Songoftheday 2/7/24 - Just copped a Bentley and it's parked in my garage, a two o'clock appointment made for my massage...

"Girlfriend" - B2K

from the album Pandemonium (2002) 

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #30 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 3

Today's song comes from the R&B "boy-band" B2K, who paired up with Sean "Diddy" Combs to go all the way to the top of Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the beginning of 2003 with "Bump, Bump, Bump". For the second "single" from the album, they put out a song that wasn't even on the initial version of the record, but on a "special edition" of the album meant to drain even more money from their fanbase. Written and produced by R. Kelly (just as his troubles were starting), the lyrics are pretty forgettable with a bevy of name-checking and brand porn, but the production by Kelly is of course top-notch. The music video, with cameos from Will Smith, Vivica A Fox, and Ron Isley (reprising his "Mr. Biggs" persona from his and Kelly's videos), is more entertaining than the song itself...

"Girlfriend" became B2K's fourth and what would be their last top-40 hit on Billboard's Hot 100 in April of 2003, while climbing to #19 on their R&B Singles chart. On the radio, the song climbed to #14 on the Mainstream R&B airplay chart, and #15 at the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single was their biggest success in the United Kingdom, peaking at #10, while reaching the top-40 in Switzerland (#19), Ireland (#27), and Australia (#39). 

A third single from the album, "What A Girl Wants", was also an added track on the Pandemonium deluxe version. The music video vaguely served as a sequel to "Girlfriend", with the girl from the previous clip, Jennifer Freeman, appearing in this as well. Despite that, and it being a better performed and written song (by Kelly doing both honors again), the single stalled down at #47 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, not even coming close to the Hot 100. 

A second cash-grabbing remix album that placed at #192 on the Billboard 200 sales tally. Meanwhile, a reworked version of an older hit called "Uh Huh 2003" that made the British top-40 at #31. Then the group filmed their own movie, You Got Served. The resulting soundtrack album reached #34 on the Billboard 200, and #7 on the R&B Albums list. The only charting single from the record, "Badaboom", brought in then-hot rapper Fabolous. The record made it to #29 on the R&B Singles chart, and #59 on the Hot 100. The song also was a top-40 hit in France (#20) and the UK (#26). The movie, directed and written by their manager Chris Stokes, was a huge success, making six times the budget back at the box office, eventually even sparking a sequel. 

 

But B2K wouldn't be in that sequel, as tensions grew between Stokes and 3/4's of the act. The fallout would be that Omarion, the biggest presence in the group, would stick with the manager, while Lil Fizz, J-Boog, and Raz-B would leave. Since then, Dreux Pierre "Lil' Fizz" Frédéric and Jarell "J-Boog" Houston released an EP together called Nightlife in 2009. De’Mario "Raz-B" Thornton put out a self-titled album in 2007, and a song from it, "Fire", popped on to Billboard's R&B chart for a week at #89. The four members would reunite for a tour in 2018 that did NOT go well, and have been feuding publicly ever since.

As for Omarion, he would go on to solo success and will be back to the series.

(4/10)

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There was an overhaul remix done for the single with R. Kelly appearing on the track, quite inappropriately (for him) called the "Pied Piper Remix"...

B2K performed the song at an awards show on BET...

The group reunited in 2018 for a tumultous tour, with "Girlfriend" as the opening song...

 

 Up tomorrow: This R&B singer tries to make himself a perfect gentleman.