Songoftheday 7/18/23 - Boy you fill me with so much joy you give whatever it is I need, my love here to stay won't ever leave so glad that you fell in love with me...

 

 

"Happy" - Ashanti

from the album Ashanti (2002)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 16

 

Today's song comes from R&B singer Ashanti (Douglas), who scored a Grammy Award with her debut album Ashanti. The lead single from the set, "Foolish", rode a DeBarge sample all the way to #1 on Billboard magazine's pop Hot 100 chart for ten weeks in the spring of 2002. The singer also appeared on the top ten collaborative single from Irv Gotti's "The Inc", "Down 4 U" in the summer. Ashanti's next move was the follow-up solo single "Happy", written by her with producers Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and Andre Parker. The song was built again on a prominent hit 80's R&B sample, this time "Outstanding" by the Gap Band, giving Ray Calhoun writing credit as well. The radio remix also included Murder Inc. Records labelmate Ja Rule (though the charts just had her listed). The lyrics are the basic love song variety, with Ashanti exclaiming her joy and thanking God for finding them, which she delivers in a strong and slightly jazzy way, changing up the melody enough to discern it from the sample original. With that flute-forward groove and her momentum from "Foolish", Ashanti found herself with a second big hit...

"Happy" landed in the top ten on Billboard's Hot 100 in September of 2002, while also peaking at #6 on their R&B Singles chart. On the radio, the song went to #12 on the Mainstream Top-40 airplay chart, #34 on the older-skewing Adult R&B station list, and #4 on the dance-R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single hit #10 in the Netherlands, and reached the top-40 in the United Kingdom (#13), New Zealand (#19), Ireland (#22), Switzerland (#24), Australia (#29), Belgium (#35 Wallonia/#49 Flanders), and France (#40).

Both Ashanti and her debut album will be back to the series.

(6/10)

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The remix of "Happy", which put more of the original "Outstanding" in the mix, also included labelmate Charli Baltimore...

Next up, Ashanti and Ja Rule appearing on the British chart show Top Of The Pops...

Up tomorrow: post-9/11 jingoism reaches its apex with this mulleted country star.