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!