Twostepcublog

    " Superman " - Eminem from the album The Eminem Show (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 10   Today's song comes from Eminem , whose third album The Eminem Show had already scored a pair of top ten hits with " Without Me " and " Cleaning Out My Closet ".  He then released his semi-autobiographical movie 8 Mile , which became a huge success, as did the centerpiece song from the soundtrack, " Lose Yourself ", which topped Billboard 's Hot 100 for three months and won him an Oscar and a pair of Grammy Awards. The rapper then went back to his studio album to release his next single "Superman". Written by Eminem (under his real name Marshall Marhers) along with producer/engineers Jeff Bass and Steve King, the record is back in his vindictive towards those that wrong him vein, with an especially misogynistic slant this time. It's one thing to not be able to solve another's problems, but h...

    " How You Gonna Act Like That " - Tyrese from the album I Wanna Go There (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7  Weeks in the Top-40: 20   Today's song comes from model, actor, and R&B singer Tyrese (Gibson) , whose debut album in 1998 had scored a pair of crossover top-40 hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Nobody Else " and " Sweet Lady ".  The following year, he joined fellow R&B singer heartthrobs Ginuwine, Case, and R.L. (the latter from the group Next) for the song " The Best Man I Can Be " from the movie The Best Man , which hit #20 on Billboard 's R&B chart and #77 on the pop Hot 100. In 2000, Tyrese was featured on the single " Whatchu Like " by female rapper Da Brat that returned him to the top-40 at #26. But when the singer returned with his sophomore effort, 2000 Watts , in 2001, radio was a little cooler, with lead single " I Like Them Girls " stopping at #48 on the Hot 100, and ...

    " Something " - Lasgo from the album Some Things (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1   Today's song comes from the dance music group Lasgo, who came together in Belgium at the end of the 1990s. The original incarnation of the group had singer Evi Goffin backed by producer/musicians/remixers Peter Luts, David Vervoort. The group released their debut single "Something" in continental Europe in the summer of 2001. Written by Luts and Vervoort and produced by the latter, the song is a throwback to the Eurodance heyday of the last decade, with club-thumping beats and pulsing synth production anchoring a English-as-a-second-language plotline of a struggling relationship. There's much repetition of the "hold me in your arms" and "I Don't wanna say I'm Sorry" with obviously no context - it's all about the groove here, though Goffin puts in a respectable performance bringing the drama. With a musi...

    " The Red " - Chevelle from the album Wonder What's Next (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #56    This week's "robbed hit" comes from the hard rock band Chevelle , who came together in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-1990's. After original bass player Matt Scott left near the start, brothers Pete and Sam Loeffler recuited younger sibling Joe to form the band, and were originally signed to the Christian rock label Squint, where fellow vague-religious group Sixpence None The Richer got their break. Chevelle released their debut album Point #1 in the spring of 1999. The title track " Point #1 " scraped the bottom of Billboard magazine's Mainstream Rock radio chart at #40 for a week, but the album didn't get much traction since the label was on the verge of shutting down. But with some traction in the religious rock world (they won three "Dove Awards" with the set), the band found a home on Epic Records.  Chevelle's fir...

    " I Just Wanna Be Mad " - Terri Clark from the album Pain To Kill (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #27 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 7   Today's song comes from Canadian country artist Terri Clark , who had cracked the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 for the first time in the end of 1998 with " You're Easy On The Eyes " from her third album How I Feel . In 2000, Clark followed up with the set Fearless , my personal favorite of hers. However, country radio and the public felt a little different, as the lead single "A Little Gasoline" missed the genre top ten at #13, while stopping at #75 on the Hot 100 (it did make the top ten on the Canadian country chart at #9).  Terri returned in 2002 with her fifth release Pain To Kill , preceded by the uptempo lead single "I Just Wanna Be Mad". Written by industry pros Kelley Lovelace and Lee Thomas Miller, the lyrics take a lighthearted look at relationships, specifically when the ...

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves take over at #1, while Usher (pictured above) leaps into the top ten. Former big hits from Taylor Swift/Ice Spice and Phillip Phillips drop off my chart, while songs from Tyla, Jelly Roll/Lainey Wilson, and Victoria Monet make 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.    This Week           Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. I Remember Everything - Zach Bryan f/Kacey Musgraves (3) 2. What Was I Made For? - Billie Eilish (2) 3. Dial Drunk - Noah Kahan f/Post Malone (1) 4. One More Time - blink-182 (4) 5. Used To Be Young - Miley Cyrus (5) 6. Good Good -...

    " Paradise " - LL Cool J featuring Amerie from the album 10 and Deliver Us From Eva (Original Soundtrack) (both 2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #36 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3   Today's song comes from rapper and actor LL Cool J , who returned to the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the fall of 2002 with " Luv U Better ".  The follow-up single from the record was "Paradise", which featured R&B singer Amerie , who had broke through on the Hot 100 herself for the first time in the summer of that year with " Why Don't We Fall In Love? ". Produced by the Poke & Tone team (Jean-Claude Olivier and Sam Barnes), the record sampled the 1982 minor R&B hit " Risin' To The Top " by Keni Burke (R&B #62), written by Burke with Allan Felder and Norma Jean (Wright), the latter the original female lead singer of the disco group Chic. All these people shared writing credit with LL (as Todd Smith...

    " Fall Into Me " - Emerson Drive from the album Emerson Drive (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song comes from the Canadian country band Emerson Drive , who had cracked the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2002 with their top ten country hit " I Should Be Sleeping ".  Their follow-up would be the mid-tempo love ballad "Fall Into Me", written by Danny Orton and Jeremy Stover. The lyrics have lead singer Brad Mates trying to reassure a partner whose previous relationship damaged their psyche (been there, doing that now), saying that he understands and will be there to "fall into" for support. It's the usual Hallmark-style encouraging phrases but it's delivered smoothly and sinceerely. And for this vein how better can it get than to be produced by the master of schlocky love songs themselves, Richard Marx, who adds an adult-pop sheen to the song while still ...

    " The Baby " - Blake Shelton from the album The Dreamer (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 7   Today's song comes from Blake Shelton , who had burst onto the Nashville scene with his debut single " Austin ", which topped the country chart and crossed over to the top-20 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the autumn of 2001. A year later, Blake returned with the lead single from his upcoming sophomore effort The Dreamer , "The Baby". Written by Harley Allen and Michael White, the song is a an ode to motherhood, placing Shelton as the youngest child recounting all the thing his mom did for him. The lyrics jokingly admit he was her favorite, as his gallivanting ways was part of the "youngest child" package. But the final verse gets sad as he is called home when she is dying, only to arrive too late, twisting the meaning of "baby" to him crying. It's a nice enough story without getting heavy...

    " Always " - Saliva from the album Back Into Your System (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #51   This week's "robbed hit comes from the rock back Saliva, who came together in Tennessee originally in the mid-1990's, and after putting themselves out in concert, they released their self-titled debut album in 1997 under the indie Rockinghorse label. After creating a buzz and selling pretty decently, they were picked up by Island Records, where they worked on their major label debut Every Six Seconds for years before it came out in 2001. The lead single from the record, " Your Disease ", peaked at #3 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock radio chart, and #7 on their Alternative Rock counterpart, and "bubbled under" the all-genre Hot 100 at #116. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award a year later for Best Hard Rock Performance, losing to Linkin Park for "Crawling". The Every Six Seconds album went to #56 on the Billboard 20...

    " Gossip Folks " - Missy Elliott featuring Ludacris from the album Under Construction (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 14   Today's song comes from rapper and newly-inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Missy Elliott , who had scored a massive crossover hit with " Work It ", the lead single from her fourth album Under Construction . (The "B-side" of the American 12" and European CD single, " Pussycat ", also got enough airplay to reach Billboard magazine's R&B Songs chart at #26, and the Hot 100 at #77.) The second "official" single from the record was the club track "Gossip Folks", which features rapper Ludacris , who just landed his first top ten pop hit as a lead artist with " Move B!tch " in the autumn of 2002. Written by the pair with producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, Missy comes right out of the gate addressing the rumors about her, fr...

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. Noah Kahan and Post Malone spend a fifth week at #1, while blink-182 (pictured above) leap into the top five. Songs from casso, boygenius, and Tyler Childers make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Hozier, Luke Combs, and Parmalee drop off my chart. 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. Gobble, Gobble folks!   This Week           Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Dial Drunk - Noah Kahan f/Post Malone (1) 2. What Was I Made For? - Billie Eilish (4) 3. I Remember Everything - Zach Bryan f/Kacey Musgraves (5) 4. One More Time - blink-182 (9) 5. Used To Be Young - Miley Cyrus (6) 6. Under You - Foo F...

    " In Da Club " - 50 Cent from the album Get Rich Or Die Tryin' (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (nine weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 26   Today's song comes from the rapper who was also yesterday's SOTD artist, Curtis " 50 Cent " Jackson, who broke through on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with hit top-20 hit " Wanksta " from the soundtrack to Eminem's movie 8 Mile . Two months after the release of that song, 50 Cent returned with what would be the lead single from his debut album on Shady (Eminem)/Aftermath (Dr. Dre)/Interscope Records, Get Rich Or Die Tryin' . "In Da Club", written by Jackson with producers Dr. Dre and Mike Elizondo, is a mid-tempo party record, aiming for a wider audience but not so much as to slip a nod to his drug dealer past in the chorus at the get-go as he says "Look mami I got the X if your into takin' drugs". In the verses its brand porn and chest-puffing, as he name-checks Dr. D...