Best Chart Pop Of The Last 5 Years

1. Pure and Simple/Hear'say 2. It Wasn't Me/Shaggy (feat.RikRok) 3. Uptown Girl/Westlife 4. Whole Again/Atomic Kitten 5. Mr Writer/ Stereophonics

Don't understand question.

Actually, that's a freakin' brilliant answer. There, Tom, if we live in a golden age and if we're talking about What's Happening Now, then the current top five is flawless! ;-)

Uh, my answer. "Try Again," certainly. "I Want It That Way" might have been the cozy critical choice for the likes of the Pazz and Jop poll, but I like it, dammit. "Bittersweet Symphony" may just be "Unfinished Sympathy" redux but it still has a perfect sense of majesty that I never thought would get as big as it did. Beyond that, I'd actually have to see what charted and what didn't. Can you tell I don't pay attention to the radio anymore?

Prodigy - Firestarter

Underworld - Pearls Girl

Keeping it to the last five years, and not trying to be ironic, nine of the most obviously wonderful pop tunes in no particular order, plus one that perhaps needs explaining...

1. Destiny's Child 'Jumpin' 2. Blur 'Song 2' 3. Eminem 'My name is' 4. B.O.N. 'Boys' 5. Melanie B 'I want u back' 6. Ricky Martin 'she bangs' 7. Britney Spears 'Baby one more time' 8. Mary Mary 'Shackles' 9. Madonna 'Music' 10. Westlife 'Seasons in the sun' (the most surreal Brel cover I know, how to sugar the bitterest pill)

Chart pop..."c'est la vie" by B*Witched, "baby one more time" by Britney, "livin' la vida loca" by Ricky Martin, "quit playing games with my heart" by BSB.

Comedown by Bush. Seriously.

Missy Elliot - sock it to me ,jenifer page - crush ,daft punk - around the world ,sheryl crow - all i wanna do, Aaliyah - are you that somebody, Aaliyah - try again, All Saints - pure shores , pulp - this is hardcore , massive attack - risingson ,primal scream - star , new radicals - you get what you give , madonna - beautiful stranger , smoke city - underwater love , Nas feat. Lauryn Hill - if i ruled the world , Fugees - Fugee-la , Moloko - sing it back, Xibit - Paparazzi , the notorious B.I.G. - hypnotize , Foxy Brown - big bad mamma , En Vogue - Whatever , Jay-Z - can i get a , Chef - chocolate salty balls , Wu-Tang-Clan - for heaven's sake, Eminem - the way i am , white town - your woman, blueboy remember me ....

and many many more that i can't think of right now

Britney Spears - You Drive Me Crazy, Steps - Tragedy, Atomic Kitten - Right Now, Spice Girls - Too Much, Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman, B*Witched - Rollercoaster, SOAP - Ladidi Ladida, Vengaboys - Kiss When The Sun Don't Shine, Madasun - Don't You Worry, Billie Piper - Honey To The B

Oh dear. I'm embarassed.

Ah, but how you are defining chartpop: that which charts, or that which is designed to chart? Anyhow, off the top of my head: Baby One More Time, Shackles, Jumpin Jumpin, Bugaboo, Try Again, Backstreet's Back, Two Become One, whatever that first All Saints one was (the one before Never Ever), Unpretty

Surely, that which is 'designed' to chart and does chart.

It was "I Know Where It's At", Mark.

Oh, and my stab, 1999-2001:

"Baby One More Time" Britney Spears, "No Scrubs" TLC, "Genie In A Bottle" Christina Aguilera, "Say My Name" Destiny's Child, "The Time Is Now" Moloko, "Try Again" Aaliyah, "Black Coffee" All Saints, "It Wasn't Me" Shaggy, "The Call" Backstreet Boys, "He Loves U Not" Dream.

The problem with pop is that... well... can you remember any of it from a couple of years ago? Even a couple of months ago? Anyway, keeping in mind that there'll be heaps of exceptions:

Blackstreet - No Diggity; Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There; Aaliyah - One In A Million; Missy Elliot - Sock It 2 Me; Doolally - Straight From The Heart; Aaliyah - Are You That Somebody?; Mya - It's All About Me; Backstreet Boys - Larger Than Life; Britney Spears - Baby, One More Time; TLC - No Scrubs; Jordan Knight - Give It To You; Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate; Whitney Houston - It's Not Right, But It's Okay; Ginuwine - What's So Different; Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle; Destiny's Child - Bills Bills Bills; Eve - What Ya'll Want; Mandy Moore - Candy; Artful Dodger - Rewind; Britney Spears - Born To Make You Happy; Destiny's Child - Bugaboo; Kelis - Caught Out There; Aaliyah - Try Again; MJ Cole - Crazy Love; Britney Spears - Oops... I Did It Again; Craig David - Fill Me In; Janet Jackson - Doesn't Really Matter; Mya - Best Of Me; Architechs - Body Groove; All Saints - Black Coffee; Sugarbabes - Overload; Backstreet Boys - Shape Of My Heart; Destiny's Child - Survivor

Aaliyah - Try Again

Missy Elliot - Sock it 2 Me

Destiny's Child - Bugaboo (and the other singles but esp. bugaboo)

Fatboy Slim - Rockafella Skank

best of all: Ace of Base - Life is a Flower...such an incredibly shite lyric with crap sentiments but in the end ultra-pop!

Hmm, this is somewhat difficult to narrow down. I'd say the following merit 10's:

Sisqo - The Thong Song
Kelis - Caught Out There
Destiny's Child - Bug-A-Boo
Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle
Fugees - Ready Or Not
TLC - No Scrubs
DMX - Party Up
Basement Jaxx - Rendez-Vu
Chemical Brothers - Hey Boy Hey Girl
Outkast - Bombs Over Bagdad
There are others which will probably occur to me much later. Oh, like "You Oughta Know" by Alanis.

'You'll Be In My Heart'-Phil Collins, 'You Need Love Like I Do'-Tom Jones and Heather Small,'For Sure'-Scooch, 'I'm Over You'-Martine McCutheon 'In Demand'-Texas, 'Not Over You Yet'-Diana Ross, 'Can't Fight The Moonlight'-LeAnn Rimes, 'Don't Be Stupid'-Shania Twain, 'When The Heartache Is Over'-Tina Turner, 'Angel'-Tina Cousins

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A good few of the above entries are jokes. Right?