2023 - Can't Stop The Pop

The Cheeky Girls – Have A Cheeky Christmas

Having scored three consecutive top-three singles, The Cheeky Girls set their sights on the festive charts for the second Christmas in a row.

The Spice Girls being Christmas #1 in 1996 was a given, but there’s a reason why ‘2 Become 1’ is their biggest-selling, best-known ballad.

‘Ugly’ proved the Sugababes were taller in more ways and stronger than ever…until everything changed a few weeks after it was released.

‘Please Stay’ was the fourth – and final – single from ‘Light Years’ in the UK…but it came at the expense of a fan-favourite.

‘The Last Goodbye’ is a perfect example of why Atomic Kitten’s reputation as purveyors of mid-tempo balladry was well-deserved.

While ‘Born To Make You Happy’ was Britney Spears’ fourth single in Europe, America got ‘From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart’ instead.

‘The Music’s No Good Without You’ is a beautiful, melancholic masterpiece, even if it was always destined to exist in the shadow of ‘Believe’.

‘Don’t Think I’m Not’ was Kandi’s moment to step into the spotlight after helping create several chart-topping hits for other artists.

It might be a thinly-veiled euphemism, but ‘Put The Needle On It’ was first and foremost a statement of intent from Dannii Minogue.

If everything Avril Lavigne represented with her debut album could be syphoned down into a single song, ‘Sk8er Boi’ would probably be it.

The lead single from Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s second album found her trying to make sense of an increasingly ‘Mixed Up World’.

‘Whatever U Want’ found Christina Milian teaming up with Joe Budden for her most R&B-orientated single yet.