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Well, it's New Year's Eve, and we're down to the top ten biggest songs of 2017 on my weekly music chart . These are the ones that climbed the highest and stuck around the longest for the year, and you can catch up with parts one through nine (plus my 25 also-rans) by clicking here . #10 - " Despacito " - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee           from the album Despacito & My Greatest Hits (2017)           Highest rank: #1 (five weeks)           Weeks on the chart: 28           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1           Songwriters: Luis Rodriguez (Luis Fonsi), Ramon Ayala (Daddy Yankee), Erika Ender It's totally fitting that in the first (and hopefully last) year of the Creamsicle Pretend-King, that this Spanish-language reggaeton track by two Puert...

" Love...Thy Will Be Done " - Martika from the album Martika's Kitchen (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9 Today's song of the day comes from the actress and dance-pop singer Martika , who had gone from being a star of the childrens musical program Kids Incorporated to her successful debut album, which spun off three top-40 pop hits in the U.S. with " More Than You Know ", a cover of Carole King's " I Feel The Earth Move ", and the #1 song " Toy Soldiers ". In 1991, she released her sophomore effort Martika's Kitchen , with four of the twelve tracks co-written and produced by Prince. That included the first single "Love...Thy Will Be Done", an understated yet emotionally powerful song that pulsates as she sings. He also sings backup, giving his sound complete control over the record... Martika - Love Thy Will Be Done (Video) from Eric West on Vimeo . "Love...Thy Wi...

We're getting close to the end of my year-end countdown of the biggest songs on my weekly music chart for 2017. You can catch up on everything so far by clicking here and checking out parts one through eight... #20 - " Stay " - Zedd & Alessia Cara           from the album Everything, Everything (Original Soundtrack) (2017)           Highest rank: #7 (six weeks)           Weeks on the chart (in 2017): 27           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7           Songwriters: Anton Zaslavski (Zedd), Alessia Caracciolo (Alessia Cara), Linus Wiklund, Sarah Aarons, Anders Frøen (Mood Melodies), Jonnali Parmenius (Noonie Bao) Russo-German DJ/producer Zedd, who had the third biggest song on my countdown for 2013 with "Clarity" and at #47 the year after with "Stay The Night", returns to the year-end with his collaboration with Canadian ...

" Got A Love For You " - Jomanda from the album Someone To Love Me (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from the dance music act Jomanda, who hail from New Jersey, and got together in the late 1980's. Members Cheri Williams and Joanne Thomas were childhood friends, and then hooked up with Renee Washington to form the trio. Their first single, " Make My Body Rock ", was a decent club hit, reaching #6 on Billboard 's Dance Club Play chart in the States in 1989 and almost making the top-40 in the UK at #44. That was followed by " Don't You Want My Love ", which also landed in the Dance Club top ten at #10 (and #67 in Britain). The next year, a third single release, " Share ", also hit the Dance chart at #25, and led to the recording of their debut album Someone To Love Me . A front to back house music jam, the album featured their biggest success, the dancefloor classic ...

The eighth installment of my year-end recap of the biggest songs on my weekly music chart is up right now. You can catch up with the other seven parts as well as my list of also-rans by clicking here ... #40 - " Don't Wanna Know " - Maroon 5 featuring Kendrick Lamar           from the album Red Pill Blues (2017)           Highest rank (in 2017): #4 (four weeks) (was also #4 for two weeks in 2016)           Weeks on the chart (in 2017): 19 (was on the chart for seven weeks in 2016)           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6           Songwriters: Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Kendrick Duckworth (Kendrick Lamar), Benjamin Levin (Benny Blanco), the Arcade (Kurtis McKenzie & Jon Mills), Jon Ryan, Jacob Kasher, Ammar Malik, Alex Ben-Abdallah This tale of heartbreak and longing for your ex is made sweeter by this tropical-house experiment by the biggest A...

" The Sound Of Your Voice " - .38 Special from the album Bone Against Steel (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4 Today's song of the day comes from the southern rock group .38 Special , whose first album after losing one of their original lead singers Don Barnes, Rock & Roll Strategy , nonetheless gave them their highest-charting pop single with the soft-rock ballad " Second Chance " in the spring of 1989. ( A fourth single from the record, "Coming Down Again" hit #67 pop and #43 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock chart.) In 1991, the band, still with new lead singer and keyboard player Max Carl, released their ninth studio album Bone Against Steel . The first single from the record, "The Sound Of Your Voice", brought them somewhat back to uptempo workingman rock, though much more slick and commercial sounding. Written by Carl with bandmates Danny Chauncey and Jeff Carlisi along with Jim Peterik...

We're down to the top-40 of my year-end countdown of the biggest songs on my weekly music chart for 2017. You can catch up with parts one through six along with my also-ran halftime show by clicking here . #40 - " A Million Reasons " - Lady Gaga           from the album Joanne (2016)           Highest rank: #9 (two weeks)           Weeks on the chart: 22           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4           Songwriters: Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga), Hillary Lindsey, Mark Ronson After the lead single from Gaga's fifth album Joanne , "Perfect Illusion", relatively stiffed here in the States, missing the top ten on the pop chart and falling fast and quick after its release, Gaga took a left turn with this country-style ballad co-written with that genre's g...

" Enter Sandman " - Metallica from the album Metallica (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 16 Today's song of the day comes from the speed-metal band Metallica , who had first tasted mainstream success in the spring of 1989 with their first top-40 pop hit " One ". With the momentum of that success, along with a top ten album behind them (a big thing for that underground type of metal), the group set out to record their eponymous fifth studio album, which was released in 1991. Metallica would become one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, in some part to their first single, "Enter Sandman". Written by lead singer James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich over a riff from lead guitarist Kirk Hammett that has become one of the most recognizable and iconic, the song was actually pretty dark, recalling horror movies involving children, and using kids' rhymes and stories to show a true monster hiding under the...

We've reached the halfway point of my year-end countdown of the biggest songs on my weekly music chart ; the ones that climbed the highest and/or stuck around the longest. You can catch up on parts one through five by clicking here , and yesterday's recap of the 25 also-rans can be found by clicking here . Let's get back into it... #50 - " Drinkin' Problem " - Midland           from the album On The Rocks (2017)           Highest rank: #3 (two weeks)           Weeks on the chart: 19           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45           Songwriters: Midland (Mark Wystrach, Cameron Duddy, Jess Carson), Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne Who'd have thunk that a former soap opera actor would front the best of the neo-traditionalist bands of this year? Wystrach, an alum of Passions fronts this trio that sounds like they took the baton from Joe...

" Emotions " - Mariah Carey from the album Emotions (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 20 Today's song of the day comes from Mariah Carey , whose self-titled debut album had landed four #1 pop hit singles in America with " I Don't Wanna Cry ", " Someday ", " Love Takes Time ", and " Vision Of Love ", the latter winning her a Grammy for Female Vocal Performance in 1991. She also grabbed the award for Best New Artist that year as well. That same year, Mariah recorded her sophomore effort, Emotions . However, legal disputes between her and her record company with pre-fame collaborator Ben Margulies, who co-wrote over half of her first album, killed their friendship and work partnership. Turning to Walter Afanasieff, who produced "Love Takes Time", and the team behind the C+C Music Factory, Rob Clivillés and David Cole, she came out with a resulting set that sounded more youthful ...

" There She Goes " - The La's  from the album The La's (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #49 This week's "robbed hit" comes from the British alternative rock band the La's , who got their start in Liverpool in the early 80's under guitarist and singer, Mike Badger, who was originally joined by Lee Mavers, who in no time took over the band entirely, with Badger exiting by 1986. Their first single, " Way Out ", got them a minor British hit at #86 and critical buzz. Two years later, their second release, "There She Goes", climbed a little higher, at #57, but conflict between the band, which had been shuffling members like cards (only bassist John Power was a relative standby), and an assortment of producers, dragged the recording of their first album all the way to 1990. And even those sessions, with Steve Lillywhite, weren't what Mavers wanted to put out, but the record company, who had shelled out a ton on these, simpl...

Hey gang, we've gone halfway through my countdown of the 100 biggest songs on my weekly music chart for 2017. You can catch up on parts one through five by clicking here . As a bonus, here's the 25 songs that just missed out, including some real gems. #125 - " Mi Gente " - J. Balvin & Willy William featuring Beyonce             from the single (2017)             Highest rank: #18 (two weeks)             Weeks on the chart (in 2017): 14 (still charting)             Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3             Following on the heels of "Despacito", Columbian singer J. Balvin and French DJ Willy William had the next Latin breakout success with this track, which was actually a much better suited club and...

" Do Anything " - Natural Selection with Niki Haris from the album Natural Selection (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 19 Today's song of the day comes from Natural Selection, who came together in the late 1980s in Minneapolis. Led by musician/producer Elliot Erickson and singer Frederick Thomas , the act was a local success until they released their self-titled debut album in 1991. The first single from the record, "Do Anything", was a slinkly mid-tempo dance-pop confection written by Erickson and Thomas, who did a passable Prince by way of Ready For The World impersonation. Originally, it was Ingrid Chavez cooing verses in the background, lifted from the parts of Madonna's "Justify My Life" that got Ingrid writer's credit, but in the final record it was actually Madge's back-up singer Niki Haris that got recording credit for the single. Haris had previously reached the pop chart earlier in the ye...

It's time to run down my top 100 tunes from the previous week. Sam Smith remains on top for a second week, while 30 Seconds To Mars (picture above) return to the top ten. Songs from Pink, Marshmello/Selena Gomez, and Andy Grammer make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Phillip Phillips, Rachel Platten, and All Time Love drop off my list. Also, I'm in the middle of counting down the biggest singles on this here weekly chart for 2017, and you can catch up by clicking here . Happy holidays, everyone... This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Too Good At Goodbyes - Sam Smith (1) 2. Havana - Camila Cabello f/Young Thug (3) 3. What About Us? - Pink (2) 4. Thunder - Imagine Dragons (5) 5. Perfect - Ed Sheeran f/Beyonce (7) 6. Up All...

" Hole Hearted " - Extreme from the album Extreme II: Pornograffiti (1990) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 17 Today's song of the day comes from the funk-metal band Extreme , whose sophomore album Pornograffiti spun off an out-of-character #1 pop hit with the acoustic ballad " More Than Words " in the summer of 1991. They followed that up with another folksy number from the mostly-metal album, "Hole Hearted". Written by lead singer Gary Cherone and guitarist Nuno Betancourt, the track, full of tight harmonies and strumming acoustic guitars, was an even catchier single than the first, and pop radio of course went along... "Hole Hearted" became Extreme's second and final top-40 pop hit in October of 1991. The song also spent four weeks at #2 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, as well as crossing over to their Adult Contemporary (or 'easy listening') format tally at #32. Intern...

Wow, I'm already approaching the halfway mark on my countdown of the 100 biggest songs on my weekly music chart this year. You can check out by clicking part one , part two , part three , or part four ... #60 - " Cold " - Maroon 5 featuring Future           from the album Red Pill Blues (2017)           Highest rank: #13 (one week)           Weeks on the chart: 20           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #16           Songwriters: Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Josh Ryan, Jacob Kasher Hindlin (Jacob Kasher), Justin Tranter, Phil Shaouy For a while it seemed like Adam Levine's music career was getting to be a side job from his gig as a mentor on The Voice , but after missing out on last year's list, his band Maroon 5 places three songs on the tally. This trippy dance-pop experiment sported a video that convinced me never to do drugs ever. The...

" Romantic " - Karyn White from the album Ritual Of Love (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 19 Today's song of the day comes from R&B/pop singer Karyn White , whose eponymous debut album had scored her a trio of top ten pop hits with " The Way You Love Me ", " Superwoman ", and " Secret Rendezvous ". In 1991 White released her sophomore effort, Ritual Of Love , and while her first set was dominated by the writing and production team of Babyface and L.A.Reid, eight of this one's twelve songs involved the Minneapolis Flyte Tyme crew of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (the latter she would go on to marry in 1992). This included the first single, "Romantic", which Jam and Lewis created in the Janet Jackson dance-pop mold. Nevertheless, without a current single from Ms. J, radio welcomed the record, and it became Karyn's biggest hit... "Romantic" climbed all the way to #1 on t...

I've been counting down the 100 biggest songs from my weekly music chart from 2017, and we're up to part four....You can check out the other parts by clicking here , here , and here ... #80 - " Wild Thoughts " - DJ Khaled featuring Rihanna & Bryson Tiller           from the album Grateful (2017)           Highest rank: #5 (two weeks)           Weeks on the chart: 16           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2           Songwriters: Khaled Khaled (DJ Khaled), Robyn Fenty (Rihanna), Bryson Tiller, Jahron Braithwaite (Partynextdoor), [Carlos Santana, Wyclef Jean, Jerry Duplassis, Marvin Moore-Hough, David McRae - from the sample of "Maria Maria"], Johnny & Leonardo Mollings (Nasty Beatmakers) After releasing the sugary shitpile that was his collabor...

" Everybody Plays The Fool " - Aaron Neville from the album Warm Your Heart (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12 Today's song of the day comes from veteran singer Aaron Neville , who is part of the seminal New Orleans soul group the Neville Brothers. However, he got his start as a solo artist, with his first hit single going all the way back to 1960, when the single " Over You " climbed to #21 on Billboard 's R&B chart. Neville truly didn't break out of the local bayou market until six years later, when he took the song " Tell It Like It Is " all the way to #1 on the R&B chart and #2 on the pop Hot 100. Although he wasn't able to follow up that success in the sixties and seventies, that classic single gave him enough notoriety that his name never became like those of the countless forgotten "one hit wonders" of that decade. After joining up with his brothers to perform and record ...

I'm up to part three of my recap of the songs that climbed and highest and stayed the longest on my weekly music chart . You can check out the first two installments by clicking here and here ... #80 - " Closer " - The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey           from the EP Collage (2016)           Highest rank (in 2017): #11 (two weeks) (was #2 for two weeks in 2016)           Weeks on the chart (in 2017): 15 (was on for 16 weeks in 2016)           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (twelve weeks)           Songwriters: Andrew Taggart (Chainsmokers), Ashley Frangipane (Halsey), Shaun Frank, Frederic Kennett (Louis The Child), Isaac Slade & Joe King (the Fray) The bro-dance duo's massive hit from last year (it was #50 on 2016's list) carried over to t...

" Love On A Rooftop " - Desmond Child from the album Discipline (1991) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #40 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1 Today's song of the day comes from Desmond Child , who along with Diane Warren and Holly Knight was one of the biggest songswriters in pop music in the 1980's. Born John Barrett in Gainesville, Florida (home to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Desmond success began in 1979, when he penned the disco-rock hit for KISS, " I Was Made For Lovin' You ", which peaked at #11 on the pop chart. He also formed his own band, Desmond Child and Rouge, which had a minor pop hit that same year with " Our Love is Insane " (#51). However, that group didn't last past two quickly-released albums, and Child concentrated on writing and producing others. And with that tack his profile tore through the roof, writing top ten hits for Cher ("We All Sleep Alone"), Aerosmith ("Angel"), Joan Jett ("I Hat...

Round two of my year-end recap of the biggest songs on my weekly music chart for 2017 is up right now. You can check out part one by clicking here ... #90 - " All The Pretty Girls " - Kenny Chesney           from the album Cosmic Hallelujah (2016)           Highest rank: 12 (one week)           Weeks on the chart: 15           Billboard Hot 100 peak: #63           Songwriters: Josh Osborne, Tommy Lee James, Nicolle Galyon After a period of Buffett-ish island fare, Chesney (who was on last year's list at #71 with "Setting The World On Fire" featuring Pink) brings back the guitars for this rockin' ode to the lovely ladies. Not as corny as it could be in more naive hands. Killer lyric: All the seventeens said I'm getting outta Dodge,   ...