BetterForgotten

When Billboard moved towards a radio airplay dominant formula in the early 00’s that caused a lot of controversy - record companies were actively paying radio stations to play songs from certain artists or “payola.” What was “popular” was no longer in the hands of the general public. At least with the physical single formula people were actually buying those singles - even if some shady record companies were actively discounting singles to give them an unfair advantage. There was that small period of time around 1999/2000 where they had a 50/50 formula between radio airplay and physical single sales - probably the most ‘fair’ the Hot 100 ever was. In most other countries, like the UK, the singles charts are based primarily on sales of a song, but streaming is actively becoming part of the mix.

Didn't Crystal and Ed have another kid (a daughter) too, in addiction to Crystal's older son Lonnie? And have they acknowledged that Jackie has a son out there yet?

To think, a year ago Sharon was slut-shaming Kat, Stacey, and Mel...

Background characters that only appear with little value to add.

I think the biggest shame is that episode represented what Denise and Kat have become - day players. The balance on this show is awful. Jessie Wallace and Diane Parish deserve so much better, and it's shocking that Oates/Sen haven't utilized them better. I guess I expect Denise to receive that type of treatment by now, but Kat/Jessie is one of their most popular/recognizable actresses/characters, and she might as well go if Oates/Sen only see her as a day player. It might be for the best anyway, given the material most other have...

Over the UK, top albums of the decade were: POS TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR 1 21 ADELE 1 2011 2 25 ADELE 1 2015 3 X ED SHEERAN 1 2014 4 DIVIDE ED SHEERAN 1 2017 5 CHRISTMAS MICHAEL BUBLE 1 2011 6 IN THE LONELY HOUR SAM SMITH 1 2014 7 + ED SHEERAN 1 2011 8 OUR VERSION OF EVENTS EMELI SANDE 1 2012 9 PROGRESS TAKE THAT 1 2010 10 THE GREATEST SHOWMAN MOTION PICTURE CAST RECORDING 1 2018 11 LOUD RIHANNA 1 2010 12 CRAZY LOVE MICHAEL BUBLE 1 2009 13 19 ADELE 1 2008 14 DOO-WOPS & HOOLIGANS BRUNO MARS 1 2010 15 THE FAME LADY GAGA 1 2009 The top singles of the decade were: POS TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR 1 SHAPE OF YOU ED SHEERAN 1 2017 2 UPTOWN FUNK MARK RONSON FT BRUNO MARS 1 2014 3 THINKING OUT LOUD ED SHEERAN 1 2014 4 DESPACITO (REMIX) LUIS FONSI/DADDY YANKEE/BIEBER 1 2017 5 PERFECT ED SHEERAN 1 2017 6 ONE DANCE DRAKE FT WIZKID & KYLA 1 2016 7 HAPPY PHARRELL WILLIAMS 1 2013 8 ALL OF ME JOHN LEGEND 2 2014 9 SORRY JUSTIN BIEBER 1 2015 10 RATHER BE CLEAN BANDIT FT JESS GLYNNE 1 2014 11 CASTLE ON THE HILL ED SHEERAN 2 2017 12 MR BRIGHTSIDE KILLERS 10 2004 13 WAKE ME UP AVICII 1 2013 14 LOVE YOURSELF JUSTIN BIEBER 1 2015 15 SHOTGUN GEORGE EZRA 1 2018

To be honest, I don't know if the fact she can only score a hit these days with a classic holiday song is something she should be proud about or want her lasting legacy to be. No one's been checking for new material from her for at least a decade, and she's never been a successful touring artist like Beyonce and Madonna. But hey, at least she's guaranteed revenue each year with this song, so she can laugh all the way to the bank with it. The funny thing is her former writing partner, Walter Afanasieff, who co-wrote/co-produced this song and most of Mariah's 90's hits continues to dispute many of Mariah's stories about the writing and development of this song.

Really happy that Michael Park was able to transcend being a "veteran soap star" and find great success on Broadway, and continues to be a consistent presence on streaming and TV shows. He posted this recap on Instagram of the past decade for him. Kudos to him for continuing to find work and diversifying his portfolio.

Corrie lost a lot of its identity by the late 90’s. I guess you can look back and say Julie Goodyear’s exit as Bet in 1995 was the end of classic Corrie as we knew it. The show floundered throughout 1996, which led to a massive overhaul in 1997. The show became more sensationalistic and less about the vivid characters and community that had defined the show before then. That shift just continued on. They had some great years in the early/mid 00’s, but that classic Corrie sensibility was hard to find by the mid 00’s. But, it’s heaven to revisit just about any episode from the 60’s through mid-90’s. Corrie just had these vividly drawn characters that you couldn’t find anywhere else. Even if the plots weren’t always the most exciting, the characters were often exceptional and you couldn’t stop watching or caring about the ones you found most endearing.

To me the show is completely hallow and very plot driven - specialties of Kate Oates. EastEnders has been bad for so long that this may seem like an artificial improvement, but something just isn’t clicking for me and ratings continue to be in the gutter. The funny thing is, as awful and soul-less as Oates’s Corrie got, I don’t think it was ever this incoherent and messy.

Kym Marsh looks back on almost 14 years of contributing absolutely nothing to this show as Michelle:

Julie’s This Is Your Life episode from 1980 was also recently posted in its entirety. For years Julie has told the story of Pat Phoenix giving her encouragement and advising her to pursue training in rep theatre to hone her skills when her initial contract with Corrie wasn’t picked up. It’s nice to see Pat tell that story herself in this.

The 'Coronation Street at Christmas' special aired last night. This person uploaded it in 12 parts, here's the first and last part. Nice to see Julie Goodyear wishing everyone a Wonderful Corrie Christmas at the end...

Vanessa Marcil's personal life has always been a mess.

Slightly off topic - It would be great if Meryl could get her sister-in-law a minor role in one of her films. I've always thought Maeve could have been a classic movie star if she moved in that direction.

She's pretty much a Christmas artist at this point, so might as well (no one has been checking for new un-holiday music from her). I also think Billboard really needs to examine these chart rules - these Christmas songs will completely fall off in 2 weeks time.

The bigger question - how did spending time in Europe make Iris turn Australian?

Tiffany Haddish will just be playing a damn variation of herself, like always.

Yes, the beginnings of the Who Shot Roger stuff was her last hurrah.

AKA An insider's look at white privilege at it's most elevated level!