Nice to see Mel B return to the UK charts with a song closer to her Spice Girls roots. Feels So Good, more pop than r&b, is the opposite mood of the previous release from solo album Hot, the acidic Tell Me. With all present and former Spicies having released solo projects and no plans to promote any further singles from group-project Forever it's strange that the girls still insist the band has not split. Incidently Mel B admitted in a recent interview that she has made it up with Geri... pity that didn't happen while they were making Forever, it could have done with a bit of Ginger's end-of-pier humour... While her pop career might not be as hot as it once was, Mel B recently did a fine job of hosting British TV talent show This Is My Moment.

Backstreet Boys

Drowning by the Backstreet Boys is the only new track on their Hits-Chapter One album. Kevin Richardson, Nicholas Carter, Brian Littrell, Alexander McLean and Howie Dorough, all US lads from the states of New York, Kentucky and Miami had their first big break in Germany before conquering the rest of Europe. Success in the States didn't occur until Everybody became a major hit in June 1998. A compilation of their European releases then became the biggest US album of 1998.

Badly Drawn Boy

Baha Men

The Baha Men are dismissed as a novelty act and while there's no doubt that Who Let The Dogs Out is a comic record the group have been making more serious work for many years. Group founder Isiah Taylor began experimenting with blending the festival sounds of Junkanoo with the pop industry bass, drums and guitar in the late 70s. In the 90s the Baha Men have had many international platinum albums especially in Japan where they have become a well-loved live act. The addition of a new generation of lead singers has lead to a breakthrough in the american and european markets...

Bardot

Manufactured for TV girl group Bardot were chosen from thousands of hopefuls in the original series of Popstars, and are now a foursome with the recent departure of the maverick Katie Underwood. The remaining group are Tiffany, Sally, Sophie and Belinda. Their debut single and album Poison was no 1 in Australia in 2000.

Basement Jaxx

Basement Jaxx most inventive release of 2001 was Where's Your Head At. Vocals are provided by Damien Peachy and the track is promoted via what must be one of the most entertaining videos of the year in which mad scientists experiment on monkeys to produce the latest thing in pop music. The duo behind the group are Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Burton. Their debut album Remedy in 1997 produced two Top 10s in Red Alert and Rendez-Vu. The current album Rooty also features the hit track Romeo.

BBMak

A British success in the states has been BBMak. The boys spent a year across the pond in the US, recording some tracks as well as touring with Britney Spears. Their name comes from the group's surnames - Christian Burns, Mark Berry and Ste McNally - and all three have a hand in writing their own material. Incidently Ste, who comes from the North of England as do the others, is an excellent piper and accompanied Rod Stewart on the bagpipes at Wembley...

Victoria Beckham

The press may squeal that the debut of Not Such An Innocent Girl by Victoria Beckham was a bit of a failure, but even the former Ms Posh Spice was admitting that the song was no major challenge in such a strong chart week. The video is extremely well-made and features two Victorias, one dark one light, representing conflicting sides of the singer's nature. The last of the Spice Girls to release a solo-album, Victoria remains the member most in the public spotlight, thanks to her marriage to England footballer David Beckham.

Daniel Bedingfield

Daniel Bedingfield is a 21-year-old from South London who is alleged to have been the focus of a bidding war between record companies earlier in 2001 who were all desperate to release his debut garage track after its success in the clubs. Gotta Get Thru This was recorded in Daniel's bedroom using basic equipment which proves that talent, rather than expensive marketing, can still do well in the charts. He's currently working on songs for his first album.

Bell and Spurling

Sven Sven Sven by Bell and Spurling is a comedy football song, the lyrics praising the haircuts of England players as well as Swedish-born manager Sven Goran Eriksson. Martin Bell and Johnny Spurling are established song-writers and session musicians and have worked with Go West, Tony Hadley and Rick Astley amongst others. They perform at many celebrity parties including footballers. They are also currently working on a comedy show for television.

Beyoncé

Big Tymers

Black Legend

A number that had been doing a storm in UK clubs during early summer 2000 was You See The Trouble With Me by Black Legend. Created by Italian Djs Ciro Sassi and Enrico Ferrari, the original cut of the track featured a live recording of the man who had a hit with the song first time around in 1976, Barry White. However negotiations with the soul legend broke down over a British release and so the vocals were re-recorded with White impersonator Elroy "Spoonface" Powell...

Richard Blackwood

The most popular man on British MTV, Richard Blackwood, had a debut hit in 2000 with Mama - Who Da Man?. A combination of Blackwood's catch phrase Who Da Man? and his uncle Junior's hit of April 1982, Mama Used To Say, the track is a Will Smith style rap. The video shows Blackwood surrounded by a posse of beauties further enhancing his reputation as a ladies' man. But as ever there's a bit of wit and self-mockery too. Let's just hope success doesn't go to his head (not!...)

Mary J Blige

Family Affair by Mary J Blige comes from her latest album No More Drama on which she works with a variety of producers and writers. Born in the Bronx in January 1971, Mary was signed to Uptown Records by Sean "Puffy" Combs and sold over two million copies of her debut album. Over the years she has collaborated with many major artists, the most recent being the dramatic ballad 911 with Wyclef Jean.

Blink 182

With a video that sends up everyone from the Backstreet Boys to Britney Spears, the wild rock band Blink 182 made a surprising hit in the UK with All The Small Things. Well-known for taking their clothes off, the band are almost the opposite of the boyband movement, accentuating their ugly tattooed pierced sides rather than simpering sweetly for the cameras. They also believe in keeping their musical integrity and offending fans of other acts rather than being popular. Looks like the honesty has paid off... and all the girls love them...

The Bloodhound Gang

Hated by critics The Bloodhound Gang first hit with their Discovery Channel song around Europe before becoming one of the biggest hits of 2000 in the UK. The US gang were a bit surprised by this, mistakenly thinking the British market too sophisticated for The Bad Touch. The video, which showed the guys in monkey suits capturing chefs, gay men, girls in black skirts and a vertically challenged mime artist on the streets of Paris, was criticised for being anti-gay...

Blue

The latest boyband on the block, Blue are Duncan James, Anthony Costa, Lee Ryan and Simon Webbe, all from London. Their third single was a massive UK hit as was their cover of the Next song Too Close. Their debut single All Rise was also a hit in Australia and New Zealand. That video featured the boys sitting in a row of chairs, or standing waving their arms which suggested they were more singers than dancers, but nevertheless the track has a punchy vibe which lifts it above the mainstream boyband fodder...

Blur

A new track released for the Best of Blur album Music Is My Radar was difficult to work out the lyrics for and comes with a video which features dancers in bike-helmets performing in a TV-studio while the band watch from a interview pit. All very confusing. The album features the majority of Blur's single releases, including 1990's debut She's So High, the number ones Beetlebum and Country House and the anthems Girls and Boys and Song 2.

Bob The Builder

The diminutive star of the animated series that bears his name outsold not just Westlife but every other song in 2000 staying at the top with the rocky Can We Fix It. Bob the Builder is voiced in the TV series and sung on record by Men Behaving Badly and Boon actor Neil Morrissey. Bob has recently extended the success of his debut hit by climbing to no 1 in Australia.

Bomfunk MCs

Despite sounding slightly old-fashioned, Freestyler by Finnish group Bomfunk MCs, is an energetic blast of techno funk with (almost) indecipherable lyrics. The video gives the impression that everyone in Finland dances to their walkmans in the streets and that all the girls are Davina McCall look-a-likes... Bomfunk MCs are BOW aka Raymond Ebanks born in London but living in Finland and DJ Gismo aka Ismo Lappalainen. Their album In Stereo has been around on the continent for almost a year and Freestyler has already been number one in at least nine other countries. If you listen very carefully you'll hear they curse a little but most radio stations don't seem to have noticed...

Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi's resurgence began with It's My Life. The song was classic Bon Jovi complete with talk box, a device we all thought was long gone, and an exciting video full of stunts and live action. One of the biggest commercial "heavy metal" bands of the eighties their reputation more than output helped fans keep the faith during the last decade. Solo projects and a film career for singer Jon Bon Jovi made it look as if the band was a thing of the past... until now. Bon Jovi consolidated their comeback success with a more hits from the album Crush.

Dane Bowers

Dane Bowers who graduated from boyband member (the now defunct Another Level) to True Stepper collaborator, Dane has recently released his debut album and has been busy compering popshows on Sky TV. His Truestepper collaborations Buggin' and Out of Your Mind were top 10 UK hits in 2000.

Michelle Branch

Brandy

Brandy and her brother Ray J debut got together to make a cover of the Phil Collins' charity song Another Day In Paradise. The original was a no 2 hit for Phil in November 1989. The new version, mixed by the Stargate boys, was taken from the tribute album to the ex-Genesis frontman, Urban Renewal.

Toni Braxton

Toni Braxton's return to the charts must in part be due to the rather Carey-like video with a cartoon intro. A very sexy Toni pouts, kicks and shimmies in a more than fetching manner in an expensive looking set. The song He Wasn't Man Enough was produced by Rodney Jerkins. Much has been written about Ms Braxton's former financial worries but this single and the new album The Heat marks a new beginning. The Heat was much more uptempo than her previous album as the singer admitted to being tired of being labelled as a ballad singer. And another thing, during her dispute with her record company Toni took a turn in playing Belle in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast.

Ian Brown

Ian Brown, former lead vocalist with the Stone Roses, recorded his first solo album, Unfinished Monkey Business in 1998 on primitive equipment in just three weeks but the rough sound of the recording didn't stop it from reaching no 4 in the UK album chart. After spending a few months in jail for an incident on a flight from Paris to Manchester he completed his second album Golden Greats.

Emma Bunton

Emma Bunton became the fourth Spice Girl member to grab herself a UK solo number one What Took You So Long?, which helped the Spicies beat even the Beatles' record of successful post-band careers as Ringo Starr had hits but no chart-toppers. Of course the Spice Girls have yet to split but with solo success and the lack of interest in their rather appalling third album, it seems unlikely they'll record a full set again.