On Christmas Eve we kicked off our countdown of the 50 best singles of 2009, from Miley’s ‘The Climb’ at No50 down to Sugababes’ ‘Get Sexy’ at No41. Today we plough on from Nos40-31, and remember if you disagree with our opinions there’s still time to vote in our reader’s poll to decide your favourite tracks, albums, videos etc of the year.

On we go then…

40. Jade Ewen – ‘My Man’
October, Peak #35
Like ex-‘X Factor’ finalist Laura White, Jade Ewen released an absolute tune and it didn’t even hit the Top 30. Luckily, this year’s Eurovision contestant had another door opened to her almost immediately – she replaced Keisha Buchanan in the revamped Sugababes line-up. ‘My Man’ was a pop-R’n’B anthem that, whilst not breathtakingly original, showed some pretty almighty vocal potential.

39. Dizzee Rascal & Armand van Helden – ‘Bonkers’
May, Peak #1
Another great year for Dizzee Rascal with another two chart-toppers and a successful new album. ‘Holiday’ was a great summer hit, but ‘Bonkers’, his collaboration with Armand van Helden, really proved in the wake of last year’s hit ‘Dance Wiv Me’ that he has some real staying power in the mainstream market.

38. Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz – ‘Number One’
May, Peak #1
After a fantastic collaboration with Taio Cruz, Tinchy Stryder scored his first of two number one singles with N-Dubz on the appropriately titled ‘Number One’. It was also the first time N-Dubz had enjoyed the higher end of the charts, and helped make their signature “NA NA NAIIII” call all the more recognisable.

37. Pink – ‘Please Don’t Leave Me’
March, Peak #12
Recent output from Pink has been pretty break-up-heavy, and following the balls-out rowdiness of ‘So What’ in 2008 we got a complete change of pace for ‘Please Don’t Leave Me’; a desperate, heart-breaking plea that showed a rare vulnerable side to the usually outspoken pop-rocker.

36. AH Rahman and Pussycat Dolls – ‘Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)’
March, Peak #3
One of Rahman’s tracks from the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ soundtrack was given a commercial makeover for the Pussycat Dolls’ release and it was an instant hit throughout the spring. It was the song that started the Pussycat break-up rumours when it was officially credited as “Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger”. Oops.

35. The Saturdays – ‘Issues’
January, Peak #4
On first impressions this could have been mistaken for a rejected Atomic Kitten B-side, but given the time to establish itself and ‘Issues’ turned out to be just as memorable as the group’s previous hit ‘Up’. ‘Issues’ was a perfect wintery pop ballad with a subtle hint of R’n’B and plenty of pouting in the video.

34. Britney Spears – ‘Circus’
February, Peak #13
An apology to Katy Perry – ‘Circus’ completely slipped our minds until the last minute, at which point Perry’s ‘Waking Up In Vegas’ was shoved off the list. Oops! ‘Circus’, the title track from Spears’ fifth studio album, was the first of four singles for the star this year, and probably the one of the four that sounds least drenched in auto-tune. The video with all the fire and, um, animals is pretty cool too.

33. JLS – ‘Beat Again’
July, Peak #1
Simon Cowell decided against signing JLS to his record label, and since then they’ve gone on to sign with another label and garner two number one singles and the second fastest-selling album of the year. ‘Beat Again’ started it all off; only the second track of the year to sell more than 100,000 copies in a week and, despite its at times unintentionally hilarious lyrics, set up the band as something a bit different from the usual ‘X Factor’ runners-up dross.

32. Jordin Sparks – ‘S.O.S. (Let The Music Play)’
October, Peak #13
A good year musically for the former ‘American Idol’ winner, with three more UK Top 20 singles. Her second album may be looking pretty lame sales-wise compared to its predecessor, but musically Sparks has progressed leaps and bounds. ‘S.O.S.’ samples a Shannon hit that Sparks is too young to even know, and shows a whole new side to the star – a comfortable performance from her and an instantly catchy, high-camp single.

31. Lady Gaga – ‘Poker Face’
March, Peak #1
‘Poker Face’ was doing the business chart-wise as soon as album ‘The Fame’ came out in January, but when officially released it zoomed to the top of the charts and soon became the biggest-selling download in UK Chart history. “Mah mah mah maaah” is one of the most famous hooks of the year, and “…bluffin’ with my muffin” confirmed suspicions that Gaga isn’t quite as… shall we say “conventional”… as other stars we’re used to.

We’ll be back down to business soon for Nos30-21, which include two appearances from one of the world’s biggest stars, an artist who this time last year was universally named as ‘One To Watch’ in 2009, and a song that ended one of the most impressive ongoing chart runs ever.