The Official Charts Pop Gem Hall Of Fame

Every week we ask you for your Pop Gems, those overlooked classics that used to hog the radio but have somehow slipped down the back of pop's very plump sofa.

96 songs have already made it into our Pop Gem Hall Of Fame, from the very first, Michelle Gayle's Sweetness, to the latest classic, Fascination from Alphabeat.

What the heck is a Pop Gem, anyway? Check out our Pop Gem Manifesto for a full rundown…

Check out our Spotify and Deezer playlists of every Pop Gem ever ever ever for possibly more pop fabulousness than your average Joe could handle (we know you can take it, though).

Pop Gem facts

2003 is the most represented year so far, with eleven Pop Gems coming from that most amazing of pop years. 1998 is next, with eight.

Five acts have more than one Pop Gem under their belts. Kylie's got Your Disco Needs You and her duet with Robbie Williams, Kids. Kelis bagged two thanks to her debut single Caught Out There and a feature on Richard X's Finest Dreams. Girls Aloud scored a double thanks to Biology and On The Metro, while Christina Aguilera netted herself a second Pop Gem nod as part of her collaboration with Pink, Lil' Kim and Mya on Moulin Rouge soundtrack tune Lady Marmalade. Pink herself then scored another with Just Like A Pill. When it came to boyband week, we couldn't decide between Backstreet Boys' songs, so they have two. Sugababes have also scored two Pop Gems.

Our lowest charting Pop Gem – aside from Your Disco Needs You and On The Metro, which weren't released as singles in the UK – is former Sugababes' Mutya Keisha Siobhan's comeback single, Flatline, which peaked at Number 50 in 2013. The oldest song in our Pop Gem Hall Of Fame is Jimmy Soul's If You Wanna Be Happy from 1963.

The Pop Gem Manifesto

Here's why each week we ask you for your fave forgotten classics for our Official Charts Pop Gem!

We like a pop tune. No, rephrase, we LOVE a pop tune.

But have you ever wondered what happens to some songs when they disappear out of the charts, off radio playlists, pulled from music TV channels, never to be seen again? And what about those huge hits from back in the day that everybody knows but maybe don't get as much attention as you'd like?

They could be absolute corkers, seemingly everywhere for a whole summer, or perhaps they were an 'unsung hero' – an overlooked single that didn’t even make it into the Top 10 but made you tingle with love for pop music all the same.

And now they’re gone, into a puff of smoke they went – last year, five years ago, 12 years ago, 20 years ago, whatever year they were from… they were fantastic, then faded into obscurity with barely a goodbye. Sure, you still see them on music channels as you flick through, but what about some solid-gold appreciation?

Well, here’s where the injustice ends! Ladies and gentleman of pop appreciation, we're looking to you to unearth the Official Charts Pop Gems!

Every week we're looking for those glorious musical nuggets, those harmless slices of pop brilliance that remind you of the good times in life – growing up, making up dances in the school playground, learning lyrics from the latest issue of Smash Hits, your first snog, celebrating the end of your GCSEs, passing your driving test, your first holiday without your parents, legendary nights out on the tiles.

Know a long-forgotten favourite or a huge hit of yesteryear that needs to be shown some Official Charts Pop Gem love? Don't be shy! Either mail us your nomination at popgem@officialcharts.com or keep your beady, chart-loving eye on our Facebook and Twitter on a Friday, where we reveal the week's theme.

Get involved: Your Pop Gem Needs You.

Playlists

Take a look at ALL the videos for the first 50 Pop Gems on our video playlist:

All the Pop Gems, all the time

We've knocked up a little Spotify playlist for you:

And, not to be outdone, we've done a Deezer one too.

SupercalifraglisticPopGemaladocious!

Ain't nobody love ya like we love ya.