Twostepcublog

    " Love's Divine " - Seal from the album Seal IV (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #79 (three weeks)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from British singer/songwriter Seal , who scored his third top ten hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the beginning of 1997 with his remake of Steve Miller's " Fly Like An Eagle " from the movie Space Jam .  However, his next studio album Human Being , which saw the singer/songwriter move to Warner Brothers Records, didn't keep the momentum up. The lead single, " Human Beings ", didn't get a lot of attention, missing the American pop chart (though it made it to #32 on Billboard 's Adult Top-40 radio list), and stopping at #50 in his native UK. The album still reached the top-40 on the Billboard 200 sales chart at #22.    After a scrapped attempt at a fourth set in 2001, he finally re-emerged in 2003 with his Seal IV effort. Reuniting with producer Trevor Horn who was assisted by

    " The Reason " - Hoobastank from the album The Reason (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 34   Today's song comes from the hard rock band Hoobastank , who came together in the mid-1990s when schoolmates Doug Robb and Dan Estrin brought in drummer Chris Hesse and bassist Markku Lappalainen. They released a few independent releases as they were working the California rock circuit as the nu-metal genre was gaining steam, until they were signed to Island Records. They released their self-titled debut album in the late autumn of 2001, with the lead single " Crawling In The Dark " as the lead single a month before. The driving but melodic song was a decent rock radio hit, spending a week at #3 on Billboard magazine's Alternative Rock airplay chart, and peaking at #7 on the Mainstream Rock counterpart. It also was able to place on the "big chart", Billboard 's Hot 100, at #68. It was also a minor hit in th

    " Overnight Celebrity " - Twista from the album Kamikaze (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18  Today's song comes from rapper Twista, who scored a #1 hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the beginning of 2004 with " Slow Jams ", which featured and up and coming Kanye West. West also co-wrote and produced Twista's follow-up single, "Overnight Celebrity", and performed on the track although not appearing on the single label as a feature (but he initially was on the Billboard chart listing). The "Celebrity" in this case is a woman Twista's trying to get the mack on, promising her fame and riches by getting with him. The production from West gives the chipmunked treatment to slow jam album cut " Cause I Love You " from Lenny Williams of Tower Of Power which seems to relay a gravitas that the verses definitely don't reflect. But the violin from Israeli-American Miri Ben-Ari is a

    " Game Over (Flip) " - Lil' Flip from the album U Gotta Feel Me (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 11   Today's song comes from Wesley Weston Jr. who performs under the nickname Lil' Flip .  Flip grew up in Houston, Texas, and while still in his late teens he was already making the rounds on the local rap circuit, and was signed to the indie label Sucka Free there. In 2000 he released his debut album The Leprechaun , which popped on to the national R&B Albums chart in Billboard magazine at #67. On that momentum Columbia Records partnered up with the small label to put out his next record Undaground Legend in 2002, which did much better, reaching #4 on the R&B Albums chart and #12 on the all-genre Billboard 200 , going on to sell over a million copies. A single from the record, " The Way We Ball ", became his first appearance on Billboard 's R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart at #69.  A year later, Flip was a

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top hits from the previous week. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars take over at #1, while Charli XCX (pictured above) leaps into the top ten. Former big hits from Daughtry, twenty-one pilots, and Ray LaMontagne drop off my chart, while songs from Tyrese, Leon Bridges, and Sabrina Carpenter make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ highlighted in red ). And under the list, everything is Spotify playlisted for 5 1/2 hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Fingers crossed!   This Week                  Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Die With A Smile - Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars (2) 2. Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan (1) 3. Birds Of A Feather - Billie Eilish (3) 4. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart - Taylor Swift (4) 5. The Door - Teddy Swims (6) 6. Please Please Please -

      " Naughty Girl " - Beyonce from the album Dangerously In Love (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song is from Beyonce , whose debut solo album Dangerously In Love had already spun off a pair of #1 hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Crazy In Love " and " Baby Boy ", as well as a top-ten follow-up with " Me, Myself, & I ".  The fourth single from the record was the slinky and seductive "Naughty Girl". Written by the singer with cousin Angela Beyince and co-producer Scott Storch, Beyonce also interpolates a little of Donna Summer's disco class "Love To Love You Baby" in her  intro and bridge sections, giving Summer and co-writers Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte credit as well. The lyrics are quite simple, she's offering to be the "bad girl" and bring her female friends to the "party". How deep that would in entail (in one to