The Voice UK judges' chart showdown – it's will.i.am vs Kylie vs Tom v

Who’s got the biggest chart bragging rights out of all four Voice UK judges? To celebrate tonight’s grand final, we take a look at the chart stories of will.i.am, Kylie Minogue, Ricky Wilson and Sir Tom Jones to see who’s got the most experience under their belt.

Every week, the four Voice UK judges have been imparting their wisdom and either making or breaking the dreams of the hopefuls trying their luck at a career in pop stardom. The fab four, will.i.am, Kylie Minogue, Sir Tom Jones and Kaiser Chiefs’ frontman Ricky Wilson, have all got impressive singles’ stats behind them, but when you take a closer look, whose chart story is the one that wannabe popstars should hope to recreate?

We have a nosey at the big singles, the Number 1s and unearth a few chart facts about each of our famous quartet. Unlike them, we’re not one to judge, we’ll just present you with the stats – we’ll leave it up to you to decide who’s the greatest of them all.

will.i.am

Let’s kick off with the quirky, kooky popstar with plenty of ‘specs’ appeal (Really? Is that the best you can do? – Ancient Jokes Ed). Will’s chart story spans 13 years, starting off with the Black Eyed Peas’ first Top 40 hit Request & Line, which peaked at Number 31 in 2001. It would take another couple of years before they’d hit Number 1 for the first time, with Where Is The Love. On a solo tip, he had his first feature on Pussycat Dolls’ (amazing) 2006 Number 2 hit Beep. His first Top 40 hit as a lead artist came a year later, when I Got It From My Mama peaked at Number 38. His first Top 10 hit as a lead artist came in 2008, when Heartbreaker FT Cheryl Cole hit Number 4.

CHART SPAN: 13 years
NUMBER 1 HITS: Nine. With the Peas, he has five: Where Is The Love (2003), Boom Boom Pow, I Gotta Feeling, Meet Me Halfway (all 2009) and The Time (Dirty Bit) from 2010. Solo he’s scored four. Two as a featured artist, on Usher’s OMG (2010) and Script’s Hall Of Fame (2012) and two as the main man: This Is Love FT Eva Simons and Scream & Shout FT Britney Spears.
MILLION-SELLERS: I Gotta Feeling has sold over 1.3 million copies.
CHART STATS: Nine Number 1s, 25 Top 10s (13 with Black Eyed Peas; 12 solo) and 37 Top 40 hits (17 with the Peas and 20 solo).
CHART FACT: In 2009, Black Eyed Peas had three consecutive Number 1s in five months.

Kylie Minogue

The princess of pop was a new addition to this year’s judging panel, but she’s more than made her mark. When it comes to hits, what Kylie doesn’t know about having one isn’t worth knowing. Since her first UK single I Should Be So Lucky smashed its way to Number 1 in 1988, Kylie has been an almost permanent fixture on the Official Singles Chart. From that debut hit, Kylie had a run of 13 consecutive Top 10 hits – the last of them being Shocked in 1991 – before enjoying another impressive run of 16 Top 10 hits from 2000’s chart-topper Spinning Around to 2008’s In My Arms.

CHART SPAN: 26 years
NUMBER 1 HITS: Seven. I Should Be So Lucky (1988), Especially For You with Jason Donovan (1989), Hand On Your Heart (1989), Tears On My Pillow (1990), Spinning Around (2000), Can’t Get You Out Of My Head (2001) and Slow (2003)
MILLION-SELLERS: Can’t Get You Out Of My Head has sold 1.1 million copies.
CHART STATS: Seven Number 1s, 34 Top 10s, 49 Top 40 hits.
CHART FACT: Kylie has seen 11 of her singles peak at Number 2. Madonna has had one more Number 2 single, if you count her feature on Britney Spears’ Me Against The Music from 2003.

Tom Jones

Sir Tom is a true chart veteran. Bursting onto the scene in 1965 with his first Number 1 It’s Not Unusual, the boy from Pontypridd has enjoyed a varied career, falling in and out of favour and exploring new sounds and collaborations. One thing that has remained constant is his voice – so when it comes to judging on The Voice, Sir Tom knows what he’s talking about. His longest run of consecutive Top 10s is seven – from Green Green Grass Of Home in 1966 to Help Yourself in 1968.

CHART SPAN: 44 years (his most recent chart entry was in 2009)
NUMBER 1 HITS: Three. It’s Not Unusual (1965), Green Green Grass Of Home (1966) and 23 years later, Islands In The Stream with ‘Vanessa Jenkins’, ‘Bryn West’ and Robin Gibb for Comic Relief in 2009.
MILLION-SELLERS: The Green, Green Grass Of Home has sold over 1.2 million copies.
CHART STATS: Three Number 1s, 20 Top 10s and 37 Top 40 entries, including reissues.
CHART FACT: Tom’s longest absence from the Official Singles Chart was 10 years – his next hit after 1977’s Number 40 Say You'll Stay Until Tomorrow was 1987’s Boy From Nowhere, which reached Number 2.

Ricky Wilson

Yorkshire lad Ricky Wilson may be the youngest of our Voice UK judges, but he’s still got an impressive chart story to tell. It’s almost 10 years since Kaiser Chiefs’ first single Oh My God reached Number 66 on the Official Singles Chart – it would go on to hit Number 6 on another release – and Ricky and his band would pack in plenty of hits in a short space of time, including Every Day I Love You Less And Less and I Predict A Riot.

CHART SPAN: Four years on the Official Singles Chart. The Kaisers’ last hit single was Never Miss A Beat in 2008. But it’s almost ten years if you count the Official Albums Chart (from Sunday) – their latest album Education, Education, Education & War is expected to debut highly.
NUMBER 1 HITS: One, Ruby in 2007.
MILLION-SELLERS: None so far…
CHART STATS: Including rereleases, one chart-topper, five Top 10s and ten Top 40 hits.
CHART FACT: The Kaiser Chiefs’ debut album Employment has sold over 2 million copies.