No. |
Title |
Producers |
Original airdate |
1 | "Episode 1"[9] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 12 September 2009 (2009-09-12) |
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Through a sequence of colourful intertitles, the goal of the Chartjackers project (to crowdsource in ten weeks a pop song that will reach number one on the UK Singles Chart) is explained. The four teenagers—McDonnell, Day, Haggart and Hill—are introduced, and clips are played from "Welcome To ChartJackers!", their first video blog, which was uploaded to the YouTube channel ChartJackersProject on 5 September.[15] The four boys read and respond to some of the comments that have been posted on this video, and encourage viewers to become involved with the project.[16] |
2 | "Episode 2"[17] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 19 September 2009 (2009-09-19) |
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Having asked on 8 September via a video blog titled "Lyrics Weeks" for viewers to submit potential song lyrics,[18] the four boys receive more than 4000 entries.[19] They review some of the proposed lines, then visit the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, where operatic singer Robert Murray performs a selection of the lyrics. Next, they travel to The Lock Tavern in north-west London, where Iain Beggs of the band Red Skys sings some more lyrics in a rock music-style.[20] The episode concludes with McDonnell, Day and Hill receiving a phone call from former pop star Chesney Hawkes, who offers the bloggers advice and remarks that he believes that they have "every experience between [them] to actually pull [their aim of reaching number one] off".[19] |
3 | "Episode 3"[21] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 26 September 2009 (2009-09-26) |
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With the single's lyrics chosen, the bloggers decide to select a melody to accompany them. Day uploads a video to ChartJackersProject, asking viewers to compose a melody for the song.[22] Viewers submit 51 potential melodies, so the group split up to review them. Haggart and Hill speak with pop singer V V Brown, while McDonnell and Day meet British record producer Mike Stock. Brown and Stock each review two melodies and provide feedback on them.[23] |
4 | "Episode 4"[24] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 3 October 2009 (2009-10-03) |
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The winning melody, composed by a 19-year-old musician named Jonny Dark, is chosen for the track. The group decide to pick vocalists to perform the song, and upload a new video to ChartJackersProject inviting viewers to audition through video responses. For tips on what to look for in the auditions, McDonnell and Day visit vocal coaches David and Carrie Grant, who offer them some advice.[1] On returning, the entire group look through some of the hundreds of video auditions that they have received. This episode also featured a cameo from indie band The Young Knives, who sent the group a video message wishing them luck for their project.[25] |
5 | "Episode 5"[26] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 10 October 2009 (2009-10-10) |
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Day and Haggart meet with Charlie Simpson of Fightstar, who discusses the differences between releasing music through a major record label and setting up one's own independent label. The bloggers then select their favourite ten singers from the video auditions, and invite them to the second round of auditions at the Wellfield Working Men's Club in Rochdale.[7] The ten auditionees each perform the song, which has been titled "I've Got Nothing", in front of the four boys. Miranda Chartrand, a 19-year-old au pair from Stroud, Gloucestershire, and Adam Nichols, an 18-year-old musician from Essex, are selected from these ten to provide vocals on the single's official release.[27] "I've Got Nothing" was ultimately released by independent label Swinging Mantis.[28] |
6 | "Episode 6"[29] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 17 October 2009 (2009-10-17) |
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The four bloggers travel with Chartrand and Nichols to Newport, where "I've Got Nothing" is recorded and produced by Marc Dowding, a Creative Sound and Music student from the University of Wales.[30] Day and Haggart meet with Peter Oakley, who achieved a UK Top 40 hit in 2007 as part of The Zimmers,[31] while McDonnell and Hill speak to music video director Corin Hardy, who offers them advice on what should be included in the official video for "I've Got Nothing".[32] |
7 | "Episode 7"[33] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 24 October 2009 (2009-10-24) |
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The official music video for "I've Got Nothing" is filmed in a London park, with Day directing and McDonnell editing. The video features Chartrand and Nichols dancing and miming to the song, along with an actor dressed as Children in Need mascot Pudsey Bear. To decide how the vocalists should be styled for forthcoming performances of the single, Day, Haggart, Chartrand and Nichols speak with celebrity stylist Hannah Sandling, who presents them with some fashion ideas and suggestions for what the singers could wear. Meanwhile, McDonnell and Hill meet with entertainment journalist Rav Singh, who proposes ways by which the team could promote the single through publicity stunts.[34] |
8 | "Episode 8"[35] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 31 October 2009 (2009-10-31) |
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Aside from a 20-second preview at 9 p.m. on BBC Radio 1, "I've Got Nothing" has received little radio airplay. The boys decide to take Singh's advice, and choose to promote the single through large publicity stunts. Day and Hill visit the BBC Radio 1 headquarters, and petition the station to give their song airplay. They yell at the building through a megaphone, and demand to meet with Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles. The duo also hold up large banners promoting Chartjackers. They then move on to 95.8 Capital FM and repeat the same process. Despite this, neither station puts "I've Got Nothing" on any of their playlists, and the single continues not to receive any airplay. The episode ends with clips from video blogs posted to ChartJackersProject by Day and Haggart, encouraging viewers to spam the Twitter feeds of any radio DJ who might play the single on their shows. This episode was subtitled "CRISIS POINT!".[36] |
9 | "Episode 9"[37] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 7 November 2009 (2009-11-07) |
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The boys attend the London premiere of Disney's A Christmas Carol on 3 November, and Chartjackers receives support from celebrities such as reality TV contestant Chantelle Houghton and indie band Scouting for Girls. The following day, a gathering takes place at the music venue 93 Feet East, where "I've Got Nothing" is performed live for the first time by Chartrand and Nichols.[38] Tickets are sold to the public for £3.50 each on a "First come, first served" basis – the gig itself is headlined by singer Chesney Hawkes.[39] This episode featured a cameo from internet make-up artist Lauren Luke, who sent the boys a video tutorial on how to apply make-up to look like Pudsey Bear.[38] |
10 | "Episode 10"[40] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 14 November 2009 (2009-11-14) |
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"I've Got Nothing" is released online, exclusively though the iTunes Store.[41] To encourage sales of the single, the boys persuade celebrities such as Ben Miller, Robert Llewellyn and Stephen Fry to promote the song through their Twitter accounts. The midweeks show that the single has barely scraped the UK Singles Chart and entered at number 38, so, to further publicise the track, the four boys make a series of videos promising to carry out dares if the song climbs the charts – McDonnell consumes a spoonful of cinnamon, and Haggart eats a chilli.[42] They also promote the single by performing it at Switch Live 2009, an awards show organised by BBC Switch.[43] To observe how funds raised from sales of "I've Got Nothing" might benefit Children in Need, McDonnell and Haggart visit the Keynsham and District Mencap Society Saturday Club at the Three Ways School in Bath, Somerset.[41] |
11 | "Compilation"[44] | Adam King Jonathan Davenport | 21 November 2009 (2009-11-21) |
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The entire Chartjackers journey is recounted through a series of clips from previous episodes by British DJ MistaJam. Selected highlights include reviewing the submitted video auditions, selecting Chartrand and Nichols to perform on the single, recording the song, filming the music video, and petitioning BBC Radio 1 and 95.8 Capital FM to play the track. In an additional scene not taken from an earlier episode, McDonnell and Day visit the radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra, where it is revealed that "I've Got Nothing" peaked at number 36 on the UK Singles Chart. Although proud of their achievement, the boys are mildly disappointed.[3] |