michael's Site

Leona Lewis holds the top 2 spots on this week's chart. A feat which is usually reserved for one of the Minogue's, the old Sugababes or Girls Aloud. I think I may be starting to become a Leona Lewis fan - despite the fact that I can't stand she and her record people trying to make her out to be some ballad-pop star. Outta My Head is a dance pop tune that's pure perfection.

I hope Outta My Head gets a release at least in the UK - if not everywhere. It would give Leona some balance and no one could deny her some credit for putting out a great dance-pop tune.

Be sure and check out my updated blog at www.dancepopmusicreview.blogspot.com.

Kylie was close to #1 again this year but barely missed out - partially because Like A Drug, which comes in at #3 for 2009 had a few weeks at #1 in 2008. So since Kylie is at #3 this year, that leaves the two top spots for other artists...er I mean artist - since the top two belongs to the SAME group this year - Girls Aloud.

In the past, I've always liked the Sugababes just a hair more than the Girls Aloud. But 2009 proved to be GA's year as the Sugababes floundered in abandoning an under performing album and kicking out founding memeber Keisha Buchanon. Still the 'babes manage to score two spots on the year-end list. But they aren't anywhere close to Girls Aloud's top two - Untouchable and The Loving Kind.

GA's Untouchable was the year's longest running #1 at seven weeks. Kylie's Like a Drug managed eight weeks at #1, but three of those were in 2008. And Girls Aloud's The Loving Kind managed four weeks at number 1 and spend the entire year in the top 40.

The Knowles family also scored big this year - Beyonce taking up two slots in the top 10 with Halo and Diva and Solange coming in at #5 with the Zoned Out Radio edit of T.O.N.Y.

Anyone who knows me wouldn't be surprised at the artist who is #1 on my year end chart, but to be honest, I wasn't expecting her to end up #1 and certainly not with this song. But based on the point system I came up with and how many weeks the song spent in the top 10, it barely edged out #2 and #3. This year's #1 was able to make it to the top partially because it was released twice throughout Europe - once in the UK and once in the rest of the world (except America of course) - so the song ended up at #1 and in the top 10 on two separate occassions giving it the edge it needed to end up my 2008 top song.

Of course I'm speaking of Kylie Minogue and the top song of 2008 was In My Arms. Though I wasn't expecting the song to end up on top, it was probably my favorite video of 2008. And the song I thought was going to end up #1 is was actually our #3 of 2008 - Michelle Williams' Unexpected. If there had been one more week of points to count for 2008, Unexpected would have indeed leaped from #3 to #1.

Unexpected was definately the theme for Michelle Williams this year - especially on my chart. From the least-known Destiny's Child member, to solo gospel singer to now R&B dance artist - Michelle definately made the right move. Unexpected was my favorite song of 2008 and Williams' album of the same name was my favorite album.

So we've gone over #1 and #3, but what about #2? This is another song that benefitted from ending up in the top 10 during two different periods of 2008. First the LP version and single mix of Leona Lewis' Better In Time spent three weeks at #1 and over three months in the top 10, then the Jason Nevins mix helped the song leap back into the top 5 at the end of the year.

What a chart performance for Dannii Minogue. Touch Me Like That may have been her lowest charting single ever in the UK, but it was one of my top 5 songs in 2007 and a top 10 song this year. I really hope Dannii and Jason Nevins work together more in the future. Hopefully, he'll end up working with Kylie one day too.

And no year end chart would be complete without some Sugababes and Girls Aloud. The 'babes Every Heart Broken made it to the top 15 after only nine weeks on the chart and GA's The Promise managed to creep in near the bottom of the top 25 after only peaking at #3.

*Reached a Higher Peak in 2007