Twostepcublog

    " Boy " was a big club hit for the electro-dance group Book Of Love. Originally released on their debut album Book Of Love as the lead single, the song was re-released with new club remixes from Peter Rauhofer and others in 2000 for their I Touch Roses: The Best Of Book Of Love collection. The track was written by band member Ted Ottoviano. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the new versions spent one week at #1 in 2001. The original, backed with the song "Book Of Love", went to #7 on that chart in 1985.   (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Bow Wow (That's My Name) " - Lil' Bow Wow from the album Beware Of Dog (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #21 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 7   Today's song comes from young rapper Lil' Bow Wow , aka Shad Moss, whose debut single " Bounce With Me " had topped Billboard magazine's Rap Singles chart and made the Hot 100 top-20 in the autumn of 2000.  The second single from his debut Beware Of Dog album was the declarative "Bow Wow (That's My Name)". Produced by Jermaine "JD" Dupri, whose label the album was released on, the song was written by Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, and Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus, whose verse on the album was removed for the single/radio version though not on the music video, over a sample of George Clinton's classic "Atomic Dog". The record has Bow Wow boasted about himself (name-checking his birthplace of Columbus and label So So Def), as well as bringing up G-Shock, Th

    " One Day In Your Life " was a big club and international hit for American singer Anastacia. Appearing on her second album Freak Of Nature , the song was written by Anastacia with producers Sam Watters (of Color Me Badd) and Louis Biancaniello. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 2002, while reaching #11 on the British singles chart and making the top-40 all over the world.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " So In Love With Two " - Mikaila from the album Mikaila (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #25 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 3   Today's song comes from actress/singer Mikaila Enriquez, who grew up in Oklahoma before moving with her family to Dallas, where she began her music career in gospel in the mid-1990s before landing an acting role on the children's public television show Wishbone in 1997, along with a tie-in movie a year later. At the turn of the century, Mikaila, using just her first name for recording, signed with Island Records, where she released her self-titled third album in 2001. The lead single from the set would be the decidedly secular "So In Love With Two". Written by Mikaila with producers Mikkel Eriksen, Rustan Halgeir, and Tor Erik Hermansen, who call their team Stargate (they'll be much more prevalent on the pop scene really soon), the song has her trying to decide between boyfriends in the love triangle she's set up. Mi

    "Adrenalin" was a club hit for the electro-dance group Yen. Released as a stand-alone single , the song was written by the group's Dave Cook and Chris Turner. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the track was listed with the single's "B-side", "Talk To Me", and peaked at #38 in 1991.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    Friday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Lizzo holds tight at #1 for a seventh week, while country singer Maren Morris (pictured above) races up four notches in the top ten. Former big hits by the Lumineers, Walker Hayes, Diplo/Miguel, and Lost Frequencies/Calum Scott drop off my chart, while songs from Luke Combs, Maneskin, and David Guetta/Becky Hill/Ella Henderson make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places 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. My walking buddy is back for a weekend!   This Week                  Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. About Damn Time - Lizzo (1) 2. Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold (2) 3. As It Was - Harry Styles (3) 4. 2Step - Ed Sheeran

    " Crazy " - K-Ci & Jojo from the albums Save The Last Dance (Original Soundtrack) and X (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 21   Today's song comes from R&B sibling duo K-Ci & JoJo , whose second album after leaving Jodeci It's Real had sent it's title-ish track " Tell Me It's Real " all the way to #2 on the American pop and R&B charts in the summer of 1999.  A year later, the brothers came back with a track from the movie Save The Last Dance that also will serve as the lead single for their third release as a duo, X . "Crazy", written by the Hailey brothers with Lincoln Browder and producer Darrell Allamby, has K-Ci and JoJo not taking a breakup well at all, with a three minute rant about how nuts they are, without giving the reason on the split which is pretty sus (I suspect cheating). Their mechanically distorted voices (a la Roger Troutman) twist around how awful they feel, to b

    " Move Your Body (Elevation) " was a club hit for the house music act Xpansions, featuring singer/actress Sally Ann Marsh. Released as a stand-alone single , the song was written by the act's Martin Spreckly and Richie Malone. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #5 in 1991, while climbing to #7 on the British Singles chart.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Danger (Been So Long) " - Mystikal featuring Nivea from the album Let's Get Ready (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from rapper Mitchell "Mystikal" Tyler, who scored his first crossover hit on Billboard magazine's pop Hot 100 chart in the fall of 2000 with " Shake Ya Ass " from his Let's Get Ready album.  The second single from the record was "Danger (Been So Long)". Written by Mystikal with producers Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, aka "The Neptunes", the record isn't about hazardous situations, but rather a party track with the rapper spitting out boasts and come ons to the ladies in the club. The only threat is to the ladies' boyfriends, who he warns not to step up. Newcomer Nivea provides the chorus vocals here, jump starting her own career after coming from the church music of Savannah Georgia. The Neptunes provide a radio-friendly backdrop

    " Just Us " was a club hit for producer/singer Joey Washington (featuring the "Mens Club"). Released as a stand-alone single, the song was written by Washington with producers Paul Scott and Bryan Thompson. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #20 in 1993.       

    " Stronger " - Britney Spears from the album Oops!...I Did It Again (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 8   Today's song is from Britney Spears , whose sophomore effort Oops!...I Did It Again had already scored a pair of pop radio hits with " Oops!...I Did It Again " and " Lucky ".  The third single promoted from the album was the song "Stronger". Written and produced by the Swedish team of Max Martin and Rami Yacoub, the song puts Britney in the position of casting off an overbearing and neglectful love (or maybe father?), declaring that she can make it on her own no matter what. The lyrics are simple and broad, but damn does Spears pour her all into this, what I honestly feel is her best vocal performance. The layered background vocals serve to raise her up, but it's her at the end hitting those notes of triumph that she is, indeed, stronger . The music video puts the theme directly into the "c

    " Sweetest Day Of May " was a club hit for the Joe T. Vannelli Project led by the Italian DJ/producer whose real name was Guiseppe Troccoli. Released as a stand-alone single , the song was written by Troccoli/Vannelli (under another alias of Jayti) with Janice Robinson, who provided uncredited vocals to the track. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #28 in 1995.      

    " Hemorrhage (In My Hands) " - Fuel from the album Something Like Human (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #30 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 12   Today's song comes from the alternative hard rock band Fuel , who had come together in central Pennsylvania after starting in Tennessee in the late 1980s as Small The Joy. Lead guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell, singer Brett Scallions, bass player Jeff Abercrombie and drummer Jody Abbott (later replaced by Kevin Miller) released a series of three indie EPs in the mid-1990's before being signed to Epic Records, where they put out an EP Hazleton (named after another Pennsylvania city) in 1997 to create buzz for their full-length debut Sunburn a year later. One of the cuts from the record, " Shimmer ", was a redo from their indie EP Porcelain , and became a decent rock radio hit in the summer of 1998, going to #2 on Billboard magazine's Alternative Rock radio chart and just missing the pop top-40 on the Hot

 "Losin' It" was a club hit for the Australian electro-rock trio Underground Lovers. Appearing on their album Dream It Down , the song was written by the act's Glenn Bennie and Vincent Giarrusso with producers David Chesworth and Robert Goodge. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the promo single peaked at #36 in 1995.

    " The Itch " - Vitamin C from the album More (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45 (one week)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from Vitamin C, aka singer/actress Colleen Fitzpatrick, who had scored a pair of top-40 pop hits from her self-titled debut album in 1999 with " Smile " and " Graduation (Friends Forever) ". The following year, she returned with the lead single from her sophomore effort, More , "The Itch". Written by Fitzpatrick with Jimmy Harry and Billy Steinberg, the song is a departure from her indie-pop earlier work to try to fit the dance-pop mold dominated by Britney and Christina at the time. I mean, the main lyrical hook of the track is " I'm feeling the itch again , I need to get tricked again" which is pretty inane. And she's telling her boyfriend that he doesn't give that to her. Oofdah. It's too awkward to even pass as undecipherable, and naturally it didn't get the reception a

    " Don't Tell Me " - Madonna from the album Music (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song is from Madonna , who returned to #1 on the American pop chart in the autumn of 2000 with the title track from her eighth studio album " Music ".  For the second single, she released the dance/country fusion dish of "Don't Tell Me", written by Madonna with producer Mirwais Ahmadzai and singer/songwriter Joe Henry, who is married to Madonna's sister Melanie Ciccone. The song plays like a tone poem, more on beats and melody that words, until the rather chilling final verse of   Tell the bed not to lay Like a open mouth of a grave, yeah Not to stare up at me Like a calf down on its knees   Now that's an image. Nevertheless, the acoustic guitar loop and soothing synth background lulls you into a peace that glosses over that into a simple "don't tell me not to stop loving you" message. The

    " Happy " was a club hit for DJ/musician Towa Tei, one of the members of the group Deee-Lite. Appearing on his album Sound Museum , the song was written by Tei with singer Vivian Sessions and rapper Bahamadia, who perform on the single, and produced by Towa with Toshihiko Mori and Ayumi Obinata, with Frankie Knuckles doing the major remix. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the promo remix single peaked at #3 in 1998.      (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " Liquid Dreams " - O-Town from the album O-Town (2001) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10   Today's song comes from O-Town , a boy-band assembled as part of a "reality singing competition" show headed up by felon and recently deceased scuzzball Lou Pearlman, who had earlier put together the groups Backstreet Boys and NSYNC (before taking all their money and getting sued to release them). Hoping to bring the "process" to a television format, Pearlman and the ABC Network produced Making The Band , which would cull a herd of 25 young men to five spots (of course) for this new act, which would be signed to Clive Davis' label J Records. The final five (after one defection) would be Ashley Parker Angel, Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and Dan Miller. Their debut single in the fall of 2000 was "Liquid Dreams". Written by Michael Norfleet, Quincy Patrick, Bradley Spalter, and Joshua Thompso

    " Encore Une Fois " was a big club hit for the German techno act Sash!. Appearing on their It's My Life - The Album set, the song was written and produced by the group's Ralf Kappmeier, Sascha Lappessen, and Thomas Lüdke. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single spent a week at #1 in 1997, while going to #2 on the British Singles chart.     (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    " I Lost It " - Kenny Chesney from the album Greatest Hits (2000) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3   Today's song comes from country music singer Kenny Chesney , whose fifth studio album Everywhere We Go in 1999 had landed (thanks to chart rules changes) two top-40 crossover hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart with " How Forever Feels " and " You Had Me From Hello ".  The following year, Kenny released his first Greatest Hits collection, with four new songs included. One of those, "I Lost It", was promoted as the lead single from the set in the summer of 2000. Written by Jimmy Olander and Neil Thrasher, the song tells a story about a man first proposing to his wife in the first verse, then by the second almost losing her to indifference, to a seemingly forced immediate reunion where everything turns out right. If you pay attention you'll catch the awkwardness of the plot, but Chesney's

    "Here Comes The Rain Again" was a club hit for singer and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. Released as a stand-alone single , the record was a dance cover of the classic new wave hit from Eurythmics. On Billboard magazine's Dance Club Play chart, the single peaked at #37 in 1999, while making it to #44 on the R&B Singles chart.  

    Friday is here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hit" tunes from the previous week. Lizzo reigns supreme for a sixth week, while Dove Cameron (pictured above) climbs two notches in the top ten. Songs from Beyonce, Nicky Youre, and Harry Styles make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Keith Urban, Alesso/Katy Perry, and The Kid Laroi/Justin Bieber drop out. And below the chart everything is Spotify-playlisted for the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. Well, the Rona has finally made it to my door, damn anti-mask assholes!   This Week          Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. About Damn Time - Lizzo (1) 2. Numb Little Bug - Em Beihold (3) 3. As It Was - Harry Styles (2) 4. 2Step - Ed Sheeran f/Lil Baby (8) 5. Love Brand New - Bob Moses (5) 6. A Little Bit O