I just thought it was ok; however the track continues to grow on me and it's the subtleties that really make this a glorious pop triumph - and the more you compare it to her later output the better it sounds!

I didn't understand at the time why she'd reportedly turned down the chance to record Taio's Break You're Heart but I think this song proves that the entire nation was behind her.  As it edges towards its millionth sale in the UK its quite apparent that everyone admired her strength as she fought for her love with cheating (now ex) husband Ashley.



26. WHOLE AGAIN- Atomic Kitten (13) 983,000
27. BAD ROMANCE- Lady Gaga 962,000
28. HERO- Enrique Iglesias (19) 934,000
29. GIVE ME EVERYTHING- Pitbull Ft Ne-yo, Afrojack & Nayler 929,000

Gotye Feat. Kimba - Somebody That I Used To Know

#30 Best Selling Single of the 21st Century



Spyke

Well that's a bit of a lie; as of four weeks ago it had sold 918,000 copies which put at #30 in our countdown.  Since then the track has continued to sell incredibly well and has gone on to sell over 1 million copies.  Last Sunday it fell out of the top 10 after a stint of 18 weeks up there.  When I first saw the track mentioned in a forum with the label 'Future UK #1' I was awfully skeptical.  I thought it had managed to fluke its success across Europe but the UK and US wouldn't take to it at all - I couldn't be more wrong!  It is currently the biggest selling single of the year in the UK and is fighting with Fun.'s We Are Young for the same title across the Atlantic.  I do think it is impressive that a song has managed to sell a million copies in the first half of a calendar year before leaving the top ten.  Plus with Call Me Maybe and We Are Young also heading towards that coveted barrier this could be the first year since 2002 when we've had 3 million selling singles in a year (all of which are still to come).

I quite like what Oli said about the track:

"It's great when a song like We Found Love is written to be the biggest selling song in the world and it is; but it's also nice when a song that wasn't at all, like this, blows up in those proportions around the world"

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [31-38]

31. JUST DANCE- Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O'Donis (22) 909,000

So this is where it all began for one of the world's biggest artists.  It does amuse me how much I resisted this track to begin with; after my lack of love for Lady Sovereign, Lady Antebellum (Need You Now aside) and Ladyhawke I went to great lengths to listen to it.  However upon first listen all that changed!  I was hooked!  Our first major introduction to RedOne had us all thinking "Oh Red Wine" and it is a brilliant slice of pop goodness.



32. USE SOMEBODY- Kings Of Leon (33) 905,000
33. FORGET YOU- Cee- Lo Green 898,000
34. THE A TEAM- Ed Sheeran 894,000
35. A MOMENT LIKE THIS- Leona Lewis (16) 884,000
36. ROLLING IN THE DEEP- Adele 883,000
37. GRENADE- Bruno Mars 873,000

38. CHASING CARS- Snow Patrol (47) 871,000

Easily one of the most loved tracks of the 21st Century; it regularly tops countdowns of people's favourite track of the Noughties and there is no surprise.  This track has really been one of the biggest successes of digital downloads being included in the UK's Official Chart - after spending just 8 weeks on the chart during its original run the track has since notched up 154 weeks in the top 100.

The phrase "Chasing Cars" came from Lightbody's father, in reference to a girl Lightbody was infatuated with, "You're like a dog chasing a car. You'll never catch it and you just wouldn't know what to do with it if you did."

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [39-56]

39. RULE THE WORLD- Take That (31) 867,000

There was a time that Take That had no problem storming to #1; but since their comeback their singles haven't all had the same impact position wise - both this and the incredible The Flood had to settle for second place.  I think there is something really magical about this track and seems to be the most loved track of their return to glory.  Maybe one day it'll become the band's second million seller now they are Back For Good.



40. DON'T STOP BELIEVIN- Journey 853,000
41. FIREWORK- Katy Perry 847,000
42. STAN- Eminem (21) 832,000
43. HERO- X Factor Finalists 2008 (19) 824,000
44. ON THE FLOOR- Jennifer Lopez Ft Pitbull 820,000


45. MEET ME HALFWAY- Black Eyed Peas (62) 818,000

The Black Eyed Peas became the first act since the Spice Girls in 1996 to score three places in the top 10 best sellers of the year.  The Spices did it with Wannabe, 2 Become 1 and Say You'll Be There, the BEPs made it with this track, Boom Boom Pow and I Gotta Feelin.  They also became the first act since Will Young in 2002 to score 3 consecutive #1 singles within a calendar year!  Aided by a performance on the X Factor I was pleasantly surprised to see this song enjoy such success as it is one of my favourite tracks off the E.N.D.



46. DILEMMA- Nelly Ft Kelly Rowland (23) 811,000
47. THE CLIMB- Joe McElderry (30) 805,000
48. JAR OF HEARTS- Christina Perri 804,000
49. MAKE YOU FEEL MY LOVE- Adele 802,000
50. IN FOR THE KILL- La Roux (35) 798,000
51. PASS OUT- Tinie Tempah Ft Labrinth 794,000
52. WHAT'S MY NAME?- Rihanna Ft Drake 791,000

53. UMBRELLA- Rihanna Ft Jay Z (34) 784,000

Many artists are very lucky if a track like this comes along once in a lifetime; but for Rihanna it was only just the start.  Having won over a lot of fans with Pon De Replay, SOS and Unfaithful it was time for Rihanna to take the world by storm; literally! Her ten week reign atop the UK Singles Chart was accompanied by a summer of torrential downpours.  Reportedly earning The Dream over $10,000,000 for writing it; with Jay-Z's help this track was going to people sit up and notice.  As single sales were going through a bit of a lull at the time this track secured the #1 spot some weeks with sales as low as 30,000 hence why it mightn't be as high as you'd expect in this countdown.  As you can see from the song above it that this is no longer Rihanna's biggest selling single (it's actually her 5th)!



54. HEY BABY (UUH AAH)- DJ Otzi (20)783,000
55. PARADISE- Coldplay 778,000
56. UPTOWN GIRL- Westlife (24) 770,000

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [57-73]

57. DON'T STOP MOVIN' - S Club 7 (26) 766,000

At the time this was only the 7th song in history to ever climb back to #1 in the UK. Since then quite a few songs have managed this accomplishment (including the song at the end of this post). Despite releasing some incredible pop songs I always begrudged S Club 7 their success; it was all about the mini rivalry my sister and I had going on - I supported Steps, she had S Club 7. We each collected the respective singles and my sister couldn't help but gloat as she racked up the #1s in her tape collection, and I must say now that they had a very impressive run. So much so that like Steps it would appear that a re-union may well be on the cards. Let's just hope that they get all 7 of them back rather than just the 3 that tried last time.



58. LOSE YOURSELF - Eminem (50) 765,000
59. PURE SHORES - All Saints (28) 762,000
60. WE NO SPEAK AMERICANO - Yolanda Be Cool vs. D Cup 757,000


61. TEENAGE DIRTBAG - Wheatus (42) 756,000

This was involved in one of the closest fights I've seen for the #1 spot.  CD:UK couldn't call it on the Saturday morning and in the end Atomic Kitten prevailed on their way to selling a million copies of Whole Again.  But this song has had quite the longevity and has resurfaced back into our top 40 this year! This has one of the best spoken middle eights I've ever heard - pure brilliance!



62. CALIFORNIA GURLS - Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg 748,000
63. TITANIUM - David Guetta ft. Sia 740,000
64. RUN - Leona Lewis (45) 740,000
65. O.M.G. - Usher ft. Will.i.am 739,000
66. BAD BOYS - Alexandra Burke ft. Flo Rida (61) 739,000
67. WHO LET DOGS OUT - Baha Men (29) 738,000
68. EARTHQUAKE - Labrinth ft Tinie Tempah 737,000
69. FIREFLIES - Owl City 731,000
70. KILLING IN THE NAME - Rage Against The Machine (37) 725,000
71. AIRPLANES - B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams 724,000


72. SEXY AND I KNOW IT- LMFAO 719,000

It took quite a while to get Oli and I shuffling along to LMFAO and their Party Rock Anthem. This has not yet won me over - neither do I see it ever doing so. I obviously see its appeal; it's energetic, fun and just that bit cringe-worthy - but it's not for me.



73. BOOM BOOM POW - Black Eyed Peas (46) 713,000

Military Wives with Gareth Malone - Wherever You Are

#74 Best Selling Single of the 21st Century



Spyke

So once again we had another campaign to provide some competition to the X Factor winner for the coveted Christmas #1.  Given my waning interest in the X Factor and the laziness of the winner's single I was pleased to see something trump Little Mix's Cannon Ball. This track has sold 708,000 copies to date, but unlike most of the songs in this countdown I don't see that number increasing too much more. Mainly because the vast majority of its sales were from physical CD sales and are probably no longer in production. To put physical sales into perspective,  Madonna recently hit #1 on the physical sales chart selling about 2,000 copies; which combined with her digital sales for Girl Gone Wild managed her to peak at a mighty #73 on the combined chart.

Anyway to capitalise on the success Gary Barlow has teamed up with the Military Wives this week to try and score them their second #1 single for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this next weekend. Though interestingly there seems to be some slight confusion as to where it should chart; as the main physical format is over 4 tracks long it counts as an EP towards the album chart (where it is #2 in the midweeks) but the digital single sales are charting on the singles chart separately. Just in case you wanted to check it out:

Jay-Z & Kanye West - No Church In The Wild

The duo's third video from 'Watch The Throne'



McLovin

It's clear that the biggest success from Jay-Z and Kayne's joint collaboration has been 'N***** In Paris'. At their recent UK tour, they finished their sets performing it no less than six times in a row (!). Boosted by its recent chart run in various countries, another cut from the album doesn't seem out of the question. 'No Church In The Wild' - track one off the album - now has its turn in the spotlight, albeit in an atmospheric and fairly disturbing riot-set promo (the chances of Jay and Kayne releasing a video of them literally rapping on thrones sadly gets smaller everyday).

Out of interest, 'No Church In The Wild' has been used on more than one occasion this year to promote films. 'Safe House' used most of the song in the second half of its trailer (skip to 1.10 mins in).



Slightly bizarrely, Baz Luhrmann's upcoming 'The Great Gatsby' has also used it for promotion (but wisely cuts it out after the first 30 seconds).



With all that spare change lying around, it's no surprise J and K wanted to create their own mini epic. Watch out for the elephant at the end: it's quite something.

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [75-79]

75. YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL- James Blunt (39) 706,000


76. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND- Jay-Z Ft Alicia Keys 702,000

Demonstrating that Jay-Z does Run This Town, this track shot right up the charts to #2 following the release of 'The Blue Print III', and was one of the first tracks to take off so successfully from this cherry-picking-from-the-new-albums-on-itunes way. It took quite a while for this track to grow on me, and it was only after hearing Alicia's Part 2 version (see below) that I fully appreciated Jay-Z's input on the track and that powerful chorus.




77. YOUR SONG- Ellie Goulding 701,000
78. MAD WORLD- Michael Andrews Ft Gary Jules (52) 699,000


79. EMPIRE STATE OF MIND PART II- Alicia Keys 696,000

Prior to the release of 'The Elements of Freedom' I felt that Alicia Keys had never quite managed to infiltrate the UK market in the way that she should have given that she's amassed 14 Grammy Awards to date.  I didn't particularly like Fallin', while No One didn't enjoy the same success here as it had in the US so it was really pleasing to see her break through. What a fantastic run of very radio friendly singles she had; Empire State Of Mind Part II, Doesn't Mean Anything and Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart. I thought this was fantastic and am sure its success inspired the other 'Part II' versions of big hits such as Airplanes, Love The Way You Lie and Read All About It.

Stooshe - Black Heart

A great follow-up to their debut hit 

McLovin

Despite reaching Number 5 in the charts, Stooshee's 'Love Me' left me cold. Maybe it was the 'we're SO much fun!' vibe they were giving off, perhaps it was roping in Travie (he also ruined The Saturdays 'The Way You Watch Me'). Whatever the reasons, I didn't think I would be particularly interested in their follow-up.

Featuring a retro sound evoking The Supremes, 'Black Heart' wormed its way into my head over the weekend and wouldn't budge (a much more pleasant experience than that sounds). It's more subtle than I'd initially given it create; their vocal performances are rich, and even if it occasionally drifts into the Stooshe territory I don't enjoy so much (the speaky/shouty 'he got SUCH a dirty black heart!' bit around 3.04 mins), as a whole the song is a very classy affair.

Chart-wise, the group will be hoping for another top ten placing. Released on 17th June, I reckon a placing of 7 isn't out of the question.

Chart Predictions:
McLovin: 7
Spyke: -
Actual: -

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [80-90]

80. IF I WERE A BOY- Beyoncé (56) 694,000

81. WHERE IS THE LOVE?- Black Eyed Peas (25) 688,000

The Black Eyed Peas took the world by storm with this track and topped the charts for 6 weeks in the summer of 2003.  Just as physical single sales were about to nose dive off a cliff this track actually went to be the biggest seller of the year. This was back when getting Justin Timberlake on your track was like gold dust; hard to get hold of but worth a fortune.



82. SEXY CHICK- David Guetta Ft Akon (84) 688,000

83. WHENEVER WHEREVER- Shakira (38) 683,000

Shakira's biggest selling single to date, selling slightly more than her massive Hips Don't Lie anthem and an awful lot more than when she played Beautiful Liar with Beyonce. It achieved about a third of its sales on its opening week, which probably would have got her a #1 any of week of the year but she was up against a certain Pop Idol winner and his debut single which was just flying off the shelves at a ridiculous rate.



84. S & M- Rihanna 681,000
85. IT FEELS SO GOOD- Sonique (36) 675,000
86. DYNAMITE- Taio Cruz 674,000


87. HIPS DON'T LIE- Shakira Ft Wyclef Jean (48) 669,000

I do love it when songs climb back to the #1 spot. It hit #1 at the start of July 2006 for a week before being dethroned by Lily Allen's Smile. Three weeks later the track climbed back to the top after being a massive hit with holiday goers across Europe, where it remained for 4 weeks through to the end of August.



88. BROKEN STRINGS- James Morrison & Nelly Furtado (65) 665,000
89. ROCKSTAR- Nickelback (54) 663,000
90. TELEPHONE- Lady Gaga & Beyonce 662,000

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [91-102]

91. I KISSED A GIRL- Katy Perry (60) 659,000

So this is the moment that Katy Perry hit the big time, scoring a transatlantic #1 smash with this tune. It may be gimmicky and a touch cheesy but this track has the inner workings of Max Martin and Dr Luke; a formula that would prove to be very successful for the follow up album 'Teenage Dream'.



92. WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL- One Direction 654,000
93. HUMAN-The Killers (86) 653,000
94. BORN THIS WAY-Lady GaGa 652,000
95. PATIENCE-Take That (57) 652,000
96. THE TIME (DIRTY BIT)- Black Eyed Peas 651,000
97. MERCY- Duffy (49) 651,000

98. SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND- Girls Aloud (40) 651,000

Right back in 2002 five girls exploded on to the pop scene, going on to reach an impressive 20 consecutive top 10 hits. However this does remain their biggest single to date, closely followed by The Promise (#180 on this countdown). But with a reunion just around the corner I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually outdo themselves...



99. ROCK DJ- Robbie Williams (41) 649,000
100. TIK TOK- Ke$ha 648,000


101. HOT N COLD- Katy Perry (82) 648,000

Showing that she was no one hit wonder, Katy followed up her huge debut single with this absolute tune. I love the video for this song as it really demonstrates just how fun Ms Perry is. I'm not sure if you went to see her live you'd be overly impressed with the vocal performance but my gosh would it be fun! Whereas I Kissed A Girl sounds like it should remain in 2008 this single has aged well and fits in very well with Katy's current stream of hits.



101. THE LAZY SONG- Bruno Mars 647,000

Flo Rida - Good Feeling

#103 Best Selling Single of the 21st Century



Spyke

With sales of 646,000 this single is Flo Rida's biggest seller here in the UK as a lead artist and it was his 3rd #1 after Right Round and Club Can't Handle Me.  I thought this song had quite a good chance at going straight in at #1 on the singles chart but instead it has quite the interesting chart run to get there, falling from 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 before having a reversal of fortunes in the new year and rebounding up to #3 then #1 the following week. What's possibly more impressive is the fact that it spent several of those weeks sharing the top 5 with the original track by Avicii (Levels) that it samples:

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [104-115]

104. SHE SAID- Plan B 644,000
105. NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE- S Club 7 (43) 644,000
106. NUMBER ONE- Tinchy Stryder Ft N-Dubz (71) 642,000
107. SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT)- Beyoncé 641,000
108. A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION- Elvis Vs JXL (32) 639,000


109. RUDE BOY- Rihanna 639,000

Now it's quite rare for me to dislike a Rihanna track but this was one of the few that I have ever hated.  It was those initial 10 seconds that put me off and had me pressing 'skip' quite regularly.  After absolutely loving the first two releases of Rated R (Russain Roulette and Hard)  little did I realise that this would be THE track to save the album commercially  Needless to say I now love the track and my 'Rude Boy' T-Shirt Oli bought me and those initial 10 seconds are the ones that get me all excited whenever I hear them out in the club.



110. BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE- Chris Brown Ft Benny Benassi 636,000

111. VIVA LA VIDA Coldplay 635,000

This song is just outstanding. As much as I've tried to get in to Coldplay albums, the closest I've got is liking about half of  Mylo Xyloto. This track is just so epic and managed to hit #1 on both sides of the Atlantic and set up the parent album to sell over 10 million copies globally, helping lead the Brit invasion on the Hot 100 along with Leona Lewis (but more on her later along with Coldplay's most recent #1).



112. I NEED A DOLLAR Aloe Blacc 628,000
113. LOW- Flo Rida Ft T-Pain (83) 623,000
114. EVERYBODY HURTS- Helping Haiti 623,000


115. FAIRYTALE OF NEW YORK- The Pogues Ft Kirsty McColl 622,000

With this track regularly ascending our charts each December co-leading the assault of Christmas songs on the chart, it really is only a matter of time that this and All I Want For Christmas is You become million sellers in the UK.

Jessie J - Domino

#116 Best Selling Single of the 21st Century



Spyke

I think if you read our review of Jessie J's debut album you'll realise that we think this track really is the saving grace of the album. It was the track that helped me accept Jessie J on to my itunes after almost a year of resistance. The thing is that it really is a great track - all credit to Dr Luke - but let's be honest it should have been a Katy Perry single; she has the magic that would have turned this very good song into a mind-blowingly awesome track.

Anyway it gave Jessie J her second UK #1 and sent her flying in to the top 10 in the US (something Price Tag couldn't quite manage). With her recent appearance on the hugely successful UK version of The Voice I think we're going to see her status in the pop world be elevated to new heights - just as both Cheryl and Tulisa shot to #1 following their stint on The X Factor ,I'd be very surprised if Jessie doesn't manage the same with the lead from her second album. Though given her recent claims that The Voice is "lame" I think she should be very careful to not bite the hand that feeds her: we all know how Matt Cardle's album campaign went when he went all anti-X Factor.

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [117-126]

117. CAN'T FIGHT THE MOONLIGHT- LeAnn Rimes (55) 617,000

Definitely one of the best pop moments of the 21st Century.  After the success LeAnn had in the early nineties with the epic How Do I Live, she came back with this absolutely corker of a track as the lead track from the 'Coyote Ugly' soundtrack.  Amusingly her cameo appearance in the film actually sees her sing this duet along to her own backing vocals.



118. CHANGED THE WAY YOU KISSED ME- Example 614,000
119. GROOVEJET (IF THIS AIN'T LOVE)- Spiller (53) 607,000
120. YOU'VE GOT THE LOVE- Florence + The Machine 605,000


121. THE KETCHUP SONG (ASEREJE)- Las Ketchup (51) 602,000


Trying to imitate the success of the Macarena, Las Ketchup brought the world (well Europe at least) another catchy dance routine. Just like Dragon Stei Din Tei no one had a clue what they were trying to sing but these hot girls managed to spend 3 weeks at #1 in the UK.  This may well be the 6th biggest selling song of all time in France but the group very much remain a one hit wonder aside from a brief stint representing Spain in the Euroivision Contest in 2006.




122. WHEN LOVE TAKES OVER- David Guetta Ft Kelly Rowland 599,000
123. BONKERS- Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden 599,000
124. VALERIE- Mark Ronson Ft Amy Winehouse (76) 597,000
125. F**K IT (I DON'T WANT YOU BACK)- Eamon (59) 595,000

126. HEAVEN- DJ Sammy Ft Yanou & Do (78) 594,000

A great re-working of a Bryan Adams classic, not that I knew that at the time. I remember my surprise and slight confusion after finding out DJ Sammy was actually a guy but these days it's not uncommon for the producer to have his name leading the track - just ask Mr. Guetta.  As for Yanou and Do I neither know who they are or how even to pronounce their names.

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [127-136]

We start off this bunch with a few more recent hits from some of Britain's break-through artists of the past couple of years (all of whom have bigger hits to come) and then we get a bit retro.

127. WRITTEN IN THE STARS- Tinie Tempah Ft Eric Turner 591,000
128. LEGO HOUSE- Ed Sheeran 588,000
129. DO IT LIKE A DUDE- Jessie J 588,000
130. LEAVE RIGHT NOW- Will Young (69) 588,00

131. ANGEL- Shaggy Ft Reyvon (44) 588,000

I once tried to sing this at Karaoke; needless to say I couldn't do the Shaggy bits and it didn't turn out well.  This is a song that I always think is great until I actually make the effort to go and listen to it and it just doesn't deliver what I think it should in my mind.



132. WITHOUT ME- Eminem (72) 587,000

So Eminem makes a comeback (for the first time) and we were all beginning to wonder how many times he would leave the music industry then make a return.  Thankfully his most recent album and return to form has proved that it's all been worth it with a song which is much much higher in this countdown (he's also got a couple of other hits between here and there too.)



133. I'M YOURS- Jason Mraz 587,000
134. DANCE WIV ME- Dizzee Rascal Ft Calvin Harris & Chrome (80) 586,000

135. HALO- Beyonce 584,000

Despite Beyonce's massive influence on the charts over the past decade, since Destiny's Child parted ways she's only has four entries in the top 150; one power duet and three as a lead artist from her album 'I Am . . Sasha Fierce'. I think that says a lot more about the mid-decade plunge in sales rather than this woman's vocal performances as she is a force to be reckoned with.  I do love her big ballads: Irreplaceable, Best Thing I Never Had and Halo, as they just translate into such fantastic live performances. Here's Halo live at Glastonbury festival 2011.



136. HUNG UP- Madonna (70) 584,000


She's still going; but I think it's quite apparent that she's much more about her tours than her singles chart impact these days (see MDNA and accompanying singles).  This is her only entry on this countdown but I personally preferred her follow up #1 Sorry. 

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [137-140]

Olly Murs went from strength to strength in 2011 with the release of his second album and co-presenting the Xtra Factor.  Not only did he manage to rack up another couple of #1 singles but he managed to win over a lot of new fans - even some of the moguls at Popjustice!  The first two singles from the album hit #1 and feature on our countdown a couple of thousand sales apart and separated by Mika and the Goo Goo Dolls.


137. HEART SKIPS A BEAT- Olly Murs Ft Rizzle Kicks 583,000


Written by Preston from The Ordinary Boys, I spent ages trying to avoid this song as I just had no interest in any Olly Murs output. However, this perfect piece of pop is just so irresistibly catchy that it's hard not to get hooked in. This single also introduced the nation to Rizzle Kicks who would be back in our charts with the very infectious Mama Do The Hump at the start of this year.





138. IRIS- Goo Goo Dolls 582,000
139. GRACE KELLY- Mika (66) 581,000


140. DANCE WITH ME TONIGHT- Olly Murs 581,000


As this single was getting its release I still wasn't convinced by Olly and after a slightly bizarre X Factor performance with some of the Muppets I was sceptical if this would be able to do well over the Christmas period. After being held off the #1 spot by none other than Rihanna the song really showed its staying power by holding strong and climbing to the top a few weeks later.  Mr. Murs really has found his own little niche in the market making great radio friendly tunes so long may his success continue.





. . . and whilst we're on a roll . . . 


THIS SONG IS ABOUT YOU - Olly Murs


No this song isn't one of the biggest selling singles of the 21st Century; far from it. This is my album track of choice from Olly's second album 'In Case You Didn't Know' and is definitely worth a listen for any Olly fans that haven't heard it yet.

150 Best Selling Singles of the 21st Century [141-150]

At the lower echelons of the countdown we have:


141. SWEAT- Snoop Dogg Vs David Guetta 580,000


It took me so long for this song to click with me and I thought it had awfully inflated sales for such a mediocre Guetta effort until I heard this remix on an episode of Pram Face. I have been meaning to write a post about this for a while as it really does have me hooked! It does amuse me how creepy some of the lyrics sound here; I can't decide if the relay of "I've been staring at you all night - I wanna get you wet" is more of a prelude to an menage a trois or they're singing to each other - either way it's rather disturbing....





142. I DON'T FEEL LIKE DANCING- Scissor Sisters (73) 578,000
143. AMERICAN BOY- Estelle Ft Kanye West (85) 578,000
144. ANYONE OF US (STUPID MISTAKE)- Gareth Gates (58) 576,000


145. THE MAN WHO CAN'T BE MOVED- The Script 574,000


Until a few weeks ago this song probably wouldn't have sold enough to feature on the countdown but following lead singer Danny's new found fame on The Voice this track has seen quite the resurgence over the past month in our chart.





146. IGNITION (REMIX)- R Kelly (79) 573,000
147. DON'T CHA- Pussycat Dolls Ft Busta Rhymes (75) 572,000
148. PAPARAZZI- Lady Gaga 572,000


149. APOLOGIZE- Timbaland Ft One Republic (91) 569,000


One of my favourite tracks of all time and actually the only entry on the countdown for both One Republic and Timbaland. I have listened to this song a ridiculous amount of times!





150. CRAZY FROG- Crazy Frog (67) 568,000


Starting at #150 we have a song that spent 3 weeks at #1 and had the nation going crazy over his ring-tone.  I personally don't think it's all that bad if I'm honest.





Spyke


Courtesy of Radio 1 and The Official Charts company we have a full and comprehensive list of the top 150 biggest selling singles of the 21st Century. All the tracks in the countdown have sold in excess of 550,000 copies in the UK and although it is cluttered with #1 singles there are a few tracks in the countdown that might just surprise you. Over the next few posts we'll countdown your top 150 songs; highlighting any special feats and sharing thoughts on a few of our faves.


So after each track in the chart you'll find its sales up to the start of this month; for songs that are still in the charts this is likely to change quite soon. To see how the countdown has changed since the end of 2010 any end of decade position for the 2000's are included in brackets after the song. Obviously any Rihanna and Lady Gaga fans are in for a treat as the pair have amassed 13 entries on the countdown between them.


Enjoy!

Rihanna - Where Have You Been

Rihanna strikes again...



Rihanna's new video for Where Have You Been lies somewhere in the mix between her very best (We Found Love) and her less inspiring choices (like Rehab or We Ride). Taking elements from her previous work - the throbbing effects seen in Umbrella, the darker set seen in Disturbia and some of the styling from Rude Boy - this is bound to be a smash.

Having watched three 'Making Of' videos it's clear that a lot of time and effort went in to making this (in complete contrast to the video for You Da One). It's got great lighting, make up, special effects, costumes, set, dancing and everything - what isn't to love? Hopefully this video will be enough to propel the song to the top of the charts and give the 'Talk That Talk' campaign a healthy boost after the dwindling success of the previous three 'singles' You Da One, Talk That Talk and Birthday Cake. This was my favourite track off the album when it dropped and I have just been waiting for it to get a release. I probably prefer Roc Me Out and We Found Love slightly more at the moment but it's amazing how a good video can really help a song grow on you again.

Selena Gomez & The Scene - Hit The Lights

I am a bit obsessed with this song....



Spyke

When I say I'm a little bit obsessed with the song, I mean that since discovering the song just before my exam I have played this song 124 times (and counting). The track is actually the third and final single from the band's third album which have all gone top 20 here in the UK. Before hearing it I was very unaware of Selena Gomez's music output or even that she was the frontman of the band. I'd just heard about her as Justin Bieber's girlfriend, obviously making her the envy of many a teenage girl. What she really needs is her Party In The USA, a global smash that will transform from Disney Channel star to pop phenomenon in her own right.

This is fun, energetic and I just love the lyrics. They speak of those missed opportunities, people you let go, the adventures you didn't have and those dreams that never came true. It's all about embracing life and just living it to its full potential. A second video for the track just recently been released, so hopefully there's a chance that this pop track can become quite the hit.

Alexandra Burke - Let It Go

Wasn't 2008 a great year for the X Factor



Spyke

I have three issues to raise with the latest Alexandra Burke release:

1

It's called 'Let it Go' which is awfully similar to the title of the Ne-Yo and Calvin Harris single that is heading for #1 this week in the singles chart (though it may well just stall at #2).  There's a reason that Tulisa has recently changed the title of her debut single from 'We Are Young' to 'Young' and that's so people don't get confused.  I know which of the two I'd rather listen to.

2

It all just looks so cheap. The thing I loved about the whole Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love release is that Leona was treated like a star. There was no sending her to Saturday morning TV to play with kids, there was no asking her to Music Channel chat shows; she was a star. Just like you'd never dream of treating Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston like that; why treat Alexandra any different. When you look at this video it just screams one word at me 'CHEAP' 'CHEAP' 'CHEAP'.  Rihanna may use the tube and the Pussycat Dolls did love grinding those poles but Alexandra Burke really doesn't do anything for the London Underground.  Plus her outfits just look rather tacky - there are ways to do classy videos on a budget and this is not it.  I just keep wondering when the Picadilly line might stop for her.

3

Just listening to the song it doesn't really sound like her. Alexandra has a great voice and the X Factor showed the nation that, so I don't understand why her record company feels the need to auto-tune her to that extent.  It wasn't until I saw her in the 'Elephant' video that I really believed she was behind the song.  Then again I thought 'The Silence' was a vocal triumph and yet that has been her only single to miss the top 10 so far - so what do I know.

Top ten songs of the month

It's been an amazing few weeks for pop...

McLovin

First up, I just want to say 'apols' to Craig for my lack of McSpyMusic action the past couple of months. I hope this post somehow makes up for it. Second, one of the reasons I haven't written many reviews is that I'm in love with so many songs at the moment, it's been impossible trying to choose which one to concentrate on. So here's my top ten songs of the past few weeks, which have managed to make Gotye's rein of terror feel like a distant memory...

10. Rita Ora feat Tinie Tempah - 'RIP'

I haven't decided if I prefer this one or 'How We Do (Party)', but seeing as the UK are getting this one first, I'll 'plump' for this. Tinie's Borders bookshop joke makes me smile every time (lame, I know), while Rita Ora is clearly the best thing that's come out of pop this year.

9. Scissor Sisters - 'Only The Horses'

Calvin Harris continues on his quest to become the most sought after producer since The Guetta, and the Sisters makes their best comeback single since, well, their last one. Which was amazing. 

8. Madonna feat Nicki Minaj - 'I Don't Give A'

'MDNA' feels harder work than it really should be (although I knew what I was letting myself in for when I bought the double-disc deluxe edition). But this is a bit more interesting than the other album tracks. I love the middle eight bit where she goes 'I tried to be a good girl' through to Nicki's rapping 'There's only one Queen, and that's Madonna. BITCH!'. 

7. Nicki Minaj - 'Pound The Alarm'

Speaking of Nicki, 'Pound The Alarm' makes me feel giddy and woozy and slightly nauseous and my ears hurts when I listen to it too much which is ALL OF THE TIME. 

6. Justin Bieber - 'Boyfriend'

I didn't really find the high standard of 'Boyfriend' that surprising, seeing as some of the album tracks on his Christmas album were so good. However, I am aware that I was the only person who bought it in the UK, so it's nice that people are talking about a song of his rather than his dodgy driving or new haircut for a change. 

5. Jennifer Lopez feat Pitbull (of course) - 'Dance Again'

I like this a lot more than 'Get On The Floor', the pre-chorus is Abbaesque in all the right ways, and even the Pitbull rap I find endearing. (The second one, not the first one where's he's all 'oh your girl only goes one way does she now?'. Shut up Pitbull.) 

4. Conor Maynard - 'Can't Say No'

I was thinking the other day about how music history might have been so different if, say, Craig David had travelled into the future, stolen this song off Conor, and released this instead of 'What's Your Flava?' as his second album comeback single. He'd probably have messed it up with the follow-up, but still, this would have rocked 2002's world. 

3. The Saturdays - '30 Days' 

I didn't think much of this at first, but with each play it reveals a subtle depth and warmth that was lacking on some of their last album's 'oh will this do?' attitude (although I still reckon 'White Lies' should have been a single). 

2. Carly Rae Jepsen - 'Call Me Maybe'

Shock! Carly isn't at the top! Well okay, 'Call Me Maybe' is clearly incredible and will probably end up as my favourite song of the year, but for the time being I thought someone else deserved a turn at Number One. 

1. Cheryl - 'Call My Name'

I know Craig isn't convinced yet, and I've only listened to it three or four times so far. But I've been humming the chorus all weekend, and it clicked with me in a way a song hasn't since, well Carly Rae Jepsen. So not long really, but for the time being 'Call My Name' sneaks into pole position. Calvin's done it again. 

(EDIT:  I really like the new Nelly Furtado song too.)