The Record of the Year
The Record of the Year was an award voted by the United Kingdom public. For many years it was given in conjunction with television programmes of the same name. The first show ran in the early evening on a December Saturday just before Christmas with the ten finalists represented as either live performances or filmed inserts or dance routines; then the phone lines were declared opened and the second show, an hour or so later, at prime time and also live, went around the TV regions revealing the votes and culminating in the announcement of the winner.
| The Record of the Year | |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First awarded | 1998 |
| Last awarded | 2012 |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | ITV (1998–2005) |
It became one of the highest rated music TV ceremonies in the UK, boosting sales of CDs and then downloads in the crucial fortnight before Christmas every year. For that reason, it was much respected by the industry, labels, publishers and retailers. It was the only music award in the UK to be chosen by the public.
The award began in 1998 and was televised on ITV for eight years before being dropped in 2006 after disagreements over the phone voting element. Since then, it had been an online poll, administered through the Record of the Year website. In 2013, the online poll was axed, signaling the end of the award.
Winners Edit
The most frequent winner was Irish boy band Westlife, with four awards (1999, 2000, 2003 and 2005), two of which were consecutive. The only other artist to win multiple awards was American singer Lady Gaga, with two awards (2009 and 2011).
The 2008 winner, "Rockstar" by Canadian band Nickelback, was the first winner from North America.
The only artist to receive multiple nominations in the same year was American rapper Pitbull, who was nominated as both a lead and featured artist in 2011, although he never won.
| Year | Song | Artist | Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "No Matter What" | Boyzone | Denise Van Outen |
| 1999 | "Flying Without Wings" | Westlife | |
| 2000 | "My Love" | ||
| 2001 | "Don't Stop Movin'" | S Club 7 | Ant & Dec |
| 2002 | "Unchained Melody" | Gareth Gates | |
| 2003 | "Mandy" | Westlife | Cat Deeley |
| 2004 | "Thunderbirds Are Go" | Busted | |
| 2005 | "You Raise Me Up" | Westlife | Vernon Kay |
| 2006 | "Patience" | Take That | — |
| 2007 | "Bleeding Love" | Leona Lewis | |
| 2008 | "Rockstar" | Nickelback | |
| 2009 | "Poker Face" | Lady Gaga | |
| 2010 | "Fireflies" | Owl City | |
| 2011 | "Born This Way" | Lady Gaga | |
| 2012 | "Somebody That I Used to Know" | Gotye feat. Kimbra |
Year by year Edit
1998 Edit
- Presenter: Denise van Outen
The ten finalists were:[1]
1999 Edit
- Presenter: Denise van Outen
The ten finalists were:[2]
2000 Edit
- Presenter: Denise van Outen
The ten finalists were:[3]
| Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|
| "My Love" | Westlife | 1st - 129 points |
| "Rock DJ" | Robbie Williams | 2nd - 121 points |
| "Reach" | S Club 7 | 3rd - 114 points |
| "Life Is a Rollercoaster" | Ronan Keating | 4th - 103 points |
| "Fill Me In" | Craig David | 5th - 84 points |
| "It Feels So Good" | Sonique | 6th - 71 points |
| "Pure Shores" | All Saints | 7th - 60 points |
| "Rise" | Gabrielle | 8th - 34 points |
| "Gotta Tell You" | Samantha Mumba | 9th - 29 points |
| "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" | Spiller feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor | 10th - 25 points |
2001 Edit
- Presenters: Ant & Dec
The ten finalists were:[4]
2002 Edit
- Presenters: Ant & Dec
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Unchained Melody" | Gareth Gates | Todd Duncan cover |
| "A Little Less Conversation" | Elvis vs. JXL | Remix of Elvis's 1968 song |
| "Colourblind" | Darius | |
| "Evergreen" | Will Young | Westlife cover |
| "Hero" | Enrique Iglesias | |
| "If Tomorrow Never Comes" | Ronan Keating | Garth Brooks cover |
| "Just a Little" | Liberty X | |
| "Kiss Kiss" | Holly Valance | Cover of "Şımarık" by Tarkan , based on a previous cover by Stella Soleil |
| "The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)" | Atomic Kitten | Cover of "The Tide Is High" by the Paragons |
| "Whenever, Wherever" | Shakira |
2003 Edit
- Presenter: Cat Deeley
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| "Mandy" | Westlife | Cover of "Brandy" by Scott English |
| "Be Faithful" | Fatman Scoop | |
| "Bring Me to Life" | Evanescence | |
| "Crazy in Love" | Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z (both ) | |
| "If You're Not the One" | Daniel Bedingfield | |
| "Make Luv" | Room 5 feat. Oliver Cheatham | |
| "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" | Rachel Stevens | |
| "Where Is the Love?" | The Black Eyed Peas | |
| "White Flag" | Dido | |
| "Year 3000" | Busted |
2004 Edit
- Presenter: Cat Deeley
The ten finalists were:
| Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|
| "Thunderbirds Are Go" | Busted | 1st – 92pts |
| "5 Colours in Her Hair" | McFly | 2nd – 91pts |
| "Left Outside Alone" | Anastacia | 3rd – 90pts |
| "Leave Right Now" | Will Young | 4th – 88pts |
| "The Closest Thing to Crazy" | Katie Melua | 5th – 79pts |
| "Laura" | Scissor Sisters | |
| "Love Machine" | Girls Aloud | |
| "Real to Me" | Brian McFadden | |
| "These Words" | Natasha Bedingfield | |
| "This Love" | Maroon 5 |
2005 Edit
- Presenter: Vernon Kay
The ten finalists were:[5]
| Song | Artist | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "You Raise Me Up" | Westlife | 1st | Secret Garden cover |
| "All About You" | McFly | 2nd | |
| "My Humps" | The Black Eyed Peas | 3rd | |
| "You're Beautiful" | James Blunt | 4th | |
| "Bad Day" | Daniel Powter | 5th | |
| "Feel Good Inc." | Gorillaz feat. De La Soul | ||
| "If There's Any Justice" | Lemar | ||
| "Nine Million Bicycles" | Katie Melua | ||
| "Since U Been Gone" | Kelly Clarkson | ||
| "What You Waiting For?" | Gwen Stefani |
2006 Edit
The result was:
| Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|
| "Patience" | Take That | 1st 15.5% |
| "Hips Don't Lie" | Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean | 2nd 15.3% |
| "No Tomorrow" | Orson | 3rd 14.9% |
| "Maneater" | Nelly Furtado | 4th 10.8% |
| "Crazy" | Gnarls Barkley | 5th 10.6% |
| "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" | Scissor Sisters | 6th 10.4% |
| "From Paris to Berlin" | Infernal | |
| "I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)" | Sandi Thom | |
| "Smile" | Lily Allen | |
| "SOS" | Rihanna |
2007 Edit
The result was:
| Song | Artist | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Bleeding Love" | Leona Lewis | 1st 24.2% | |
| "Shine" | Take That | 2nd 20.2% | |
| "Grace Kelly" | Mika | 3rd 19.3% | |
| "Hey There Delilah" | Plain White T's | 4th 13.3% | |
| "Umbrella" | Rihanna | 5th 12.8% | |
| "How to Save a Life" | The Fray | 6th 3.6% | |
| "Beautiful Liar" | Beyoncé & Shakira | 7th 3.5% | |
| "The Way I Are" | Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E. (all ) | 8th 1.2% | |
| "Ruby" | Kaiser Chiefs | 9th 1.1% | |
| "500 Miles (I'm Gonna Be)" | The Proclaimers feat. Brian Potter and Andy Pipkin (all ) | 10th 0.8% | Comic Relief rerecording of the Proclaimers' 1988 song |
2008 Edit
The result was:
| Song | Artist | Notes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Rockstar" | Nickelback | 1st 20.3% | |
| "4 Minutes" | Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland (all ) | 2nd 19.8% | |
| "Mercy" | Duffy | 3rd 11.9% | |
| "I Kissed a Girl" | Katy Perry | 4th 10.5% | |
| "American Boy" | Estelle featuring Kanye West | 5th 10.4% | |
| "Viva la Vida" | Coldplay | 6th 10.3% | |
| "Chasing Pavements" | Adele | 7th 4.9% | |
| "Take a Bow" | Rihanna | 8th 4.7% | |
| "Now You're Gone" | Basshunter and DJ Mental Theo's Bazzheadz | Remake of Basshunter's song "Boten Anna" | 9th 3.9% |
| "Hero" | The X Factor finalists | Mariah Carey cover | 10th 3.3% |
2009 Edit
The result was:
| Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|
| "Poker Face" | Lady Gaga | 1st 20.6% |
| "Use Somebody" | Kings of Leon | 2nd 13.9% |
| "Fight for This Love" | Cheryl Cole | 3rd 12.2% |
| "I Gotta Feeling" | The Black Eyed Peas | 4th 11.1% |
| "The Fear" | Lily Allen | 5th 10.6% |
| "Bonkers" | Dizzee Rascal feat. Armand van Helden | 6th 10.5% |
| "In for the Kill" | La Roux | 7th 10.1% |
| "Number 1" | Tinchy Stryder feat. N-Dubz | 8th 4.6% |
| "Broken Strings" | James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado | 9th 3.5% |
| "Sexy Chick" | David Guetta feat. Akon | 10th 2.8% |
2010 Edit
The result was:
| Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|
| "Fireflies" | Owl City | 1st 21.7% |
| "Telephone" | Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé (both ) | 2nd 13.7% |
| "Empire State of Mind (Part II)" | Alicia Keys | 3rd 13.0% |
| "Just The Way You Are (Amazing)" | Bruno Mars | 4th 11.8% |
| "Love the Way You Lie" | Eminem feat. Rihanna | 5th 10.9% |
| "California Gurls" | Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg (both ) | 6th 10.0% |
| "Pass Out" | Tinie Tempah | 7th 9.3% |
| "We No Speak Americano" | Yolanda Be Cool & DCUP (both ) | 8th 6.9% |
| "Airplanes" | B.o.B. feat. Hayley Williams (both ) | 9th 2.3% |
| "OMG" | Usher feat. will.i.am (both ) | 10th 0.4% |
2011 Edit
The result was:
| Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|
| "Born This Way" | Lady Gaga | 1st 38.2% |
| "Someone Like You" | Adele | 2nd 19.8% |
| "The A Team" | Ed Sheeran | 3rd 14.4% |
| "Moves Like Jagger" | Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera (both ) | 4th 9.6% |
| "Price Tag" | Jessie J | 5th 6.4% |
| "Grenade" | Bruno Mars | 6th 3.7% |
| "Party Rock Anthem" | LMFAO | 7th 3.6% |
| "S&M" | Rihanna | 8th 2.3% |
| "On the Floor" | Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull (both ) | 9th 1.9% |
| "Give Me Everything" | Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer (all except Afrojack, who is ) | 10th 0.3% |
2012 Edit
The result was:
| Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|
| "Somebody That I Used To Know" | Gotye feat. Kimbra | 1st 18.5% |
| "Call Me Maybe" | Carly Rae Jepsen | 2nd 17.4% |
| "Gangnam Style" | Psy | |
| "Titanium" | David Guetta feat. Sia | 3rd 10.9% |
| "We Are Young" | fun. feat. Janelle Monáe (both ) | 4th 10.3% |
| "Starships" | Nicki Minaj | 5th 6.5% |
| "Next To Me" | Emeli Sandé | 6th 6.3% |
| "Payphone" | Maroon 5 feat. Wiz Khalifa (both ) | 7th 5.4% |
| "Domino" | Jessie J | 8th 3.9% |
| "Whistle" | Flo Rida | 9th 3.7% |
Criticism and praise Edit
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 and the omission from nominations of rock act The Darkness's track "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. It inspired Simon Cowell to get into television and he attributes the show for his entry into the media. Some may argue this is not entirely a good thing. However, it always gets massive ratings. Indeed, Westlife have often said that their first win for the single "Flying Without Wings" was the most exciting moment in their career. Unsurprisingly, critics eventually began to say that it was just an award to prove Westlife were still around, hence why Heat Magazine dubbed it "Westlife Record of the Year" in 2004. However, a counter-argument is that this, and similar awards based on phone polls, are a true representation of public opinion, a possibly better indication than sales, which calls BBC Radio 1's countdown of the 20 best selling singles of the last calendar year a more accurate indication of the record of the year. Still, the chosen tracks on the televised Record of the Year contest reflect the views of the television programme viewers only, and not necessarily the music-buying public at large, who might not phone in multiple times to vote for their favourite song. In contrast, the Radio 1 end-of-year chart includes all music sales in all formats.
Sponsorship Edit
Below is a list of companies that have sponsored the award since it began:
- 1998–2001: Britannia Music
- 2002–2005: T-Mobile
Theme music Edit
From 1998 to 2004, the theme music was the club track "Disco Cop" by Blue Adonis. In 2005, ITV used a specially recorded track.
References Edit
- ^ "BBC News - Entertainment - Boyzone scoop record of the year". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "BBC News - ENTERTAINMENT - Westlife win song award". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 June 2018.
- ^ "Westlife win Record of the Year". 10 December 2000. Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "S Club 7 win Record of the Year 2001". 9 December 2001. Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Westlife scoop ITV record prize". 10 December 2005. Retrieved 24 June 2018 – via news.bbc.co.uk.