UK hits of 00's V

I thought we'd take a look at the UK charts from the 00's on this site, mainly so I can feature more alternate art on this site given how I've become a sucker for doing so lately. Again I'll update this list with original commentary when I find my muse as I've still had a bit of creater burnout lately.

This is the final hit that Five had in their career before they went their separate ways, although the boys already had signs of tension during their third album's production as ABS would leave soon after its release due to creative differences. At least this was a decent hit here in Australia given how the boy band wars had already come to an end by this point.

This was meant to be Christina Aguilera's self-empowerment anthem; it was a massive hit for her due to it coming from an album where she strips herself of the pop machine that made her a household name during her time with Disney and thus makes it more genuine from her than if she had of released it earlier in her career. I get the feeling this also would've been even bigger here if digital downloads were legal at the time.

Well, I guess this wasn't a huge departure from her earlier work as the production does make it fit with the likes of "I'm like a bird" even if the subject matter is about her moving on from a toxic relationship rather than finding her spirituality. Depending on where in the world you're from, this was either the third single from her album or the fourth and final single as the album cycle was different in each country.

It feels weird that Kelly Rowland was the first member of Destiny's child to release a solo album given how she's long since faded into obscurity since the demise of the girl group, here she is with her first solo single which is an ode to her fallen friends she lost during her teenage years that she felt she should've been there for. It remains a highly poignant track from her to this day and was a guaranteed hit for her back then.

I think this was the first sign of JT maturing into the sex symbol he would become on his second album Futuresex/Lovesounds the following year, although here he's playing second fiddle to Snoop Dogg who would score one of his last hits as a lead artist with this track even though he remained quite popular as a featured artist for many years after this came out.

This is another song I remember hearing on the radio quite a bit back in the day, evidently it was written for the Pink Panther remake which had Beyonce costar with Steve Martin that divides audiences to this day (I like it but understand why people don't.) Apparently, there was a version with a rap verse from Slim Thug that became popular in NZ and her native America that was released on Destiny's Child's greatest hits album.

I guess this was meant to be Fergie's attempt at creating a power fantasy for the working-class population for what it's like to have the lifestyle of the rich and famous, it paid off given how this was a massive hit for her and would've been her biggest solo hit were it not for her earlier entry on this list stealing that title from this track. The song is perhaps best known for Fatman scoop's infamous line "if you ain't got no money take your broke ass home."

James Blunt did do far better on our digital charts than he did on the physical charts, so it only makes sense that this would be a bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia as the kiwis had prioritised the digital charts over their physical charts back in the day.

This is often considered the best song to come from JT given how it airs out his dirty laundry with Britney Spears as it was recorded not long after their breakup, I won't go into the details of what drove them apart except by mentioning that it involved her hooking up with Wade Robson while she was dating Justin. It was the weakest selling single on the album at the time, although time has made it more popular over the years.

This was the only hit for the underage American southern rapper J-Kwon, a hit that sparked a bit of minor controversy as it opens with a song about how teen drinking was bad but he didn't care because he had a fake ID. Naturally this line was cut from the radio version of this song which left audiences with the counting gimmick he had throughout the song, it's about all I remember from it if I'm being honest.

This was one of two collaborations that Eve had with Gwen Stefani, the other would come later in the decade when the latter released her solo debut to establish herself away from No doubt. In the meantime, we have this sex jam where both of them feel confident in being the love of the listeners lives and how irresistible they feel they are, audiences naturally agreed as it was a huge hit for them.

Again, I promised myself I was going to be nice with each and every entry on this site, so I'll have to put aside my very negative feelings towards this "parody" of the Lou Bega hit from two years prior and instead talk about how this got Bob the Builder out of the one hit wonder bin that his theme song threatened to trap him in. I guess this was a success due to it being less problematic than the song it's obviously ripping off.

This was the only hit that Mary J Blige had here in Australia, although had the digital charts been incorporated into the main charts sooner than they were, she would've also had a hit later in the decade with her cover of "One" with U2. I'm not sure why it took her nine years to find success here in Australia as it's not like her brand of RNB was that different from the tracks that made it big here in the 90's.

Remember how I said in my 1985 list that "Dr Beat" would be more well known nowadays for a dance remix from the mid 00's? Well, here's that remix which was a massive hit worldwide for the British DJ Mylo who was part of a trend of reviving older songs for a (then) modern audience which no doubt helped younger generations discover the original track 21 years after its initial release.

It turns out this lasted for quite some time on our charts despite it not being much of a hit for Chamillionaire (I can't even with that name) so much so that it earns itself a spot on this list even though I doubt many Aussies remember this being a hit here back in the day. Naturally this was the best the rapper can do given how he's a one hit wonder even in his own homeland.

This was the first big hit that Lil Wayne had here in Australia (I don't count his verse on "Soldier" as I never heard that on the radio back in the day) it was a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Kevin Rudolf which was such a success for them that it convinced him to become a rock star which even his diehard fans will tell you was a terrible idea. Kevin also had success here with the likes of Brian McFadden and Jay Sean.

It appears Elton John gave Blue his full blessing when they decided to record one of his more poignant tracks from the 70's, so much so that he even agreed to rerecord the chorus on the track to give off the impression that he was duetting with them which does admittedly bring a queer element to this cover that wasn't present on the original. Naturally this wasn't a hit here in Australia given how Blue were yesterday's news here by this point.

This was the lead single to BEP's (that's Black Eyed Peas for short) second album with Fergie, and it seems that she had more creative control over this project as we have her providing a chorus to how each of the original members would treat her which is further emphasised with the music video of them being in a reality show where she was the prize the members was trying to win.

Well at least I've been able to feature one track from the Killers on this site, you better believe that these guys would've had at least one appearance from their debut album had digital sales existed when it dropped two years prior. Here we have the second single from their sophomore album which managed to benefit from the digital charts existing when it was released as a single.

Christina Aguilera was another victim of having her songs pulled from the shelves in order to promote her album, again it worked as Stripped was a massive success for her and to be fair, the singles still did fairly well such as this lead single from the album. Here she decided to go straight for the shock factor by releasing something that Disney would've never allowed on her debut album now that she was no longer with them.

This is the only hit that the Darkness were able to achieve outside of their native UK, it happens to be their most recognisable song given how it was their big breakthrough in America this year thanks to its over-the-top music video that easily would've qualified for my weird video list had it been a hit here in Australia. Speaking of, I have no idea why this flopped down under even taking into account Australian Idol's monopoly of our charts.

This was the debut single from Jason Derulo, a man who would go on to have massive success in Australia and throughout the rest of the world due to him breaking through when Chris Brown was temporarily blacklisted from the music industry. Here he (or rather JR Rottem) samples "Hide and seek" from Imogen Heep and recontextualises the song to be about Jason apologising to her for being unfaithful.

This was the third chart topper in a row that S Club 7 had over in NZ, heck even in their native UK they didn't have this much consistency with their songs and those charts had a new number one hit just about every week at the turn of the century. That said, they wouldn't have this level of popularity with their second album over there as it only managed to spawn the one hit that they had over here.

While it was a little late to the party in the southern hemisphere, this debut single from Chris Brown was a massive success in Australia and NZ and ushered in one of the most divisive RNB singers of all time. This was even prior to his string of controversies as a person as even from the beginning, people felt he was little more than an Usher wannabe and later on would refer to him as a Justin Bieber of colour.

Although Nelly had already demonstrated his desires to be a country artist from the start of the decade with songs such as "Ride wit me" and "Country grammar," it was this collaboration with Tim McGraw that finally won him over with the country scene in his native America given how immensely popular this was on the Billboard country charts. It was also a massive international hit for the otherwise inner-city rapper.

This feels like an odd choice for a single because like the rest of Confessions on a dance floor, this was meant to flow in from the previous track on the album and into the following track seamlessly to give off the illusion it was one big continuous song on the album. That didn't seem to hinder its popularity here in Australia as it became a massive hit for the queen of pop even this far into her career.

Also known as the song that introduced the phrase "it's Britney bitch," we have this lead single to Britney's fifth album Breakout which saw a much more provocative side of the (then) troubled pop star following a string of public drama that forced her to be placed into her father's conservative ship (which the less I say about the better.) It was a massive hit for her likely due to fans wanting to support her during what was a dark period of her life.

This was one of only two hits that Darren Hayes had as a solo artist here in Australia, the other was "Popular" two years later which wasn't nearly as successful as this was for him. While it was unclear at the time why he chose to embark on a solo career during the height of Savage garden's popularity, it was later revealed that it was because he realised he was gay and that he needed to establish his own identity.

I did mention this was on the cusp of appearing on this site of my site when I featured it on the NZ side, so here we are with the lead single to Coldplay's magnum opus Viva la Vida which even back in the day was overshadowed by the title track from earlier on this list.

This was the final hit that Akon had here in Australia, I almost forgot about this track when I brought up "Don't matter" two years prior as even back in the day, this song didn't create much buzz for the RNB singer and likely only became a hit due to it fitting in with the rising club boom that was happening this year. He also recruits Colby O'Donis fresh off his collaboration with Lady Gaga and someone named Kardinal Offishall.

You better believe Soulja boy wasn't a one hit wonder here in Australia, although he nearly was as this struggled to find an audience amongst us Aussies given how much of a novelty his earlier entry was back in the day. Naturally this was a far bigger hit for the rapper in NZ and his native America.

The legends are true people, Madonna did in fact cover Don McLean's signature track for her film The next best thing where she sleeps with the (totally straight) Rupert Everett where they have a child out of wedlock. As much as the cover has been despised over the years (I certainly don't like it) I think we can all agree that it's at least better than the movie who's only redeeming factor was its positive depiction of LGBT characters.

Delerium was a Canadian EDM duo who scored massive international success with this track featuring the vocals of Sarah McLaughlin, Sarah herself was a popular Canadian artist who made adult contemporary ballads that helped her stand out in her native Canada. Neither artist saw any international success outside of this dance track, in fact this mainly became a success due to the multiple remixes that were floating around at the time it its release.

I get the feeling if we Aussies were more open to allowing British artists to make it big throughout the decade then this British trio would've had a ton of success here, after all they did have a minor hit with "One night stand" the previous year which sounded similar to their biggest hit. I guess the lyrical content is different as that's about having a one-night stand whereas this is about wanting more out of a relationship.

This is where it all started for Rihanna, although you wouldn't be able to tell that she would become one of the most inescapable artists of the next decade given how this was the type of club banger that many of her contemporaries would have a hit with before fading into obscurity shortly after its success. Indeed, she would evolve from this sound whilst still keeping her commanding presence she provides on here.

Well, this is a song that's become divisive in recent years, mainly because like "Justify my love" from exactly a decade prior, the song is too Avant Garde for most mainstream audiences who likely feel alienated with how Madonna experimented with her sound on this track. I guess part of this song's success at the time comes from the music video which introduced the world to Sacha Baron Cohen's character Ali G.

This may seem a bit low to my readers, however rest assured that Alicia Keys wasn't as inescapable here in Australia as she was internationally given that her debut single was only a moderate success here compared to how well it did internationally. Admittedly it was still a huge hit here considering that it was an RNB piano ballad which still didn't have much appeal in our music scene even going into the new millennium.

Sandwiched between their two earlier entries on this list was this second single from Big Brovaz, it's a song that interpolates the song from the Sound of music and updates the lyrics to be about how much the female members are into expensive luxuries that their male counterparts could give them. It was an easy hit for them in Australia and their native UK, however the rest of the world was obviously turned off by this interpolation.

I bet you were beginning to forget that Kelly Rowland had a solo career given how omnipresent Beyonce was even this soon after the demise of Destiny's child throughout the world. Here she is with her first single from her second album which comes complete with a guest verse from Eve who was also still scoring hits this far into the decade despite her also not having much success as a lead artist for several years by this point.

This was the second and final hit that Missy Elliott had here in Australia as well as being the other track on this list where she had a hit with Ciara given how the RNB singer is on here to not only provide a chorus for the rapper but also provide her own rap verse to try her hand at a hip hop track. It was a massive hit for the pair and suggested the possibility of them making an album together that never came to be.

This lead single to Robbie William's swing album was delayed here in Australia due to the sudden rise in popularity of his earlier entry on this list, it certainly had little to do with the presence of Nicole Kidman who was fresh off her Oscar nominated performance as Satine from Moulin Rouge where she even scored a minor hit the previous year with co-star Ewan Macgregor with the film's one original track "Come what may."

This was the lead single to the Corrs third album, an album which saw them branch away from their Celtic sound they had on their previous two albums in favour of more conventional adult contemporary. This paid off for them big time internationally as this was a massive worldwide success for them, however it wasn't as big here in Australia likely due to us feeling like they sold out with this track.

This was one of two hits that Sean Paul had in Australia as a lead artist, this is impressive considering how he only ever had a hit as a featured artist over in NZ which is bizarre considering the kiwis would've loved this guy throughout the 90's if he had released his catalogue back then. Another surprise is that he was massive over in the UK given how the Brits also didn't have much love for reggae over the years.

This was the penultimate hit that Five had before their demise later in the decade, I'm guessing because fans of the iconic band they were covering on this track (who not only gave them approval to cover it but also provided updated instrumentation for them to sing over) were none too thrilled at the boy bands take of one of their more iconic songs in their catalogue.

This song was reportedly inspired by the reality series of the same name, in fact Beyonce was supposedly watching the show when she decided to theme a breakup anthem around the show which resulted in the song's creation for the album of the same name. It was a massive hit for the trio upon its initial release, in fact I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit here in Australia given its status as a feminist anthem.

This song was originally featured in Coyote ugly in a scene where the main lead realises she needed to perform the songs she wrote in order to land her dream job of being a professional songwriter, I guess enough people were impressed with a song that was meant to be little more than a jam session that the band in question the Calling were given a record deal where they were able to release it in the real world this year.

This is a song I don't really remember from back in the day, likely because I remember "Over and over" being played on the radio while this song was charting which should give you an idea of where the radios priorities were back in the day. Still, this was a massive hit and one that finally convinced Christina Aguilera to realise her dream of making a double album of throwback hits from the forties.

This was the penultimate hit that Jordin Sparks had here in Australia, her final hit would be with Guy Sebastian on a collaboration where she attempted to bring him to an international audience (it's still to come on this list.) I think Jordin was becoming more popular here in Australia than she was in her native America as this was a much bigger hit here than it was on the Billboard charts.

While the title for the most sexually explicit song from Enrique Iglesias will always go to "Tonight I'm loving you," for a while there was a strong contender for this title track from Escape to take that prize as the lyrics have been criticised over the years for being very forward about Enrique's intentions towards the person he's singing to. It turns out this was the song that won over his longtime partner (who he's never married) Anna Kournikova.

To think there was a time where this ballad wasn't a meme and instead a genuine hit single for Vanessa Carlton, nowadays it's become a meme due to it being ridiculed in the film White chicks and people struggling to take it seriously since that movie came out. I guess this is why there haven't been a lot of heartfelt piano ballads from female singer/songwriters to make it big in recent years which is a shame.

From what I can gather, JoJo was the first artist born in the 90's to have a hit single anywhere in the world, that's impressive considering this is a song about a teenager essentially telling her partner to get out of her life for misleading her in the relationship in one of the cleverest ways possible. She does this by initially making this about how in love she is with them only to quickly turn it into her breaking up with them.