Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 1996

Let’s flip the script a bit and talk about the best songs of 1996, okay? Now, this year despite some of the awful I already talked about, was a really good year, a sign of that was I had to make some really painful cuts to get to this list of ten songs and I will warn ya all now that there will be picks you disagree with, this is just my personal opinion of the music in 1996.

As per usual, the songs had to be on the year end list for 1996 and these are just my picks, feel free to share your thoughts on 1996 in popular music and share your top ten songs of the year.

First up we get to the one Australian act on this list, in a year where boy bands started coming out of the woodwork to appear on the charts, an Aussie act got to me the most with this…

10. “Wishes” by Human Nature

This is not my favourite Human Nature song; they would have better results in 1998 but there’s still plenty to like here with this piano ballad where Human Nature realize they have done wrong by the ladies in their lives and are desperately hoping that she’ll forgive them, there’s a genuine raw contrition to this song that makes it work so damn well for me in the lyrics. I just love the harmonies and the music that fit the energy of the song for once unlike many songs from this 2019 which I will talk about once ARIA release the year end list.

Damn great song that deserved to be a top ten hit in 1996. Looking forward to an opportunity to talk about at least one other Human Nature song from 1998 down the track.




Here’s one of the more contentious picks, this was a UK girl group that exploded onto the pop music scene late this year courtesy of Simon Fuller. Five rather brash young women and this song was our introduction to them…

9. “Wannabe” by Spice Girls

I get it, the song doesn’t make any sense whatsoever but “Wannabe” is an incredibly catchy Eurodance pop rap song that doesn’t hide behind it’s no bullshit are you on board with us or not ideal and boy don’t the personalities shine through with Melanie Brown whose loud and somewhat wild/scary (even though I doubt Mel has a scary bone in her body) persona plays off well with Geri Halliwell’s also very wild and vivacious delivery which makes the call and response between the pair fun which explodes into Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Mel B and Geri sharing a line on the opening verse….anyway you get the picture.


This song is in your face, somewhat obnoxious but my god this song is a LOT of fun. The Spice Girls would go on to be the biggest name in pop music until the eventual split in 1999.


8. “Runaway” by The Corrs

Irish family act The Corrs emerged in 1996 and would carve a solid niche for themselves and this solid little debut single found its way into my heart, it’s a sweet song about being alone with that one other special person in your life and hoping he or she feels the same way and wanting to do everything that you can to be with this other person, it’s to a point rather dreamy especially with the music and production which builds into the chorus and again like Human Nature, the harmonies between the sisters are incredible and in a year full of Eurodance pop and the last vestiges of grunge, this song was a pretty unique sound.


Check this song out if you haven’t already.


However, if you are looking for something that vents its anger and frustration then this song maybe up your alley.


7. “Mother Mother” by Tracy Bonham


I’ve always felt this song would be on in the background of the image of the dog sitting at a table saying “Everything is just fine” as his house burns down around him except this song is full of pent up rage and frustration around being an adult in the world having just left home and Bonham is making a call home to let her mother know what is happening and then in the chorus Bonham let’s rip with the chorus ending with her screaming “EVERYTHING’S FINE!”


This song is a perfect frustration venter and I do like The Veronicas cover of this song as well but Tracy Bonham for a short moment in 1996 produced a hit that connected for me and deserves to be on this list.


So this is the first of two country songs on this list and when you consider that in 2019, you’d struggle to find a country song being a hit unless it’s apart of a meme or considered to be country rap but in 1996, this woman was starting out her career and boy, she dropped a beauty…


6. “(If You’re Not In It for Love) I’m Outta Here” by Shania Twain


This song snuck up on me, I didn’t really love it at first and that remix didn’t help things however Shania Twain’s vocals are what makes this song really work and that incredible guitar chuck in that harmonica and this song is a bunch of fun as Shania is busy telling this guy that she isn’t interested in what he has got unless he loves her and if he doesn’t to get the hell out, Shania isn’t going to be used by ANY man, she’s got the attitude to show it.

I just love how insanely fun the song is and the groove is fantastic. Great song. Am so happy this was a hit.


While we’re on love, we’re hitting up some heartbreak for this next song.



5. Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman


Tracy Chapman was one of the more unique songwriters in the 90s and this song is just perfect with its chilled guitar driven melody as Chapman begs her partner to give her one good reason that she should stay in the relationship with the last line being the real kicker with the reply appearing to come from the partner “Said I told you that I love you and there ain’t no more to say” but the question of whether Chapman stays or not is never directly answered.

I love Chapman’s soulful delivery and the storytelling on display in this song plus that guitar in the middle 8 of the song is awesome!


My worst hit songs of 1996 came down hard on really bad cover songs but there was one cover that knocked it out of the park in 1996, this song is a classic and there was no god damn way I could leave it off this list.


4. “Killing Me Softly (With His Song)” by Fugees

The Fugees take the originally recorded by Lori Lieberman in 1971 and Roberta Flack’s 1973 classic “Killing Me Softly (With His Song)” and made it their own courtesy of Lauryn Hill’s moving lead vocals and a sample of A Tribe Called Quest’s 90s song called “Bonita Applebum” and even then they’d sampled “Memory Band” by 60s group Rotary Connection.

However, while the music works so well, it’s Lauryn Hill that just elevates this song into something special and makes it all the more powerful and reminds of the power of live performance because Lieberman’s original came out after she saw Don McLean perform a song called “Empty Chairs” at the Troubador Club and wrote a poem about it which spawned this song.

This deserved its long run at number one, it’s a classic for good reason.

Now we hit the second of the two country songs on this list and the placing of this one is contentious given I asked Twitter which one was better, and they placed Shania Twain above it but for me, this song hits just that little bit harder and is also a cover…


3. “Blue” by LeAnn Rimes


Leann Rimes was one of the most exciting young talents in country music in 1996 before she’d go on to making tepid pop music later but “Blue” is a shining example of what Rimes was capable of. She was 11 years old when she first recorded “Blue” a song originally released by song writer-country artist and country radio DJ Bill Mack.

“Blue” takes a lonely man’s feelings of heartache and loss, he wonders why his lover doesn’t seem feel sad or lonely over him like he does only to find that his lover had been whispering lies in his ear, it’s a total punch to the stomach and one that Leann Rimes captures so remarkably well at the age of just 13 at the time (really for a 13 year old, she had a quite the incredible voice) and pair her voice with that guitar, it just makes for that perfect country song, it’s actually one of my favourite country songs ever quite honestly.


So yeah the next two songs are songs that getr me emotionally, this first one especially hits close to home.


2. “Nobody Knows by Tony Rich Project

Yeah I am not sure how much I can talk about this song especially as when I hear it, I tear up, “Nobody Knows” is a ballad about lost love and Tony Rich knowing deep down inside that he is missing this girl but can’t bring himself to talk about it with other people in the most immediate days after she’s gone, he is realizing all the things he never got to say to her before she left, the song is just raw and heartbreaking.

I won’t go into why it cuts so deep for me but yeah this held some emotional weight for me and you know what, I feel Tony’s pathos too. Great song and for a while would have topped this list but…

So when I set out to make this list, I was certain that “Nobody Knows” was going to top it until I heard this song and realized it was the right pick for number one for a lot of reasons and that song is…

1. “Change the World’ by Eric Clapton

Yeah, I couldn’t let this song not top and this isn’t the best Eric Clapton song, “Tears in Heaven” would probably top my 1992 best hit songs list if I was doing that but this is so damn good. Originally recorded by country artist Wynonna Judd in the early part of 1996 which is slightly more groove driven than Clapton’s but man, I couldn’t ignore the passionate delivery by Clapton on his version of the song, it genuinely sounds lovestruck in both the instrumentation and the lyrics where Clapton is communicating his feelings to this girl but is scared that the feelings won’t be reciprocated and therefore his love will go unrequited if things in his life don’t change.

It’s yet again another raw honest gut punch of a song that yeah I had to put on top of this list.


So that wraps up 1996, if you want to share your top ten favourite hit songs from 1996, feel free to comment.

To here these songs, I have put together a playlist of all ten to check out





Coming up just an ARIA singles top ten this week, no chart review as most of the chart is just Christmas music, Will have 2019 year end worst and best hits lists whenever ARIA decide to put out the year end chart. This week we turn to the first year of the new millennium...2000 and see what chaos reigned on the charts during that year. See ya soon/

Charting 1996: 22nd December: What is Macarena Christmas doing in the TOP TEN?

So here we are the final chart week of the year before the chart goes into a recess over the Christmas/New Year period ahead of 1997 and for yet another week "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls remains at number one, now this song looks to be losing ground but it's not under any threat from pur returning number two "Where Do You Go?" by No Mercy which is slowly also starting to lose steam especially as it is a close race for number two but it held off "What's Love Got to Do With It" by Warren G feat. Adina Howard which slipped back to number three.

Savage Garden remained steady at number four with "To the Moon and Back", this song is still on track to be a number one hit next year, you watch.

Then we have a surprise at number five, because the "Macarena" won't go the hell away, we have "Macarena Christmas" by Los Del Rio up from thirty seven. Did anyone really want or NEED this in the top ten. Geez.

At number six is Shania Twain's "(If You're Not In it for Love) I'm Outta Here" which is up three places this week. Good. I really like this song and am glad to see it doing well, it helped to push "Breathe" by The Prodigy back two places to number seven (I am surprised it's still in the top ten)

It also had the same effect on "Wishes" by Human Nature which dropped one place to number eight. Again another good song, just a shame it lost ground this week.

Toni Braxton climbs one place to number nine with "Un-Break My Heart", this song looks to be on track to achieving similar success to "You're Makin' Me High";

Finally the big loser is "Don't Stop Movin'' by Livin' Joy which dropped four places to number ten. Good.

Gains
The gains this week outside of "Macarena Christmas" in the top five are mostly new songs set to be hits in 1997 with Whigfield's "Sexy Eyes" up 12 to 38,  "Lemon Tree" by Fool's Garden up to 35 from 47 and Unique II's "Break My Stride" up to 26 from 45 and looks to be the big mover of the week.

The only other big gainer is a case of continued momentum and that came for "Twisted" by Keith Sweat which broke into the top 20 at number 19 this week.

Re-Entries
Two re-entries this week and honestly I am not sure why with the best of them being "You Spin Me Around (Like a Record) ('96 Remix)" by Dead or Alive back at 46 and "Down" by 311 back at 48.

Losers

Former top ten hit "I'll be There For You" by The Remembrandts dropped from 35 to 44 while Tori Amos hit 42 from 34 with "Hey Jupiter/Professional Widow".

However, they weren't the biggest losers this week with "Mama Said" by Metallica dropping hard from 24 to 39. Ouch.

The Symbol (Prince) dropped from 18 to 30 this week with "Betcha by Golly Wow!" while "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis fell eight places to 20.

New Entry

It's a fairly muted week on the new entry side of things with just one new song entering the top 50 with No Doubt's new single "Don't Speak" in at number 50 and considering how big "Just A Girl" was in 1996, I wouldn't be surprised if this song is huge in 1997

That wraps up the final edition of Charting 1996, don't forget you can check out my top ten worst hit songs of 1996 here. My top ten best hit songs are coming soon as is this week's ARIA Chart top ten/review which should be on here sometime today.

As far as retro chart reviews go? I believe I am going to be covering the year of the Sydney Olympics and the turn of the millennium next year so that is going to be fun!.

Charting 1996: 15 December.

It’s the penultimate week of the charting year and it looks like we’re going to end it on a turbulent note at least within our top ten apart from the number one which yet again is “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, it still rules on sales.

It also helps that there’s a complete bunfight going on for number two with “What’s Love Got to Do With It” by Warren G feat. Adina Howard retaking the second spot ahead of “Where Do You Go” by No Mercy at number three.

Now what could overtake the pair of them is “To the Moon and Back” by Savage Garden which climbed two places to number four, this song has momentum on its side, I expect this could be number two soon.

It pushed “Breathe” by The Prodigy back to number five, I’d be surprised if this song really hangs around in the top ten.

Climbing three places to number six is “Don’t Stop Movin’” by Livin’ Joy, I really am not sure what the appeal of this song is but hey it got a boost on the back of some strong sales.

Human Nature rise one place to number seven with “Wishes”, a ballad that has gotten the attention of some people which is  good thing because I like the song and also because it helped push “Sometimes When We Touch” by Newton down three places to number eight.

American country star Shania Twain has her first top ten hit as “(If You’re Not In it for Love) I’m Outta Here” rises from 13 to 9 while Toni Braxton has yet another top ten hit with “Un-Break My Heart” rising 7 places to ten.

Gains

Fugees cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” is up 18 places to 20 while Metallica’s “Mama Said” rose 12 places to 24.

Also continuing to show the fact that it’s going to be BIG in 1997 is Blackstreet with “No Diggity’ feat. Dre up to 39.

Losers

Couple of big losers this week with “Many Rivers to Cross” by Toni Childs hitting 44 from 25. “Mach S” by The Presidents of the United States down to 41 from 35.

“Crazy” by Mark Morrison fell hard to 46 from 37 while “Child” by Mark Owen fell from 24 to 33.

Former chart topper and likely year end number one “Macarena” by Los Del Rio dropped to 32 from 15.

New Entries

The Symbol otherwise known as Prince has landed the highest new entry of the week at number 18 with a cover of The Stylistics “Betcha By Golly Wow”.

Bush’s latest entry on the ARIA singles chart is at number 36 called “Swallowed”. Believe it or not Los Del Rio can’t let us forget “Macarena” because “Macarena Christmas” enters at 37.

We have another cover new this week, it comes from Austrian Eurodance artist Unique II who has arrived on the ARIA singles chart with a cover of Matthew Wilders 80s hit “Break My Stride” at number 45

German band Fool’s Garden are in at number 47 with “Lemon Tree” and finally Danish singer Whigfield is new at 50 with “Sexy Eyes”

The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 1996

So you may have noticed that this year I have been doing a series on my blog called “Charting 1996” which has been a journey through the year 1996 and the ARIA charts of the time. Why 1996? Well 1996 is around the time that I became interested in top 40/pop music as I would watch Rage on ABC back in the days when they did their top 50 countdown and listen to Take 40 Australia with Barry Bissell on the radio.

However It’s time to look back on the year that was 1996 and delve into the songs that SUCKED and I’ll be honest here, the pickings for bad songs were very slim as the music mostly ranged from excellent to being dull (Dull isn’t something to put a song on the worst list for because if dull was a factor, there’d be several songs that’d be contenders.

1996 was a strange year for the charts where the constant turnover meant a song would stay in the top ten for a couple of weeks and then leave. We also had songs that spent weeks on top of the charts…one of those being on this list, we also got a tonne of covers hitting the charts.

So to make this list, the songs had to make ARIA’s year end list for 1996 and keep in mind that this is just my opinion, my views should not stop you from enjoying these songs if you like them…somehow.

Let’s start with a cover that takes the magic of the original and turns it into mush…

10. “Father and Son” by Boyzone

1996 saw several new boybands hit the Australian charts including Backstreet Boys, No Mercy and Human Nature but the new boy group that claimed the spotlight in early 1996 was Boyzone, a group from out of the UK who were very successful over there and had moderate success in Australia beyond 1996 but this cover of Cat Stevens iconic song “Father and Son” is just passionless droning that sucks the passion, comfort and charm that the original version had. It sounds like Boyzone just sang this out of sheer desperation for something to release because it feels so empty and lacking the comforting warmth of the original.

Oh, and they replaced the guitar with piano and strings to make the song sound not just passionless in the vocals but fucking manufactured which is something I am sure Sufjan Stevens was not intending for the song. Ugh, time to move on.

Boyzone weren’t the only British boy band to try and fail at making a cover, here’s proof.

9. “How Deep Is Your Love” by Take That

Take That were another British boyband that rose to prominence in the UK in 1995 and sadly their success continued with this cover of the Bee Gees 70s hit “How Deep is Your Love” in 1996 and oh dear god, it says something that Glee did this song better in the 2010s and I don’t even LIKE Glee all that much, this cover sounds like four drunk guys on a cheap version of the Love Boat all doing really bad karaoke, it is incredible how off key and monotonous they all sound.

Also why do the backing vocals sound louder on the second verse than the actual lead vocals and why does it all sound like I am on some sleepy bad beach holiday for those forever meant to be single?

The original had an energy, warmth and groove that this flat badly produced garbage doesn’t have, its no fucking wonder Robbie Williams left Take That because shit like this gave him very good damn reason to walk his own way.

Taking a break away from bad cover versions to talk about a song that if it hadn’t been released in 1996, I’d have thought Taylor Swift had wrote it.

8. “Who Do U Love” by Deborah Cox

Deborah Cox is a Canadian singer songwriter and actress who somehow combined a sample of Soul II Soul’s music with Cox really trying hard and mostly failing to be the next Whitney Houston all the while having lyrics that are so god damn toxic that they remind me of some of the more horrible Taylor Swift relationship songs (think “I knew You were trouble” and “You Belong With Me”) because “Who Do you Love” is just ugly.

This man has just walked out on Cox and now she’s wondering who he could possibly want or love more than her because it’s a ‘mystery’ why he left her for another woman because after all there’s no other women out there that is good enough for him and how dare he want and love another woman enough to walk out on her. The lyrics here really do paint Deborah Cox in a rather unflattering light, she comes across as narcissistic and obsessive in a way that is creepy.

This song is just a creepy, badly written clusterfuck however if you want to find absolute awful that was ahead of it’s time then we have…

7. “Hey Lover” by LL Cool J feat. Boyz II Men

So LL Cool J and Boyz II Men are acts I actually respect within the realm of 90s hip hop and R’n”B, Boyz II Men made pleasant r’n’b jams that were chill enough to relax too while LL Cool J did bust out some pretty incredible hip hop in the mid-90s which is why it’s such a shame that their collaboration resulted in this garbage.

This song is one of those “Imma steal your girl” songs which makes it ahead of its time considering the proliferation of these sort of songs in the 2010s. Now Boyz II Men frame the song as the man this girl is with is neglects her but honestly the rest is so god damn creepy and the fact LL Cool J says its his mission to take this girl off this other dude is not cool, if she isn’t happy, she’ll break up with him.

The chorus that pretty much just moans “Hey Lover” is freaking gross especially as she isn’t LL Cool J or Boyz II Men’s lover just yet.

Then again when it comes to creepy love songs, there is Bryan Adams…

6. “The Only Thing that Looks Good on Me Is You” by Bryan Adams

At this point, Bryan Adams was at the height of his powers, he’d had a number of huge hits in the early part of the nineties (cue “Everything I do (I do it for you)”) and honestly this song isn’t his worst…we’ll get to that…but the reason this song is here is because of the lazy song writing on display where Adams complains he doesn’t look good in designer wear or anything else except for his partner which is all kinds of questionable by the way. All men scrub up well in a suit as a rule, Bryan!

The production is this flimsy sounding guitar which tries for a rock sound and Adams sounding like he is out of breath the entire time or he horny which would make sense because the song sounds like he wrote it with his penis.

So yeah stepping away from the bad and somewhat creepy love songs, we need to deal with what can be simply described as noise.

5. “Boom Boom Boom” by The Outhere Brothers

.

I was going to give this slot to “One of Us” by Joan Osborne, a song that has gotten worse with time however “Boom Boom Boom” by The Outhere Brothers is excruciating to listen to in between that synth noise that sounds like a bed squeaking and the thumping distorted noise that passes for melody…geezus christ, just stop already.

Then there are the lyrics which alternate from being painfully repetitive even for an alleged dance song to being about orgasms and having sex of which none of it sounds even vaguely romantic but just rather childish eg “Slip my peter into your folder” and even in one line a vague reference to stealing this girl. Gross.

Thank goodness these brothers disappeared back to where they belonged.

I did say Bryan Adams would another appearance on this list…

4. “Let’s Make a Night to Remember” by Bryan Adams

You know Bryan, you didn’t have try to knock off Bruce Springsteen so hard with this song, it’s genuinely weird how much the songs wants to be akin to Springsteen but fails. There’s something that is just inherently sleazy that makes my skin crawl and honestly makes “The Only thing that Looks Good on Me Is You” even worse.

The whole song feels less like Bryan Adams and more like homage to Bruce Springsteen except I am sure Bruce would have rejected the less than romantic and really rather sluggish and drowsy production around a song about having sex and the references to sweat dripping off this girl. Adams also sings the song with all the enthusiasm of discovering that his favourite shirt has been eaten through by fucking fire ants.

At least, Adams didn’t desecrate one of the greatest soul songs ever like this next group did…

3. “Sexual Healing” by Max-A-Million

It should be a crime do soul legend Marvin Gaye a dirty like this, it really fucking should be, the only positive coming from this crappy garbage is that a small town in America was powered by Marvin Gaye spinning in his grave. Max-a-Million tone back the sexual tension that was in the original to turn the song into something Shaggy would have rejected in 1995! The production isn’t anywhere near close to as sexy as it seems to think it is.

Also the rap verses are pretty terrible and lazy, here’s an example: “And I know me love you know I ain't been creepy creeping. When you spread out yuh legs ah me no get yuh lazy. A rubba dubba I'm ya lover I know you feel me baby”

THAT IS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR CLOSE TO SEXY!. If you want real sexual healing in music seek out Marvin Gaye’s original…it’s far better than this crap will ever be.

Although if you are looking for something sexy, don’t ask this next guy…

2. “Sometimes When We Touch” by Newton

So I have made no bones about the fact that I hate the original version of this song that was released in 1976 by Dan Hill mainly because the lyrics switch between being overwhelmingly sappy to Hill being an absolute piece of shit as he refuses to let this girl move on. Dan Hill himself even admitted back in 2010 to a Canadian website that the song is stupid.

So in 1996 along comes Newton, a dance artist, from the UK who decided to put his spin on the song and yeah makes the song worse. Yeah it’s got the pianos at the beginning but then from about the chorus on it goes into full dance mode which doesn’t match the soppy nature of the lyrics at all and also Newton is not an impressive singer at all and that note at the end sounds like he just got scalded by hot water or had a scare.

Either way kill this cover and the original with fire.

So we have reached the top of the list and for awhile I wasn’t sure what my top pick was going to be, in the end I went with the song that has stuck around and become a lingering shit stain on pop culture, we expose our children to this SHIT and the number one goes to…

1   “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remi x)” by Los Del Rios

Bad dance songs in the 2010s have been commonplace but they never really stick around however in 1996, this song stuck around at the top of the charts for nine whole weeks and yet the issues with this song stretch for miles from the strange gurgling bleating goat noises that once you hear you will not get out of your head  to the horrible giggling teenage girl style lyric delivery in the verse by one of the woman who claims her name is Macarena obnoxiously laughs off the fact she has admitted to cheating on her boyfriend.  

At least the chorus is fun and is literally the only thing worth caring about. FUCK this trash. “Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)” The worst hit song of 1996, see ya all later.

Charting 1996: 8th December.Busy week as The Prodigy Breathe into top 5

Boom. We have a really busy week here as 1996 continues to wind down, we're not far from the chart year finishing, there are plenty of changes to the top ten including a new entry in the top 5 and a slew of new entries further down the charts however what wasn't affected by any change was the number one which for yet another week is "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls and look, there's just nothing getting near it right now.

It's closest competition is "Where Do You Go?" by No Mercy which climbed one place to number two but its close for that number two spot as "What's Love Got to Do With it" by Warren G feat. Adina Howard dropped one place to number three.

There's a new entry at number four coming from The Prodigy with "Breathe". A good sales week ensured a strong debut for this song.

"Sometimes When We Touch" by Newton remains at number five (unfortunately) while one of the big climbers this week is Savage Garden's "To the Moon and Back" which jumped ten places to number six, it could be a contender for number one soon.

What won't be contending for number one is "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis as it slipped down three places to number seven.

The second song to reach the top ten this week comes from Human Nature as "Wishes" rises from 11 to 8, it's the band's first top ten hit.

Slipping down two places is "Don't Stop Movin'" by Livin' Joy at number 9 while “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” by Celine Dion wraps up the top ten by remaining at number ten.

Gains

Shania Twain looks set for a stint in the top ten as her single “(If You’re not in it for Love) I’m Outta Here” rocketed up 11 places to number 13.

Dead Or Alive move up ten places with “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) (’96 Remix” at number 28.

Interestingly Puff Johnson’s “Over and Over” rose hard to 29…this kind of rhythm and blues is very radio friendly so keen to see if this continues to have traction going forward.

Tori Amos continues her rise with “Hey Jupiter/Professional Widow” rising to 34 from 43.

Keith Sweat’s “Twisted” rose seven places to 30

Re-Entries

“Macarena” by Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castano is back at 47 for some strange reason.

Losers

A lot of former hits lost ground hard this week with “Lover Lover” by Jimmy Barnes dropping from 25 to 42 and “I Want You” by Savage Garden falling from 30 to 41.

“I’ll be There for You” by The Remembrandts took a plunge from 20 to 33 as this song dies off naturally while Mark Morrison’s follow up “Crazy” isn’t charting the same course as “Return of the Mack” as it plunged from 22 to 37 this week.

“Macarena” by Los Del Rio fell out of the top ten to 15 (Good).

New Entries

So we have a slew of new entries aside from The Prodigy’s “Breathe” which as mentioned earlier debuted at number four.

We must go all the way down to 36 to find the next new entry though which is “Mama Said” by hard rock stars Metallica. British pop outfit Deuce are in at 44 with “On the Bible”

American rock rap band 311 have entered the chart at 45 with “Down”. Honestly it’s pretty awful so I don’t expect it to stick around.

Gina G is finally following up “Ooh Ahh…(Just A Little Bit)” with another high energy dance song reminiscent of Kylie Minogue called “I Belong to You’ which entered the ARIA chart at number 48.

Finally a song that I think might do well well into 1997 is “No Diggity” by Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre which entered at 50. It has potential to be huge.

Charting 1996: 1st December. Big gains for Savage Garden and Toni Braxton

So the year is winding down and we're seeing a real bun fight for spots on the year end list as the songs that will likely be hits in 1997 start rising up the charts however let's start with the top ten wher the Spice Girls spend yet another week at number one with "Wannabe" and there is nothing getting even vaguely close to this song right now.

Not even "What's Love Got to Do With Love It" by Warren G and Adina Howard which defied my prediction last week to stay at number two but that challenge from No Mercy's "Where Do You Go?" which remains at number three but there's definitely a likelihood that this will move to number two.

"I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis remains at number four and looks set to start falling away.

Unfortunately what has finally broken into the top five is the awful cover of Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch" by Newton which climbed one place to number five. Ugh

However it did push the MUCH worse "Macarena" by Los Del Rios down one place to number six, this song is on the way out gracefully and will finish the year as the number one song for the year. (Wait to see my worst list for my views on this song).

"Don't Stop Movin'" by Livin' Joy moved up two places to number seven on the back of a decent week, it pushed back "Lets make a Night to Remember" by Bryan Adams to numer eight.

"I Live for You" by Chynna Phillips is up one place to number nine (I honestly do not understand the appeal of this song), pushing "It's All Coming Back to me Now" by Celine Dion back to number ten.


Gains

Savage Garden have had a huge gain this week with "To the Moon and Back" up to 16 from 38 while Toni Braxton rose ten places to 18 with "Un-Break My Heart"

Rising country star Shania Twain rose from 37 to 24 with "(If You're Not in it for Love) I'm Outta Here"...a song that I actually really like.


Keith Sweat's "Twisted" rose ten places to 37 while Puff Johnson's "Over and Over" leapt nine places to 41. Babybird's "Gorgeous" jumped nine places to 34.

Re-Entries
Garbage's "Milk" is the biggest return this week at 44 while La Bouche's "Fallin' In Love" is back at 45.

Losers

Unfortunately "Change the World" by Eric Clapton slumped from 31 to 50 this week however I think it will make the year end list. Fugees "Ready Or Not" plunged to 46 from 33.

Toni Braxton may have had one of the week's biggest gainers but she also had one of the week's biggest losers with 'You're Makin' Me High" plunging hard to 35 from 13

Several songs dropped ten places this week including Mack Morrison's"Return of the Mack" to 49, New Edition's "Hit Me Off" to 42 and B.B.E's "Seven Days and One Week" to 36

New Entries

Three new entries this week with Amber's euro-dance single "This is Your Night' the biggest debut of the week at number 32.

Former Take That member Mark Owen has released his debut solo single called "Child" and it's debuted at number 33.

In a year that's already been dominated by covers, Fugees new entry at umber 39 is a cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry"

Rounding out the new entries are The Cranberries at number 48 with 'When You're Gone"

Charting 1996: 17th November

So this week was interesting especially in terms of two songs that have made an impact in the topten...just not the top four because for a third week, "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls stays at number one, its just dominant at the moment which is not surprising considering how god damn catchy the song manages to be. 

It's well ahead of it's nearest challenger "What's Love got to do with it" by Warren G feat. Adina Howard at number two, it just can't bridge the margin to "Wannabe" right now, that said it's comfortably ahead of "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis at number three and "Macarena" by Los del Rios at number four.

What looks like being a challenger for number one  is at number five with No Mercy's "Where Do You Go" jumping five places to reach number two, this song is huge right now, folks.

Remaining in their slots from last week are "Sometimes When We touch" by Newton at number six, "Let's Make it a Night to Remember" by Bryan Adams at number seven and "It's All Coming Back to Me now" by Celine Dion at number eight.

Toni Braxton drops four places to number nine with "You're Makin' Me High" and finally Livin' Joy have risen eight places to reach the top ten at number ten with "Don't Stop Movin'"

Gains

Deborah Cox has had one of the biggest gains of the week with "Who Do U Love" up from forty one to twenty four while The Corrs also had a good climb from thirty eight to twenty five.

Michael Jackson's "Stranger in Moscow" is up six places to thirty while Quad City DJs rose from forty two to thirty three with "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)".

Losers

Pearl Jam lost most of their gains this week with "Hail, Hail dropping hard to forty five while George Michael's "The Spinning Wheel EP" dropped to forty six. Eric Clapton's "Change the World" fell to thirty one.

Dead Or Alive's 96 remix of "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" dropped to thirty seven.

New Entries

Just two new entries this week with the highest debut being Toni Braxton's follow up to "You're Makin' Me High" titled "Un-Break My Heart" - a pretty solid ballad that shows off her vocals, it's in at forty one.

Speaking of R & B, Puff Johnson is also back with "Over and Over" at number 50.

A slow week overall, next the ARIA chart for this week in 2019 and it's even more quiet over there except for another record broken by our number one. See ya all soon.

Charting 1996: 10th November

This week saw an epic leap into the top ten and a new Madonna single arrive on the chart along with a slew of other new arrivals but we'll get to all that in second, no mucking around, let's get stuck into the top ten where the Spice Girls remain at number one for a second week with "Wannabe" and honestly, this song looks like being almost as big as the "Macarena" was.

We do have a new number two this week in the form of "What's Love Got to Do With It" by Warren G feat. Adina Howard which blew up three places to number two, I would suggest this song could make a challenge for number one in the weeks ahead.

It's certainly not going to come from "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis down one place to three or from "Macarena" by Los Del Rios which got pushed back to number four or "You're Making Me HIgh" by Toni Braxton back one place to five.

In fact it's arguable that these three songs are under pressure from their continued unfortunate number six for another week, "Sometimes when we touch" by Newtown which stayed steady for another week.

Also on the way up is "Let's Make a Night to remember" by Bryan Adams which rose one place to number seven and "It's All coming back to me Now" by Celine Dion also up one to number eight.

The Remembrandts were the major losers in the reshuffle as "I'll Be There For You" tumbled two places to number nine.

Finally rounding out the top ten is one of the biggest moves of 1996 I think I've seen with No Mercy's debut hit "Where Do You Go" up FORTY places to number ten. Unbelievable.

Gainers

We've already discussed No Mercy's rise but Underworld's "Born Slippy" rose from thirty eight to twenty four this week. This song could well be a hit.

In good news for Aussie boyband Human Nature, the ballad "Wishes" rose from forty one to twenty eight.

Also a big boost for Pearl Jam's "Hail, Hail" which climbed to thirty one from forty six while Michael Jackson's "Stranger in Moscow" climbed from forty eight to reach thirty six

Re-Entries

Speaking of Michael Jackson, his collaboration with 3T "Why" is back yet again this time at number forty nine.

Losers

Metallica's "Hero of the Day" slipped hard this week to number forty four from thirty one, there was also a bad fall for the Fun Lovin' Criminals hit "Scooby Snacks" which went stale having fallen to forty seven from thirty two last week.

However neither matched the twenty place fall suffered by Neneh Cherry's "Woman" which crash landed at forty five or that of the twenty place fall for "Macarena" by Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castano to thirty four.

"Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony dropped ten places to thirty three.

New Entries

The biggest debut of the week comes from Madonna this week, she's arrived at number eleven with "You MMust Love Me" which comes from the soundtrack to her upcoming movie "Evita"

Back on the chart with a new single are The Presidents of the United States of America and they are in at number thirty two with "Mach 5"

Quad City DJs want us to help them "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" up the chart as it debuted at number forty two.

American singer-songwriter Tori Amos has hit the chart with "Professional Widow" at number forty three,

Garbage have landed at number forty eight with their new single "Milk" and finally La Bouche's latest single "Fallin' in Love' jumps in at number fifty.

I'll be surprised if many or any of the new entries stick arund but we'll have to wait and see.

Kulcha's "Do You Like it?" slipped nine places to thirty seven while "That Girl" by Maxi Priest feat. Shaggy slumped nine to 46.

Charting 1996: 3rd November: A NEW NUMBER ONE!!!!

It finally happened, we finally have a change at the very top of the charts and numerous shifts up and down the top 50 this week but straight to the big news after nine long weeks at number one "Macarena" by Los Del Rios has finally been unseated by British all girl pop group..vb .yes, the Spice Girls have taken the number one spot with "Wannabe" and this song looks like it might have some staying power at number one with strong sales. The song is certainly catchy enough to be a long term number one hit.

The strength of our new number one is bad news for our number two for another week "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis which got overtaken by "Wannabe" on sales. I don't see this going to number one however the rise of "Wannabe" and the strength of "I Love You Always Forever" pushed "Macarena" by Los Del Rios back to number three as it lost ground on sales and just couldn't match it with the two songs ahead of it. 

However "Macarena" still had the strength to stay above "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton which couldn't bridge the gap so remained at number four for another week.

The big mover into the top ten is "What's Love Got to Do With It" by Warren G feat. Adina Howard which leapt from thirteen to number five this week. I don't mind this, sure Adina Howard hasn't anything on Tina Turner's vocals but she sings the chorus well.

Unfortunately Newton's "Sometimes When We touch" cover reminds at number six. CAN WE GET RID OF THIS SHIT ALREADY?

The Remembrandts fall two places to number seven with I'll Be There for You" while "Let's Make A Night to Remember" by Bryan Adams and "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion stay at eight and nine respectively.

Finally we have "Lover Lover" by Jimmy Barnes falling three places to number ten.

Gains

So Livin' Joy's "Don't Stop Movin'" jumped big from thirty six to eighteen this week in one of the big moves of the week. Also making gains is Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" as it jumped from 34 to 23 this week.
Belinda Carlisle might also be set for a shift into the top ten next week as "In Too Deep" jumped from 20 to 11



Losses

Jewel's 'Who will Save Your Soul" continued its slide down ten places to forty seven. BoDeans Party of Five theme 'Close.r to Free" slid nine places to 39. Former top ten hit "That Girl" by Maxi Priest feat. Shaggy collapsed ten spots to 37 while "Mother Mother" by Tracy Bonham stumbled twelve places to thirty five.

Also taking a fall was Metallica's "Hero of the Day" which plunged from 16 to 31.

New Entries

We have a slew of new entries this week with the biggest coming from American singer songwriter Tonu Childs whose single "Many Rivers To Cross" became the highest charting new single this week at number 12. Not really a fan of it but I guess good for Toni.


"Dance Into the Light" by Phil Collins has found it's way onto the chart at number 36 to notch another charting hit in Australia for Collins.

Another singer - songwriter but this time Canadian Deborah Cox is in at number 42 with "Who Do U Love".

Most curiously though, there's new boy band from out of the US and they look to be set to notch world wide success, the Backstreet Boys debut single "Get Down (You're The One" for me) enters at number 44.

Pearl Jam are back this time with a single called "Hail, Hail" at number 46 and finally an American/German boy band called No Mercy have their debut single "Where Do You Go?" on the ARIA chart at number 50

Charting 1996; October 27th

It feels like the chart is on the verge of something changing at the very top of the chart because as I look this week, our current number one "MacarTHena" by Los Del Rios is looking vulnerable to challengers for the first time in awhile.

The first of those challengers is :"I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis which held steady at number two thi as it is doing consistently well on sales as is "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls which rose two places to number three, this song has some solid momentum behind it and looks the mostly liely challenger for number one, it pushed back "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton to number three and "I'll Be There for You" by The Remembrandts back to number five.

Then we hit the first of two songs new to the top ten this week and unfortunately the first is Newton's "cover of Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch" which jumped five places to number six because we need something painfully tepid and sappy in the top ten right now.

Jimmy Barnes top ten hit "Lover Lover" dropped one place to number seven and is showing signs that it may well collapse, it's facing a challenge from "Let's Make A Night to Remember" by Bryan Afams which rose two places to number eight.

The second song arriving in the top ten and is the latest hit for Celine Dion, "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" jumped from sixteen to nine this week.

Finally heading out of the top ten is Savage Garden's "I Want You" after dropping from seven to ten.

Gains

A massive gain for Warren G and Adina Howard's "What's Love Got to Do With It" sky rocketing to thirteen from forty eight! WOW.

Alanis Morissette got a nine place gain with "Head over Feet" to fourteen.

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony break into the top twenty up to eighteen from twenty five while B.B.E gained eleven places to twenty one.

Re Entry

Republica return at number forty with "Ready to Go" while 3T's underwhelming collaboration effort "Why" with Michael Jackson is back at forty seven.

Losers

So we have a slew of big losers but let's start with the surprise drop from twelve to twenty three for Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother". Would have thought this would have more staying power.

George Michael's "The Spinning Wheel EP" drops ten places to thirty two while Kulcha's "Do You Like it?" slips to thirty one from twenty four and "Who Will Save Your Soul" by Jewel drops six places to thirty seven.

"Woman" by Neneh Cherry dropped nine to twenty nine.


New Entries

All the new entries this week are in the 40s this week with the highest debut of the week going to Human Nature with their new single from "Telling Everybody" called "Wishes" at number forty three.

The Corrs are looking to follow up the success of previous singles with "Love to Love You" in at forty four.

Underworld's "Born Slippy" enters at number 45 and finally, Michael Jackson's "Stranger in Moscow" is in at number forty nine.

Charting 1996: October 20th.

So this week was interesting to say the least especially as there's turbulence in the air within the top ten, there's signs that the current number one is starting to look shaky so let's talk about that top ten where "Macarena" by Los Del Rios keeps the number one spot for another week but that margin on sales is narrowing and while it may hold on for another week, it maybe close.

This could fall to the advantage of Donna Lewis who moved up two places to number two this week with "I Love You Always Forever", it's making major gains on sales but whether or not it's enough to dislodge "Macarena" from number one remains to be seen but it was enough to dislodge "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton which fell back to number two and "I'll Be There for You" by The Remembrants back to number four.

All of this however ignores that Spice Girls have climbed five places to number five this week with "Wannabe" and I guess of any song in the top five that looks likely to take down "Macarena", it's this slice of in your face Euro dance pop.

A one place gain to number six for Jimmy Barnes "Lover Lover" as it moved past Savage Garden's "I Want You" which fell back to number seven.

The first of two songs arriving in the top ten is at number eight and I actually think this is an excllent song, it's Eric Clapton's "Change The World" which moved up five spots. Nice.

Dropping four places to number nine though is Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castano's version of "Macarena"

Finally rounding out the top ten is the second of the new songs within it that being the rather lame "Let's Make It A Night to Remember" by Bryan Adams which moved up two places.

Gains

New Edition's strange run on the charts continues with "Hit Me off" leaping eleven places to 17.

"That Girl" by Maxi Priest feat. Shaggy has rebounded eight place places to eighteen.

Belinda Carlisle's "In Too Deep" enters the top twenty rising from thirty one to nineteen.

Dead or Alive's remix of "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record" moved up big this week from forty four to twenty nine.

Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" has springboarded from forty one to thirty four off it's return last week.

Losers

So as usual we have got some big losers down the lower end of the chart like "Blue" from LeAnn Rimes hitting forty five and "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" by The Corrs dropping ten places to forty six.

BoDeans "Closer to Free" dropped from seventeen to thirty this week while former number one "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees dropped from twenty nine to thirty seven.

American chart topper "Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thug-N-Harmony took a detour from sixteen to twenty five.

New Entries

An Italian-French trance music act called B.B.E have this week's highest new entry witth "Seven Days and One Week" at number thirty two,

Australian band Spiderbait have their second ARIA charting single with "Buy Me A Pony" in at forty seven.

Finally wrapping up this week is Warren G feat. Adina Howard with
"What's Love Got to Do With It?"  which does indeed sample Tina Turner's 1984 hit "What's Love Got to Do With It?". I actually don't mind it to be honest!

Charting 1996: 13th October: Spice Girls Wannabe in Top Ten

So I cannot help but think the chart is on the verge of some kind of major shift soon although lately it does feel like the chart has stalled especially when you look at our top ten where for yet another week "Macarena" by Los Del Rio remains at number one.

I would say "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton, which is stuck at number two, has a chance at number one but it is losing ground on sales and is coming under threat from "I'll be There for You" by The Remembrandts which went up one place to number three this week and could well go number two next week but it's also got competition from Donna Lewis who rode up two places to number four with "I Love You Always Forever"

All of this pushed back Los Del Mar feat Pedro Castano's version of "Macarena" back two places to number five.

Savage Garden's "I Want You" regained some lost ground moving up one place to number six meanwhile in some good news Jimmy Barnes also got a two place gain for "Lover Lover" to number seven.

Metallica have stabilised at number eight with "Hero of the Day" which is not the case for Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" which collapsed from five to nine.

Finally in one of the biggest moves of the week, "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls moved up from twenty four to break into the top ten at number ten, this song is going to be huge, mark my words. It's a gain that also feels pretty stereotypical of 1996 as a whole.

Gains 

So outside of the Spice Girls landing in the top ten, what else gained big this week? Kulcha's "Do You Like It?" jumped from thirty nine to eighteen while "Head over Feet" by Alanis Morisette climbed to twenty two from thirty five.

Celine Dion looks set for another hit with "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" jumping from twenty nine to twenty one.

"In Too Deep" by Belinda Carlisle climbed ten places to thirty one.

Re-Entries

So the returns come from Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" at number forty one and Fun Loving Criminals song "Scooby Snacks" at forty six.

Losers

Unfortunately "Blue" by LeAnn Rimes slipped hard from twenty one to thirty eight while The Pet Shop Boys suffered an eight place drop with "Se a Vida e (That's the Way Life is)" to thirty four.

"I Love to Love"  by La Bouche collapsed to forty, former chart topper "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees slumped nine places to twenty nine and "Hit Me Off" by New Edition smacked down twelve places to twenty eight.

Finally "That Girl" by Maxi Priest featuring Shaggy hit number twenty.

New Entries

All three new entries are down the lower end of the chart this week with the best of them being Everclear's "Heartspark Dollarsign" entering at number forty three.

Eighties band Dead or Alive are back at forty three with a 1996 remix of "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)"

Finally English alternative rock group Republica have their first ARIA charting song with "Ready to Go" entering at number forty eight

Charting 1996: 6th October

So the top ten had something of a shake up this week or at the very least the arrival of Metallica at number two last triggered some instability within the top ten however it didn't trigger anything at the top where to nobody's suprise "Macarena" by Los Del Rio remains at number one for another week and its under no threat from "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton which moved up to number two dragging "Macarena" by Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castanno up to three, "I'll be There for You" by The Remembrandts up to four and "Return of the Mack" which rebounded two placeys to number five, all of these songs gained ground mostly due to a reason we'll get to shortly.

First week in the top ten for Donna Lewis and her single "I Love You Always Forever" which jumped from thirteen to six this week, it blew past "I Want You" by Savage Garden which slipped one place to number seven as a result/

Now we get to reason for the moves inside the top five...the collapse of Metallica's "Hero of the Day" down from 2 to 8 this week which is not surprising as it followed the typically high debut of their last single.

Jimmy Barnes has earned himself a top ten debut with his latest single and the biggest new arrival this week with "Lover Lover" debuting at number nine.

Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother" continues to cling to it's place in the top ten but it's down one place to number ten and with what's coming below it, I expect this to be out of the top ten sooner rather than later.

Gains

So the big gains came unfortunately for Newton's "Sometimes when we touch" which jumped nine places to number 18 (WHY?!)

K's Choice recovered ground this week to also have a nine place gain with "No An Addict".

Now a gain I am keeping an eye on is from new British all girl pop group the Spice Girls, their debbut single "Wannabe" is up from 31 to 24, this song looks to have some significant momentum behind it and given how catchy this song is, I wouldn't be surprised if this song becomes a hit.

Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is up from 36 to 29.

Mark Morrison's "Crazy"  jumped from 35 to 30 while The Corrs also got a good boost to 31 for "Forgiven, Not Forgotten"

Re-Entries

Two returns this week with the best of them coming from Umboza at number 44 with "Sunshine" while John Farnham is also back at number 50 with "Heart's On Fire"

Losers

Two big falls this week especially for No Doubt's top 5 hit with "Just A Girl" taking a huge hit from 14 to 40 which in a way reflects how quick a lot of hits have fallen off the chart this year. More No Doubt when we reach our new entries.

Jewel's "Who Will Save Your Soul" wasn't spared as it tumbled from 27 to 38.

New Entries

So Jimmy Barnes debuted in the top ten but we have to go all the way to the other end of the chart to find the other new entries with a 3T collaboration with Michael Jackson called "Why?" being the best of the rest at number 46.

Oasis are back with their new single "Roll With It" and it's in at number 47.

I promised some No Doubt and their new single "Spiderwebs" wraps up the week by entering at number 48. 

Charting 1996; 29th September. Star studded new arrivals can't end Macarena's reign

Well, this week seemed same old, same old until Metallica turned up and made this somewhat more interesting but it didn't stop "Macarena" by Los Del Rios from taking another week at number one and right now nothing is challenging it.

Metallica's new single "Hero of the Day" is the highest new entry of the week at number two, just not strong enough sales to challenge for number one.

It kept "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton at number three and pushed push "Macarena" by Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castano back to number four.

The Remembrandts break into the top five up a place to number five this week with "I'll be There for You" while Savage Garden's "I Want You" dropped two places to number six and Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" dropped two places to number seven.

Fomer chart topper "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion stayed where it is at number nine as did "Mother Mother" by Tracy Bonham.

Arriving in the top ten this week is "Change the World" by Eric Clapton which rose one place to number ten.

Gains

Donna Lewis was among the big gains this week with "I Love You Always Forever" jumping from 34 to 13 this week. This song has some serious traction and looks set to reach the top ten as unfortunately does Bryan Adams song "Let's Make A Night to Remember" which jumped ten places to number 16.

Fugees are also on a big climb with "Ready Or not" leaping from 37 to 24 this week,

2Pac's "How Do U Want It" feat. KC and Jojo rose seven places to 33.


Losers

Some big losers across the board this week Puff Johnson running out of puff with "Forever More" sliding from 30 to 46 while R.E.M's "E-Bow The Letter" dropping from 32 to 43

Also taking a sizeable hit is Primitive Radio Gods song "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" which fell to 42 and Midnight Oil's "Underwater" which dropped nine places to 38.

The Corr's suffered a pretty harsh drop with "Forgiven, Not Forgotten" taking a huge nosiedive to 37 from 21. while K's Choice "Not An Addict" slips ten to 32.


New Entries

So there are several big new entries this week not even just Metallica's big debut in the top ten. Mark Morrison is looking to follow up "Return of the Mack" success with "Crazy" entering at number 35.

Celine Dion is eyeing another huge hit with "It's All Comng Back to Me Now" arriving at number 36.


Alanis Morisette is "Head over Feet" new at number 40 while You Am I are greeting "Good Mornin'" at umber 44.

Finally Sheryl Crow is asking "If it Makes You Happy" which enters at number 49.

Charting 1996. 22nd September. The Remembrandts there for you in the top ten

We got a reasonably quiet week, yeah no kidding, this week was a slow one with a small amount of new entries but we've still got plenty of moves including within the top ten so let's start there where Los Del Rios maintains the number one spot for a fourth week. There's just nothing to challenge it right now especially with Los Del Mar's version of "Macarena" feat. Pedro Castano at number two but that looks to be facing a challenge to remain there as sales are slipping.

"You're Making Me High" by Toni Braxton remains at number three this week and looks the most likely challenger for the number two spot, heck it's comfortable over "I Want You" by Savage Garden which remained at number four and "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison which remains at number five.

We have a new arrival into the top ten that being The Remembrandt's Friends theme "I'll Be There For You" which jumped five places to number six, I can see this getting bigger given that show is really taking off.

Maxi Priest feat. Shaggy remained at number seven again with "That Girl" as "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion fell two places to number eight.

Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother" rebounded one place to number nine, it effectively switched with "Just A Girl" by No Doubt which dropped to number ten.

Gains

The biggest gain this week is the unfortunate Newton cover of Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch" which got a rise of 12 places to 33. Seriously, we don't need another remember of that that song.

Girl groups had a good week this week with Eternal rising 11 places to 27 with "Someday" an the Spice Girls breaking the top 40 up from 41 to 36 this week with "Wannabe"

Everything but the Girl clicked into gear in going the right direction up 11 places with "Wrong" to 39 while Donna Lewis also broke into the top 40 with "I Love You Always Forever" up to 34 from 42 last week.

Re-Entry

One re-entry this week coming from Bush with "Comedown" at number 45.



Losses

Most of the big losses come in the lower end of the chart with Belinda Carlisle's "In Too Deep" down ten places to 41 while Umboza's "Sunshine" slipped eleven places to 47.

Gary Barlow's "Forever Love" also suffered a big ten place fall to 38 while Midnight Oil dropped from 22 to 29 with "Underwater"


New Entries

Only three new entries to deal with this week with John Mellencamp landing the highest debut of the week with "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" in at number 25.

Aussie R'n'B act Past to Present bring a cover of Earth, Wind and Fire's "September" to the chart at number 48.

Finally maybe the best of the three new songs is John Farnham's new song "Heart's on Fire" at number 50

Charting 1996: 15th September. Toni Braxton getting high

So not a lot changed this week within the top ten apart from some positional changes, as for the rest of the chart, we got our usual slew of new arrivals but unfortunately for a third week, "Macarena" by Los Del Rios remains at number one, this is pretty much settling itself in for a long stint at the top of the charts which is not good news.

I don't see "Macarena" by Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castano which stayed at number two but it looks a safe number two for now especially as it's unlikely to knock the Los Del Rios version of "Macarena" off top spot.

Toni Braxton moves up three places to number three with "You're Makin' Me High" after a good sales week while Savage Garden remained steady at number four with "I Want You" 

The same cannot be said of "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison which slipped two places to number 5 or for "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion which slipped one place to number six.

"That Girl" by Maxi Priest feat; Shaggy remains stuck at number seven while former chart topper "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees also remains where it is at number eight.

"Just A Girl" by No Doubt swapped places with Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother" with "Just a Girl" up to number nine and "Mother Mother" down to number 10.

Gains

New Edition's 'Hit Me Off" has risen from 37 to 23 this week and is one of the big gainers this week along with Belinda Carlisle's "In too Deep" which has rocketed to 31 from 49 while Jewel's "Who will Save Your Soul" climbed to 33 from 46 last week.

Kulcha also gained big with people showing they do like "Do You Like It?" as it climbed to 35. 

Losers

Some massive losers mostly down around the lower end of the chart especially for Everything But the Girl which slipped 14 places to 50 with 'Wrong" which seems awfully wrong to me as that song isn't bad.

Powderfinger dropped eight spots to 48 with "D.A.F" while a song that should make the year end list "Ooh Ahh...Just A little Bit" by Gina G dropped from 33 to 47 this week.

Also falling hard are Pearl Jam's "Who You Are" to 46 and Robbie Williams "Freedom" to 46. The Corrs "Runaway" dropped eight places to 40

New Entries

Let's crash through these new entries and we start at number 30 with the biggest new entry of the week coming from crooner Bryan Adams with "Lets Make a Night to Remember".

The Fugees have hit the charts with their follow up single " Ready or Not" debuting at number 34. 

It's then to number 37 where we find Crowded House with their new single "Not the Girl You Think You Are", it's set to be be on the band's greatest hits album called "Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House"

Eternal are back with "Someday" at number 38.

Welsh singer songwriter Donna Lewis has her first chart entry in Australia with "I Love You Always Forever" in at 42.

UK dance singer Newton has recorded a cover of Dan Hill's hit "Sometimes When We touch" ( a song I do not like AT ALL for the record in the first place) and it's in at number 45 to wrap up the week. 

Charting 1996; 8th September. Macarena one two punch

So this week saw some changes with momentum starting to stall for a few songs making a run at the top ten but let's deal with said top ten because for a second week it's "Macarena" by Los Del Rios at number one and that doesn't look like changing right now however right behind it at number two is "Macarena" by Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castano which rose three places to reach the bridesmaids slot. Seriously, isn't one version of "Macarena" at the very top of the charts enough, Australia?

Ugh, anyway it was enough to push Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" back to number three. I'd be surprised now if this song did get to number one as its sales started to fall off.

In exciting news, "I Want You" by Brisbane pop act Savage Garden rose two places to break into the top 5 at number four pushing former number one "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion back to number 5,

Toni Braxton is  the biggest gainer inside the top ten with "You're Makin' Me High" up four places to number six, it's not a bad song to be honest, check it out.

"That Girl" by Maxi Priest feat. Shaggy remains at number seven this week as Fugees former chart topper "Killing Me Softly" drops four places to number eight.

"Mother Mother" by Tracy Bonham stays steady at number nine while No Doubt fall two places to round out the top ten at number ten with "Just A Girl"

Gainers

Two songs breaking into the top twenty this week with the first of those being The Remembbrandts jumping from 25 to 16 and Eric Clapton's excellent "Change the World" jumping six places to 18..

The biggest gain this week came from Primitive Radio Gods with their ridiculously titled song "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth with Money in my hand" jumping ten places to 35 while "Crazy '96" by Daisy Dee jumped from 46 to 38.

Losers

Not much in the way of massive losers here either with Pearl Jam's "Who You Are" dropping from 22 to 30 and "Freedom" by Robbie Williams tumbling from 21 to 28.

New Entries

The biggest new entry of the week belongs to R.E.M with their new single "E-Bow The Letter" debuting at 23.

Everything But the Girl return at number 36 with their new single "Wrong" while American R 'n' boy band New Edition hit the chart with "Hit Me Off" at number 37.

Nada Surf are in at number 43 with "Popular"

The Brits have a brand new all female pop group known as the Spice Girls and they have arrived on the Australian charts with their debut single "Wannabe" at number 45. It's certainly catchy enough to be be huge.

American folk singer songwriter Jewel debuts "Who Will Save Your Soul" at number 46 while Fun Lovin' Criminals" are bringing "Scooby Snacks" to the chart at number 47.

Finally Aussie band Kulcha's new single "Do You LIke It?" in at 48.

Look, it's probably going to be "Macarena" at number one again next as disheartening as it is but we'll see.

Charting 1996: 1st September. AAAYYY MACARENA!

It finally happened, the writing has been on the wall for the past few weeks with the undeniable momentum of "Macarena" by Los Del Rio that it would go number one which it did this week leaping four places to number 1, it was a case of timing and with the dance craze to boot, I don't see how this annoying craze is going to get booted off the top spot any time soon.

It muscled its way past "Return of the Mack" by Mark Morrison which remain steady at number two this week but ahead of last week's chart topper "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion which fell two places to number three and I don't see it going back there given slowing sales.

Same csn be said for "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees which dropped one place to number four.

One of the biggest gainers of the week is the Los Del Mar feat Pedro Castano version of "Macarena" which leapt from 13 to 5 this week. (We do not need two versions of the same annoying song in the top five, Australia).

"I Want You" by Savage Garden and "That Girl" by Maxi Priest feat Shaggy remained stagnant at six and seven respectively.

No Doubt's "Just a Girl" tumbled four places to number eight triggered by the big rise of Los Del Mar's version of "Macarena". Same could be said for the one place fall of "Mother Mother' by Tracy Bonham to number nine.

Finally the second song making it's arrival to the top ten is "You're Making Me High" by Tonni Braxton at number ten.

Gains

Eric Clapton's "Change The World" jumped from 40 to 24 this week which is great because it's a good song, hope it goes higher in the weeks ahead.

It was also a good week for TV theme songs with The Remembrandts "I'll Be There for You" up from 43 to 25 while Bodeans "Closer to Free" went from 20 to 12.

Powderfinger's "D.A.F" rose from 46 to 39 this week. 

Losses.

Gloria Estefan's "Reach" continues it's strange run by dropping from 31 to 47 this week. Seriously. where's the consistency here?

A hit on the way out is "Mission Impossible Theme" by Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen which slipped from 36 to 22 this week. 

"You Learn" by Alanis Morissette unfortunately tumbled from 26 to 37 while Marilyn Manson's "Sweet Dreams" stumbled nine places to 41 as did The Presidents of the United States of America with "Dune Buggy" dropping to 33. 

New Entries

The biggest new entry this week arives at number 19 with George Michael's "The Spinning the wheel" ep. Not expecting this to be as big as "Fastlove" was earlier this year.

Midnight Oil are back on the charts with new single called "Underwater" at number 23, the song comes from their forthcoming album "Breathe"

It's all the way down to 43 where we find Belinda Carlisle's new single "In Too Deep". Hope this does well for her to be quite honest. It's a decent song.

Primitive Radio Gods win the award for the longest song title I have seen in some time while debuting at number 45 with "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" (seriously!)

Bush's follow up to "Glycerine" has charted with "Comedown" arriving at 48 while rockers AC/DC turn up at 49 with "Bailbreaker"

Finally Coolio gets the last of the debuts this week with "It's All the Way Live (Now)" at number 50. 

Charting 1996: 25th August: Macarena and TV themes.

So there's a certain turbulence to the chart this week that suggests a shake up ain't far away and looking at this week's top ten, it seems clear that something is on the way.

Celine Dion remains for a third week at number one with "Because You Loved Me" but I am not certain that it will get a fourth week given its slowing on sales and Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack" is snapping at its heels at number two but whether its a contender for number one is uncertain.

What isn't a contender is "Killing Me Softly" by Fugees which got dumped back to number three but its still got strength enough to stay in the top 5 although in 1996...who can tell?

No Doubt stays at number four  with "Just A Girl", I can see this falling away.

But the song with the biggest momentum and is presenting itself as a threat to the number one spot is Los Del Rios with "Macarena" which climbed seven places to number five this week and unfortunately, while being very catchy, is set to get annoying very quickly.

Savage Garden continue to be the lone Australian act in the top ten with "I Want You" remaining at number six.

Maxi Priest gets a two place jump for "That Girl" feat. Shaggy to number seven. Potential for this song to go top five.

"Mother Mother" by Tracy Bonham drops three places to number eight. This song has become a bit of a critical love lately.

"I Love to Love"  by La Bouche dropped one place to number nine while Gary Barlows "Forever Love" remains at number ten.

Gains

So moving into the gains and BoDeans 'Party of Five' theme "Closer to Free" which jumped 15 places to number 20. Also a good seven place gain for "Macarena" by Los Del Mar feat. Pedro Castao to number 13.

"I Live for You" by Chynna Phillips breaks into the top 20 with a nine place jump to 19.

Robert Miles might have another hit on his hands with "Fable" up to 29 from 37.

Also a big gain for "How Do U Want It" by 2Pac feat. KC and Jojo up to 33 from 49.

Finally in positive news "Change the World" by Eric Clapton gained ten places to 40, positive in that I really like that song so am happy to see it doing well.

Losses

Let's start a little lower down with "Glycerine" by Bush going sour down to 45 from 32 last week.

Human Nature's "Tellin' Everybody" has slumped from 31 to 41 while Everclear's "Santa Monica (Watch The World Die)" dropped thirteen places to 38 this week.

Gloria Estefan has had to "Reach" down this week as "Reach" hit 31 from 23 this week and finally "Theme from Mission Impossible" by Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen fell from 14 to 22.

New Entries

The biggest new entry of the week comes from the Pet Shop Boys with "Se a vida e (That's the eay Life is)" debuting at number 12.

Another TV theme new this week comes from The Rembrandts and their song "I'll Be There for You" from the US TV sitcom "Friends" arrives at 43

Thankfully Powderfinger are back on the charts with "DAF" at 46 and finally a Dutch singer who goes by the stage name Daisy Dee is in at number 50 with "Crazy '96"...honestly the sooner that is gone the better.

That wraps up the week. Can "Macarena" leap to nnumber one? That question and more will be answered next week

Charting 1996: 18th August: Savage Garden disrupts the top ten

So it was another busy week if you look beyond the top four which remain the same this week although it does feel like the chart is on the verge of a major shake up but anyway "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion remains at number one for a second week and at the moment, it seems a lock for number one.
"Killing Me Softly" by Fugees is steady at number two as is "Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison at number three" and "Just A Girl" by No Doubt at number four. Nothing much to say about those songs.

However Tracy Bonham's "Mother Mother" which jumped up three places to number 5, this song seems to have plenty of critical acclaim and traction right now so it will be interesting to see if it can make further inroads.

Savage Garden's "I Want You" rises 5 places to number 6 this week and is one of two songs into the top ten this week.

Pearl Jam's "Who You Are" slipped two places to number seven. I don't expect this song to stay in the top ten much longer.

La Bouche gain two places with "I Love to Love" at number eight while Maxi Priest's "That Girl" with Shaggy is the second song to arrive in the top ten rising four places to number 9.

Finally "Forever Love" by Gary Barlow dropped three places to round out the top ten at number ten.

Gains

The biggest gain of the week comes from Los Del Rios and their Spanish song "Macarena" which jumped from 36 to 12. Expect to see this in the top ten next week.

Also having a huge rise is the version of the "Macarena" by Los Del Mat feat Pedro Castano which rose from 35 to 20 this week!

Huge gains also from Gloria Estefan's "Reach which went from 37 to 23 and "Not An Addict" by K's Choice from 34 to 26.

"Dune Buggy" by The Presidents of the United States of America broke into the top 20 jumping 5 places to 16

Re-Entries

Just one re-entry with You Am I's "Soldiers" back at number 42.

Losses

We have a healthy batch of losers this week mostly songs that were in the top ten in the past like "Sexual Healing" by Max-A-Million down to 45 from 30, "1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New)" by Coolio which slipped from 28 to 43, "Children" by Robert Miles slumped from 22 to 40 and "X-Files Theme (Version Dance)" by Triple X which dropped from 34 to 18.


New Entries

Neneh Cherry has the biggest new entry of the week with "Woman" arriving at nnumber 22.

American rock band BoDeans 'Party of Five' Theme "Closer to Free" is the second of the new entries at number 35.

Puff Johnson makes her debut on the AIA singles chart at number 36 with "Forever More".

UK house duo Umboza have arrived at number 41 with "Sunshine".

2pac has teamed up with KC and Jojo for "How Do U Want It' arriving at number 39 while finally Eric Clapton is back on the chart with "Change the World" at number 50