Hits 21 - 2005 (10): The Race for Christmas Number 1
Episode Date: November 12, 2023Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to Hits 21, the show that's taking a look back at every UK #1 hit single of the 21st century - from January 2000, right through to the present day. Twitter:... @Hits21UK Email: hits21podcast@gmail.com Vault: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5O5MHJUIQIUuf0Jv0Peb3C?si=e4057fb450f648b0 Piehole: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2FmWkwasjtq5UkjKqZLcl4
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Hi there everyone and Yuletide greetings!
Welcome back to Hits21 where me, Rob. Me,
Santa. And me,
Lizzie.
All look back at every single
UK number one of the
21st century.
From January 2000
right through to the present day.
If you want to get in touch with us, you can.
You can find us over on Twitter.
We are at Hits21UK. We are at Hits21UK.
That is at Hits21UK.
And you can email us too.
Just send it on over to Hits21Podcast at gmail.com.
Thank you so much for joining us again.
We are currently looking back at the year 2005.
That's where you find us.
And this week, it's our last episode of 2005 because we're looking
back at the race for
Christmas number one
it's our sort of three monthly
tradition on here where we take a look at the TV
the games, the films
all sorts of that stuff, we look back
on the year that was
and we also discuss the big Christmas
number one, which was announced on Christmas
day in 2005.
Last week's poll winner.
There was a lot of love, I have to say, for Stick With You, for Pussycat Dolls.
So I'm happy that there was a lot of love out there for that.
But the winner, it was hung up by Madonna.
Fair enough.
So well done to her you know Rob I'm impressed that you didn't
need to mention that Pussycat Dolls
title there and you did it anyway
that's brave of you
I've grown up so much this week Andy
honestly
alright then
on to this week's episode and as always
we're going to give you some news headlines
from around the time that the one song in this episode was at number one in the UK.
Westlife's You Raise Me Up is named as ITV's Record of the Year.
Andrew Flintoff is named BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Former cricketer Darren Goff wins the third series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Cricketer Darren Goff wins the third series of Strictly Come Dancing,
and Sir Trevor MacDonald makes his final ITN news broadcast after 25 years.
Elton John spends £100,000 on a huge pre-wedding party to celebrate his civil partnership with David Furnish,
to whom Elton has now been married for 18 years.
The couple eventually got married in 2014,
once it was legal for UK same-sex couples
to do so. And Shane Ward wins the second series of The X Factor. Beating composition from Andy
Abraham and Journey South, the 21-year-old singer from Tameside in Greater Manchester won the public
vote after singing If You're Not The One by Daniel Bedingfield, When a Child is Born by Johnny Mathis, and Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland
in the final.
Jesus Christ.
Jesus, my pulse is racing there.
That's like...
That's a selection, isn't it?
Yeah, it's like going to
the house of a recent divorcee
at Christmas.
That's what we've got on the stereo.
Like, alright.
Yeah, I wonder what happens
to that Shane Ward lad.
I wonder if I'll ever
get to talk about him.
The last film to reach
the top of the UK box office
in 2005 is
The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe, which went back to
the top for one more week
and the three highest grossing
films of 2005
were Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory in third place,
Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith in second place,
and the highest grossing film of 2005,
which likely comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody,
is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
And you can see all those films right now on ITV2.
Yes, you probably could have seen them in 2006
and will be able to see them in
2026
because the ITV schedule at Christmas has
probably never changed
so normally at this point
we would have some pop culture headlines
from Lizzie and Andy but
it's only a week period at the end of December
not a lot going on
we would normally be stopping off at the end of December. Not a lot going on.
We would normally be stopping off at the album chart,
but not a lot of action there.
But Lizzie, you have a US-based treat for us.
Yes, I do.
For this week's episode, so reveal all, please.
All right.
Well, I have both a Christmas number one single and an album to bring you this week.
Well, you do. Congratulations.
I know. Amazing. Well done done i finally took off over there i can't believe it 20 years ago i'll also give you the 2005 year
end list while i'm here um first up the us christmas number one single for 2005 is
don't forget about us by mariah carey ironically a song i completely
forgot about until writing my notes it stayed at number one for two weeks those being the final
week of 2005 and the first week of 2006 in the uk it only got as high as number 11, while JCB was at number one.
Over to albums, and we have the 2005 Christmas number one album,
which is Curtain Call, The Hits, by Eminem.
It stayed at number one for two weeks to close out 2005,
and also got to number one in the UK.
It was certified diamond in the US, with over 10 million copies sold to date,
and that is despite having
Eminem's worst song on it is that fact by any chance yes it is yeah so that just leaves us
with the year-end winners uh any guesses at the biggest single of 2005 will be fairly obvious if
you've been listening to these segments I know know We Belong Together will be right up there.
What about you, Rob?
Yeah, it's We Belong Together or
Gold Digger, isn't it? Well, we'll see.
At number 10, we have
Behind These Hazel Eyes
by Kelly Clarkson.
Really? That sold that much?
Gosh, wow. Yeah, I think it's
a mix of sales and radio airplay
as far as I'm aware.
But yeah, it was pretty big in America.
At number nine, one we covered, Don't You, by the Pussycat Dolls.
At number eight, one we thankfully didn't cover, Candy Shop, by 50 Cent, featuring Olivia.
At number seven, one that I'm sure you both wish we could have covered Boulevard of Broken Dreams
By Green Day
Didn't get number 1
But it was still pretty big over there
God and he wore cologne and everything
I know
He walks to Burger King
Then he walks back from the Burger King
If you know you know
At number 6
We have Gold Digger by Kanye West featuring Jamie Fox know at number 6 we have
Gold Digger by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
only number 6
what you say only number 6
the 6th biggest song in America
for that year
in at number 5 is One Two Step by Sierra
featuring Missy Elliott
number 4 god I wish we could have covered this one
Since You've Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson
at number 3 Let Me Love You by Mario.
I think got to number two over here.
At number two is Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani.
Oh, wow.
At number one, You've Both Got It, Bang Nail Ned,
We Belong Together by Mariah Carey.
Wow, big year for Kelly Clarkson.
Two songs in the top ten for the year.
Yeah, yeah.
That's pretty good for her. Yeah, yeah. Breakout year.
Pretty good for her. Well done to her.
Alright then, so back over to this side of the Atlantic.
And Andy has rustled up his dusty copy from 2005 of the Radio Times, I'm sure.
So what will be being treated to across the ever-expanding number of channels
during Christmas 2005?
Oh, well, you say ever-expanding number
of channels, but I've only really focused on
two, but let's go anyway.
Otherwise I'd be at this
all night. Yes,
it is that time of year.
Once again, pour yourself a sherry, stuff
yourself with an extra mince pie, and
plonk yourself down in front of the telly.
Because there is a whole load on offer for you in Christmas 2005.
Probably worth noting that this is, I think this is the first Christmas that I remember the TV quite well.
Which might well go for both of you two.
Let's see how much of this you recall.
So, we start with BBC One, who, i think the general theme is that they offer an
evening of looks at a bygone era first of all right in the middle of prime time we have an
hour-long special of only fools and horses spin off the green green grass yes that is christmas
day prime time yeah getting the green green grass we also got the final edition of the two ronnie's
sketchbook this one being appropriately a Christmas special,
and that series had seen the Ronnies reunite
to present classic sketches with new live material recorded for Lynx.
It was quite good, actually.
And that final episode was recorded very shortly before Ronnie Barker's death,
and it was broadcast after he died,
so that was one of the highlights of the evening.
A final farewell to Ronnie Barker.
So, yes, a lot of trips into the past,
and speaking of time travel,
well, it is finally time for BBC One
to inaugurate the grand tradition of the Doctor Who Christmas specials,
which will be with us almost every year to come.
Almost every year to come.
This year's special was titled The Christmas Invasion
and marked the full debut of David Tennant as the 10th Doctor,
who was, of course, an enormous success in the role,
so quite a landmark episode, this.
Definitely one of the better Doctor Who specials, for my money.
And it's kind of weird to be talking about his debut,
given that, as we record, it is just days
until David Tennant starts a second brief tenure as the 14th Doctor.
Things never change, do they?
Yeah.
There are also specials from Little Britain,
from Strictly Come Dancing, and from
Outtake TV, if you remember that.
And the big film of the
day is Toy Story 2.
Solid. And
my favourite little oddity from all the schedules
this year hard spell
which is a televised spelling bee
spread across six episodes
what?
I know
in which Britain's best young spellers
prove that they can spell
spell better than others can spell
spelling!
spelling!
it's Christmas folks
let's all do some spelling
yeah
so over on ITV I mean frankly if it's christmas folks let's all do some spelling yeah so over on itv i mean frankly if
it's not a celebrity special then they don't want to know you um yet another evening of celebrity
millionaire is accompanied by anton deck's christmas takeaway a coronation street panto
and a stars in i know and a stars in their eyes celebrity duets special. And there's some proper names here from back in the day.
So interior designers Colin and Justin played Robson and Jerome.
Yeah, I know.
Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee played Fred Astaire and Judy Garland,
which kind of sounds amazing, to be honest.
Yeah.
Vanessa Feltz and Matthew Wright played Rene and Renato,
which I can't quite picture, to be honest.
Yeah, ITV's big film for the day was The Grinch,
and I think we should start declaring a winner for these each year
in the Battle of the Christmas Movies.
So which wins this year, Toy Story 2 or The Grinch?
Toy Story 2.
Easy.
Toy Story 2.
Yeah.
Rob?
Yeah, Toy Story 2.
Easy.
Yes, so over on the soaps let's
start with Corrie where it's an emotional
Christmas as long-standing Corrie legend
Mike Baldwin finally accepts that he is
suffering from Alzheimer's disease when
he forgets that his brother is dead
during Christmas dinner and it's a
similarly cheery festive Emmerdale which
sees Jimmy King nearly jump off a bridge
Merry Christmas, everyone.
And it's a very big one on EastEnders.
Firstly, on Christmas Day,
Cat and Alfie are reunited
after a tough few months apart,
and they drive off into the sunset together,
leaving the show.
And on New Year's Eve,
resident hunk Dennis Rickman
is shockingly killed off,
played by Nigel Harmon, by the way,
who, as of recording, is currently doing quite well on Strictly Come Dancing.
Again, things don't half come back around, don't they?
Yeah.
And just a few more things.
The Queen's speech this year focused on the many tragedies
that had occurred globally in the last year.
Funnily enough, she talks quite a lot about the Asian tsunami,
which, of course, occurred the very day after last year's speech on Boxing Day 2004.
She also talked about Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Kashmir,
and the 7-7 bombings.
And the Queen paid tribute to all involved in the humanitarian efforts
from those who responded to these events.
And finally, the alternative Christmas message had a very different flavour.
And all puns intended there, because it was delivered by Jamie Oliver. And finally, the alternative Christmas message had a very different flavour.
And all puns intended there because it was delivered by Jamie Oliver in the form of a truly cringe-inducing sketch.
You should watch this. It's awful.
Where he has a nightmare that he is serving children turkey Twizzlers for Christmas dinner.
Oh, the turkey Twizzlers fiasco.
After that nightmare, Jamie wakes up
and makes a Christmas wish for children to eat better.
The evenings must fly by in the Oliver household, mustn't they?
Yeah, not a vintage one.
So that's your lot.
You've got Jamie Oliver, the lovely Debbie McGee,
the Tenth Doctor, Cat and Alfie, Buzz and Woody,
and best of all, spelling!
Have a spellbinding TV Christmas, one and all
I actually, before we move on
I have a fun fact about the alternative
Christmas message that year
is that E4 did an
alternative to the alternative message
They did indeed
It was delivered by Avid Merian
otherwise known as Lee Francis from
Bo Selector
God, I could only imagine
what that was like oh yeah but it's brilliant oh god the turkey twizzlers thing because i started
high school in 2005 and the primary school i went to was really close by the high school i ended up
going to and so a lot of kids in my year had older siblings
at the school and like my cousin went and so these these turkey twizzlers at the school were like oh
the turkey twizzlers are amazing and i was like oh can't wait to try those and so on mondays and
fridays i was allowed uh food from the canteen instead of being sent in with a packed lunch.
And back then, two pounds could buy you lunch, a drink, and a dessert.
You had to put them on your... Did you two have dinner cards at your school?
We would have got them around this time, yeah.
I was a packed lunch boy.
Yeah, I was mostly a packed lunch boy too,
but on Fridays I was allowed, and I had turkey Twizzlers like twice,
and I was like, oh, these are the best things,
because they didn't do them every Friday.
They did them once a month,
I think at the end of the month or something like that.
And then after like two months of having them,
I remember coming in school one day,
all my friends were sort of like going,
have you heard?
Have you heard the news?
I was trying to get rid of them.
And so there was this Jamie Oliver hate campaign
at our school for a little while
until sadly the turkey Twizzlers were no more.
And I feel a bit like Principal Skinner with the,
I just can't get the spices right.
Where like every time somebody's come back with a
turkey Twizzler it's just not the same
it isn't the same
they are not only a victim of
time passing but they're
also a victim of things like shrinkflation
and just
generally just good diets to be honest
and better diets to be
perfectly honest but what I wouldn't
give, what I wouldn't give. Rob as much as I loved that story
and I really did, I must say you've never
sounded older
young people listening to that
I've got you going
back in day you could use
two penneth to get yourself dinner and drink
remember turkey twizzlers
we'd save up all month for them
turkey twizzlers but then top brass wouldn't let us have them turkey twizzlers we'd save up all month for them turkey twizzlers but then top brass wouldn't let us have them
turkey twizzlers
never did me any harm
I know back in my day
we'd have one turkey twizzler a year
and we'd be fucking grateful
isn't it funny how you can remember
flavours like that
I've not had them in 18 years, and yet I can almost taste them.
Yeah, remember the texture.
Yeah.
Leave your house unlocked in them days as well.
Well, if my house was left unlocked on Christmas Day 2005,
what gains would they be stealing, Lizzie?
These fictional robbers that I've invented,
who also love turkey Twizzlers and love robbing houses too.
Well, as you're both aware,
the 2005 Toy of the Year is, of course, turkey Twizzlers.
Right, I'll do the Toy Awards first,
and then we'll move on to video games.
Toy Awards.
Yeah, here we go.
Right, Toy Craze of the year 2005 i'll
be very surprised if you remember either of these um so first up we have my scoobies oh scoobies
yeah they're the little tie things like the little plaits made out of elastic bands we've
oh is that what that is yeah we've still got them on suitcases where you can identify your
suitcase from the little scooby you've tied yeah yeah yeah so so we've still got them on suitcases where you can identify your suitcase from the little Scooby you've tied.
Yeah.
Yeah, so we've got My Scoobies and Scooby-Doo.
I'm guessing they're not that Scooby-Doo with S-C-O-U.
Moving on, we have the Fashion Doll of the Year 2005.
No points for guessing this.
This is going to be Bratz, but it's specifically Bratz Babies.
Oh, dear.
Oh, no.
I remember that.
Sorry, I've just immediately started laughing at memories of last year's Baby Wee Wee.
Some say it's still pissing to this day.
Still haunting us.
Speaking of haunting, Andy, this is one you might have had if you were a little bit younger.
The Doctor Who radio-controlled Dalek
character, the electronic toy of the year
2005. That's so cool!
You know when you're like
13 and you look at the Argos catalogue
it's like, oh that would have been great like two
years ago. Yep.
I did have a Sonic screwdriver though
so I wasn't completely
averse to Doctor Who toys this year
but I did have a remote-controlled Dalek.
Oh, damn it, such an unhappy childhood.
The toy range of the year 2005, one that is definitely still around,
I don't know, Sylvanian Families.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
The little bear things, yeah.
The TikTok account, Sylvanian Drama.
Have either of you come across this?
I don't know. I'm 30, Rob. Yes, yes, and it's Sylvanian Drama. Have either of you come across this? I don't know.
I'm 30, Rob.
Yes, yes.
And it's Sylvanian Families.
Yeah, it is.
Yeah.
The Sylvanian Drama TikTok account is incredible.
Really, really incredible where this person does Sylvanian Families, but sets them up as little stop motion things.
And then it's like a
it's like a soap opera but like no one scene connects to the next it's like there's a wedding
and so that's the setup and then a car crash it crashes through the window and then the person
who's in the car who's crashed into the window starts arguing with someone in a pew then suddenly
there's a fight outside suddenly there's a like you know and it just it goes from one to the next
it's almost like um this term that was uh used to describe like certain simpsons episodes this
element of symphonic humor where like there is no punch line it's just a series of jokes and
gags that just keep going and going and going until the video just sort of ends it's just a series of jokes and gags that just keep going and going and going until the video just sort of ends
it's yeah
great great fun that account
I think I had that mixed up with
I know there was a twitter account I think
a couple of years ago that was just
some sylvanian families like posed
and then it would just be one of them like swearing
oh I saw that as well
my first job was in a toy shop
and when that year comes up
I'll be looking forward to this bit by the way
But Sylvanian families
They were a big deal
People would come in
With a list in their hands and be like
Oh have you got the 2005
Cardigan wearing field mouse
You know
But take it proper seriously
I like to think that you kind of
gate kept them
you know people would come in for them
but you get to pick a choose like do I like this person
and you have the power to just say
no we don't
goodbye
I would have loved to wield that kind of power
but I was young and afraid of authority
so no
no one man should have all that power
right preschool toy of the year i don't think
any of us played with this or at least i hope we didn't um thomas aquador i'm guessing this
is like one of those pen things where they they only work on the oh yeah yeah yeah yeah the water
pen things yeah yeah yeah the electronic game of the year rather than electronic toy is bop it
extreme 2 well i think i own that one i think that was the one i owned okay yeah i think i think i
own this next one actually uh the game of the year 2005 monopoly here and now oh what was the uh
what variation is that i think it's like an update is that? I think it's like an updated, well,
I think it is, it's definitely an updated one. I can't remember what exactly, I can't,
this might have been the one with like a card reader. Oh, I don't like that. I don't like
that, no. Yeah, it's one of those where you play it at Christmas and it never gets seen
again, but we had fun while it lasted. The girls' toy of the year 2005 is Barbie Pegasus Styling Head.
Head?
Yeah.
I like to think many children woke up with that in their bed
and screamed.
I was just thinking that.
If you have given Barbie a haircut,
I need to order a replacement head.
The boys' toy of the year,
I don't know why they're gendering this,
but Star Wars electronic lightsabers.
I'm pretty sure girls would have had this too.
Girls like lightsabers.
Yeah.
And so do young gay boys.
I can testify.
I'm not binary.
Do you own one, Andy?
Yeah.
And finally, the Special Recognition Awards
on behalf of the council go to
20 questions, flat ball, Take Along Thomas,
and a Hits 21 alumni, Crazy Frog.
How was that a toy?
What was the toy element of Crazy Frog?
They had, like, plush toys and that,
and I'm pretty sure they had, like, a dancing one as well,
like that singing hamster thing.
You know, you squeeze its paw and it goes do, do, do, do, do, do.
All right.
Now the fun part.
Video games.
I'm going to do it slightly different this year because usually I would ask you what you think is the highest entry or the number one in this list.
I'm going to tell you straight up, it's FIFA.
Yeah.
So, I'm sorry, but
I'm just going to say, right, what do
you think the highest entry that
isn't FIFA or Pro Evo
is?
Star Wars Battlefront. That was
big in this year. I'm going to go for that.
Okay. Good guess. I like that.
That's a really good shout.
A Resident Evil
game's still going at this
point.
Yes. San Andreas
still going as well
from last year. I think
the Nintendo DS launched in 2005.
So maybe Mario Kart
or something.
Good shout. Okay, yeah. Run it down, Lizzie. Run it down. so maybe Mario Kart or something okay good shout okay yeah
run it down Lizzie
run it down
so I'd say
number one is Fifro 6
number two is Pro Evolution Soccer 5
yep
now I'll go back
both of those
yep
yeah I think a lot of people did
so going back to the number 10 spot
we have The Sims 2
at number nine we have King Kong
official game of the movie.
I've got that. It was actually pretty good it was quite a lot like Uncharted
before Uncharted happened it was quite good though. This is also the year of
the Xbox 360 and I remember that came out on about 10 consoles. Yeah it is
actually. In at number 8, good shout, Grand Theft Auto San Andreas.
Still holding in there.
Still holding strong, yeah.
In at number seven, another good shout, Star Wars Battlefront II.
Oh, not one.
Oh, okay.
I thought one would still be riding the crest of the wave, though.
Hmm, interesting.
Yeah.
I mean, it probably still is in the list somewhere,
but I've just got the top ten in front of me.
In at number six, pretty sure i had this one fifa street oh yes yeah yeah that was
where i discovered dizzy rascal because stand up tall was on the soundtrack and that was um yeah
that was where i discovered it oh god what a concept as well because that was like the peak
of like joga bonito and yes all the skill football stuff
and the uh the advert that was all them playing football in the stadium to the mama loves mambo
or whatever it was with uh all the brazilian players doing tricks and flicks and i seem to
remember there being a gladiator commercial as well where david beckham was in that was pepsi
i think so yeah this peak kind of like
whoa look at the skill sort of era of football which has kind of moved on a bit now the whole
street thing though it is a little bit cringe looking back it's a little bit pandering like
it's I don't know I get what you mean I kind of miss that though in like in sports games especially
that more arcadey aspect yeah whereas now it's fun. Whereas now it's all full simulation.
You play one game, you've played a million.
They did try to bring it back
because I think they got as far as FIFA Street 3.
They did.
I think they got that far.
And then there was a game mode on FIFA 20,
I think that was called something like volta or something like that where you could play in like indoor arenas because i remember the funny thing about fifa
street was that obviously you could do all the tricks and flicks and that was more what the game
was about because as much as uh you could obviously score goals in these little five-a-side pitches. You could also get points for doing skill and skill moves,
and goals would be worth more points and things like that.
But you could also foul people and not have the referee blow up.
You could just deck somebody.
You could just do a sliding tackle,
and then the game would just be like,
right, okay, we're carrying on.
There's no referee because there's no no injuries and there's nothing like that there's
no referee to tell you off you could just just slide into people i used to do that i used to
just go even like at the other end of the pitch when the ball was right up at the other end and
there's nothing going on i'd go to the other goalie and just absolutely deck him with a slide
tackle out of nowhere and play would just continue and he'd
just be like what the hell going back to list in at number five we have star wars episode three
revenge of the sith oh yes okay yeah at number four we have gran turismo four so in at number
three is our highest non-football entry this year, which is Need for Speed, Most Wanted.
It's always Need for Speed, isn't it?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But, yeah, there's some great games on this list.
Like, just looking at it now,
I can see The Simpsons Hit and Run is in there.
Yes.
One I really liked at the time, 50 Cent Bulletproof is in there.
Oh, my God.
The Warriors, that was a great game um tony
hawk's american wasteland um world of warcraft is in there and of course my personal favorite
in at number 59 microsoft office 2003 student edition oh my god they sold that as a game? Well, we all played it, right?
Do you know, 50 Cent Bulletproof, I do remember that, sort of,
but I mainly have memories of 50 Cent Blood in the Sand,
which I don't know if that's... Oh, Blood in the Sand.
That is a different game, isn't it?
It is, it comes out a year or two later.
Well, I have really funny memories of watching Charlie Brooker
dissect that
on Gameswipe where
he said it's just hard to get into because 50 cents
is just such an absolute knobhead to
everybody he encounters
you just walk in
go to a waitress behind a bar and go like
where's your bars you bitch
I just remember that
oh god
I think that was a little bit after wasn't it If it was on weekly
Wipe or anything like that it might be late 2000s
Might be the follow up to
This one
Bulletproof
Yeah I want to say it came out around the time of Curtis
Yeah
Wasn't there also a film
A get rich or die trying film
That was like 2005
Yeah I think at this time
I'm obviously playing FIFA 06
and PES 5 but I'm also still playing
my little arcade racer game
called Road Trip Adventure
on PS2
absolutely loved Road Trip Adventure
that's one of my husband's
favourite games of all time and he played
it on an emulator literally
earlier this week. It's beautiful.
Who knew that
driving into a car in the middle of
nowhere, in the middle of the night
nobody around
and you just have this conversation. It's like
I've been fishing. I've
been catching all of these. Would you like to come back to my
house to see all my fish? And then you go
no. And then drive home.
Happier times.
Indelible memories.
Alright then, so, before
we get to the Christmas Day Top 10,
we are going to take our first look back
at the year that was
and some songs that we
perhaps would have wanted to cover
but didn't get to cover because
they didn't get to number one it is time for born to runner up so andy this is your segment so feel
free to take it away what what are our top 10 number twos of the year oh you want the whole
top 10 do you okay well there might be some surprises in here because there is a clear winner, but we all kind of disagreed.
And that's a little bit rare.
Like, we usually broadly agree.
Cry Me a River ran away with it in 2003.
And Love Machine was a fairly consistent, highly high pick in 2004.
But this year, there's going to be some surprises.
So, is this a bit Al Vida saying principle?
Like, where
something that we've all voted third
wins?
Not quite, but there's some that have got high
on that basis, and some that are low
because only one of us really loves it.
So, on that note,
in 10th place we have Bad Day
by Daniel Paltzer.
Thanks, you two.
I rated that very high.
In ninth place,
it's Gold Digger
by Kanye West.
Oh.
Wow.
Hey.
Yeah.
In eighth place,
it's Somewhere Else
by Razorlight.
Okay.
I'm surprised by how much
I like that one.
Yeah.
Yeah, their first album
has some good stuff on it.
In seventh place,
it's Empty Souls by Manic Street Creatures. Yeah, their first album has some good stuff on it. In seventh place it's Empty Souls by Manic Street Creatures.
Yeah, good song.
Sixth place it's Ponder Replay by Rihanna.
So, the top five.
It's been mentioned already, it's Let Me Love You by Mario.
In fifth place.
Number four it's City of Blinding Lights
by U2
sorry this is like second bottom
for me
number 3 it is Only You by Ashanti
yes
I don't remember how amazing this was
yeah
in 2nd place Just missing out
Not only second in the charts
But second in our chart as well
It's Signs by Charlie Wilson
Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg
Born to Run Her Up twice then
There is only one quite clear winner
This year
Which not all of us absolutely adored
But we all rated it highly
The winner of this year's Born to Run Her Up trophy
is Feel Good Inc
by Gorillaz
yeah you know it
awesome I hope the Gorillaz
feel good about that
technically instead of laughing like that
I should be going
alright then thank you very much Andy I should be going, eh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha,
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ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha to discussing the Christmas number one for 2005. So again, I'm going to put on my Mark Goodyear voice,
best impression, or JK and Joel for Sunday afternoon,
but my best impression of them.
So here we go.
The Christmas Day top 10 in 2005 was as follows.
Kicking us off at number 10,
it's a brand new entry for Coldplay
with a little help from Kraftwerk, it's Talk.
Another new entry at number 9 for Girls Loud This Time with See The Day.
At 8, down 4 from 4, it's a former number 1, Hung Up Madonna.
from four it's a former number one hung up Madonna it's another former number one at seven down four from three pussycat dolls and stick with you
number six down one from five it's crazy frog and his jingle bells Another new entry, this time at number 5 for Eminem
It's When I'm Gone
At 4, down 2 from 2, it's Westlife and Diana Ross
With When You Tell Me That You Love Me
Which means we are entering our Christmas Day 2005 top 3
And it is a massive festive re-entry at number three for the
Pogues and Kirstie McColl with Fairy Tale of New York. At number two on Christmas
Day it's last week's number one it is Nislopi with JCB or the JCB song which means that the Christmas number one
for 2005
he's not here to say he's sorry
he's here to say he's sorry
it is this You know where I come from
You know my story
You know why I'm standing here
Tonight
Please don't go
Don't be in a hurry
I'm here to make it clear
Make it right
Well, I know I've acted foolish
But I promise you no more. I finally thought it through
I'm not here to let your love go
I'm not giving up, oh no
I'm here to win your heart and soul
That's my goal Please don't go
You know that I need you
I can't breathe without you
Live without you
Be without you
Well I know I've acted foolish
But I promise you
No more
No more
I'm not here to say I'm sorry
I'm not here to lie to you
I'm not here to say I'm ready
That I finally thought it through
I'm not here to let you know
That I finally thought it through
That I finally thought it through I'm not here to say I'm ready And I've finally thought it through
I'm not here to let your love go I'm not giving up, oh no
I'm here to win your heart and soul That's my goal
Well, I won't stop believing that we will be living together
So when I say I love you I mean it forever and ever
Forever and ever
I'm not here to say I'm sorry I'm not here to say I'm sorry
I'm not here to say I'm sorry
I'm not here to lie to you
I'm here to say I'm ready
That I finally thought it through
I'm not here to let your love go
I'm not giving up, oh no
I'm here to win your heart and soul
That's why I'm here, baby
I'm here to win your heart and soul
That's my goal
Okay, this is That's My Goal by Shane Ward.
Released as the lead single from his debut studio album titled Shane Ward.
That's My Goal is Shane Ward's first single to be released in the UK and his first to reach number one.
However, it is the last time that we'll be discussing shane on this podcast that's my goal
went straight in at number one as a brand new entry knocking nizlopi off the top of the charts
it stayed at number one for four weeks in its first week atop the charts it sold 742,000 copies beating competition from the songs you just heard about in week two it sold
132,000 copies in a week where there were no new entries in the entire top 100 and in week three
not one it sold 54,000 copies beating Munich by Editors, which got to number 10.
And in its fourth and final week at the top, it sold 32,000 copies, beating competition from
Break the Night with Color by Richard Ashcroft, which got to number three. I'll Be Ready by
Sunblock, which got to number four. Sleep by Texas, which got to number six.
And Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez, which got to number nine.
When it was knocked off the top of the charts,
That's My Goal fell four places to number five.
By the time it was done on the charts,
it had been inside the Tottenham 100 for 23 weeks.
The song is currently officially certified two times
platinum, so double platinum
in the UK as of
2023.
Andy, take it away.
Well, I will aim to summarise
this song and do it justice. That's
my goal.
I'm inspired by Shane. I will say,
first of all, I don't really want
to diminish the achievement of four weeks at
number one with your debut single.
That's really great, obviously, but
I do think that's probably the quietest
four weeks we have ever encountered on
the show so far.
The bloody editors nearly got number one.
Richard Ashcroft nearly got number one.
That was a quiet month.
So, you know. All respect to Shane
but it's not exactly
October 2006
is it? Spoilers for that.
So
this. I don't quite know
how I feel about it a lot of the time because
everybody does remember
that chorus. It is quite a catchy
chorus.
But it's a bit generic this isn't it i think
this really sets that mold uh that was probably codified by evergreen and all this time from pop
idol but this is i think the one which really kind of sets that cliche i've done it i've won the show
all my dreams have come true you know that really predictable chord progression and, you know,
the big lift that comes with the choruses, the whole inspirational feel to it, you know,
this is definitely the one, I think, where that starts to become a cliché and it starts
to appear quite generic.
Which I think is a little bit of a shame, because I think Shane Ward's got more to him
than that.
I think, if I remember rightly,
they weren't yet at the point with talent shows
where they figured out that you need to give them a break
after the debut single and then come back with the proper album
where they'll launch themselves properly.
But in any case, he's better than this material, really.
He did have a couple of quite catchy songs that followed up after this.
I was always, I mean, I'm not sure how good it actually is,
but I was always a little bit fond of No You Hang Up.
But yeah, he definitely isn't served well by this very, very generic song.
The lyrics are, I mean, is it even worth talking about the lyrics?
I think the production is sort of downright funny, to be honest,
and we'll get to that a bit more in a minute about the production.
But yes, it's very, very standard X Factor fur,
and I don't think it's actively bad in any way,
but I can definitely see how after a few more of these,
people are really going to get tired of basically the same song,
getting to number one every year um and in retrospect this one is definitely just a run
of the mill one of the conveyor belt x-factor singles that was churned out but i do have to
defend that chorus i do think like still everybody remembers that this is no when you believe by leon
jackson or skyscraper by Sam Bailey.
People do remember this.
And Shane Ward's gone on to have a pretty good career.
So I think actually the memory cheats a little bit here.
And actually this was quite a legitimate success.
But it's not great.
It's not the greatest song that I've ever heard
by a long chalk.
But it's fine.
There's much, much worse X Factor singles than this.
It's just super, super cheesy and very generic.
Yeah, not much else to say, to be honest.
The thing with Shane Ward, like you were saying about, you know,
them maybe not reaching that stage yet where they knew to wait
and then do the relaunch.
This was still in the top 40 when no promises came out
so like you know i think that they didn't wait really and they had a lot of stuff like kind of
like ready to go they waited like 12 weeks and i think it was still hanging around the top 40
definitely the top 75 by then they didn't leave it for a while and then come back with something bigger like we'll see
sort of a little bit further down the line
definitely with
it's next year isn't it Leona
and that's like the
ultimate success of it I think
because that worked so well for Leona they did it
every other year after that but it's easy
to forget that that was not always the way
and Shane Ward had to
you know scrap it out right from the start, really.
So all credit to him that he did kind of do quite well for a little while.
Lizzie, how about you?
Pretty much agree entirely with Andy on this.
I think Shane is a rare case of the right person winning the X Factor.
I agree.
In many ways, he's everything that steve brookstein wasn't
like he's handsome he's humble and most importantly he's young jesus christ the roast of steve
brookstein happening here listen like steve brookstein had qualities that endeared him to
the public like in many ways he was a bit of an underdog he was also kind of a grizzled vet i think a lot of the x-factor viewing public saw themselves in him but the problem with that is that
pop music is inherently ageist your chances of having a big hit after the age of 30 are much
slimmer if you're not an already established star like Madonna or Elton John.
So it makes sense that a younger star would be preferable to win the X Factor to the likes of
Simon Cowell. Plus the fact that they're also less likely to be outspoken. They're less likely to
step outside the lines because they're perhaps not aware of the business side of music and
they've not been around they've not encountered the likes of Cowell that I'm sure people like
Steve Brookstein would have done a hundred times but yeah going back to Shane this is his only
number one as you mentioned but I had admittedly forgotten that he came close to a second number one
on multiple occasions. I had misremembered him as a sort of one and done winner like Steve
Brookstein or Leon Jackson, no offence. Call that a blind spot on my part but I feel like this sort
of thing sets a singer up for failure because the journey is more important than the destination and this
kind of winner's song ballad always has a sense of like finality to it like this is they they've
won the x factor and that's it it's like you close the book at this point there's a sense of like
this is the ending this is something i'm gonna kind of get
into where like i find that winner's songs they really struggle to juggle the fact that it's the
end and the beginning at the same time i think that they they do struggle with like having to
find that sweet spot and in the end the song just ends up being about nothing because they can't
make it too much about it being the end or the
beginning they have to juggle both parts but sorry sorry carry on i mean it could be that the the main
chorus lyric and the title tries to to work around this by looking ahead rather than behind like
i'm here to win your heart and soul that's my goal the problem is it's a vague sentiment that sounds less like a statement
of intent and more like something you'd say in like an annual performance review
winning your heart and soul is one of my key performance indicators for the year ahead
and i aim to accomplish that goal by keeping my line manager informed and engaging in work like like you know what i mean definitely
the title of the song is my biggest problem with it i think it is a bit inherently just flat as a
phrase isn't it that's my goal it's just yeah it's it's like use something a bit more expressive a
bit more poetic than that like it's my it's my biggest dream or it's like it's my calling,
it's my destiny. Don't be like it's my goal because you're right, it sounds like it's my KPI
basically. Yeah, like everything from the song itself to Shane Ward's performance of it is
pretty middling, like not great but not terrible but I really do have a problem with that's my goal as a sentiment
because it draws attention to the real possibility of failure.
Ooh, yeah.
Failure to meet that goal.
It's like saying, I'm here to win your heart and soul.
Wish me luck.
Or I'm here to win your heart and soul.
We'll see how it goes, but it could go either way perhaps i'm overthinking
this i don't think the average pop buyer in 2005 is thinking this but for a brand new artist being
launched into an ultra-competitive pop market a lyric like that suggests a lack of confidence
maybe that's justified given the outcomes of previous talent show winners that
we've covered but Shane Ward really did seem like the right man at the right time. Just going back
to 2002 when we covered Sound of the Underground on that Christmas episode I think we had a
discussion about how talent show winners never got to make a statement like that ever again
if girls allowed had won x factor in 2004 or 2005 there's every chance that they would have been
given something like i'll stand by you as their debut single yeah like there's definitely worse
examples of winner songs than this but like Girls Aloud Shane Ward seemed like a sure
thing whereas Sound of the Underground played to Girls Aloud's strengths that's my goal makes
Shane Ward seem unambitious and destined to fail which isn't actually representative of his actual
career like you say Andy he's been very successful not just in music
but perhaps his biggest impact has been in acting and he's not that much older than us so he still
has a lot of road ahead of him it's just that this is such an empty statement on you know coming out
to the world and presenting yourself as the next big thing
it already seems like the story's done at this point and if you stop paying attention then
you're not going to miss anything which just isn't true so yeah bit of a shame this yeah
i'm not gonna beat around the bush with this this is obviously a bit naff uh it does all of the
things that we have hated on westlife for in the past you know the slow rise from vocals and piano
to vocals and piano and strings and drums to vocals and piano and strings and drums and a choir and but it's just like there's something so
strangely kind of fascinating about this though because like evergreen a winner's song that sort
of doubles as a victory lap but also a romantic encounter but it's trying to go bigger and louder and all Hollywood in a way that Evergreen felt quite,
you know, quaint and sweet, you know. And it makes sense because it was written by
Per Magnusson, who did Evergreen as well. Yeah, it's fairly middling, you know, slightly charming,
slightly outdated, slightly dreary ballad that you
know goes along fairly nicely without ruffling any feathers i think um looking back i think with
full hindsight i don't think that there was i mean kate thornton says on the night that there's 1.2 percent in it the vote and i don't know if i don't buy that yeah i don't know because
like the reason that i do think that at some point in the 2000s pop like you say it becomes even more
ageist than it already was i feel like is, by the time that streaming comes in,
and nowadays it is exclusively a kids' game,
because we're like, you know, late 20s, early 30s.
My parents knew more about the charts in 2005,
and my dad was 45, my mum was 42 at that time.
It felt like they were active
participants
but nowadays I just feel like
the way that everything's become so
fractured and the way that things get
into the charts it feels a little
bit like it's become very much a young person's game
and I think maybe things like Andy
Abraham not winning X Factor
and not really having much of a success
afterwards. I know he
represented us at Eurovision one year, but in terms of chart success, he has a couple of songs
that make it into the top 75, but not the top 40. His albums do okay. I seem to remember his first
album, The Impossible Dream. I think that gets placed fairly well uh on the charts um but then
he gets given this album which is called soul man and it's just motown covers um looking back that
feels a bit you know like you know just kind of like ignorantly typecasting him a little bit
yeah um but i do think as well with That's My Goal
that it kind of
limits the things
that Shane Ward can do
afterwards
because he can't make
with Sound of the Underground it was like whoa
these could do anything
they could go
anywhere, they could do
any kind of song next.
They could do something slow, something fast.
Girls Aloud had quite a wide repertoire of things that they were capable of doing,
whereas Shane Ward, to just kind of start him off as a ballad,
if he came in with anything fast in the future,
it'd be a bit like, whoa there, who's this?
What's this huge remodeling thing and i do
think he was always a little bit hamstrung by that um i do think that you know we were kind of
chatting before i didn't know that he'd basically had to he had to briefly step away from singing
for a while because he had nodules yeah i didn't know this either yeah it's similar to adele but
obviously shane ward as much as you know his launch from The X Factor was very successful,
it's not like where Adele has built a fan base over time,
a huge fan base over time,
to the point where she doesn't even really have a fan base.
She's just universally popular.
She's kind of grown beyond a fan base, and now everybody likes her.
So she can take five years off to give her voice
arrest she doesn't have to go on tour to sell the albums and all that kind of stuff whereas shane
ward probably couldn't have taken five years off can you imagine him coming back in 2010 like
hey guys it's me i won the x factor and everyone's sort of turning looking at him going yeah yeah
who are you like you know that's so you know he has to keep going i do think though that
had shane ward been allowed to been able to continue uh or if he hadn't gone onto tv i can
imagine him doing things like uh that jason derulo would have done like in my head and uh the one
that goes i will teach you i will teach you, I will teach you, from like 2017.
That kind of like, you know, peppy kind of like dance pop stuff with the, you know, the boyish kind of like falsetto thing.
I think that would have, yeah, I think he would have been able to do stuff like that.
But, you know, he kind of, I think he is, I think you could say that he is definitely one of the X-Factor's success stories.
I don't think he's a Steve Brookstein or a Leon Jackson or a Joe McKeldry or Sam Bailey.
They get forgotten about a little bit.
I mean, obviously, Joe McKeldry, I think he made a pretty good career on the stage.
And even the acts that get dropped, they use the fact that they won the won the x factor to have very comfortable employment for the rest of their lives and so
you could say that they're the real winners too but in terms of how simon cowell would view it
um in the ruthless uh money numbers kind of way i think yeah shane is still a success i think you
know a handful of top 10 singles a big number one
career on TV because of it
you know there's a moment after
he wins where Kate Thornton sort
of goes to ask him a question
and in the heat of the moment I think she says something
that sounds a bit
sounds like she's sort of making fun of him a little
bit where she goes so Shane
you're sort of looking out and what do you think
what are you looking forward to most about your better life and it's like i don't think she quite
meant it as like your life shit and now it's you know you're like it was shit and now it's great
i think it's more like well you're the most famous person in the country now because like they do
this whole thing where andy peters presses a button on a machine while talking to him oh yeah and they
get him to print the seat the machine prints the cd and they have all these people in white coats
who bring the cd forward and give it to andy peters and then andy peters is going there you
go shane there's your first singles people round all around the country who want this it's being
fast-tracked to radio stations for the morning, and it'll be available to buy on Wednesday.
There you go.
And so they do this big launch, and then Kate Thornton's like,
well, what do you think about your better life?
But at least with this, it doesn't commit the crime
that Michelle McManus's did, where it made her sound old.
And I thought that was unfair,
and it fitted into the cruel way that she was
characterized as untrendy and unpopular and not worthy of the competition i think at least with
this shane ward is given something like will young with evergreen where it feels like he's being respected at least um as as an artist so at least i could say
that much for it um now there is a rather key component of that's my goal that we've not yet
discussed and that's because we're going to save it for this special bit um so Andy, you can first discuss
the, um, that
moment.
Can I get a key
change?
Yes, so,
I am a big connoisseur
of key changes. I think
when they're done effectively, they can be
one of the greatest things that can happen
in a pop song. When they're done badly, they can be the very worst thing that can happen in a pop song.
And I think what makes a bad one is when it's unsignposted and inorganic.
And this is the least signposted key change I think I can recall.
Because they have to stop the entire song to
accommodate it.
They don't just like do the key change.
They sing a line without it,
stop and then start again with the key change.
It's like someone didn't edit it together properly.
Like someone forgot to press rewind and do it over in logic.
And so it's just like,
we've got two recordings spliced together.
It's just a hideous
hideous key change
and so much so that it's kind
of iconic in a so bad it's good way
like it's truly
awful in a way that is artistic
it's just so so bad
that key change
and it knocks a full like four points
off of this song like well maybe not four
that's going over the top.
But it's so, so bad.
I can't believe that that way of doing the key change
is what made it out of the editing studio.
It's both the best and worst thing about this song,
and so it deserves to be talked about in its own right.
It's just amazing.
Yeah, I totally agree. it's just the way that it
like clatters in i remember we did um fool again by westlife and i said it sounded like someone
falling down the stairs yeah yeah it's got that that same like song just stops on a dime like
here to say i'm sorry like moment's like, here to say I'm sorry, moment.
I'm not here to say I'm sorry.
It's absurd.
Rob, you shared with us a little edit of how it could have been done
in a nicer way, and it's so much better.
And you're just some guy.
You're not a multi-million pound producer.
It amazes me me this got past anybody
like it's so first draft you think no get rid of that that's so sort of clunky and
like clumsy it doesn't work it just sounds stupid yeah i maybe, I don't know if we are,
but we could be developing a reputation as a podcast
that are relatively anti-key change.
No, not me.
I just want to stress we are not anti-key change at all.
There is a key change coming up in a song next year,
which me and Andy, we may have to carve out a whole other episode
just to talk about that key change and how good it is.
But with this, before I go into this, I will say it does need saying that this is the third fastest selling single of all time in the UK.
And Shane's story on the X Factor in combination of the song, it must feel like a tremendous crowning moment.
You know, Simon Cowell will obviously feel this way too it's a hello a victory lap you know all sorts of things
and it clearly did very well for him even if he couldn't hide his mank accent you know i'm not
here to say i'm sorry don't be in a hurry um yeah i do find adorable looking back because he's, what, 21 when this breaks out?
And so, yeah, fair play to him.
But, oh, good God, this key change.
I just, when I was listening to it this week, I thought my kind of rule for, like, you know, good key changes that don't, you know, like like make me feel queasy are that they're done in secret in the
the verse before the final chorus like if you're going to do a key change just do it like eight
bars before you know just sneak it in and then when you get to the final chorus it's like oh
we've we've we've done a key change i did i didn't realize you know that sort of thing you
you know sly dog etc et cetera, et cetera.
And obviously there's loads of examples
of very sudden key changes that I actually quite like.
Well, I mean, it's kind of, it's not really a key change.
It's actually reverting to the original key,
which obviously is Penny Lane, the Beatles.
But again, like, you know, master songwriters,
not going to really their their qualities too much because they speak for themselves but yeah with this the more I started
listening to it the more I thought why didn't they do it at the bit where he goes and I won't
stop believing that we will be leaving together Yeah Because yeah just do it then
Because if you take it up two semitones
Which I think this
Because it goes from D to E
If you take it up slightly and it goes
And I won't stop believing that we will be leaving together
And then by the time he gets to the final chorus
There is no transition
Which means you don't need to do the stop
And the start
And then the stop and then the stop and
then the start again it you just need to just ease into it and i feel like the start and the pause
and the silence and the sudden start again it is one of the most unforgettable key changes in pop
and one of the most breathtaking ones that we've covered on this show but for all the wrong
reasons i feel like it's designed specifically for the music video because i i kind of thought
back to steve brookstein where the only version of the steve brookstein song against all odds
online is is is the video where kate thornton shouts, Steve! And so I thought,
they've clearly, and they do it again
in this video, where they have the silence
where they go, I'm not here
to say I'm sorry.
And then Kate Thornton goes, Shane!
He's got a better life! And it's the same thing.
And they even give
Kate Thornton her own moment.
It's like they carve the silence out
of the song just to stick her in.
And then because they've done that, they thought, well, we may as well go up.
And then the strings wind up and, oh, God.
But on record, like, it's just the most uninvited, unbearable decision.
So the point where, like, I physically screw my face up and go,
like, when it happens, it is a really uncomfortable moment.
You know, I will say that Shaneane does a decent pretty bang up job of trying to match it of performing it but crikey
he's been given shit to deal with clearly a successful decision but i don't necessarily
think that makes it a good one i think that instead of easing into it they kind of wham it down our throat and it's something that you
just sort of it's like sitting and admiring it but in a way that's like well i mean it is a
phenomenon but like one i don't really want to look at it's kind of like what if the aurora borealis wasn't a beautiful
light show but just gravy in the sky like i just you know just like you sort of like whoa that is
incredible but it's oh god it's very unappealing isn't it and like and you wouldn't want to see
it again you'd be like i'll turn the light show back on like that sort of thing. Yeah, but it is so special that we just had to dedicate
an entire segment to it
because it is remarkable.
I think like, you know,
I mean, there must be people
younger than us listening to this
and people older than us
listening to this and going like,
what's the big deal?
It's just a bad key change.
But I think if you're 11 to 14 years old
and watching The X Factor
and you remember Shane, you remember the hysteria you
remember the song you remember everything about it and then you look back and go jesus christ
it's like it's a proper like i am definitely a different person i am to the person that i was
when i was 11 which also obviously should go without saying but like this is one of those
moments that really makes you understand
that time passes
and your perspective on things changes a lot.
And I think that's probably why
we've done a whole segment on it.
Because me and Andy,
me and you,
we've talked about this key change
independently of this podcast
on and off for a long time.
Because it's...
The reason for that was
it had been a sizable stretch
since I'd heard this song
between probably about 2006
and like 2015 or something.
I hadn't heard this song like at all
and I'd forgotten all about the key change.
So I had it in the car once
and I think you might have actually been there, Rob,
but it was the first time I'd heard it for years.
I've no idea why it was on.
And when it happened,
I just like physically lurched.
I was just like,
oh, what? What was that?
I've never quite forgotten it. It's iconic.
Can I just say a few more things
on this, by the way? I feel like it's worth acknowledging
for context what I consider some of the other
worst key changes of all time.
I think there's a top three for me
and this is one of them, in any particular order.
This one. There there's also you know
when Glead and Don't Stop Believin
not the one from the very first episode
but in their season one finale
Glead did a version of Don't Stop Believin
where it
just literally pitch shifted up
you can tell it's not a real key change
it just goes up
and it's like the worst key change
ever and also Turn Back Time by Cher as much as I
love Cher that that does the extraordinary thing of doing a key change mid chorus like halfway
through the chorus it goes up it I mean that is just wild so those are the most awful ones I think
and I have to acknowledge that yeah I think what we should assemble for when we come to a particular song in 2006
is our favourite key changes
of all time
we should extol the virtues of wonderful
key changes and why
just one other thing I wanted to say on this
I do like the theory of that key change being
there just for the music video
hadn't considered that and that's a very good theory
I do have an alternative theory though
which is that you know we took
the piss out of you raise me up for being
made for going
through to live shows moments
I think this
could have been engineered just for that
you could get the playing in the background
I'm not here to say I'm sorry
you're through
I'm not here to say I'm sorry
I think it might have been made specifically
specifically to license it out to the next series of x-factor for free and for use of that moment i
honestly think that could be why they did it to to fit in a you're through moment yeah it's it's
a liminal key change yeah to me it's like the second funniest key change of all time uh one behind um you know
the peanut song in shooting stars i do actually yeah whereas it's just matt lucas in a track suit
like just standing there and she's like peanuts in front of this like over this like farty synth
track and it just goes off of it at the end
and I don't know why it's so funny. It's just
watching Matt Lucas just
stood there corpsing
this horrible synth track
and there's a key change in it.
Alright then, Andy, so
you have the honour
of revealing our bottom
five songs of
2005 before revealing our top ten.
So, take it away.
Yes, so, we have what I think could be considered
a couple of surprise entries here.
I think the bottom five is, for one or two songs,
a little harsh, but let's see what you think.
So, our fifth worst song of the year,
with an average score of 4.5 is Lonely by Akon which I think is it's a little harsh to
be honest and just by literally half a point beat out That's My Goal.
That's My Goal was our sixth lowest rated song of the year.
Our fourth worst song of the year,
which I think really could have been the very worst,
is Against All Odds by Steve Brookstein
with an average score of 3.5.
Wow, we survived the bottom three.
Yeah.
I think if not for the Westlife version,
it probably would have been,
but it's slightly better than that one.
Well, funny you should
mention Westlife. Our third worst song of the year is You Raise Me Up by Westlife
with an average score of 3.3. And so the very dregs, our second worst song of the
year is Over and Over by Nelly and Tim McGraw with an average score of 3.2.
That really was awful.
Jesus, the wooden spoon will really be going to a stinker then.
So, the very worst number one of 2005,
maybe somewhat predictably,
but it is, undeniably,
Crazy Frog with Axl F.
Sorry, Froggy.
No, you just don't cut it.
So, moving on to happier times.
And so, our top ten of the year.
Coming in at number ten with an average score of 6.8,
it's Elvis Presley with One Night Slash I Got Stung.
Okay. Oh.
Yeah.
Just beating that out
With an average score of 7
Is Goodies by Kira and Petey Pablo
Oh
Wow okay
Right from the start of the year
At number 8 it's Elvis Presley
With It's Now or Never
With an average score of 7.2
You've done quite well Elvis
I'll say that
We don't discriminate on this show.
Even if it's a song from the 60s, we'll put it in.
Oh, no.
We'll get it in there.
Number seven for the year is I'll Be Okay by McFly
with an average score of 7.3.
And they did indeed do okay in our charts.
Well done, boys.
At number six, it's Elvis Presley With Jailhouse Rock
An average score of 7.8
That is quite remarkable actually
To get 3 songs in the top 10
We do have 5 very
Very solid songs
Plugging up our top 5 this year
It's quite close at the top
So with an average score of 8
And vaulted by all 3 of us
It is Hung Up by Madonna.
Okay, yeah, awesome.
And at number 4, with an average score of 8.2, vaulted by Rob and Lizzy but not me,
it is Push the Button by Sugar Babes.
Ah, yeah.
So this top 3, I mean this top 3, it is, it's's stacked it's a very good top 3 I think
so coming in in third place with an average score of 8.6 it is all about you
slash you've got a friend by McFly which I have to say would have been my
personal favorite beer that got my highest score of the year but I'm happy
to make the top three at least in number two with an average score of the year. But I'm happy it's made the top three, at least. In number two, with
an average score of 9.2,
the second
place for this year goes to
Dare by Gorillaz.
Ooh. Wow.
Yeah. Wow, what a top three this is.
Vaulted by all three of us, and that was Rob's
favourite song of the year, according to
the scores. So,
may I please bring on the
inimitable Britney Spears. Hello Britney. Britney is here to hand over the crown
to this year's winner of the HIT21 Record of the Year trophy. Thank you
Britney. So the winner with an average score of 9.3 just just beating out
gorillas this year's winner
is I Bet You Look
Good on the Dance Floor by Arctic
Monkeys.
Appropriate.
Very appropriate. And that's our first
male group or first male winner
of any description.
So it's taken until halfway through the noughties for us to
get there. We have just now got the very
first male winner.
One of the, well, definitely the first actual band to win it as well.
Everything else has been straight down the line pop music that's won it up until now.
This is our first rock band winner.
There won't be too many of them, I don't think,
so it's nice that we get this moment in the sun.
Yeah, well done Arctic Monkeys.
This rock and roll thing, eh?
Or just won't die.
Well, thank you very much to both of you
and for our listeners for following our progress through 2005.
Just before we go, we're just going to check.
That's my goal.
Is anybody putting it in the pie hole?
No.
No.
Actually, no.
I think it's fine between the vault and the pie hole.
Yeah, just avoids the pie hole for me.
What about you, Lizzie?
Yeah, underformed on its KPIs for the year.
Hopefully proven going into 2006 but
Overall meeting
Targets just about
We want the line to go up
Shane up the line must always
Go up so that is it for this
Week's episode and that's it for
2005 thank you very
Much for listening and we're going to take a
Week off when we come back
We will be taking our first step into 2006.
We will see you then. Bye-bye.
See you.
Bye-bye.