Not much going on here in December, with parts of the lower reaches being taken by the yearly suspects. I'm planning to close 2008 voting (including this one) next weekend, say SUNDAY 11 JANUARY AT 1800 HRS British time, and then hope to have the 2008 results ready in the course of Monday. Vote away!

[Poll #1325434]

Nothing on November's list seems to have grabbed the crowd here; in the lead are Keane ("The Lovers Are Losing") and Craig David ("Insomnia") with 28.6% each. This is a mere 6 votes out of 21. The closest contenders ate T-Pain ft C Brown and Sneaky Sound System, one vote behind. Still, only three voters have voted DON'T LIKE ANY.

BONUS AYIPS FACT: This particular chartstat is rendered a bit unclear & difficult to check due to Featurings etc, but it appears the act with the largest number of sub-40 hits and NO top-40 hits may be Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. They debuted on the charts with "Patio Song" in November 1996, which then dropped out immediately after a week at #41. Up to September 2001 they then charted seven more sub-40 singles, none of which lasted more than one week.

Second place seems to be held by That Petrol Emotion, with seven singles from 1987 to 1991. In third we have Diesel Park West with six and a third (due to a split Christmas EP) from 1989 to 1992, followed by five acts, each with six unsuccessful attempts at breaking the 40 limit: Alfie (2001-2005), dEUS (1995-1999), Frazier Chorus (1989-1991), Love and Money (1986-1991), and Mew (2003-2006; may still climb this list).

Twelve AYIPS-eligible tracks entered the Top 75 in October, peaking anywhere from #41 to #74 inclusive. They range from Proper Teen Stars to people without even their own Wikipedia article – but our concern here is obviously what YOU think. So, what?

[Poll #1301056]

T.I.'s "Whatever You Like" (42.9%) and Sway's "Saturday Night Hustle" (35.7%) are in the September lead; that month suffers from 1) low voter turnout thus far, and 2) an unprecedentedly high DON'T LIKE ANY vote (21.4%, never before into double digits). As always, you can of course go back and vote in forgotten polls, or even change your mind.

Jeff correctly pointed out in last month's comments that I've forgotten to mention two DQs: "Disturbia" and "Tattoo", for which it took 9 and 28(!) weeks respectively from first entry to first fortyness.

BONUS AYIPS FACT: The longest chart run of a single peaking at #75 is... two weeks. This honour is actually shared between two singles: "Calibre Cuts" (which appears to be some kind of mix 12" or something) in May 1980, and "How Soon We Forget" by Colonel Abrams in August 1987. Robert Owens' "I'll Be Your Friend" held this distinction from December 1991 as well, but disqualified about five and a half years later(!), when the single notched up two more weeks, one of them at #25.

After a quiet July, August got us back to over twenty #41-#75 hits on the UK singles charts. These are tabulated below, with youtube links except for where I couldn't find any (Nicki Bliss??). WHATEVER WILL YOU TICK?

[Poll #1259801]

Four of July's 11 tracks are ahead of the 30% mark as of the now, a pretty good proportion actually. Three of them are Ladyhawke's "Paris Is Burning", The Feeling's "Turn It Up", and Goldfrapp's "Caravan Girl". But way ahead in front, and indeed leading the whole thing, is "I Know Ur Girlfriend Hates Me" by Annie (from Bergen), with an impressive 81.8%!

No disqualifications occurred this month.

Apologies for the delay, and for making you wait so long for so little. In July, only 11 new tracks entered the Top 75 without subsequently reaching the Top 40. YouTube links are included, and the question is as always...

[Poll #1249820]

So, few discs this month, and and also no disqs.

From June, only Rihanna currently touches the 50% mark with "Disturbia", with almost twice as many votes as Kat DeLuna and N*E*R*D. The 1004 aggregated results (half of 2008 DYS) will be around at the weekend – in the meantime, you could always follow the ayips tag and vote in any polls you haven't.

June saw 19 top-seventyfive entries that didn't reach the Fab Forty (so far), not counting Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", which also saw 11 weeks in 1971. It's all movie and tv tieins plus sixth singles this month apparently, so not as many proper videos to watch as normal. Still, please have your say as to the worth of these tracks...

[Poll #1223913]

Lil' Mama (55.6%) leads the May poll right in front of Hot Chip (50%), with The Feeling in third (33.3%). DISQUALIFICATION ROUNDUP (because I forgot to do it last month): Flo Rida's "Elevator", FOB's "Beat It", "No Air" obv, Kylie's "In My Arms" and Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop" (all April); Maddy's "Give It 2 Me" and Mariah's "Bye Bye (both May).

Next month, along with the July crop, we'll have the HALFTIME STANDINGS, with cheers and gnashings undoubtedly.

There was a record number of 41-to-75ers in April; hopefully 20 alternatives isn't enough to induce poptimist fatigue. Also, quite a few of these tracks and acts have been listened to and discussed here recently, so go ahead, click the links optional, watch the vids optional and vote and talk away!

[Poll #1183488]

January saw nine lowhitters (peaking at 41-75), and in February there were eight. In March there are nine plus eight equals SEVENTEEN non-smashes from such exotic locations as Jamaica, Sweden, Australia and Coventry. Click the YouTube links, witness the return of N Cave, Supergrass and the ironic OR IS IT? number one cover version, and vote vote vote as your ears see fit.

[Poll #1165087]

February was a weakish bunch, it seems -- Vampire Weekend and J-Lo were the ones standing out from the pack. Disqualified: Gnarls Barkley's "Run" for subsequently reaching #32. If you haven't voted in that poll and/or the January one, just follow the tag!

[Poll #1131408]