Robbed hit of the week 9/20/21 - Ginuwine's "What's So Different?"...

 

 

"What So Different?" - Ginuwine

from the album 100% Ginuwine (1999)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #49 

 

This week's "robbed hit" comes from R&B singer Ginuwine, who rode all the way to the top of Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart as well as the top ten on their pop Hot 100 with his debut "Pony".  That song, written by the singer with producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Stephen "Static Major" Garrett, ended up being a male stripper anthem courtesy of its placement in the movie Magic Mike, but it could have pigeon-holed Ginuwine as a novelty act, especially with the follow-up singles from his debut not getting much attention on pop radio. 

Ginuwine returned in 1998 with a song from the Eddie Murphy reboot of the Dr. Doolittle movie. The result, "Same Ol' G", wasn't released as a retail single, but still got enough radio love to place on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay at #67 and R&B Airplay list at #11 just missing the top ten. That song was written by Timbaland and Static Major, who also reunited with Ginuwine for the first "single" from his sophomore effort 100% Ginuwine. "What's So Different?" takes a guitar lick from the opening of the  Monkees' 1967 top-ten hit "Valleri", along with Godzilla-like roars as percussion, to make something like the male version of what Missy Elliott was doing at the time, and it bangs so hard. Appearing as "the other man" in a love triangle where the woman is promising to leave the other, the sonic pacing illustrates the confrontational tone he's giving, and he basically asks how can he be assured that he won't be cheated on by her (which of course he will be). It's probably one of the best records Timbaland ever did, and Ginuwine is up to the task in keeping with the groove of the track and forging a different path than "Pony" indicated. The music video is big-budget dystopian sci-fi, with Ginuwine singing along a weird work day...

Despite all this, "What's So Different?" inexplicably stalled around the halfway point on the pop Hot 100 chart in Billboard in April of 1999. The song also stalled down at #21 on the R&B Singles chart as well. Internationally, the single got some redemption, becoming Ginuwine's second top ten hit in the UK at #10, while going to #16 in New Zealand. The 100% Ginuwine album, released in March of 1999, also did better, landing his first top ten album at #5, spending over a year on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and going on to move over two million copies. His next single will put him back in the "Song of the Day" series, as well.

(9/10)

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Here's Ginuwine performing "What's So Different" on Motown Live...