The latest episode of ITV’s Lorraine featured a brief foray into a seemingly random and completely unsubstantiated social media claim about No 1 songs.
The highly dubious theory, which first appeared around 2019, posits that the track at No 1 in the charts on the day you turned 14 is the one that defines your entire life.
The Official Charts Company reported at the time that the theory began doing the rounds on Twitter thanks to user Swank0cean. It soon went viral, sparking a number of either thrilled or gutted responses.
Music fans were encouraged to enter their date of birth into the company’s Official Chart archive in order to discover what their own No 1 song was when they turned 14.
Apparently the trend has now returned as the British public relax during Bank Holiday weekend, as Lorraine presenter Christine Lampard revealed that Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” was No 1 when she celebrated her 14th birthday.
Houston famously released a cover of the 1973 single by Dolly Parton in 1992, as the focus track from her soundtrack to The Bodyguard, in which she also starred.
Considered one of the most iconic songs of all time, Houston’s version sold over 24 million copies worldwide and was the best-selling song of the year in the UK.
It also earned Houston the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, as well as a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal performance. Houston’s version has been ranked on a number of occasions as one of the best songs in history, helping to assert the late artist’s legacy as one of the all-time greats.
“Apparently, the song that's No 1 on your 14th birthday is the song that defines your life,” Lampard said after playing a clip of Houston’s performance. “What a track that is for me. “I am happy with that.”
She then revealed the No 1 song for her co-host, actor and presenter Sally Lindsay, which was 1987’s “It’s a Sin” by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys.
“Does that speak volumes?” she asked the Coronation Street star.
“Sounds about right for me, yeah,” Lindsay joked. “I love the Pet Shop Boys as well… I'm happy with that, with that. Very happy.”
Anyone interested in finding out which song was No 1 on their 14th birthday can still do so by entering the date into the Official Charts archive calendar.
For the record, The Independent’s culture team discovered today (Friday 18 April) that we are defined by songs including Lily Allen’s “Smile”, “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent, and “Can We Fix It?” by Bob the Builder.
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