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Revision as of 11:39, 13 December 2005 by 84.9.163.70 (talk) (→Criticisms)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Record of the Year is an award created by record producer Jonathan King voted for by the UK public. The award is given in conjunction with a television programme of the same name broadcast on ITV1. The Record of the Year started in 1998 and the televised final continues to enjoy high viewer ratings.
Winners
| Year | Song | Artist |
| 1998 | "No Matter What" | Boyzone |
| 1999 | "Flying Without Wings" | Westlife |
| 2000 | "My Love" | Westlife |
| 2001 | "Don't Stop Movin'" | S Club 7 |
| 2002 | "Unchained Melody" | Gareth Gates |
| 2003 | "Mandy" | Westlife |
| 2004 | "Thunderbirds Are Go" | Busted |
| 2005 | "You Raise Me Up" | Westlife |
Year by year
1998
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist |
| "Angels" | Robbie Williams |
| "Believe" | Cher |
| "C'est La Vie" | B*Witched |
| "Feel It" | The Tamperer feat. Maya |
| "Got The Feelin'" | Five |
| "How Do I Live" | LeAnn Rimes |
| "My Heart Will Go On" | Céline Dion |
| "Never Ever" | All Saints |
| "No Matter What" | Boyzone |
| "One For Sorrow" | Steps |
1999
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist |
| "...Baby One More Time" | Britney Spears |
| "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" | Eiffel 65 |
| "Bring It All Back" | S Club 7 |
| "Flying Without Wings" | Westlife |
| "If You Had My Love" | Jennifer Lopez |
| "Livin' La Vida Loca" | Ricky Martin |
| "Mambo No. 5" | Lou Bega |
| "Perfect Moment" | Martine McCutcheon |
| "That Don't Impress Me Much" | Shania Twain |
| "When You Say Nothing At All" | Ronan Keating |
2000
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist |
| "Fill Me In" | Craig David |
| "Gotta Tell You" | Samantha Mumba |
| "Groovejet" | Spiller feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor |
| "It Feels So Good" | Sonique |
| "Life Is A Rollercoaster" | Ronan Keating |
| "My Love" | Westlife |
| "Pure Shores" | All Saints |
| "Reach" | S Club 7 |
| "Rise" | Gabrielle |
| "Rock DJ" | Robbie Williams |
2001
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist |
| "All Rise" | Blue |
| "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" | Kylie Minogue |
| "Don't Stop Movin'" | S Club 7 |
| "Do You Really Like It?" | DJ Pied Piper |
| "It Wasn't Me" | Shaggy |
| "Perfect Gentleman" | Wyclef Jean |
| "Pure And Simple" | Hear'Say |
| "Survivor" | Destiny's Child |
| "Teenage Dirtbag" | Wheatus |
| "Whole Again" | Atomic Kitten |
2002
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist |
| "A Little Less Conversation" | Elvis vs. JXL |
| "Colourblind" | Darius |
| "Evergreen" | Will Young |
| "Hero | Enrique Iglesias |
| "If Tomorrow Never Comes" | Ronan Keating |
| "Blobby Blobby Blob" | Mr Blobby |
| "Just A Little" | Liberty X |
| "Kiss Kiss" | Holly Valance |
| "The Tide Is High" | Atomic Kitten |
| "Unchained Melody" | Gareth Gates |
| "Whenever, Wherever" | Shakira |
2003
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist |
| "Be Faithful" | Fatman Scoop |
| "Bring Me To Life" | Evanescence |
| "Crazy in Love" | Beyonce |
| "If You're Not The One" | Daniel Bedingfield |
| "Make Luv" | Room 5 feat. Oliver Cheatham |
| "Mandy" | Westlife |
| "Sweet Dreams My LA-Ex" | Rachel Stevens |
| "Where Is The Love?" | Black Eyed Peas |
| "White Flag" | Dido |
| "Year 3000" | Busted |
2004
After an initial selection of thirty songs, ten were selected for the final show, broadcast by ITV1 on Saturday December 4, 2004.
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist | Result |
| "Closest Thing to Crazy" | Katie Melua | 5th - 79pts |
| "Five Colours in her Hair" | McFly | 2nd - 91pts |
| "Laura" | Scissor Sisters | |
| "Left Outside Alone" | Anastacia | 3rd - 90pts |
| "Leave Right Now" | Will Young | 4th - 88pts |
| "Love Machine" | Girls Aloud | |
| "Real to Me" | Brian McFadden | |
| "These Words" | Natasha Bedingfield | |
| "This Love" | Maroon 5 | |
| "Thunderbirds Are Go" | Busted | 1st - 92pts |
2005
See The Record of the Year 2005
The winner was once again WESTLIFE with their track You Raise Me Up.
Criticisms
Many have criticised the 'Record of the Year' Award, as they feel the nominations are unfairly dominated by pop acts and thus the winner is usually not the "true" record of the year. One suggested reason for this is that it is done to attract young girls, who the organisers are sure will watch the televised final and vote for the records. Others have argued that it is an attempt to boost the sales of pop artists' albums, which traditionally have limited success relative to their singles, in the crucial pre-Christmas period. Of the examples cited as evidence for this, the most famous include the exclusion of rap artist Eminem's "My Name Is..." in 1999 as he was unavailable to perform live on the Record of the Year final, the victory of S Club 7 in 2001 for a single which was not one of the 20 top-selling singles of the year (wrong it actually came 7th and sold around 800,000 copies) and the omission from nominations of rock act The Darkness' "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" in 2003, despite being one of the highest selling singles of the year. In spite of this, many winners of the award, as well as the organisers, argue its significance and integrity on the basis that it represents the views of the public, rather than critics. Indeed Westlife have often said that their first win for the single "Flying Without Wings" was the most exciting moment in their career. However, a counter-argument is that this, and similar awards based on phone polls, are not a true representation of public opinion, a possibly better indication being sales, making Top of the Pops' Christmas Day countdown of the 20 best selling singles of the last calendar year a more accurate indication of the record of the year.