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JA RULE ft R KELLY & ASHANTI – “Wonderful”
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Popular: #993, 6th November 2004
— 9 November 2023 Tom 4 comments

This is a short entry, because I don’t want to give a mediocre R.Kelly penned (and featuring!) record much more attention than it deserves, which is basically none. Ja Rule’s shrewdness in picking collaborators has since become more widely unders[…]

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ROBBIE WILLIAMS – “Radio”
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Popular: #992, 16th October 2004
— 8 November 2023 Tom 13 comments

Guy Chambers’ ex-Westlife rescue mission spelt opportunity for his more famous writing partner. Robbie Williams had already been a star when he found Chambers, and what the songwriter brought him was structure, giving a young man the chance to turn[…]

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3. Priceless Junk
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— 20 Nov 2023 Tom 11 comments

(The third part of the 3-part piece about the 1000th Number 1, the charts, and 20 years of writing about them. Part 1. Part 2. See also the pieces on #999 and #1000 on Popular.)

Here’s the thing, though. I still really like pop music.

When I […]

About Popular

I'm writing about every UK number one single, in order. It's taken a while, it'll take a while longer. Wander around in the archives, or join in with the marvellous bunch of commenters we've managed to attract - new voices always very welcome!

Popular is funded by the generosity of my Patreon patrons. They get early posts, exclusive material, and more. You could be one of them! Index of reviews and scores so far Popular FAQ

Latest comments on Popular

  1. This is the first - only? - chipmunk soul number one. Although it isn't a soul record Eminem is sampling,…

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At The Disco
A scene from Phonogram III: The Immaterial Girl, by Gillen, McKelvie and Wilson, published in 2015. It’s the early 00s, at a disco somewhere in the south of England. A group of people who love music so much it’s become their life and[…]

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