Songoftheday 9/29/21 - We both know that I shouldn't be here, this is wrong And baby it's killing me it's killing you...

 

 

"The Hardest Thing" - 98 Degrees

from the album 98 Degrees and Rising (1998)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 19

 

Today's song comes from "boy-band" 98 Degrees, who had scored their first top ten pop hit in the fall of 1998 with the lead single from their second album, "Because Of You".  Their follow-up release was the ballad "The Hardest Thing". Written by Stephen Kipner and David Frank, the latter half of the System (of "Don't Disturb This Groove" fame), the midtempo song has lead singer Nick Lachey breaking up with his side piece because he wants to stay with the woman who "trusts him" (who clearly shouldn't). That background is kind of creepy, especially when he explains that its the other woman who he's more in love with, but their spot-on harmonies and incredibly good looks probably helped the medicine go down quite easily. If it weren't for a subtle misogyny, the Motown-tinged track would be much improved

"The Hardest Thing" became the group's second top ten pop hit in July of 1999. The song climbed to #4 on Billboard magazine's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, while peaking at #32 on the older-skewing Adult Top-40 format and #10 on the R&B/dance inspired Rhythmic radio list. Internationally, the single reached the top ten in New Zealand (#5) and Canada (#10), and made the top-40 in Australia (#24), the UK (#29), and Ireland (#31). The group and the album will return to the series.

(5/10)

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Here's the group appearing on the British show CD:UK to promote the single...

Next up, the group live in concert in 2013...

Up tomorrow: Country singer postpones her justification.