Oz Top 40 - 2003 Year End Countdown

The Oz Top 40

2003 Year End Countdown

Rank	"Title," Artist	Weeks	Peak	Peak Date	Points	2002
259*	"Slow," Kylie Minogue	1	40	11/1/03	1
259*	"Can't Stop," Red Hot Chilli Peppers	1	40	3/22/03	1
259*	"Alive," S Club 7	7	11	11/30/02	1	172
258	"Sick of Being Lonely," Field Mob	1	39	3/29/03	2
257*	"The Harder They Come," Paul Oakenfold feat. Nelly Furtado	1	37	4/5/03	4
257*	"Waitin' On A Sunny Day," Bruce Springsteen	1	37	4/26/03	4
255	"Shoulda Woulda Coulda," Brian McKnight	2	38	4/19/03	4
254	"Time After Time," Novaspace	1	36	4/5/03	5
253	"I Know What You Want," Busta Rhymes feat. Mariah Carey & Flipmode Squad	2	38	5/24/03	5
252*	"Sugah," Ruby Amanfu	2	37	4/12/03	5
252*	"I'll Be Right Here (Sexual Lover)," Paulina Rubio	2	37	2/22/03	5
250	"Unwell," Matchbox 20	1	35	4/12/03	6
249	"The Sound of Violence," Cassius	2	36	1/4/03	6
248*	"I'd Start A Revolution," Aimee Allen	1	34	1/25/03	7
248*	"Shut Up," Black Eyed Peas	1	34	12/13/03	7
248*	"It's Your Duty," Lene	1	34	9/27/03	7
245	"In Da Club," 50 Cent	1	33	3/29/03	8
244	"Girlfriend," Alicia Keys	5	15	12/21/02	10	227
243	"She's Not Just A Pretty Face," Shania Twain	2	36	12/20 & 12/27/03	10
242*	"Hidden Agenda," Jakatta	2	35	1/25/03	10
242*	"Mandy," Westlife	2	35	12/20/03	10
240	"Sweet Dreams (My LA Ex)," Rachel Stevens	2NC	34	10/18/03	11
239	"Girl Talk," TLC	6	22	12/28/02	12	226
238	"Smooth," Iio	2	34	11/22/03	12
237	"Unspeakable," Ace of Base	5	24	12/21/02	12	256
236	"Just Be Dub To Me," Relavation BF	2	20	5/17/03	12
235	"Fly on the Wings of Love," XTM feat. Annia	2	34	8/23/03	13
234	"On The Borderline," Bec Cartwright	2	33	7/12/03	13
233	"Take Me As I Am," Tonic	4NC	32	12/21/02	13	281
232	"I Begin To Wonder," Dannii Minogue	4	34	4/26/03	13
231	"Take Me Away," Fefe Dobson	2	30	12/20/03	14
230	"Through The Rain," Mariah Carey BF	8	18	1/4/03	15	183
229	"Your Mistake," Sister Hazel	4	35	3/15 & 3/22/03	15
228	"Take It Off," The Donnas	2	32	3/29/03	16
227	"Honestly," Zwan	2	30	3/22/03	16
226	"Deepest Blue," Deepest Blue	2	25	7/26/03	20
225	"Move Your Feet," Junior Senior	2NC	29	6/21/03	21
224	"Last Goodbye," Atomic Kitten	8	5	11/30 & 12/7/02	24	96
223	"Big Yellow Taxi," Counting Crows feat. Vanessa Carlton	5	30	2/22/03	24
222	"Superstar," Jamelia	3	30	11/8 & 11/15/03	26
221	"White Flag," Dido	6NC	32	9/13 & 9/20/03	26
220	"Damaged," Plummet	2	25	5/31/03	27
219	"Don't Let Me Down," Will Young	7	27	12/28/02	27	241
218	"Sunrise," Simply Red	6	32	5/31/03	27
217	"Summertime," Beyonce Knowles	3	28	9/20/03	28
216	"Yeh Yeh Yeh," Melanie C	4	29	8/30 to 9/13/03	28
215	"Surrender," Javine	2	22	11/1/03	29
214	"I Wanna Dance With Somebody," Flip & Fill	3	26	1/25/03	29
213	"Land of the Living," Milk Inc. BF	4	21	2/22/03	29
212	"Can't Stop Loving You," Phil Collins	13NC	15	11/23/2	29	166
211	"Me Against The Music," Britney Spears feat. Madonna	2	24	10/18/03	30
210	"Reign," Ja Rule	4	28	5/10/03	30
209	"Seduce Me Now," India	4	27	8/23/03	31
208	"Red Light, Green Light," Limp Bizkit feat. Snoop Dogg	4	31	11/29 & 12/6/03	32
207	"Low," Kelly Clarkson	4NC	28	8/16/03	33
206	"Heaven is a Place On Earth," Becky Baeling	3	22	7/19/03	34
205	"Why Can't I?," Liz Phair	4NC	27	9/20/03	34
204	"Kids In America," American Juniors BF (B-Side to "One Step Closer")	4NC	23	8/23/03	34
203	"Walking In The Rain," Erasure (B-Side to "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)")	5	23	4/26/03	36
202	"Breathe In," Frou Frou	3NC	24	3/15/03	37
201	NUMBER ONE "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)," Celine Dion	12	1(2)	12/7 & 12/14/02	37	31

Comments on 259 - 201:
2003 was a very eventful year both on the music charts and in my own life. I got to spend the summer performing and living away from home for the first time. It had it's advantages and disadvantages, but overall I am glad I did it. As the year ended, I got closer and closer to my graduation (which will be occuring this upcoming May, after I student-teach) and actually having to be a grown up (yikes!). Anyway, throughout the year music was there for me, good times and bad. That being said, let's hit the charts.

Amazingly enough, even though I did a top 40 the entire year, only 261 songs managed to make their way onto my charts, a drop from 297 songs last year (which included the last three weeks of 2001 since that is when I started doing my charts). Only 14 of these hit number one during the year (a drop from 27 last year). It's very easy to say that this year was a lot more stable. Songs charted for longer (WAY longer in some cases as you will see), and the number one spot didn't have nearly as much turnover as last year. This all equaled less songs making it onto my chart.

Well, I should probably explain my points system to you so you aren't confused by it. It's pretty simple to expalin. I just use an inverse points system (1=40 pts, 2=39 pts, etc). The Highest Debut Award (**HD**) earns a song 25 points. Each Biggest Mover Award (**BM**) earns a song 10 points. Each Biggest Faller Award (**BF** ) takes 10 points away from a song. In addition, this year, songs that earned Longevity Champ Award (**LC**) earned 10 points each week. Here is a list of the 12 songs that took Longevity Champ Award in chornological order:

1/4 to 3/1 -- "Help Me" by Nick Carter (9 weeks)
3/8 to 3/22 -- "My Vision" by Jakatta feat. Seal (3 weeks)
3/29 & 4/5 -- "Work It" by Missy Elliot (2 weeks)
4/12 -- "Solsbury Hill" by Erasure (1 week)
4/19 to 8/2 -- "Clocks" by Coldplay (16 weeks)
8/9 & 8/16 -- "Something That You Said" by The Bangles (2 weeks)
8/23 -- "Don't Let Go" by David Sneddon (1 week)
8/30 to 10/11 -- "When I See You" by Macy Gray (7 weeks)
10/18 -- "Crazy In Love" by Beyonce Knowles feat. Jay Z (1 week)
10/25 -- "Getaway" by Becky Baeling (1 week)
11/1 to 11/15 -- "Into You" by Fabulous feat. Tamia & "Pretty Green Eyes" by Ultrabeat (3 weeks)
11/22 to 12/27 -- "Into You" by Fabulous feat. Tamia (6 weeks)

Every award a song has earned (in 2003 only, not 2002) is shown on the charts. If two or more songs have the same points tiebreakers are broken this way:

-- The song with the longest chartlife ranks higher .
(If two songs have the same number of weeks charted, consecutive chart runs rank over non-consecutive.)
--If still tied, the song with the higheest peak position ranks higher.
--If still tied, the song with the most Biggest Mover Awards ranks higher.
--If still tied, the song with the leastt Biggest Faller Awards ranks higher.
--If still tied, if one song has a Higheest Debut Award, it will rank higher.
--If still tied, the song with the largeest single week fall will rank lower.

Needless to say, this pretty much will take care of almost all tiebreakers. There are however times when songs will have the exact same chartlife (and usually a very short one) and will therefore tie. Ties are marked by asterisks (*).

Seeing as there are some songs that are holding over from 2002, there are a whole new set of rules that I need to talk about. Only points earned in 2003 count, which is why you may see songs that have good chart lives next to songs that don't have them. For instance, at number 201, Celine Dion's "Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)" hit number one in 2002 (as is marked by **NUMBER ONE**) and ranked number 31 for the year. In 2003, the song only managed to spend three weeks on the chart and earn 37 points. Songs that ranked last year have their rankings shown from 2002 in the last column, highlighted.

OK! So now onto the charts. The lowest reaches of my charts feature songs that mostly charted for only a few weeks and/or had very low peak positions. Two songs managed to lodge just a single week on the charts at number 40. As happened last year, Shania Twain has a song in this region of the chart that is just getting started off. Her lowest charting single of the year is still on the charts as of 12/27, so it is highlighted. This portion also sees the first appearances of Erausre, Becky Baeling, Kelly Clakson, and Beyonce Knowles among others. There really isn't much to say about these songs ... they either are just getting started on my charts, or never really took off. So let's move on ...

200	"Beautiful," Christina Aguilera	11	7	12/21/02	37	65
199	"All In My Head," Kosheen	4	24	8/9/03	38
198	"Simple Things Part 2," Dirty Vegas	11NC	2(3)	10/26 to 11/9/02	40	43
197	"Ignition" R. Kelly	3	24	5/10/03	40
196	"Girls & Boys," Good Charlotte	5NC	24	7/5/03	41
195	"I'm With You," Avril Lavigne	10	5	12/21/02	42	74
194	"Anyway (Men Are From Mars)," Amber	4NC	18	1/11/03	43	267
193	"Someday," Nickelback BF	4	19	10/11/03	44
192	"Moses," Coldplay BF	5	23	11/15/03	44
191	"On A High (Remix)," Duncan Sheik	4	27	6/14/03	45
190	"Don't Wanna Try," Frankie J. HD	1	21	6/7/03	46
189	"Stand," Jewel	3	22	9/20/03	46
188	"Who Invited You," The Donnas	5	27	5/31/03	50
187	"Miracles," Pet Shop Boys	6	26	12/13/03	50
186	"I'm Glad," Jennifer Lopez	5	20	5/3/03	51
185	"This Groove," Victoria Beckham	3	21	12/27/03	52
184	"Spirit In The Sky," Gareth Gates feat. The Kumars	5	24	5/3/03	55
183	"Sunlight," DJ Sammy feat. Carisma	9NC	24	11/16/02	57	228
182	"Peacekeeper," Fleetwood Mac	6	22	4/5/03	59
181	"Lights Out," Lisa Marie Presley BM	6	19	3/29/03	59
180	"Last Nite," Vitamin C	10NC	28	8/23/03	61
179	"Must Be Dreaming," Frou Frou	6NC	24	8/2/03	62
178	"Jumpin'," Liberty X	5	25	10/4 to 10/18/03	64
177	"Real Things," Javine BF / BM	5	21	8/23/03	66
176	"Keep This Fire Burning," Robyn BF	8	13	1/4/03	67	167

Comments on 200 - 176:
This section of the year end chart features the first of two songs by Dirty Vegas. 2003 wasn't quite as good to them as 2002 was, but I actually picked up their self-titled album this past summer and have to say that it is really good. They did manage to have a big hit this year though, which will be up later. The opposite situation comes with the Pet Shop Boys this year. 2002 wasn't very kind to them, but 2003 is proving to be one of their best years. They score thier first hit in this portion, where as last year they were scoring their last hit in this section. Their biggest hit will be coming up. Colplay also make their first appearance on the charts at number 192, as you will soon see, 2003 was the year for Coldplay.

175	"Feel," Robbie Williams	10	19	1/11/03	68	210
174	"Stuck," Stacie Orrico BM / BF	10NC	21	5/24/03	68
173	"Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)," Pop Idol 12 HD	2	18	12/27/03	69
172	"Summer Jam 2003" The Underdog Project vs. Sunclub	6	22	10/11/03	69
171	"Let Your Head Go," Victoria Beckham	3	17	12/13 & 12/27/03	70
170	"I Can't Read You," Daniel Beddingfield HD	4	21	4/19/03	71
169	"Fighter," Christina Aguilera BF	6	21	3/29 & 4/5/03	71
168	"What You Want," Sinead Quinn	5	21	6/28/03	72
167	"Sacred Trust," One True Voice BF	5	10	12/28/02	74	243
166	"Floorfiller," A Teens	4	2(1)	1/4/03	75	239
165	"This Is The Night," Clay Aiken	6NC	21	6/7/03	75
164	"Dance (With U)," Lemar	6	18	9/27/03	75
163	"Did Anyone Approach You," A-ha	12	7	11/9 & 11/16/02	77	60
162	"Ka-Ching!," Shania Twain	8NC	22	4/12/03	77
161	"Do Me Wrong," Mel Blatt BM	8	24	9/27/03	77
160	"Girl In The Moon," Darius Danesh	7NC	19	8/16/03	79
159	"The Other Side," David Gray	15	22	11/30/02	81	156
158	"'03 Bonnie & Clyde" Jay Z feat. Beyonce Knowles	5	11	1/4/03	82	273
157	"Just A Little More Love," David Guetta	6	21	11/15/03	84
156	"In My Car (I'll Be The Driver)," Shania Twain (B-Side to "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!")	11NC	21	3/15/03	85	265
155	"Love Profusion," Madonna	3	6	12/27/03	86
154	"Too Lost In You," Sugababes	6	18	12/6/03	88
153	"No Good Advice," Girls Aloud	6NC	15	4/12/03	89
152	"Destiny," N-Trance	9NC	24	6/28/03	89
151	"Blink of an Eye," Berlin BF	6	16	3/8/03	92

Comments on numbers 175 - 151:
This portion of the year end charts features the first appearance by Madonna. 2003 has proven to be a great year for her and though her album "American Life" has proven to be a flop, this is not the case here on my charts. This year has also been good for the Sugababes. They scored the biggest hit of their career with "Hole In The Head" (which is later). Their first hit is here at number 154. Another Shania Twain song shows up here at number 156. David Gray's "The Other Side" almost makes a repeat performance this year. Last year the song ranked number 156 for the year. This year, the song ranks number 159.

150	"Where Is The Love?," Black Eyed Peas feat. Justin Timberlake	5	16	12/27/03	93
149	"Be With You," Atomic Kitten BM	4	3	1/4/03	94	264
148	"Harder To Breathe," Maroon 5	6	15	4/5/03	95
147	"Opportunity Nox," Roxette BM	6	14	6/14/03	97
146	"If You're Not The One," Daniel Beddingfield	9	2(1)	12/14/02	99	115
145	"Ladies Night," Atomic Kitten	4	13	12/27/03	100
144	"Show Me Love 2002," Robin S	10	14	12/7/02	102	168
143	"Bring Me To Life," Evanescence	5	18	4/26 & 5/10/03	103
142	"One Step Closer," American Juniors HD / BF	6	17	8/16/03	107
141	"All Cried Out," No Angels	6	17	1/25 & 2/1/03	108
140	"The Boys of Summer," DJ Sammy	8NC	12	5/31/03	108
139	"Running," No Doubt BM	7	15	3/15/03	109
138	"Acrobats (Looking for Balance)," Moony BM / BF	8	14	3/15/03	109
137	"You Used To," Richard X feat. Javine BM	4	11	12/13 & 12/27/03	110
136	"Stand Back," Linus Loves BM	7	19	12/6/03	112
135	"Overrated," Siobhan Donaghty HD	6NC	20	6/28/03	113
134	"Good Boys," Blondie BM	8	22	11/22/03	116
133	"The Wreckoning," Boomkat	7NC	16	3/15/03	118
132	"Fallen," Mya HD	3	7	12/27/03	120
131	"Bigger Than My Body," John Mayer BF	9NC	14	12/20/03	120
130	"Don't Worry," Appleton HD	5	11	2/22/03	123
129	"When Will I See You Again," Erasure (B-Side to "Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)")	11NC	19	4/26/03	124
128	"Monday Mi Amor," Soluna HD / BF	6	11	1/18/03	129
127	"Alone Without You," Mark Owen BF	7	16	12/20/03	132
126	"Have A Little Faith In Me," Mandy Moore	8	17	11/1/03	132

Comments on numbers 150 - 126:
This portion of the charts features a number of songs that are still on the charts now. Mark Owen's second hit of the year lands at number 126. Mark (a former member of Take That) made a comeback in the UK this year with his hit "Four Minute Warning" (coming up). Richard X lands at number 137 with "You Used To." I am just getting into this one and it may show up ranked higher on the year end of 2004. The point where rank and points line up this year is pretty similar to last year. In 2002, song number 133 earned 133 points. This year, song 128 earned 129 points.

Reality TV has finally started to slow down a little. FOX, on the other hand, has kept it coming nonstop this year. Trying to cash in on "American Idol," it started "American Juniors." The show might as well been called the S Club 7 / S Club Juniors show because so many of their songs were featured. Ranking at number 142 is one of those songs. "One Step Closer" made it to number 291 last year when the S Club Juniors could only manage to hit number 37 in May of 02. This year the song did a little better. I actually liked their cover of "Kids In America" a lot more. I am actually even thinking of recharting it.

125	"Jump (For My Love)," Girls Aloud	5	8	12/27/03	133
124	"Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)," J.C. Chavez BF / BM	6	6	2/22/03	135
123	"The Scientist," Coldplay BF / BF	12	17	10/4 to 10/18/03	135
122	"Tell It To Me," Erasure BF (B-Side to "Solsbury Hill")	15NC	14	2/15/03	137	217
121	"Baby I Love U," Jennifer Lopez HD	5	10	8/23/03	139
120	"Can't Hold Us Down," Christina Aguilera feat. Li'l Kim BF	8	17	8/23/03	140
119	"The One You Love," Paulina Rubio	12NC	11	1/25/03	141	218
118	"The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," Jason Mraz BM	10	18	3/29/03	141
117	"Fallen," Sarah McLachlan BF	10	13	11/22/03	141
116	"Maybe Tomorrow," Stereophonics BM	9	14	9/6/03	142
115	"Somnambulist (Simply Being Loved)," BT	7	14	8/9/03	145
114	"Sweetest Sin," Jessica Simpson BM	11NC	23	8/9 & 10/25/03	147
113	"Hit The Freeway," Toni Braxton	12	3	12/7 to 12/21/02	149	98
112	"Don't Dream It's Over," Sixpence None The Richer	9	17	3/8/03	149
111	"Believe," DB Boulevard	11	24	1/18, 1/25, 2/22, & 3/1/03	150
110	"Loosing Grip," Avril Lavigne BF	7	11	4/19/03	153
109	"Virtuality," VBirds BM	8	15	7/26 & 8/2/03	155
108	"We Used To Be Friends," The Dandy Warhols	11NC	16	5/3/03	156
107	"Send Your Love," Sting	10	14	11/15/03	160
106	NUMBER ONE "Drowning," Crazytown	12NC	1(1)	12/21/02	162	124
105	"Sorry," Justin Guarini HD	8	20	7/5, 7/12, 8/2, & 8/9/03	162
104	"I'm In Heaven," Jason Nevins feat. Holly James BF	8	9	7/26/03	163
103	"Home," Bone Thugs-N-Harmony feat. Phil Collins	9	12	6/7/03	167
102	"In This Life," Chantel Kreviazuk	7	10	7/26/03	168
101	"Baby Boy," Beyonce Knowles feat. Sean Paul	11	14	9/27/03	169

Comments on numbers 125 - 101:
The last number of songs leading up to the top 100 of the year feature another number one from last year. Crazytown hit number one in 2001 and 2002, but couldn't quite manage to do it this year. They do however manage to move up from 124 last year to 106 this year. 2003 was really not a great year for Christina Aguilera on my charts. For some reason, I really couldn't get into her 2003 singles ("Fighter," "Can't Hold Us Down," & "The Voice Within"). Hopefully 2004 will see her release a new album and score more hits.

Beyonce Knowles second hit shows up at number 101. I was kind of shocked last year when "Work It Out" wasn't a big hit. It kind of made me worried that maybe she wasn't going to have a big solo career. Fortunately, this wasn't the case. She has had two HUGE hits in the US this year, and one on my charts (which is coming up). This porition also features more appearances by Coldplay, Erasure, and Phil Collins. Ok, on to the top 100 songs of the 2003.

100	"Incredible (What I Meant To Say)," Darius Danesh BM / BF	10	9	5/31 & 6/7/03	170
99	"Going Under," Evanescence BM	10	12	11/15/03	172
98	"I Drove All Night," Celine Dion HD	7	3	1/25/03	180
97	"God Is A DJ" Pink HD	5	6	12/20/03	181
96	"When You Kiss Me," Shania Twain BM	14	20	1/18/03	185	294
95	"Never (Past Tense)," Roc Project feat. Tina Arena BM	15NC	20	9/13 & 9/20/03	186
94	"Shine," Cyndi Lauper BM / BF / BM	20NC	4	1/25 & 2/1/03	189	81
93	"May It Be," Enya BF	9	12	3/8, 3/22, & 3/29/03	189
92	"Love Ain't Gonna Wait For You," S Club HD / BF	11NC	11	4/5 & 4/12/03	189
91	"Suddenly," LeAnn Rimes BM	8	10	4/26 & 5/17/03	191
90	"(There's Gotta Be) More To Life," Stacie Orrico HD / BF	8	10	10/4/03	193
89	"The Night," Scooter	10	13	6/14 & 7/19/03	197
88	"With You," Jessica Simpson HD	6	4	12/27/03	203
87	"Heaven Is Closer (Feels Like Heaven)," Dario G BM	8	5	2/8/03	205
86	"Breathe," Telepopmusik HD	10	18	3/8 & 3/22/03	206
85	"Naughty Girl," Holly Vallance BM	15	4	1/11/03	209	120
84	"Feel Good Time," Pink BM	11	4	6/21/03	214
83	"Hey Ya!," Outkast	8	9	12/27/03	215
82	"Love Me All Night Long," Erasure HD / BF (B-Side to "Oh L'amour 2003")	10	8	11/1 & 11/8/03	215
81	"7 Ways," Abs	8	7	12/13/03	217

Comments on numbers 100 - 81:
The top 100 songs starts off with the biggest chart performances by the likes of Darius Danesh, Jessica Simpson, Stacie Orrico, and Pink. In fact, both of Pink's hits are in this section. 2003 was not a great year for her. "Feel Good Time" and "Trouble" both failed to crack the US top 40 and there are many speculations that her career may be over. Personally, she did a little better on my charts, though "Trouble" never found it's way on my chart, she has scored two top 10 hits this year.

The lowest peaking song of last year comes in this year at 96. "When You Kiss Me" debuted the last week of 2002 at number 40, giving it only one point in 2002. This year, the song managed to rack up another 184 points and rank in the top 100 songs. I am curious to see what 2004 will hold for Shania. I hope that she releases another couple of singles from her album, but only time will tell. Erasure are also featured in this section with what is probably one of their best B-Sides of the year. I would have to say overkill is mainly the reason this one didn't do quite so well for me. Erasure charted so many songs this year that a few of them had to be left in the wayside in order to make room for other songs. So far four Erasure songs have appeared on the year end charts, but they have a few more coming up.

80	"Thinking Over," Dana Glover	10	11	2/1 to 2/15/03	219
79	"Forever And For Always," Shania Twain BM / BF / BM/BF	12	11	5/3/03	225
78	"Free Me," Emma Bunton	10	9	4/26 & 5/3/03	226
77	"I Can't Break Down" Sinead Quinn	10	9	4/5/03	229
76	"Brighter Than Sunshine," Aqualung HD / BF / BF / BM	11	5	10/25 & 11/1/03	230
75	"Don't Wanna Loose This Grove," Dannii Minogue BM / BM	10	9	7/19/03	232
74	"Cry Me A River," Justin Timberlake	14NC	14	1/25 to 2/8/03	232	204
73	"C'est La Vie," Shania Twain BM / BF (B-Side to "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!")	15	6	1/4/03	236	157
72	"At The End," Iio	14	2(1)	12/21/02	238	165
71	"Help Me," Nick Carter LC (9 weeks)	23	3	11/30/02	240	19
70	"Somewhere I Belong," Linkin Park	8	6	4/19 & 4/26/03	243
69	"Cry," Kym Marsh	13	12	7/5/03	243
68	"The Way (Put Your Hand In My Hand)," Divine Inspiration BM	9NC	4	2/8/03	246
67	"When The Money's Gone," Cher HD	9	7	2/22 & 3/1/03	246
66	"Download It," Clea BM	10	6	11/8 & 11/15/03	250
65	"Sleeping Satellite," Aurora HD / BF / BM	11	3	6/7 & 6/14/03	250
64	"Sunshine," Gareth Gates	11	5	7/26 & 8/2/03	256
63	"Are You Happy Now?," Michelle Branch HD / BF	10	4	6/7 & 6/14/03	258
62	"Nothing Fails," Madonna	12	4	9/27 & 10/4/03	260
61	"Times Like These," Foo Fighters HD / BF / BF	12NC	7	1/25 to 2/8/03	270

Comments on numbers 80-61:
Number 80 - 61 this year feature a clump of songs that were on last years charts. "Cry Me A River" proved to be a sizeable hit here on my charts, and his only one in fact. I honestly don't know why I wasn't into "Like I Love You" more than I was. Everytime I hear this song now, I love it. Another Shania song comes in at number 73, up from 157 last year. "C'est La Vie" is her best charting B-Side this year. Iio make their final appearance on the charts, up from 165 to 72 with "At The End." At 71 is a song that held the Longevity Champ Award for the first 9 weeks of the year. "Help Me" by Nick Carter came in at number 19 last year, and if it has been released earlier in the year last year or at the beginning of the year, would have easily been in the top 10 for the year. I plan on doing a chart that combines 2002 & 2003 into one chart to see where some of these songs end up.

Auqalung make their only chart appearance for me this year. "Brighter Than Sunshine" made a VERY similar chart performance to 2002's "Strange & Beautiful." Both debuted low and flew up to number 5, only to stay for 2 weeks, then plummet back down the charts. The only difference is that this year's hit has managed to hold on and is still on the charts this week.

60	"Breathe," Dave Gahan BM / BM (B-Side to "I Need You")	17	13	11/29 & 12/6/03	271
59	"What Will Be Will Be," Divine Inspiration HD	10NC	2(3)	9/27 to 10/11/03	276
58	"Fake," Simply Red BF	12	6	8/16/03	283
57	"Why Don't You and I" Santana feat. Alex Band	13	10	11/8/03	284
56	"I Should Know," Dirty Vegas	12	7	7/26/03	285
55	NUMBER ONE "No Letting Go," Wayne Wonder	10	1(2)	5/24 & 5/31/03	286
54	NUMBER ONE "Fool No More," S Club 8 HD / BF	10	1(4)	6/14 to 7/5/03	286
53	"Stoned," Dido HD (B-Side to "White Flag")	7	3	11/15 to 12/20/03	289
52	"Hold On," Phixx HD / BM / BF	9	4	11/15/03	289
51	"Shut Up," Nick Lachey BM	12	4	7/19 & 7/26/03	290
50	"Waiting For You," Seal	11	10	11/15 to 11/29/03	291
49	"Let It Rain," 4 Strings HD / BM	9	2(2)	9/13 & 9/20/03	295
48	NUMBER ONE "My Vision," Jakatta feat. Seal BM / LC (3 weeks)	24	1(5)	10/12 to 11/9/02	299	14
47	"Come On Over," Kym Marsh	12NC	4	6/28 to 7/12/03	301
46	"Love One Another," Cher	12	5	2/15 to 3/1/03	302
45	"Four Minute Warning," Mark Owen HD	11	5	8/9/03	303
44	"Never Gonna Leave Your Side," Daniel Beddingfield HD / BM	13	6	6/28 to 7/19/03	307
43	NUMBER ONE "Mad World," Gary Jules HD	8	1(1)	12/27/03	311
42	"Powerless (Say What You Want)," Nelly Furtado BM	13	6	12/6 & 12/13/03	313
41	"Finest," Richard X. vs. Kellis	15	3	9/20 & 9/27/03	313

Comments on numbers 60-41:
As with last year, there is plenty of great music in the section just outside the top 40. At number 60 is the song with the most weeks on the chart without hitting the top 10. The B-Side to his single, "I Need You" (coming up), "Breathe" started off slow, but eventually jumped up to peak at number 13. This song is just so haunting and gets better with each listen.

We finally see our first three number ones of the year. Last year the lowest charting song that hit number one in 2002 and wasn't still on the charts was "Drowning" by the Backstreet Boys at number 134. This year that song is "No Letting Go" by Wayne Wonder, which is at number 55. Right in front of it is "Fool No More" by S Club 8. This year number one songs stayed on the charts for a lot longer. These two were ones that didn't have quite the long chartlives that the other number ones did. The current number one comes in at number 43 this year and should hopefully make it into the top 40 next year.

One of the biggest hits of last year, "My Vision" just misses the top 40 for this year. The song managed to spend a total of 24 weeks on the charts. Its last three weeks it was the Longevity Champ. As with "Help Me" this one should prove to be a huge hit on the 2002/2003 chart. Ok, on to the top 40 songs of 2003!

40	"In Your Life," La Bouche feat. Melanie Thornton HD	11	3	3/22/03	314
39	"Even If," ZOEgirl	13	8	3/1, 3/8, 3/22, & 3/29/03	315
38	"American Life," Madonna	20NC	5	6/28 & 7/5/03	327
37	"You Spin Me Round 2003" Dead or Alive HD	11	7	4/5 to 4/26/03	335
36	"Thank You Baby! (For Makin' Someday Come So Soon)," Shania Twain	14	4	9/13/03	344
35	"Video Killed The Radio Star," Erasure BF (B-Side to "Solsbury Hill")	14	9	3/1, 3/8, & 4/12/03	345
34	"Nobody Knows Me," Madonna BF / BM (B-Side to "Nothing Fails")	15	3	10/4 & 10/11/03	360
33	NUMBER ONE "Time Of Our Lives," Paul Van Dyk feat. Vega 4 HD	10	1(3)	12/6 to 12/20/03	361
32	"Come With Me," Phil Collins HD	14	5	3/8/03	361
31	"Work It," Missy Elliot BF / LC (2 weeks)	24NC	4	12/7 to 12/21/02	368	63

Comments on numbers 40-31:
The top 40 kicks off with a song that sounds like it came from 1995. La Bouche were a huge dance act in the mid 90's but then faded out of the spotlight. Unfortunately in 2001 Melanie Thorton died in a plane accident. This song was released on a European version of La Bouche's greatest hits and was dedicated to Melanie (hence the feat. part). Though the song did sound dated, it was still good enough to hit number three on my weekly chart.

Madonna has two songs featured in this part of the chart. The title track to her latest album took me FOREVER to catch on to, but eventually it hit number 5 on my weekly chart. Thus far, all of Madonna's singles have either hit numbers 3, 4 or 5 this year. The only exception is her current number 6 hit (which may just hit number 5 next week). I guess you could count her cameo appearance with Britney Spears as well, but I am not counting guest appearances (feat.'s and vs.'s) on any of my year end artists charts.

One of the best songs of the past two years, "Work It," comes in at number 31 this year, up from 63 last year. This one is so fun to dance to and will surely become a classic for me. Alrighty, back to the top 30...

30	"Weekend," Scooter BM / BF	15	3	5/3, 5/10, & 5/31/03	368
29	"Scandalous," Mis-teeq BM	15NC	5	8/23/03	371
28	"Miss Independent," Kelly Clarkson HD / BM / BM	19	9	4/19/03	377
27	"Taxi Ride" Tori Amos BM / BF	20NC	7	6/7 to 6/21/03	378
26	"I Can't Let You Go," Ian Van Dahl HD / BF	15	8	10/4 & 10/11/03	398
25	"I Need You," Dave Gahan BM / BM / BF / BF	15	4	9/20/03	404
24	NUMBER ONE "It's My Life," No Doubt BM	12	1(4)	11/8 to 11/29/03	410
23	"Pray," Lasgo	16	2(1)	1/11/03	410	238
22	NUMBER ONE "Solsbury Hill," Erasure LC (1 week)	22	1(3)	11/16 to 11/30/02	426	47
21	"Don't Let Go," David Sneddon HD / BF / LC (1 week)	16	3	6/21 & 6/28/03	435

Comments on numbers 30-21:
This section features songs that have all spent 15 plus weeks on the chart (minus No Doubt, which is still charting). This year has brought a lot of songs with LONG chart runs (more are coming). Erasure's "Solsbury Hill" doesn't quite get into the top 20 for the year, but does move up from number 47 last year. Making probably the biggest move from last year is Lasgo, who move up from 238 to 23 with "Pray." This portion also features final appearances from Scooter, Kelly Clarkson, and Dave Gahan. Ok, on to the top 20!

20	NUMBER ONE "I Got You," Nick Carter HD / BF	15	1(1)	5/3/03	449
19	NUMBER ONE "If You Love Me," Becky Baeling HD	15	1(1)	8/16/03	455
18	"Hole In The Head," Sugababes	17	3	10/18 to 11/1/03	460
17	"Intuition" Jewel	16	2(1)	6/7/03	462
16	"Twist of Fate," Siobhan Donaghty HD	16	3	11/8/03	486
15	"Pretty Green Eyes," Ultrabeat HD / LC (3 weeks)	16	2(1)	8/23/03	495
14	NUMBER ONE "Getaway," Becky Baeling HD / BM / LC (1 week)	16	1(5)	7/12 to 8/9/03	497
13	"Oh L'amour 2003," Erasure HD	13	2(4)	10/18 to 11/1 & 12/27/03	498
12	"Something That You Said," The Bangles LC (2 weeks)	22	6	6/7/03	498
11	NUMBER ONE "Broken Bones," Love Inc. HD	15	1(1)	6/7/03	504

Comments on numbers 20-11:
The top 20 kicks off with Nick Carter. Last year he was at a very similar position, hitting number 19 with "Help Me." Becky Baeling had a great year on my charts in 2003. Her album, "Becstacy" is easily one of my favorite of the year and these two hit singles surely prove that. Erasure has had a hit in every section of the top 40 this year and will of course have some in the top 10 as well. I can't it enough, but 2003 was Erasure's year. The Bangles miss out on the top 10 with "Something That You Said." This one had probably one of the most "traditional" chart runs of the year, moving slowly up and then slowly down the charts.

2003 has shown to be good to Jewel. Her latest album "0304" gave us the massive hit "Intution." I for one welcomed Jewel's changing sound. A lot of her album isn't exactly that much different from her previous sound, but what is different is very good. The sugababes scored their biggest hit on my charts yet this year with "Hole In The Head," which hit number 3 on the weekly charts and ends up at number 18 for the year. One final thing .. since songs were having much better chart lives this year than last, you can see that if "Broken Bones" by Love Inc. had had the same chart run last year, it would have ended up at number three for the year last year. Unfortunately, it just misses out on the top 10 this year, coming in at number 11.

And now, the top 10 songs of 2003!!!!

**NUMBER ONE**
"Into You," Fabulous feat. Tamia **LC (9 weeks)** / **BF**

1(1)

8/23/03

517

Comments on number 10:
It's kinda hard to believe, but a rap song kicks off the top 10 this year. One of the chart phenomonons of 2003 was the "feat. X or Y" conundrums. What would happen is that artists would originally record a duet with someone and then that artist's record company wouldn't let them release it to radio because it would interfere with their own single. This occured with "Why Don't You And I" by Santana feat. Chad Kroeger or Alex Band (57). This also occured with our number 10 song this year. Originally, it was recorded with Ashanti, but then had to be rerecorded with Tamia when Ashanti's record label wouldn't let Fabulous released their version to radio so as to not affect Ashanti's solo records.

Either way, this song got off to a slower start on my charts, but Tamia's "fabulous" voice easily helped the song get to number one. The songs's whole chartlife was pretty fabulous: 23 - 26 - 16 - 1 - 2 - 2 -3 - 5 -12 - 14 - 18 - 23 - 19 - 24(LC) - 26(LC) - 37(LC) - 30(LC) - 36(LC) - 28(LC) - 40(BF/LC) - 40(LC) - 40(LC). "Into You" spent one week at number one, 5 weeks in the top 5 and top 10, and 9 weeks in the top 20. What really helped this song out was that for it's last nine weeks, it was the Longevity Champ (3 of those weeks were with Ultrabeat's "Pretty Green Eyes.") Will rap be in my top 10 in 2004? I highly doubt it.

"Hollywood," Madonna

7/5 & 7/12/03

520

Comments on number 9:
Madonna had a great year on my charts in 2003. Her latest album has produced 5 singles this year, all of which have gone top 10. This one is no exception, and is her biggest hit of the year. The song charted: 26 - 12 - 7 - 3 - 3 - 5 - 6 - 6 - 6 - 10 - 11 - 4 - 4 - 7 - 16 - 22 - 29. In all, "Hollywoodd" spent 5 non-consecutive weeks in the top 5, 11 weeks in the top 10, and 14 weeks in the top 20. The song got a resurgance due to a great remix (#1 on the Maxi-Single). Hopefully Madonna can carry this success over into 2004.

"Crazy In Love," Beyonce Knowles feat. Jay Z. **BF** / **LC (1 week)**

2(3)

7/5, 7/12, & 8/16/03

584

Comments on number 8:
One fact to note here .. all of these songs, from 8 on up, would have ranked higher than the number one song of last year. Somthing I find very cool.

Pardon the cheesy comment, but I was "Crazy in love" with Beyonce this year. She had three hits on my charts and this is the biggest of them. This song was ALL over radio this summer and I actually just danced to it last night. It really is a GREAT song. It charted: 22 - 24 - 10 - 11 - 9 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 4 - 4 - 2 - 6 - 7 - 10 - 12 - 10 - 25(BF) - 33 - 38 - 40(LC).&nnbsp; The song spent 7 weeks in the top 5, 11 NC weeks in the top 10, and 11 weeks in the top 20. Though I love Beyonce, I am VERY excited for Destiny's Child to come back and record another album.

"Searching," Erasure **HD**
(B-Side to "Solsbury Hill")

2(1)

1/25/03

642

Comments on number 7:
The first of two Erasure songs in the top 10 this year. "Searching" was one of the six B-Sides that Erasure charted in 2003. This, in addition to the three actual singles that were released, gave them a whopping nine charting songs in 2003. This will surely be a record for many years to come. This particular B-Side was their most successful. "Searching" charted 2(HD) - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 4 - 6 - 7 - 6 - 8 - 12 - 14 - 13 - 15 - 16 - 15 - 20 - 23 - 31 - 40 - 38. The song spent 7 weeks in the top 5, 11 weeks in the top 10, and 18 weeks in the top 20. 2004 should prove to be a big year for Erasure, as they are hopefully going to release a new album of ORIGINAL material by the years end.

"When I See You," Macy Gray **HD** / **BM** / **LC (7 weeks)** / **BF**

8/23/03

645

Comments on number 6:
Though Macy Gray's career has pretty much gone down the tube here in the States, she did manage to have a massive hit on my charts this year. The fact that this song didn't even get into the top 3 is pretty impressive. What really helped this song was that it sort of had three chart runs. It quickly debuted, then fell back, only to come up and hit number 8 and fall back, then come up again and hit number 4. Here is it's chart life: 20 (HD) - 17 - 20 - 18 - 6 - 30 - 8(BM) - 7 - 9 - 17 - 20 - 8 - 8 - 5 - 4 - 8(LC) - 7(LC) - 10(LC) - 17(LC) - 16(LC) - 28(LC) - 39(LC / BF). What really helped this one was the seven weeks of Longevity Champ Awards. If it had not had these awards, the song would have had seventy less points. Regardless this was a great song and deserved to be a huge hit. Ok, on to the top 5!

**NUMBER ONE**
"Get Busy," Sean Paul

1(4)

4/19, 4/26/03, 5/10, & 5/17/03

683

Comments on number 5:
If there was one great dance song of the year, this HAD to be it. The Dwali drum rhythms were prominently featured in this and in a few other songs (including Wayne Wonder's hit at number 55). I remember the first time I heard this song, it was an early feburary morning, and I happened to be watching MTV. With only the first listen to the song, I knew I loved it. The song actually took a while to number number one, but then was at the summit for four weeks, only allowing a week break to give Nick Carter's "I Got You" (20) a week on top.

Here is the song's chart life: 9 - 4 - 4 - 4 - 6 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 5 - 4 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 3 - 11 - 14 - 30 - 32 - 33 - 39. "Get Busy" racked up 14 NC weeks in the top 5, 16 weeks in the top 10, and 18 weeks in the top 20. A VERY impressive chart run by a very impressive song!

**NUMBER ONE**
"Here," Pet Shop Boys **HD**

1(5)

3/8 to 4/5/03

684

Comments on number 4:
There is an oddity about this song. TECHNICALLY it isn't a single. It was never commercial released anywhere. HOWEVER, when the boys released "Disco 3" this past spring, they didn't release a single from it. I though, f**k that, the remix of this song on that album is too good to not release. So I decied to chart it anyway, since there wasn't an official single out at the time. "Here" had a great chart run: 1(HD) - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 4 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 6 - 10 - 12 - 13 - 18 - 19 - 225 - 25 - 37 - 39. In the end, it spent 9 weeks in the top 5, 14 weeks in the top 10, and 18 weeks in the top 20. This song JUST beat out Sean Paul's "Get Busy" by one point. Quite a feat if you ask me. Hopefully PSB will have a new album out in 2004. They just released a GH album, spanning their entire career, and I have to say it really makes me appreciate how good they are.

**NUMBER ONE**
"It's Your Life," Jamie Winchester & Hrutka Róbert **HD**

1(10)

8/30 to 11/1/03

698

Comments on number 3:
Of all the songs that have charted on my chart ever, this song holds the record for most weeks at number one. The song came out of nowhere. I recieved it on a CD (Jerome's Hollywood Mix) and upon first listen, I had to know who the artist was. I came to discover that the song is actually a rock song and the version I had was a dance remix that was released on a single for the song back in 2001. I could have held off on charting it because it was old, but decided not to and immediately debuted it at number one. I had no idea this one was going to last at number one for 2 1/2 months. But it did and held out a good number of songs, including 4 Strings, Divine Inspiration, and even Erasure.

This song is still charting and just barely made it to where it is now. If the song had been charting for one less week, it would have only gotten to number 4 or 5. Here is it's chart life so far: 1(HD) - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 4 - 5 - 7 - 10 - 10 - 15 ... Next year, when I doo the 2002 to 2004 total charts, this one should easily be in the top 3. Unfortunately this year it gets stuck not finishing charting, but still ends up nicely at number 3 on the year.

**NUMBER ONE**
"Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)," Erasure **HD**

1(6)

2/1 to 3/1 & 4/12/03

730

Comments on number 2:
There really isn't much more I can say about my favorite band that I haven't said before. 2003 was THE year for Erasure. They charted nine songs, of which only 3 missed the top 10. They had a number one hit last year, a number one this year, two number 2 hits, a number 8 hit, and a number 9 hit. In short, they were unstoppable. The track that helped them usher in the new year right was this one. I didn't know the original when I first charted this, which was fine because both version are great. This one had a spectacular chart run: 1(HD) - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 -1 - 2 - 5 - 8 - 10 - 11 - 10 - 18 -- 22 - 24 - 34 - 38 - 40. All in all it spent 13 weeks in the top 5, 16 NC weeks in the top 10, and 18 weeks in the top 20.

This year also brought my favorite thing of all, the Best of DVD package from the boys. I have waited SO long for this to come out and now that it's here I am in LOVE with it. Hopefully 2004 will be just as good as 2003 was for Erasure. Only time will tell.

So .. what song was bigger than Erasure ...

**NUMBER ONE**
"Clocks," Coldplay **LC (16 weeks)**

1(5)

12/28/02 to 1/25/03

1089

201

Comments on number 1:
Only one word can describe this song: BEATIFUL! Gut-wrenchingly beautiful at that. This song is just PERFECT. There are really no other words I can say about it ... the song debuted at number one the last week of 2002 and hung around the charts until the first week of August. Here is its 2003 chart run: 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 4 - 3 - 3 - 3 - 4((LC) - 4(LC) - 5(LC) - 8(LC) - 8(LC) - 9(LC) - 19(LC) - 15(LC) - 23(LC) - 24(LC) - 25(LC) - 33(LC) - 31(LC) - 33(LC) - 34(LC) - 34(LC). In 2003 this song spent 18 weeks in the top 5 alone! This is as long as other songs were spending in the top 20 or even top 40. It spent 21 weeks in the top 10 and 23 weeks in the top 20. Needless to say this song has been number one from year's start. What helped it stay on the charts for so long was dance remixes that I started hearing in May/June. The only bad thing about this song was that it really gave me too much Coldplay. The follow-ups to this "The Scientist" and "Moses" really could never take off because I had been so exposed to this song and this style. Hopefully the band will come out with a new album in 2004 and give me another great song in the lines of "Yellow" or "Clocks." Both of which are true masterpieces.

So, those were the top 261 songs of 2003! It's been a great, and sometimes stressful, time trying to keep up with my charts, but it's always fun to sit back and look at them at the end of the year and see what songs I have loved. In another 52 weeks, I will get to do it all again. Thanks for checking out my charts page, I'm doing this for you! :) Happy 2004!

2003 Artist Award Charts

2003 Song Award Charts

2002 Year End Charts Charts

2002 Artist Award Charts

2002 Song Award Charts

The Oz Top 40 Countdown Archives

Links To Other Charts

Official Charts
Billboard Charts
Billboard Radio Chart (Complete Hot 100 Chart)
Rick Dee's Weekly Top 40
Dotmusic (UK) Charts
Radio & Records Airplay Charts

Unofficial Charts
Craig's Top 50
Beyond Radio Charts