Twostepcublog

Friday's here, and I'm a day early with my top "hit" tunes for the week. Ariana Grande spends a second week at #1, while Jordan Davis (pictured above) climbed a pair of notches in the top ten. Former big hits from Mumford & Sons, Dua Lipa, the Black Keys, and Parker McCollum drop off my list, while songs from Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift/Post Malone, and Dua Lipa make 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. New England, here I come! This Week                  Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) - Ariana Grande (1) 2. Too Sweet - Hozier (4) 3. Dilemma - Green Day (2) 4. Lose Control - Teddy Swims (6) 5. Stick Season - Noah K...

    " Step In The Name Of Love " - R. Kelly from the albums Chocolate Factory (2002) and The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1 (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 21   Today's song comes from R&B singer/songwriter/producer and current incarcerated felon R. Kelly, whose scandals were just starting to brew at the start of the millennium, yet he was able to score a pair of big hits from his Chocolate Factory album with " Snake " and " Ignition (Remix) ", with the latter spending five weeks in the runner-up spot on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart. In the autumn of 2003 he put out a hits collection The R. In R&B Collection Vol 1 (pretty hopeful, huh) which landed yet another top-20 hit with " Thoia Thoing ".  After that, a song from Chocolate Factory started to gain traction, especially amongst the "Chicago stepping" dance scene. "Step In The Name Of Love", written and produced...

    " Walked Outta Heaven " - Jagged Edge  from the album Hard (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #6 (five weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 22   Today's song comes from the R&B vocal group Jagged Edge , who scored their highest-charting hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the early autumn of 2001 with " Where The Party At? ". The following year, half the act, brothers Brandon and Brian Casey, appeared as featured singers on two more hits, " Don't Mess With My Man " with singer Nivea which made the top ten, and " Trade It All, Pt. 2 " with rapper Fabolous. Two years later the Caseys along with Kyle Norman and Richard Wingo returned with their fourth studio album and first directly under the Columbia label (Jermaine Dupri's So So Def imprint had shifted to BMG at that point), Hard . The lead single from the record (which at the time was still on So So Def) was "Walked Outta Heaven". Written by the brothers with prod...

    " Holidae In " - Chingy featuring Ludacris & Snoop Dogg from the album Jackpot (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song comes from rapper Chingy , who had spent five weeks in the runner-up position on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2003 with his debut single " Right Thurr ". For his followup he brought in a couple of "ringers" in Ludacris , who at the time was on his way to scoring his for #1 pop hit with " Stand Up ", and Snoop Dogg , who returned to the pop top ten in the spring of 2003 with " Beautiful ". Written by Ludacris and Chingy with the production team of Shamar Daugherty and Alonza Lee aka Trak Starz, the lyrics have Chingy in the first two verses describing pulling up on a makeshift orgy in a hotel off the interstate . It actually is a really place, the titular Holiday Inn Suites at the St. Louis Airport even giving directions. This must have b...

    " Faint " - Linkin Park from the album Meteora (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #48    This week's "robbed hit" comes from the nu-metal rock group Linkin Park , who had returned to the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the spring of 2003 with " Somewhere I Belong ", the lead single from their second album Meteora .  The second single from the sophomore record was "Faint", written by the ban who also co-produced with Don Gilmore. The lyrics again have Chester Bennington and the boys wallowing in their own self-pitying angst, with no one understanding them and nobody faithful enough to stick aside. But the production is fast paced and rap-forward, with Mike Shinoda taking the lead from the start. It was a bit harsh for pop radio at the time, but the emo kids flooding rock radio ate this up, and the band found themselves with another hit.... While "Faint" spent six weeks at #1 on Billboard 's Alternative Rock radio...

    " Harder To Breathe " - Maroon 5 from the album Songs About Jane (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #18 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 14   Today's song comes from the pop band Maroon 5 , who started out in their high school years under the name Kara's Flowers, with lead singer and guitarist Adam Levine, drummer Ryan Dusick, guitarist Jesse Carmichael, and bass player Mickey Madden. Together they recorded and released an album themselves, We Like Digging? , which got the attention of producer Rob Cavallo (who brought Green Day to the mainstream). With Cavallo they were signed to Reprise Records, and recorded their sophomore album with him, The Fourth World . However the indie-pop project tanked and they were scuttled from the label.  After concentrating on college, the band got back together and starting playing gigs in a new lite-funk rock style, and eventually were picked up by Octone Records. Adding a fifth member, James Valentine, to handle lead guitar duti...

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the week. Ariana Grande climbs to #1, while Hozier (pictured above) leaps into the top five. Songs from Godsmack, Bailey Zimmerman, and Lenny Kravitz make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Black Crowes, Shinedown, Papa Roach, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor drop out. Happy birthday, sis! This Week          Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) - Ariana Grande (2) 2. Dilemma - Green Day (3) 3. Texas Hold 'Em - Beyonce (1) 4. Too Sweet - Hozier (9) 5. Stick Season - Noah Kahan (5) 6. Lose Control - Teddy Swims (4) 7. Beautiful Things - Benson Boone (8) 8. Tucson Too Late - Jordan Davis (10) 9. Don't Forget Me - Maggie Rog...

    " So Far Away " - Staind from the album 14 Shades Of Grey (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #24 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 18   Today's song comes from the post-grunge rock band Staind , who had their big mainstream breakthrough in the autumn of 2001 when their hit " It's Been Awhile " climbed all the way into the top five on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart.  In the spring of 2003, the band returned with their third studio album on the Flip label distributed by Elektra Records, 14 Shades of Grey . The lead single from the set, " Price To Pay ", was a raucous assault of guitar crunch and angsty shade on the music industry. It did decently on rock radio, spending a week at #2 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock chart and hitting #8 on their Alternative Rock counterpart. But lack of pop radio notice had "Price" stall down at #66 on the all-genre sales and airplay Hot 100. However it managed to do better in the United Kingd...

    " Rain On Me " - Ashanti from the album Chapter II (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 12   Today's song comes from R&B singer Ashanti , who had returned to the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2003 with " Rock Wit U (Aww Baby) ". The second single from her sophomore effort Chapter II was "Rain On Me". Like the former hit, the song was written by Ashanti with producers Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and Andre "Chink Santana" Parker, using a prominent sample of the Isaac Hayes version of the pop classic " The Look Of Love " from his 1970 album To Be Continued , which gave Burt Bacharach and Hal David writing credit as well. The lyrics have Ashanti deep in despair over a failing relationship with a cheater. She's lost the will to live over the loss, but knows that she has given him too many chances already. The production puts to good use the sample, where the dr...

    " Here Without You " - 3 Doors Down from the album Away From The Sun (2002) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #5 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 42   Today's song comes from the rock group 3 Doors Down , who had scored a second top ten hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the spring of 2003 with " When I'm Gone ", the lead single from their second album Away From The Sun . That song, which was topping the rock radio list the previous year, was finally reaching pop stations when the former format was playing the moody " The Road I'm On ", which climbed to #8 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock chart and #24 on the Alternative Rock counterpart. After "When It's Gone" left pop radio, the third single was offered cross-genre instead. "Here Without You", written by lead singer Brad Arnold, guitarists Matt Roberts and Chris Henderson, and bass player Todd Harrell, the lyrics seem to be wallowing in grief over a relations...

    " Stand Up " - Ludacris featuring Shawnna from the album Chicken-N-Beer (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 25   Today's song comes from rapper and actor Chris " Ludacris " Bridges, who had rode the momentum from his role in what would become one of the biggest non-comic film franchises in history, 2 Fast 2 Furious (replacing Ja Rule), back into the Billboard magazine Hot 100's Top-40 with " Act A Fool " from the movie in the summer of 2003. Later that year, Ludacris re-emerged with his fourth studio album (and third with Def Jam Records), Chicken-N-Beer . A hype track, " P-Poppin '" was released beforehand, but the crude song failed to get any traction or onto any charts. That record featured female rapper Shawnna , who was also featured on Ludacris' first top-40 hit " What's Your Fantasy " at the close of 2000. Shawnna was also on his next single, "Stand Up". Written ...

    " Breathe " - Blu Cantrell featuring Sean Paul from the album Bittersweet (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #70   This week's "robbed hit" comes from R&B singer Blu Cantrell , whose breakthrough single " Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops) " rose all the way to the runner-up spot on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the summer of 2001. In 2003, Blu returned with her second (and so far most recent) album, Bittersweet . Bringing in high-profile producers like Mike City, Chris "Tricky" Stewart, and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, the album was meant to build on the momentum of her debut hit. The lead single from the set, "Breathe", featured one of the hottest new acts on the scene, dancehall artist Sean Paul , who had gone to #1 with his own " Get Busy " and was about to spend over two months at the top with his collaboration with Beyonce, " Baby Boy ". The song was written by the team of Richard...

    " Suga Suga " - Baby Bash featuring Frankie J from the album The Smokin' Nephew (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #7 (four weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 27   Today's song comes from rapper Baby Bash , who grew up as Ronald Bryant in the Bay Area of California. After aspirations of a sports career were cut short by injury, Bryant delved into hip-hop music, originally naming himself Baby Beesh. He moved to Houston and was a part of a couple of Latin groups before coming under the wing of local indie label Dope House Records. Baby's debut album Savage Dreams came out in 2001, followed by On Tha Cool a year later. With a bit of regional buzz, he was signed by major label Universal, changing his moniker to Baby Bash in the process.  In 2003, Baby Bash released The Smokin' Nephew . The lead single on the set was "Suga Suga", which paired Bryant up with another up and coming Latino artist, Frankie J , who had just scored his own breakthrough hit in the s...

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the week. Beyonce reigns supreme for a lucky seventh week, while Linkin Park (pictured above) climb a notch in the top ten. Former big hits from Luke Combs, Dua Lipa, and Tate McRae drop off my list, while songs from Imagine Dragons, Hozier, and SZA make 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 best in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. The Eurovision circus has come! This Week                Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Texas Hold 'Em - Beyonce (1) 2. We Can't Be Friends (Wait For Your Love) - Ariana Grande (2) 3. Dilemma - Green Day (3) 4. Lose Control - Teddy Swims (4) 5. Stick Season - ...