Songoftheday 10/24/24 - Tell me what do we do when the DJ's playing our favorite groove, we step to when the whole night through and what do we do...

 

 

"Happy People" - R. Kelly

from the album Happy People/U Saved Me (2004)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #19 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 11

 

Today's song comes from singer/songwriter/producer and future incarcerated felon R. Kelly, who was still riding out his legal troubles but still had enough clout in the early 2000s to be one of the most prominent forces in the music world. His single "Step In The Name Of Love" returned him to the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 at the end of 2003, while he was featured on two more hits with Nick Cannon's "Gigolo" and Cassidy's "Hotel".  Kelly returned in the summer of 2004 with an ambitious two record release, his second after 1998's R. which spun off four top-40 Hot 100 hits. This time, he delegated the set to half "party songs" and half inspirational tracks, helmed by the title songs Happy People and U Saved Me. "Happy People", written and produced by Kelly, was released as the lead single. The lyrics continue the "stepping" dance vibe of "Step In The Name Of Love" with simplistic lines about getting ready and being joyful in the clurb (fam). But by the end of the over-seven-minute track, he's out giving advice like "love one another no matter what the color" and "hit the health club" and "just ask God to fix it". His production is an updated lite-disco which suits the laid back groove, the end result is an inoffensive cool down track despite the source. The music video has Kelly commanding over a party...

"Happy People" climbed into the top-20 on Billboard's Hot 100 in June of 2004, while peaking at #7 on their R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart. On the radio, the song rose to #13 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and #4 on the older-skewing Adult R&B station list. Internationally, the single paired "Happy People" with the second disc's "Saved Me", which was released separately in the States. The double-single peaked at #6 in the United Kingdom, and reached the top-40 in Ireland (#13), Italy (#36), and the Netherlands (#40). The Happy People/U Saved Me albums, released in August of that year, topped the R&B Albums chart for a week, and came in at #2 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, going on to sell over a million and a half copies (making the double set three times platinum). At the Grammy Awards in 2005, "Happy People" was nominated for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, losing to Prince for his "Call My Name". 

"U Saved Me", the star track of the inspirational side of the album, was put out as the next single, and made it to #14 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and #52 on the Hot 100. On the radio it peaked at #26 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and #8 on the Adult R&B list. Another cut from the Happy People disc, "Red Carpet (Pause, Flash)" made it to #31 on the R&B Singles chart and "bubbled under" the Hot 100 at #107, while on the radio, it hit #33 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and #30 on the Adult R&B list.

R. Kelly will be back to the series.

(6/10)

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Here's Kelly and a small clip of him doing "Happy People" in concert in 2013...

Up tomorrow: A "before"-mentioned soul singer pleads not to break up.