Twostepcublog

" Possession " - Bad English from the album Bad English (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song of the day comes from the hard rock supergroup Bad English, which brought together singer John Waite with his old bandmates from the Babys Ricky Phillips and Jonathan Cain , who brought along his Journey compadre Neal Schon and drummer Deen Castronovo . After a big rock radio hit that almost made the pop top-40 (" Forget Me Not "), they hit pay dirt with two power-ballads, the #1 " When I See You Smile " and " Price Of Love ". The follow-up to the latter single, " Heaven Is A 4 Letter Word ", was a more straight-forward hard rock number bordering on pop-metal, and reached #12 on the Mainstream Rock chart, but stalled down at #66 on the pop Hot 100.  The fifth physical single released from the record was the mid-tempo song "Possession", written by Waite, Cain, and Phillips, bu

Let's head across the Atlantic yet again to check out the notable singles and albums making the charts in the UK this week... On the official singles chart in Britain, neo-house act Clean Bandit claim their third #1 hit with " Symphony " featuring Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson. It's Zara's first time at the top in this country... Canadian teen-pop singer Shawn Mendes rockets on to the chart at #7 with "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back". It will be added to the "expanded" version of his current Illuminate album. It's his fourth time in the top ten - he topped the chart with the lead single from Illuminate , "Treat You Better"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Unskinny Bop " - Poison from the album Flesh and Blood (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14 Today's song of the day is from the glam metal band Poison , whose sophomore album Open Up And Say....Ahhhh! was a massive success, spinning off four top-40 pop hits with " Fallen Angel ", their Loggins & Messina cover of " Your Mama Don't Dance ", the rollicking " Nothin' But A Good Time ", and the #1 power-ballad " Every Rose Has Its Thorn ". In the summer of 1990 the group returned with their third effort, Flesh and Blood . Toning down their image with a bit less makeup, their first single from the set was the bouncy rock of "Unskinny Bop". Written by the band and produced by Bruce Fairbairn, who approved keeping the nonsensical title lyric that was meant as a placeholder, the track continued their success on mainstream radio... "Unskinny Bop" became Poison

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Bruno Mars takes over the top spot, while twenty-one pilots (pictured above) climb into the top ten. Former big hits from LP, Kevin Ross, The xx, and Chris Young/Vince Gill drop off my list, while songs from Clean Bandit/Zara Larsson, the Revivalists, and Alan Walker make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places or more highlighted in red ). It's 84 degrees out and not even May yet. Congrats, climate change deniers! This Week         Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. That's What I Like - Bruno Mars (2) 2. Human - Rag N' Bone Man (3) 3. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry f/Skip Marley (1) 4. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran (4) 5. Mercy - Shawn Mendes (6) 6. Say You Won't Let Go - James Arthur (8) 7. Rockabye - Clean Bandit f/Anne-Marie &

" Jerk Out " - The Time from the album Pandemonium (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day comes from the Time , the funkiest band from Minneapolis that's not Prince. The Purple One's Purple Rain movie gave the band starring roles as his protagonists, and their album Ice Cream Castles , which was basically completely performed by Prince save for Morris Day's vocals, landed the act a pair of top-40 pop hits with " Jungle Love " and " The Bird " in 1984 through 1985. The group split not long after that, with Morris landing a top-40 solo hit with "Fishnet" in 1988, while members Terry Lewis and Jimmy "Jam" Harris became the sought-after producers after their work with Janet Jackson. In 1989, the band reunited for their first album where they play the instruments, Pandemonium . The first single from the set, "Jerk Out", was a Prince toss-off from 19

It's time to head Down Under to check out the songs and albums from local artists reaching the charts in Australia this week... On the Australian Artists Singles chart , Dean Lewis holds tight at #1 with " Waves ", and there are no new entries in the top 20... Meanwhile, on the local artist albums chart in the country , there is a new #1 as "Pop-opera" tenor Mark Vincent takes over with A Tribute To Mario Lanza . The singer from the Sydney suburbs won the Australia's Got Talent show in 2009... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Epic " - Faith No More from the album The Real Thing (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the hard rock band Faith No More , which was derived from the band Faith No Man from the late 80s featuring keyboardist Roddy Bottum, bass player Billy Gould, and Mike Bordin on drums. After ditching their original lead singer Mike Morris and changing their name to Faith No More, they hired on Chuck Moseley as vocalist. Their first independent album as Faith No More, We Care A Lot , was released in 1985, and after the success of that, the Slash label picked them up for their sophomore record Introduce Yourself . A re-recorded version of the title track from their debut, " We Care A Lot ", became a minor hit in the UK at #53 in 1987. However, Moseley ended up being too volatile for the band, and he was replaced by Mike Patton from the band Mr. Bungle leading up to their third and breakthrough effor

Here's the top ten hits in Germany this week, according to their official singles chart , as Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" is at #1 for a fifteenth week... 1. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (1) 2. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (8) 3. " Tuesday " - Burak Yeter featuring Danelle Sandoval (3) 4. " Something Just Like This " - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay (4) 5. " You Don't Know Me " - Jax Jones f/RAYE (5) 6. " Swalla " - Jason Derulo featuring Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign (6) 7. " It Ain't Me " - Kygo & Selena Gomez (7) 8. " Galway Girl " - Ed Sheeran (9) 9. "Symphony" - Clean Bandit featuring Zara Larsson (DEBUT) 10. " Nummer 1 " - Zuna featuring Azet & Noizy (RE-ENTRY) British neo-house group Clean Bandit score their fourth top ten hit in Germany as "Symphony" featuring Swedish singer Zara Larsson checks in

" Come Back To Me " - Janet Jackson from the album Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 11 Today's song of the day comes from Janet Jackson , whose landmark album Rhythm Nation 1814 had already spun off four top five pop hits with " Alright ", " Rhythm Nation ", and a pair of #1's with " Escapade " and " Miss You Much ". The fifth single released from the album was the lush ballad "Come Back To Me". Written by Janet with her producers Jimmy "Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis, it took the template that the album track "Funny How Time Flies" had molded on her last album Control and brought more longing and emotional drama into pining for a past lover. The music video, filmed in Paris, made the isolation and loneliness of heartbreak even more palpable in the beautiful yet strange surroundings, while the production washes over you from its acappella

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , as Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" does not quit, spending a fifteenth week at #1... 1. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (1) 2. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (2) 3. " I Feel It Coming " - The Weekend featuring Daft Punk (5) 4. "The Cure" - Lady Gaga (DEBUT) 5. " Chained To The Rhythm " - Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley (9) 6. " Million Eyes " - Loïc Nottet (4) 7. " Human " - Rag N' Bone Man (7) 8. " Roule " - Soprano (6) 9. " You Don't Know Me " - Jax Jones featuring RAYE (8) 10. "Chocolat" - Lartiste featuring Awa Imani (DEBUT) Lady Gaga rockets on to the entire chart at #4 with her brand new single "The Cure". It becomes her 16th top ten hit in this country. She's been to #1 three times, most recently with "Perfect Illusion&q

"Pure" - The Lightning Seeds from the album Cloudcuckooland (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from the British modern rock act the Lightning Seeds , which started out as a moniker for singer/songwriter/guitarist Ian Broudie in the late 1980's. Broudie, who worked on producing a couple of early albums for Echo & The Bunnymen, released his first album under the Lightning Seeds name, Cloudcuckooland in 1990. The first single, "Pure", straddled the line between the dream-pop of acts like Aztec Camera and the Dream Academy with the alternative rock of OMD and the Bunnymen, all the instruments were handled by Broudie himself.... "Pure" became the Lightning Seeds' sole American top-40 pop hit in July of 1990. The single made it all the way to #8 on Billboard 's Modern Rock radio chart, while it crossed over to their Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening"

" The Blues " - Tony, Toni, Toné from the album The Revival (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #46 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the soul group Tony, Toni, Toné , who had scored four top ten R&B hits off their debut album, Who? , with one of them, " Little Walter ", reaching #1 and almost making the pop top 40 in the summer of 1988. For their sophomore effort, The Revival , brothers Dwayne and Raphael Wiggins and cousin Timothy Riley again enlisted the production team of Foster and McElroy (Club Nouveau and En Vogue) for a couple of the tracks. But the first single from the set, "The Blues" was written and produced by the group themselves. Like "Little Walter", it incorporated old samples (like cribbing the Jackson Five) with the new jack swing groove... While "The Blues" became the trio's second #1 R&B hit in Billboard , the single stopped just short of the pop top 40 in July of 1990. The 12&quo

" Could This Be Love " - Seduction from the album Nothing Matters Without Love (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10 Today's song of the day comes from the dance-pop act Seduction, who had landed three top-40 pop hits from their album Nothing Matters Without Love - " Heartbeat ", " Two To Make It Right ", and " (You're My One And Only) True Love ", albeit with the latter featuring uncredited vocals from Weather Girl Martha Wash. The fourth release from the record would be the ballad "Could This Be Love", written by Rob Clivilles who produced the track with partner David Cole. By the time this was released, member Idalis DeLeon had already left the trio to go be an MTV VJ, so Sinoa Loren came in for the single cover and video, while the lead vocals were traded between Michelle Visage and April Harris... "Could This Be Love" became Seduction's fourth and final top-40 pop

It's time to cross the Atlantic yet again to check out the notable songs and albums reaching the chart in the UK this week... On the official singles chart in Britain , after a one-week rest at #2, Ed Sheeran climbs back to the top with " Shape Of You ", racking his 14th week... As American rapper Kendrick Lamar's DAMN album came out (we'll get to that later), all fourteen of its tracks show up individually on the top 100 singles chart, as radio single "HUMBLE.", which leaps to #6 this week, is joined by the other selections from the set. Out of them, the highest comes at #18 with the Don Cheadle video-assisted "DNA."... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" If Wishes Came True " - Sweet Sensation from the album Love Child (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the day comes from the Latin freestyle dance music trio Sweet Sensation, who had just scored their third top-40 pop hit in the spring of 1990 with a cover of Diana Ross and the Supremes' " Love Child ". Their follow-up would be their first ballad released as a radio single, "If Wishes Came True". Written by Deanna Charles, Russ DeSalvo, and Robert Steele, the lyrics speak of heartbreak, and wanting to get back together, but not really answering what had happened to cause the split in the first place... "If Wishes Came True" became Sweet Sensation's biggest pop hit single, topping the chart in September of 1990. The song became their first to reach the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart at #8 as well. Two more dance-oriented singles from the

" Hanky Panky " - Madonna from the album I'm Breathless (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's song of the day is from Madonna , who took another acting turn in 1990 starring as Breathless Mahoney in then-boyfriend Warren Beatty's live-action adaptation of the comic Dick Tracy . From that film, a cut that originally was meant to be a B-side from one of the singles from her last album, " Vogue ", ended up becoming one of her biggest and most beloved hit songs, spending three weeks at the top of the American pop chart in the spring of that year. The follow-up single more fit the genre of the swing-eras pastiche the film was set in, yet with lyrics glorifying a little bit of S&M to let you know this is still Madonna. Written by the singer with True Blue -era writing/producing partner Patrick Leonard , "Hanky Panky" brought some spanking onto mainstream radio with some of her most wittiest lyrics

Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 songs from the past week. Katy Perry and Skip Marley hang on at #1 for a second week, while Lady Gaga (pictured above) jumps into the top ten. Songs from Lorde, the Chainsmokers/Coldplay, and Luke Combs make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits by Brad Paisley, the Lumineers, Eric Church, Kaleo, and the Head and the Heart drop off my list. Happy Earth Day weekend! This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Chained To The Rhythm - Katy Perry f/Skip Marley (1) 2. That's What I Like - Bruno Mars (4) 3. Human - Rag N' Bone Man (2) 4. Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran (4) 5. I Feel It Coming - The Weeknd f/Daft Punk (5) 6. Mercy - Shawn Mendes (8) 7. Rockabye - Clean Bandit f/Anne-Marie & Sean Paul (6) 8. Say You Won't Let Go - James

" Kiss This Thing Goodbye " - Del Amitri from the album Waking Hours (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3 Today's song of the day comes from the Scottish alternative rock band Del Amitri , who came together in Glasgow under lead singer Justin Currie and guitarist Iain Harvie in the early 80s. The original incarnation of the group released their debut album in 1985, and was a moderately successful album (helped by their opening spot on the Smiths' tour), but it wasn't until four years later, and a shuffling of members besides Currie and Harvie, when their sophomore effort Waking Hours was released. The first single from the set, "Kiss This Thing Goodbye", missed the top 40 in its first shot in the UK (#59). A second single, " Stone Cold Sober ", was a minor British hit at #90 and was the first to get noticed in Australia (#50). After their third release from the record, " Nothing Ever Happens "

It's time to take a trip Down Under to check out the songs and albums from local artists that made the charts this week in Australia... On the Australian Artists Singles Chart , Dean Lewis climbs to #1 with " Waves "... Sydney-based female trio Beatz, who were finalists on the most recent season of X Factor Australia , land their first hit at #10 with "Ain't Your Girl"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) " - Mötley Crüe from the album Dr. Feelgood (1989) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's song of the day comes from the glam metal kings Mötley Crüe , whose album Dr. Feelgood had already spun off three top 40 hits with " Without You ", " Kickstart My Heart ", and the title track . The fourth single from their sole #1 album would be the punchline-titled "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)". Written by the band's Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars, was a highlight of the record, with a driving beat perfect for driving music but laid back and "sunny" enough to not turn off those who hated metal music. In fact, these days, this would easily pass for "mainstream country" right now... "Don't Go Away Mad" became the fourth top-40 pop hit from Dr. Feelgood in July of 1990. The single also climbed to #13 on Billboard 's Mainst

Here's the top ten hits in Germany, according to their official singles chart , as Ed Sheeran fends off a venerable challenge to remain on top for his fourteenth consecutive week... 1. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (1) 2. "Unter der Wolken" - DIe Toten Hosen (DEBUT) 3. " Tuesday " - Burak Yeter featuring Danelle Sandoval (2) 4. " Something Just Like This " - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay (4) 5. " You Don't Know Me " - Jax Jones featuring RAYE (3) 6. " Swalla " - Jason Derulo featuring Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign (6) 7. " It Ain't Me " - Kygo & Selena Gomez (5) 8. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee (8) 9. " Galway Girl " - Ed Sheeran (7) 10. "Menschen Leben Tanzen Welt" - Jim Pandzko featuring Jan Bohmermann (DEBUT) German punk legends Die Toten Hosen are back landing on the entire top 100 in this country at #2 with "Unter der Wolke

" Make You Sweat " - Keith Sweat from the album I'll Give All My Love To You (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from R&B singer Keith Sweat , who had one of the first big pop hits in the new jack swing genre with " I Want Her " in the spring of 1988. Although that debut album Make It Last Forever ended up placing four singles in the top ten of Billboard 's R&B chart, none besides that first one would make the top-40 (the ballad duet title track with Jacqui McGhee came the closest, reaching #59 while going to #2 on the R&B list). In 1990, Sweat released his sophomore effort, I'll Give All My Love To You . The lead track is another bouncy new jack number, "Make You Sweat", which not only punned his moniker but also provided the necessary come-on to get back on the dance floor. Written by Sweat with Timothy Gatling and Bobby Wooten and produced by Sweat

Here's the top ten hits in France this week, according to their official singles chart , as Ed Sheeran holds on at #1 for a fourteenth week... 1. " Shape Of You " - Ed Sheeran (1) 2. " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi f/Daddy Yankee (5) 3. "Sign Of The Times" - Harry Styles (DEBUT) 4. " Million Eyes " - Loïc Nottet (2) 5. " I Feel It Coming " - The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk (3) 6. " Roule " - Soprano (6) 7. " Human " - Rag N' Bone Man (4) 8. " You Don't Know Me " - Jax Jones featuring RAYE (7) 9. " Chained To The Rhythm " - Katy Perry featuring Skip Marley (RE-ENTRY) 10. " Be Mine " - Ofenbach (9) The fourth member of One Direction to have a solo hit is probably the most well-known of them all, Harry Styles, who arrives on the chart at #3 with "Sign Of The Times"... (Click below to see the rest of the post)

" Bad Of The Heart " - George Lamond from the album Bad Of The Heart (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #25 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6 Today's song of the day comes from George LaMond , a freestyle dance music singer who grew up in Puerto Rico and the Bronx as George Garcia, before changing his name for his recording career. He released a single "Bad Of The Heart" independently in the New York area, but the massive popularity of the track on local dance radio and clubs caused Columbia Records, eager to jump on the freestyle train, to pick him up for distribution and a proper album. But first, they released a new recording, the frenetic " Without You ", which climbed to #4 on the Dance Club Play chart in Billboard , but radio hadn't caught on yet.  "Bad Of The Heart", written by Phillip Andreula and Marilyn Rodriguez, was the right mixture of romantic drama, and swaying synth beats, but slowed down just a little to get that hi

" When I Dream Of You " - Tommy Page from the album Paintings In My Mind (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42 This week's "robbed hit" comes from pop singer Tommy Page , who had reached the top of the Billboard charts with his New Kids On The Block-assisted ballad " I'll Be Your Everything " in the spring of 1990. His follow-up single would be written by him alone, "When I Dream Of You", though it still has those drum machine sounds teen-pop was in love with for a midtempo homage to freestyle... "When I Dream Of You" came a couple notches of reaching the American top-40 in June of 1990. It also was a minor hit in Canada at #79. After a couple more albums that were more popular in the Far East, Page had a very successful career behind the scenes, first as an A&R guy at Warner Brothers Records, then as publisher at the magazine that put him on top of the charts, Billboard . Sadly, between the time I posted "I&

" King Of Wishful Thinking " - Go West from the album Pretty Woman (Original Soundtrack) (1990) and Indian Summer (1992) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 13 Today's song of the comes from the British synthpop duo Go West , who had a stellar debut album in 1986 that spun off four top-40 hits in their homeland, but none of them reached that level in the States. Their second release, Dancing On The Couch , may have sold a bit less, but got their feet in the door of American pop radio with their first top-40 hit " Don't Look Down - The Sequel " in the fall of 1987. They laid low for a couple of years, and then re-emerged like they did between their  first two albums with a contribution to a soundtrack; this time is was the Richard Gere/Julia Roberts rom-com Pretty Woman . "King Of Wishful Thinking", written by Peter Cox and Richard Drummie along with Martin Page, the latter who wrote "Dancing In Heaven (Orbital