At NUMBER 8:



ANOTHER 1987 album - JENNIFER RUSH's third album "HEART OVER MIND" - was a HUGE selling album internationally, and at the time became the most successful album ever on Blue-Box... spending 22 weeks at #1!

Jennifer of course sprang to fame in the early 80's with hits like "Ring Of Ice" and "Power Of Love", and she went from strength to strength with each album. Though she released some very good albums after this one, this one stands out as one of the best.

On this album she teamed up with renowned producers/writers Andy Goldmark, Bruce Roberts, Gus Dudgeon, Harold Faltermeyer and Desmond Child, and delivered a powerful pop/rock record!

The album kicks off with first single "I Come Undone" (with its catchy piano intro), and shows a confident Jennifer Rush at the top of her game.
The album also delivered hits like "Flames Of Paradise" - the duet with Elton John, and the MINDBLOWING title track (which has to be one of the best pop songs ever produced!) The latter spent 12 weeks at #1 on the Blue-Box charts.
As with any Jennifer Rush album, it must be near impossible to listen to her work and not want to exclaim: "Wow - what a VOICE!"

At NUMBER 9 on our Countdown:



As the follow-up to the biggest-selling album of all time (at the time) - "Thriller" - MICHAEL JACKSON's 1987 album "BAD" proved another worldwide smash. He teamed up once again with producer Quincy Jones with this, which - in my (humble) opinion - is a better album.

Nobody's videos could compare to his - they were all a feast for the eyes! This album is PACKED with big hits: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man In The Mirror", "Dirty Diana", "Smooth Criminal" (ooh - LOVE that one! ), "Another Part Of Me", "Leave Me Alone" and "Liberian Girl"... PHEW! Do you know any other albums that pack so many hits?! The King Of Pop indeed!

About time to continue with the Countdown isn't it?

We've reached the Top 10... so without further adue - NUMBER 10 is:



GEORGE MICHAEL's 1987 album "FAITH"! After his extremely successful years with Wham!, George released this - his first solo album, and at the time proved himself as one of the best (if not THE best) male solo artist at the time. In my opinion he's simply got one of the best voices out there, and as he also wrote almost all of this album himself (plus wrote or co-wrote all of the Wham! catalogue himself) - he's an exceptional songwriter as well.
This album delivered six HUGE hit singles: "Faith", "Father Figure", "I Want Your Sex", "One More Try", "Monkey" and "Kissing A Fool", and the rest of the album is also filled with top-notch songs.
In the years following this, he released very few albums, and none of them was as good - due to legal clashes with his record company and other things.
During the Wham!/"Faith" era though, George was on top of the world, and this is his definitive and best solo album showcasing him at the top of his game.

Shayne Ward Has Got The X Factor!
17 Dec 2005:

Buy "That's My Goal"at Amazon.co.uk

Congratulations to Shayne Ward - X Factor 2005 Winner!

Shayne has consistently wowed us with his superb vocal talent and he kept up his excellent standard on The X Factor stage tonight. Shayne has now got everything he needs to make a big impression on the UK music scene; The X Factor, The Likeability Factor, and of course The seX Factor.

With a £1 million record contract now under his belt the future is looking good for the down to earth crooner from Clayton, Manchester.

Let's not forget tonight's 2 runners-up. Journey South and Andy Abraham both performed their socks off in tonight's final. The results were extremely close with vote rankings changing throughout the evening. Although they may be feeling disappointed, hopefully they will also feel rightly proud that out of a field of 75000 they made it all the way to tonight's final.

Shayne ends tonight's show singing the winner's single "That's My Goal" backed by all the other X Factor finalists. He sings a superb version of the song, which is certain to be a huge hit and could well be this years Christmas No. 1 record.

After the performance, Shayne, choked with emotion, announces "This is for you mum, this is for you... I love you!"

The last word before the credits roll tonight is left to Simon Cowell, "The great British public, you chose the right winner, well done!"

Ok, time to continue with the Countdown!
At NUMBER 11:



AMY GRANT's 1991 album "HEART IN MOTION" - the most successful and most commercial album of her career, and the best POP album of 1991!
In the US it delivered FIVE Top Twenty singles, including "Baby Baby" reaching No. 1. This song was also the Song Of The Year on Blue-Box.
The album was remarkable, because it contained SEVERAL very solid songs. This was a magical time, as hit after hit rotated on the radio - delivering those five, VERY pleasing hits: "Baby Baby" (#1), "Every Heartbeat" (#3), "That's What Love Is For" (#1), "Good For Me" (#1) and "I Will Remember You" (#4).

One of the albums I've listened to most in my life. It helped shaped the face of pop music, as far as I'm concerned!