Sir Cliff Richard is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart history, behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
William Robert Young is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest Pop Idol, making him the first winner of the worldwide Idol franchise. His double A-sided debut single "Anything Is Possible" / "Evergreen" was released two weeks after the show's finale and became the fastest-selling debut single in the UK. Young also came in fifth place in World Idol performing the single "Light My Fire" written by the band the Doors.
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer and primary songwriter, with Owen and Williams initially providing backing vocals, and Donald and Orange serving primarily as dancers.
Girls Aloud are a British pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. In 2012, the group was named as the United Kingdom's biggest selling girl group of the 21st century so far, with over 4.3 million singles sales and 4 million albums sold in the UK alone. During their two decades together, the group achieved a string of twenty top ten singles on the UK Singles Chart, including four number ones. They also achieved seven certified albums, two of which debut at number one. They have been nominated for five Brit Awards, winning the 2009 Best Single for "The Promise".
Gary Barlow is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He is the lead singer of the British pop group Take That.
James Masterton is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air as a presenter at the Bradford independent local radio station the Pulse.
"Angels" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was included on Williams's debut solo album, Life thru a Lens (1997), and released as a single on 1 December 1997 by Chrysalis. "Angels" was written by Williams and Guy Chambers, based on an earlier song written by Ray Heffernan.
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-selling singles in the United Kingdom, based upon physical sales, paid-for downloads and streaming. The Official Chart, broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and MTV, is the UK music industry's recognised official measure of singles and albums popularity because it is the most comprehensive research panel of its kind, today surveying over 15,000 retailers and digital services daily, capturing 99.9% of all singles consumed in Britain across the week, and over 98% of albums. To be eligible for the chart, a single is currently defined by the Official Charts Company (OCC) as either a 'single bundle' having no more than four tracks and not lasting longer than 25 minutes or one digital audio track not longer than 15 minutes with a minimum sale price of 40 pence. The rules have changed many times as technology has developed, the most notable being the inclusion of digital downloads in 2005 and streaming in July 2014.
"Love Machine" is a song recorded by British girl group Girls Aloud from their second studio album, What Will the Neighbours Say? (2004). It was released by Polydor Records on 13 September 2004, as the second single from the album. The song was written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, Tim Powell, Nick Coler, Lisa Cowling, Myra Boyle, and Shawn Lee. The instrumentation was inspired by The Smiths, and created by Powell and Coler. "Love Machine" is an uptempo pop rock song with elements of 1980s synthpop. The single was received favourably by contemporary music critics, who deemed it a joyful track that was different from the single releases by other artists at the time. According to research carried out for Nokia in 2006, "Love Machine" is the second "most exhilarating" song ever.
"Run" is a song by Scottish-Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol from their third studio album, Final Straw (2003). It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2004 as the second single from the album. The song was conceived in 2000 by frontman Gary Lightbody after an accident he had during a bender. "Run" is described as a Britpop power ballad and was received with positive reviews by music critics, who compared it with Coldplay's "Yellow".
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved national recognition when she won the third series of the television talent show The X Factor in 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", peaked at number one for four weeks on the UK Singles Chart and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within 30 minutes. In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records.
Cheryl Ann Tweedy is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's Popstars: The Rivals. While still in the group, she began a solo career in April 2009, and between then and 2014, she released four studio albums – 3 Words (2009), Messy Little Raindrops (2010), A Million Lights (2012) and Only Human (2014). Collectively, the albums included ten singles, five of which – "Fight for This Love", "Promise This", "Call My Name", "Crazy Stupid Love" and "I Don't Care" – reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart. Cheryl was the first British female solo artist to have five number-one singles in the UK, and she held the record until Jess Glynne overtook her in 2018.
Adam Richard Wiles, known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut studio album, I Created Disco, was released in June 2007. Its singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls" both reached the top 10 in the UK. In 2009, he released his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and whose lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became his first song to top the UK Singles Chart.
"Change" is a song by English girl group Sugababes from their fifth studio album, Change (2007). It was written by the Sugababes, Niara Scarlett and its producers, the Danish production duo Deekay. The song was released as the album's second international and third overall single on 10 December 2007 with an accompanying B-side titled "I Can't Take It No More". "Change" is a midtempo pop ballad composed of anthemic harmonies, guitars, keys and sweeping effects.
Late of the Pier was an English four-piece dance-punk band from Castle Donington, signed to Parlophone. Their debut album Fantasy Black Channel, produced by Erol Alkan, was released in 2008 by Parlophone.
No Definite Answer is the major-label debut album from British singer-songwriter, Sam Beeton. The album was released on iTunes on 26 September 2008 and was due to be released on CD on 29 September 2008, but was pushed back to January 2009. It was scheduled for release on 9 March 2009. It spawned Beeton's debut single, "What You Look For", which charted at No. 30 on the UK Singles Chart in its first week.
Chasing Lights is the debut album by British-Irish girl group The Saturdays. It was released in the United Kingdom through Fascination Records on 27 October 2008. The album was re-issued on 16 March 2009 to include their cover of Depeche Mode's 1981 song "Just Can't Get Enough".
Wide Awake is the debut album of English pop singer Joe McElderry, winner of the sixth series of British talent competition The X Factor. The album was released digitally on 22 October 2010, with a physical release following on 25 October 2010.
Misha Amber Bryan, known by her stage name Misha B, is a British singer. She rose to notability as a finalist on the eighth series of The X Factor in 2011, where she finished in fourth place. Several sources have noted her powerful vocals.
