Top 50 of 2009

30 to 21

30

Alexandra Burke feat. Flo Rida - Bad Boys

X Factor win? Check. Christmas Number 1? Check. Obligatory 6 months off to 'find oneself'? Check. But could Alexandra Burke come back with a memorable stonker of a track? (After all, who can remember Steve Brookstein or Leon Jackson's follow-up singles?) Well, she's certainly not sat on her bum eating chocolates during her time out of the spotlight that's for sure! Bad Boys, the first single from her debut album, Overcome, is an explosion of poptacular goodness complete with little rappy bit in the middle (how terribly Beyoncé!) and racy video; but it also feels very British and not overly sugared for the American market, a good thing in my book. Chance of career more Leona than Leon? Definitely check.

Kat B

No of votes: 8, Score: 32, Highest vote: 3rd

Alexandra Burke feat. Flo Rida - Bad Boys

29

Prodigy - Omen

Since Firestarter scorched the earth we've been waiting for the band to sound this vital, for Keith to shout at us in a way that was vaguely unsettling and for Liam to pull his finger out (of an All Saint) and provide his frontmen with a backdrop that booms and bangs in all the right places. While not as ground-breaking as some of the music which made The Prodigy one of the most important bands of the nineties, 'Omen' is up there with their best ever work and certainly their first new release since 1997 which you could imagine causing quite as much bedlam on and off stage at one of their incendiary gigs.

Danny G

No of votes: 8, Score: 39, Highest vote: 2nd

Prodigy - Omen

28

The Killers - Spaceman

Artist link:Link to Top 50 of 20082 Link to Top 50 of 200511 Link to Top 50 of 200612 Link to Top 50 of 200719 Link to Top 50 of 200427 Link to Top 50 of 200432 Link to Top 50 of 200648

Lord alone knows what they put in Brandon Flower's breakfast the morning he came up with this one. Was it gunpowder in his Rice Crispies? Maybe a tab dropped into his Coco Pops? Or maybe some magic mushrooms in his full English? Whatever it was, I reckon it was backed up with 3 jugs of strong coffee and half a dozen sugars, because this one thunders along like a boy racer in a souped up Beemer. This is the Killers at their poppiest yet, and this shift into previously uncharted territory seems to suit them down to a tee, because once you've heard it, you're hooked. I suspect someone should give Dame David Bowie a ring though, looks like Major Tom has surfaced on planet Flowers....

Jason M

No of votes: 8, Score: 42, Highest vote: 2nd

The Killers - Spaceman

27

JLS - Beat Again

It finally happened - a decent group from The X Factor. Sure they are a boyband rather than the future of rock and roll but make no mistake about it, JLS are now huge. And why not? They are good fun, good-looking, they work hard and they can sing (in a reasonably generic way but y'know, in tune and that). But you can't help feeling that their record company were initially hedging their bets. The 'Beat Again' video sees Aston, Peewee, Mervyn and Chuck-chuck dancing a bit. In a room. Near some fluorescent lights. It might as well have been a promotional performance in the T4 studio. And if you listen beyond the well-produced vocals, it is clear that the backing track is a couple of days work from a talented man/woman/Mac and imagineered so cheaply that everything beyond the thirteenth copy sold is pure profit. Despite all that, there's little question that it is a good debut, with enough of a lyrical edge to maintain the interest beyond your first listen. This is either a slightly macabre reflection on an on-off love affair in the shadow of a newly-diagnosed terminal illness or oddly figurative and hypothetical. If so, it's a lot like overhearing an argument in Burger King on a Friday night between a nonplussed Whopper enthusiast and a worryingly insistent young man. "Would you come to my funeral? Would you cry?" has the air of the deranged or morbidly depressed and if you can't be sure of a positive response to the first question, I'd try and do something mildly endearing before cracking open question number two. Otherwise Mr. JLS, you will be needing some "love CPR" which, given that these boys are based in London rather than L.A., I can only assume is text-speak for a chiropractor who offers happy endings.

Danny G

No of votes: 8, Score: 47, Highest vote: 1st

JLS - Beat Again

26

Kings of Leon - Revelry

Artist link:Link to Top 50 of 20081 Link to Top 50 of 200319 Link to Top 50 of 200820 Link to Top 50 of 200440

Having romped to the very pinnacle of the 2008 poll, the Followill clan whilst lifting their foot off the pedal have still demonstrated their creative intent by delivering this sublime offering. Must say though, I haven't tasted kerosene, but if that's a sweet taste, I hate to think what they pop on their stack of pancakes of a morn - cod liver oil? Tar? Strychnine? Ah, whatever doesn't kill you, will clearly make you better at writing country-tinged rock ballads. Whereas Sex on Fire was positively ablaze, this is much more of what comes after, something smouldering away in the wee small hours. Whether it's a cigarette end in a bedside ashtray, the heat haze off the sheets, or the electric blanket left on by mistake I'll leave to your own creative discretion.

Jason M

No of votes: 8, Score: 53, Highest vote: 2nd

Kings of Leon - Revelry

25

Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

Artist link:Link to Top 50 of 200833

"Why does love always feel like a battlefield"? Hmm.... s'funny that looking at her biog, I haven't read anywhere about her being posted to Afghanistan, I'm guessing she must therefore be referring to her survival and eventual victory in the warzone that WAS American Idol 2007 instead..... Okay, time to take the pedant's hat off then.... This one certainly fulfils the criteria of a modern pop hit, gentle intro, replete with tinkly piano, developing into big expansive chorus, with added rallying cries from the back for emphasis. What's more important is that this isn't just following a pop textbook, it's got a great melody, and Sparks' vocal performance on it sounds like she's giving it her all. If you receive a valentine's day card ensconced in a flak jacket, you're going to have some pretty good ideas as to the sender.....

Jason M

No of votes: 9, Score: 42, Highest vote: 2nd

Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

24

Taylor Swift - Love Story

Country music is something that doesn't grace this poll very much (there's marginally more coverage of this than Gamelan music, and trad Jazz, but it's only just), so I imagine Taylor herself has probably dropped the latest Rhinestone she was glueing on her guitar strap upon hearing the news. Of course, this song crossed over to the mainstream big-time, only Kelly Clarkson stopped it getting all the way to number one. And you can see why, it's got all the qualities we'd want in a pop classic, and moreover, she wrote it herself and would actually turn in a good live performance of it. There appears to have been a shitstorm in an eggcup about meddling with Shakespeare, but I don't think this befits heavyweight intellectual discussion - well, face the wrath of a Facebook group if you do go there....

Jason M

No of votes: 9, Score: 46, Highest vote: 2nd

Taylor Swift - Love Story

23

Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You

Artist link:Link to Top 50 of 200512

You may not know the names, but Luke Gottwald and Max Martin are hit single benefactors. Their contributions as penner of huge pop hits is formidable, selflessly donating number 1 hit singles to American pop artistes as they do. Here you go Katy, with love. What's that Pink? Fancy another chart-topper? With pleasure. To Flo Rida, hope it does the trick for you. So, who's next in line for chart-topping success? Hello Kelly Clarkson, haven't seen you around here since.... oooh 2005, wasn't it? Yeah, sorry it was only number 5 last time, but this time we think we've a winner for you. Good title eh? Yeah, we've added superglue to the hooks this time, the chorus is unbelievably catchy and it's so high energy it runs on rocket fuel. Hey, no bother, all in a days work, think of us when you're astride the top of the UK singles chart. Now, where did we put Jordin Sparks' telephone number......

Jason M

No of votes: 9, Score: 48, Highest vote: 1st

Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You

22

Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning

Artist link:Link to Top 50 of 20051 Link to Top 50 of 200714 Link to Top 50 of 200715 Link to Top 50 of 200622 Link to Top 50 of 200642

Some questions for Alex Turner: How exactly do you play the game 'Crying Lightnin', what are the rules? Does aggravating the ice cream man on rainy afternoons have anything to do with stealing all his flakes? How long have you been practising your Morrissey impression? How are you continuing to manage writing effortlessly great, witty and catchy songs, when by rights your third album should follow the traditional indie trajectory of slightly disappointing samey-ness? Hmm, Alex? Well? The answer, of course, is while the Monkeys continue to produce stuff this good, who cares.

John C

No of votes: 9, Score: 52, Highest vote: 1st

Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning

21

Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone

Artist link:Link to Top 50 of 200725

With 'I'm Not Alone' Calvin Harris showed that he not only has a producer's ability to generate blockbuster bleeps but that he also possesses a songwriter's deftness.This is a genuine dance anthem and works wonderfully as a whole but if you take away the bits that probably make Dave Pearce shit into his cap with excitement, you find introspective lyrics, vulnerably delivered - not at all like the man who had blokes holding jars for much of 2008 while he danced wiv their girlfriends. Or who somehow made Jedward look less ridiculous by appearing briefly nearby with a pineapple on his head. But the primary joy here is a classic synth hook, shiny and new and yet also oddly evocative of your greatest clubbing experiences. I've never been so happy to stand with my arms in the air in the middle of a dance floor, sharing exhilaration and waiting for Calvin to bring the beat back.

Danny G

No of votes: 9, Score: 52, Highest vote: 1st

Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone

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