Robbed hit of the week 8/29/22 - Mya's "Free"...

 

 

"Free" - Mya

from the album Fear Of Flying (2000)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #42 (two weeks)

 

This week's "robbed hit" comes from R&B singer Mya, who had risen all the way to the runner-up spot on Billboard magazine's pop Hot 100 at the close of 2000 with the second single from her second album Fear Of Flying, "Case Of The Ex" (lead-off "Best Of Me" with Jadakiss stopped short at the halfway mark on that list). The third release from the record was the funky track "Free". Written by Mya (Harrison) and produces James "Jimmy Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis with Alex Richbourg and Tony Tolbert (the latter of the SOTD top-40 band Lo-Key), the song is a self-empowerment anthem for the ladies, especially those who take care of themselves and know to expect a level from the men they seek. The track was hoping for added exposure in the Jamie Foxx movie Bait, where it appeared on the soundtrack, but the film tanked at the box office. The music video, directed by Dave Meyers, ignores the movie tie-in and has two big set-ups for dance numbers for Mya and her backups, and its much better than it has a right to be..

While "Free" was a decent hit on the radio, reaching the top-20 on the Pop (#13), R&B (#42), and dance-oriented Rhythmic (#11) formats, the single stalled a couple notches under the Hot 100 top-40 in March of 2001, while stopping at #52 on the R&B Singles list. The Bait soundtrack, released in September of 2000, also was a stiff, cresting at #49 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. But pretty soon, she would be back with the biggest hit of her career.

(6/10)