Main Pop Girl

I can't speak for everyone, but for me personally 2007 has always gone down in history as one of my favourite years ever in pop music. It may have something to do with the fact that I was verging on teenagehood at the time and just beginning to understand the significance of music in my life, but I'd argue that the year was also a good one overall, evidenced by the ongoing popularity of artists debuting or reinventing in 2007 like Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Kanye West. One of the most interesting things about music in 2007 looking back is just how varied it was. On the one hand, there was tail end of the power pop trend of the early 2000s which allowed artists like Avril Lavigne, P!nk and Kelly Clarkson to dominate the charts; but on the other, Timbaland was revolutionising the game with his unique brand of R&B, bringing companions Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado along for the ride. The year also includes some of the catchiest (and oftentimes most annoying) songs in living memory, including Sean Kingston's 'Beautiful Girls', MIMS' 'This Is Why I'm Hot' and Soulja Boy Tell'em's 'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' all sticking in our heads long after they left the charts. Take a trip down memory lane by checking out the songs and their peak positions below, and don't forget to let us know your favourite track from 2007 in the comments section! The Fray - How to Save a Life Released: 26 March, 2006 Peak: #3 Hinder - Lips of an Angel Released: 24 July, 2006 Peak: #3 Akon - Smack That (Feat. Eminem) Released: 26 September, 2006 Peak: #2 Amy Winehouse - Rehab Released: 23 October, 2006 Peak: #9 Beyoncé - Irreplaceable Released: 23 October, 2006 Peak: #1 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right Released: 31 October, 2006 Peak: #1 Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (Feat. Akon) Released: 19 December, 2006 Peak: #2 Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around... Comes Around Released: 19 December, 2006 Peak: #1 Fergie - Glamorous (Feat. Ludacris) Released: 23 January, 2007 Peak: #1 Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot Released: 23 January, 2007 Peak: #1 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend Released: 27 February, 2007 Peak: #1 Rihanna - Umbrella (Feat. Jay-Z) Released: 29 March, 2007 Peak: #1 Linkin Park - What I've Done Released: 2 April, 2007 Peak: #7 Kelly Clarkson - Never Again Released: 24 April, 2007 Peak: #8 Soulja Boy Tell'em - Crank That (Soulja Boy) Released: 2 May, 2007 Peak: #1 Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah Released: 9 May, 2006 Peak: #1 P!nk - Who Knew Released: 18 May, 2006 Peak: #9 Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls Released: 26 May, 2007 Peak: #1 Lil Mama - Lip Gloss Released: 19 June, 2007 Peak: #10 Timbaland - The Way I Are (Feat. D.O.E. & Keri Hilson) Released: 9 July, 2007 Peak: #3 High School Musical Cast - What Time Is It? Released: 17 July, 2007 Peak: #6 Kanye West - Stronger Released: 31 July, 2007 Peak: #1 Jordin Sparks - Tattoo Released: 27 August, 2007 Peak: #8 Alicia Keys - No One Released: 11 September, 2007 Peak: #1 Timbaland - Apologize (Feat. OneRepublic) Released: 17 September, 2007 Peak: #2 Britney Spears - Gimme More Released: 20 September, 2007 Peak: #3 Flo Rida - Low (Feat. T-Pain) Released: 9 October, 2007 Peak: #1 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love Released: 19 October, 2007 Peak: #1

Well, did anyone expect anything different? Episode two of Drag Race's latest season just finished airing in America, but for all the good it did we might as well have just skipped straight to episode three. Despite a fun main challenge in which the queens cheered against each other in teams, a guest spot from everyone's favourite ditzy blonde Friend Lisa Kudrow and some truly sickening runway looks, there was nothing in this episode that surprised or wowed in the way the season premiere did. The premier gag was, of course, that a fourteenth queen would be entering the competition: and as we and Reddit predicted back last week, it turned out to be none other than Miss Cynthia Lee Fontaine, the season eight queen who hung her head in shame when she left in tenth place but who has since turned her trash into treasure with a strong online following. Cynthia is kind of like Drag Race's Sofia Vergara: a total Hispanic stereotype, but one who's completely in on the joke and who's warm and funny personality is just too winning to dislike. That said, if she said "cucu" one more time this episode I think I would have let her fall right off that cheer pyramid. Meanwhile, Valentina continued her streak as the judges favourite by pussystunting her way to the head of the cheer pack and walking the runway in an (admittedly beautiful) wedding gown. Valentina is gorgeous for sure, but there's a certain smugmess in her beret wearing ass that rubs me the wrong way, and I'm surprised that Michelle hasn't read her for showboating like she did Bob last season. As if anyone was surprised, Jaymes was the queen to leave this week, failing to make an impression with her sleepy, ditzy drag persona. Weirdly enough, she was actually the only queen who really made an impression on viewers, even if it was a largely negative one; and the fact that she seemed to have a lot more to give makes me sad to see her go. Overall, it was one of the show's more predictable episodes, and not one that really served any purpose other than to reassert Cynthia's dominance over the competition. The girls noted that Cynthia already has a grasp on how the show works, as well as a large fanbase outside of it, and with the workroom overflowing with more wigs than your local Party City it's hard for any of the lesser-known girls to truly leave their mark. Fingers crossed that as the season continues the claws will come out and the queens will get to show their true personalities. And for god's sake, give us a sewing challenge!