Twostepcublog

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. Beyonce reigns supreme for a fifth week, while Ariana Grande (pictured above) leaps into the top five. Former big hits from SZA, Morgan Wallen, Kane Brown, and Cody Johnson drop off my list, while songs from Hozier, Maggie Rogers, and Lainey Wilson make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). And under the chart 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. Texas Hold 'Em - Beyonce (1) 2. Lose Control - Teddy Swims (2) 3. Neon Pill - Cage The Elephant (3) 4. We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) - Ariana Grande (8) 5. Dilemma - Green Day (5) 6. The Glass - Foo Fighters (7) 7. Good Peop

    " Can't Hold Us Down " - Christina Aguilera featuring Lil' Kim from the album Stripped (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #12 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from Christina Aguilera , whose Stripped album stumbled at the start with the stiffed first single " Dirrty " but rebounded greatly with the Grammy-winning " Beautiful " and the feisty " Fighter ". The fourth single from the record paired her up with the rapper she shared a #1 hit with on " Lady Marmalade ", Lil' Kim .  Kim had also seen a resurgence when the second second from her La Bella Mafia album, " Magic Stick ", hit #2 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2003. "Can't Hold Us Down", written by the pair with Matt Morris and produce Scott Storch, The lyrics are all about female empowerment with both Christina and Kim comparing how women are treated versus men when doing the same things in l

    " What Was I Thinkin' " - Dierks Bentley from the album Dierks Bentley (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #22 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 10   Today's song comes from country music singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley , who despite the genre he pursued a music career, had an "un-redneck" upbringing, from fairly well-to-do parents in his birthplace of Arizona (fun fact: his real first name is Fred) to his prep-school stint in New Jersey (down the road from my own high school nonetheless). He eventually graduated college in Nashville, and was signed to Capitol Nashville Records. His self-titled debut album came out in the summer of 2003, preceded by the single "What Was I Thinkin'". Written by Bentley with Brett Beavers and Deric Ruttan. the uptempo number is a comic look at a man risking the wrath of a father to date a pretty woman. And she's instigating him into getting into all sorts of trouble. The production pits the raucous pacing w

    " Did My Time " - Korn from the album Take a Look in the Mirror (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1   Today's song comes from the band Korn, who came together in the early 1990s in Bakersfield California.  Three of the original members was in another local group called L.A.P.D. - bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer, and drummer David Silveria. They brought in lead singer Jonathan Davis and guitarist Brian "Head" Welch to form the new group, and moved to southern California. There they played local gigs and released a demo album Niedermeyer's Mind , before getting discovered by a rep from Immortal Records, which was an affiliate of Epic.  With that major-label backing, the group released their debut album Korn in 1994, which spent over a year on the Billboard 200 sales tally with a high of #72, going on to sell over two million copies. The first single from the record,

    " Let's Get Down " - Bow Wow featuring Baby from the album Unleashed (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #14 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 9   Today's song comes from rapper and actor Shad Moss, who had gone under the alias of " Lil' Bow Wow " when he broke through on the music scene with his debut album Beware Of Dog , which placed four singles on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart, with two of them crossing over to the top-40 on the Hot 100 in 2000-2001 with " Bounce With Me " and " Bow Wow (That's My Name) ". Later in 2001 he returned with his sophomore effort on Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Records, Doggy Bag , which sold over a million copies and peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 sales tally and #2 on the R&B Albums list. However, radio was much cooler to him, with both its singles being modrest hits - the bigger of the two, " Take Ya Home ", stopped at #21 on the R&B Singles chart and st

    " Addicted " - Simple Plan from the album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #45     This week's 'robbed hit' comes from the Canadian pop-punk band Simple Plan , whose breakthrough hit in America, " I'd Do Anything ", had stopped right under the halfway mark on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the spring of 2003. The next single from their debut album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls was "Addicted", written by the band with producer Arnold Lanni. The lyrics have lead single Pierre Bouvier bitter over a breakup with him lamenting " I can't pretend I don't care when you don't think about me, do you think I deserve this?". There's no rehashing on what caused the split, though he beats himself up for being "a dick" though he "tried to make you happy". It's a deep wallow in anger through his nasal snarl that I can relate to that pervades the track th

    " Thoia Thoing " - R. Kelly from the album The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1 (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 14   Today's song comes from singer/songwriter/producer/convicted sexual felon R. Kelly, whose album Chocolate Factory had spun off a pair of top-40 crossover hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Ignition (Remix) " and " Snake ".  A couple more tracks from the album got enough unsolicited urban radio airplay to make Billboard 's R&B Singles chart, with " I'll Never Leave " spending 31 weeks on the list with a high or #29 (while also bubbling under the Hot 100 at #103), and " Forever " taking 17 weeks on the chart peaking at #71. Also, a non-album charity single, " Soldier's Heart ", made it to #80 on the Hot 100 and #84 on the R&B Singles chart. However, this benevolent measure was like putting lipstick on a pig, as the initial repercussion

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hits" of the week. Beyonce stays on top for a fourth week, while Green Day (pictured above) leaps four spots in the top ten. Songs from Kenny Chesney, Maggie Rogers, and the Blessid Madonna make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Olivia Rodrigo, Disturbed/Ann Wilson, Zach Bryan/Kacey Musgraves, the Last Dinner Party, and Cannons drop off my list. 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. Yes, it's Record Store Day time again, it's not the same... This Week                Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Texas Hold 'Em - Beyonce (1) 2. Lose Control - Teddy Swims (2) 3. Neon Pill - Cage The Elephant (3) 4. Dark Matter - Pearl

 " My Love Is Like...Wo " - Mya from the album Moodring (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #13 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 13   Today's song comes from R&B singer Mya , who after landing a top ten hit at the close of 2000 with " Case Of The Ex ", went all the way to #1 with her collaboration with Christina Aguilera, Pink, and Lil' Kim on the remake of " Lady Marmalade " from the Moulin Rouge movie in the summer of the following year. After appearing in the Oscar-nominated movie adaptation of the musical Chicago , Mya returned in 2003 with her third album Moodring , which came out on A&M Records through Interscope (her first two were on the University imprint which went defunct). The lead single from the set was "My Love Is Like...Wo", written and produced by Missy Elliott and brothers Charles and Kenneth Bereal. The lyrics have Mya making her moves on a player, assuring him she can satisfy him all by herself. The production s

    " The Remedy (I Won't Worry) " - Jason Mraz from the album Waiting For My Rocket To Come (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #15 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 14   Today's song comes from Jason Mraz , who grew up in Virginia getting involved in musical theatre. But it was after a move to New York to pursue that when he left it to become a pop singer/songwriter. Jason eventually found himself in California, where he released a series of albums on his own before getting signed by Elektra Records. After opening for Jewel on her pop-leaning tour, Jason released his debut album Waiting For My Rocket To Come . The first single from the record to gain traction was "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)", written by Mraz with the Matrix team of Lauren Christy, Graham Edwards, and Scott Spock. The Matrix were also instrumental in the "musical makeover" of pop-punk it-girl Avril Lavigne. Jason has said that the song was inspired by a close friend who had battle

    " No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems " - Kenny Chesney from the album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #28 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 8 Today's song comes from Kenny Chesney , who had settled in on a younger version of a beach bum persona that Jimmy Buffett perfected on his No Shoes No Shirt No Problems album, which had already spun off three big country hits that made the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Young ", " The Good Stuff ", and " Big Star ". A fourth, " A Lot Of Things Different ", went top ten on country radio and #55 on the Hot 100, while album cut " Live Those Songs " got enough unsolicited airplay to pop on to Billboard 's Country Songs chart for a week at #60.  The fifth and final single from the record was the title cut "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems". Written by Casey Beathard, the song is just as straightforward as the title taken fr

    " Celebrity " - Brad Paisley from the album Mud On The Tires (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #31 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 6   Today's song comes from country singer/songwriter/guitarist Brad Paisley , whose appropriately-titled sophomore album Part II saw to of its tracks cross over to the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " Wrapped Around " and " I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishing Song) ", as well as one of his best songs that missed the mark, " I Wish You'd Stay ". In 2003 Brad retturned with his third album, Mud On The Tires , with the lead single following the comic footsteps of the top-40 hits from his last set. "Celebrity", written by Paisley and produced by Frank Rogers, sees him politely taking the piss out of fame and show business. The first two lines are more prophetic that even he probably realized 20 years ago, as the idea of having fame with no talent is more the norm now (thank you, Kar