20 December 2003 The male TV talent show stars of 2002-03—Will Young and Gareth Gates in the UK, Mickey Joe Harte and Simon Casey here in Ireland—were a homogenous bunch: mild-mannered, boyish, with similar spiky haircuts and blazer-over-bootcut-jeans dress sense. If that profile sounds familiar, then yes, they were a sort of applied Westlife - … Continue reading Will Young – ‘Leave Right Now’
Tag: 2003
The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Shut Up’
13 December 2003 Their reign of tedium beds in. 'Shut Up' is The Black Eyed Peas par incompétence: an inane shouty catchphrase hammered home by matching stresses in the music and rhythm. Kids: this is what '00s radio sounded like, and this sort of bland, dumbed-down school-age frippery is generally the only rap and hip … Continue reading The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Shut Up’
Westlife – ‘Mandy’
22 November 2003 You probably know all this already, but it was new information to me that Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' was itself a cover version - and the song was originally called 'Brandy', not 'Mandy'. Further intel—let's just say that the Westlife offering includes an autobiography and leave it there—holds that the brainwave for Westlife … Continue reading Westlife – ‘Mandy’
Britney Spears ft. Madonna – ‘Me Against The Music’
15 November 2003 'Me Against The Music' was Madonna's first Irish number one in 14 years, since 'Like A Prayer' in 1989. (Yes, that means Madonna had no Irish number one singles in the '90s.) In the grand scheme of things this doesn't mean much by itself; she had four UK number ones in that … Continue reading Britney Spears ft. Madonna – ‘Me Against The Music’
Fatman Scoop ft. The Crooklyn Clan – ‘Be Faithful’
8 November 2003 I've waded through enough of the Outhere Brothers, Eminem and Shaggy at number one to know that any single which comes in a 'clean' and a 'dirty' version will attract a certain clientele. 'Be Faithful' in dirty mode makes liberal use, in one of its many exuberant chant-along refrains, of the world's … Continue reading Fatman Scoop ft. The Crooklyn Clan – ‘Be Faithful’
The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Where Is The Love?’
6 September 2003 One of the fonder memories of my '00s and '10s in Paris is being in the starting area of various marathons and half-marathons when the sound system invariably dropped some Black Eyed Peas, to which hundreds of keyed-up pre-race French runners around me would groan a pained "aww mer-de!" As music criticism … Continue reading The Black Eyed Peas – ‘Where Is The Love?’
Blu Cantrell ft. Sean Paul – ‘Breathe’
23 August 2003 Sean Paul's breakthrough hit 'Get Busy' had only reached no. 14 in the Irish charts earlier in 2003. However, it was a massive US number one and drove a mainstream surge in the Diwali Riddim—that distinctive handclapping beat—and dancefloor in general. It also serves as groundwork for the arrival of a new … Continue reading Blu Cantrell ft. Sean Paul – ‘Breathe’
XTM – ‘Fly On The Wings Of Love’
9 August 2003 Well, this is cheeky. Mickey Harte's 2003 Irish Eurovision entry and number one 'We've Got The World' was noticed to have a similar chorus melody to the 2000 Eurovision winner, 'Fly On The Wings Of Love' (or as it was known in my house, 'Wings On The Fly Of Love') by the … Continue reading XTM – ‘Fly On The Wings Of Love’
Beyoncé – ‘Crazy In Love’
12 July 2003 I think you'll agree Beyoncé's debut solo single was nothing special. A rather pedestrian soul-R&B throwback, it hardly set the world alight, did it? Who listens to it now, or even remembers it? As a launchpad to next-level superstardom, it was underwhelming. But anyway, that's enough about 'Work It Out', a 2002 … Continue reading Beyoncé – ‘Crazy In Love’
Ronan Tynan and Rita Connolly – ‘May We Never Have To Say Goodbye’
28 June 2003 Normally the Olympics or Paralympics are hosted by a single city. However, the 2003 Special Olympics was hosted by Ireland, and it was definitely hosted by the whole country. Nearly every town seemed to be the billet of a national team and its entourage; my home of Tralee welcomed El Salvador. I … Continue reading Ronan Tynan and Rita Connolly – ‘May We Never Have To Say Goodbye’
