Twostepcublog

    " Baby Boy " - Beyonce featuring Sean Paul from the album Dangerously In Love (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (nine weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 26   Today's song is from Beyonce , who kick-started her solo career into high gear in the summer of 2003 when the lead single from her debut album Dangerously In Love , " Crazy In Love " with future husband Jay-Z, topped Billlboard magazine's Hot 100 for two months. For the second single from the record, Beyonce paired up with another then-red-hot artist on the charts, dancehall prince Sean Paul , who had already landed three crossover hits on the chart with " Gimme The Light ", " Like Glue ", and the #1 smash " Get Busy ".  Written by Beyonce and Paul along with Jay-Z, Robert Waller, and co-producer Scott Storch, the track is anchored by a South Asian beat that was pervasive in the Jamaican dancehall scene at the time, which had flourishes of strings and exotic instruments. Th...

    " Girls and Boys " - Good Charlotte from the album The Young and the Hopeless (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #48    This week's "robbed hit" comes from the pop-punk band Good Charlotte , who had broke through to the mainstream in the at the beginning of 2003 with the lead single from their sophomore album The Young And The Hopeless , " Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous ", and nearly made the top-40 with the follow-up " The Anthem ".  The third single from the record was "Girls & Boys", vents about the rich guys that go after materialistic gals in a vapid symbiotic relationship scheme. The production is pure power-pop from the early 80s like Eddie Money and the Tubes, and it works with this snotty take on the youth, and the video for it takes it a step further by casting seniors as punks in this California-style debauchery... Despite the song climbing to #10 on Billboard magazine's Mainstream Top-40 radio chart, the so...

  " Dance With My Father " - Luther Vandross from the album Dance With My Father (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #38 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 4   Today's song comes from the late R&B vocal master Luther Vandross , who had signed with Clive Davis' J Records and returned to the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with the single " Take You Out ". But that was at the expense where the record company tried to remake him into a skirt-chasing loverboy. And selling a million plus copies of the album gave Luther the momentum to be more creative with his second set of the label, Dance With My Father . However its release was marked by the singer suffering a stroke in the spring of 2003 that put him in a coma up to the release date and would trouble him for the rest of his life. The lead single and title track "Dance With My Father", written by Vandross with pop star in his own right Richard Marx. It was recorded as a tribute to his fathe...

  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. Dile...

    " 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 - ...

 " 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...