Are you keeping up? We’ve already sailed through the first twenty singles in the countdown of our favourite 50 of 2009 (here’s 50-41, here’s 40-31), and today we continue down to the borderline of our Top 20.  If we may plug our reader’s poll again, don’t forget to keep voting for that too to get your own opinions in.

Let’s go…

30. Black Eyed Peas – ‘Boom Boom Pow’
May, Peak #1
Scoring three number ones this year, will.i.am and friends returned to the scene with ‘Boom Boom Pow’, a single that hit No1 on two separate occasions and spent what felt like a decade atop the US charts as well. Pretty much a love/hate song, to some ‘BBP’ was a ridiculous non-sensical mix of assorted synth sounds, and to others it was a shamelessly catchy party necessity.

29. Cheryl Cole feat. will.i.am – ’3 Words’
December, Peak #4
Alot less immediate than ‘Fight For This Love’, ’3 Words’ was a post-’I Gotta Feeling’ darkly throbbing (!) pop tune that admittedly demanded little from its two vocallists, but spawned one of the cleverest pop videos of 2009 and gave Mrs Cole a more “serious edge”.

28. Temper Trap – ‘Sweet Disposition’
August, Peak #6
‘Sweet Disposition’ is one of the most slow-burning classics of 2009. Initially struggling down at the bottom end of the charts, it eventually rose into the Top 10 on the back of huge radio support, use in TV ads, and as the backing track on the traditional ‘Big Brother’ end-of-series montage. Strangely managing to be both subtle and euphoric, the track provided the band with their first breakthrough into the big time.

27. V V Brown – ‘Shark In The Water’
July, Peak #34
Poor V V. She had so much media hype and critical backing, and the best she could achieve commercially was one Top 40 single and an album that scraped into the Top 30. ‘Shark In The Water’ was, however, one of the best summer pop tunes, thanks to its sweeping, breezy chorus. It certainly deserved to do better than it did.

26. Beyoncé – ‘Halo’
April, Peak #4
Ryan Tedder mentioned in several interviews a song beginning with “H” that he had written for Leona Lewis but had instead been recorded by another global superstar. One assumes this is the single he was talking about – a classic Tedder neo-ballad with his trademark bombastic drums, a shout-a-long chorus, and some nifty piano accompaniment.

25. Lady Gaga – ‘Paparazzi’
July, Peak #4
Gaga toned it down a bit for ‘Paparazzi’, a standout track from LP ‘The Fame’ and one which provided a bit of contrast from ‘Poker Face’ and ‘Just Dance’. Any subtlety the track had was completely lost on the video however, which featured the controversial star at her most zany.

24. Girls Aloud – ‘Untouchable’
April, Peak #11
And so with ‘Untouchable’ the girls’ record seven-year run of Top 10 singles finally came to an end. ‘Untouchable’ was a six-minute epic on parent album ‘Out of Control’, and while it admittedly lost some of its oomph in being snipped down to a three minute radio version, it still remained one of the most euphoric and ever-so-slightly-heartbreaking singles in their repertoire. “Beautiful robots dancing alone”, for crying out loud!

23. Katy Perry – ‘Thinking of You’
March, Peak #27
‘Thinking of You’ was a bit of a flop in comparision to the successes of ‘Hot’n'Cold’ and ‘I Kissed A Girl’, which was a shame because it showed a completely different side to the spunky American. Perhaps the best pop-rock-ballad since Avril’s ‘When You’re Gone’, ‘Thinking of You’ was accompanied by a sad video in which Katy’s true love was killed at war. Observe:

22. Little Boots – ‘Remedy’
August, Peak #6
Victoria Hesketh’s career was salvaged by ‘Remedy’, following a disappointing performance from her album ‘Hands’. One of producer RedOne’s finest creations, ‘Remedy’ features one of the best middle-8 sections of the year and one of the most catchy choruses as well.

21. Beyoncé – ‘Sweet Dreams’
August, Peak #5
A fourth smash for Mrs Jay-Z from the ‘I Am… Sasha Fierce’ album, and rightly so. ‘Sweet Dreams’ was her first real foray into electropop and packed as much punch as ‘Single Ladies’ or ‘Crazy In Love’. The highlight of the video was undoubtedly the “MY GUILTY PLEASURE…” breakdown bit.

We’re gliding into the Top 20 tomorrow, with two appearances from one of 2009′s most successful newcomers, one very recent chart-topper, and a single Fearne Cotton recently declared to be her favourite of the year.