Twostepcublog

    Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. We have a new #1 from Lola Young, while Gigi Perez (pictured above) has her lesbian love lyrics firmly planted in the top ten.  Songs from Cage The Elephant, Lady Gaga, and the Lumineers make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Kendrick Lamar and Breaking Benjamin drop off my chart. 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. Let ME be your star!   This Week              Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Messy - Lola Young (2) 2. Bad Dreams - Teddy Swims (1) 3. Pink Pony Club - Chappell Roan (5) 4. Die With A Smile - Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars (4) 5. APT. - ROSE and Br...

  Hey everyone, I'm back with the start of the top half of my (late) year-end countdown of the songs that went the highest and/or stuck around the longest on my weekly personal music chart for 2024. You can catch up with the rest of the series by clicking here. And with no further ado...   #50 - Illusion - Dua Lipa          from the album Radical Optimism (2024)          2scchart peak: #5 (two weeks)          Weeks on the chart: 20          Points: 1407 Dua seemed to have a harder go on the charts this year, but it would be tough to replicate the COVID-era success of her Future Nostalgia set. This was the better of the many bangers on her third release. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    Hey folks, I'm back with round two of my recap of the biggest songs on my weekly personal music chart for 2024. You can catch up with the rest of the series by clicking here . And away we go... #90 - The Emptiness Machine - Linkin Park           from the album From Zero  (2024)           2scchart peak: #5 (one week)           Weeks on the chart: 11 (still charting)           Points: 976 Well as I mentioned in part one Linkin Park finally settled on a new co-lead singer with Emily Armstrong formerly of the group Dead Sara, coming hard out of the gate with this huge rock radio hit. It didn't come though without a little controversy over Emily's ties to Scientology and more notably convicted actor Danny Masterson. She's kept it vague, but nevertheless musically this was a nice new direction for the group without tarnishing the legacy of Chester Bennington.   (Click ...

    " 8th World Wonder " - Kimberley Locke from the album One Love (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #49    This week's "robbed hit" comes from Kimberley Locke , who came in third place on the second season of the singing competition television program American Idol , behind Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.  A native of Tennessee, Locke was popular enough on the show to get signed to Curb Records (without the burden of having to deal with the Idol machine). But before that, she appeared on the RCA Label's Idol franchise releases, and her duet with Aiken on " Silver Bells " from the Great Holiday Classics set reached #16 on Billboard magazine's Adult Contemporary radio chart in the 2003 Christmas season.  In the spring of the following year, Locke released her first album on Curb, One Love . The first single from the set is the light dance-pop of "8th World Wonder". Written by Kyle Jacobs (who mostly writes country music and eventuall...

    " Solitaire "/" The Way " - Clay Aiken from the album Measure Of A Man (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 2   Today's song comes from Clay Aiken , who came in second in the second season of American Idol , but won the battle of the charts with winner Ruben Studdard, beating him out for #1 with his single " This Is The Night ". Clay's follow-up " Invisible " was a modest radio hit as well, reaching the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the beginning of 2004. Clay also contributed to the Christmas release American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics , which went to #28 on the Billboard 200 sales tally and sold over a half million copies. Both his songs on there made the Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, with his take on " The First Noel " peaking at #9 at the close of 2003.   For the third offering from his debut album Measure Of A Man , Aiken released ...

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hits" from the previous week. Chappell Roan claims a fifth week at #1, while Taylor Swift (pictured above) climbs into the top ten yet again. Songs from Michael Kiwanuka, Mavis Staples, and Charli XCX make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Taylor Swift/Post Malone, David Guetta/OneRepublic, Nathaniel Rateliff, and Kiesza drop off my chart. 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. 784? Really? 784? This Week             Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan (1) 2. Please Please Please - Sabrina Carpenter (3) 3. Birds Of A Feather - Billie Eilish (5) 4. Not Like Us - Kendrick La...

    " Sorry 2004 " - Ruben Studdard from the album Soulful (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #9 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 15   Today's song comes from the second season winner of American Idol , Ruben Studdard , whose "winner's single" from the show, " Flying Without Wings ", came behind runner-up Clay Aiken's " This Is The Night " on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in the summer of 2003. Later at the end of the year, Ruben teamed up with fellow Idol finalist Tamyra Gray for a cover of the holiday classic " Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas ", which went to #25 on Billboard 's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart. Studdard also released his first post-success album Soulful , with the song "Sorry 2004" as his next single. Written by producers Harvey Mason Jr and Damon Thomas (aka the "Underdogs") along with Ronnie Jackson, Eric Dawkins, and Tony Dixon, the lyrics...

    " Invisible " - Clay Aiken from the album Measure Of A Man (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #37 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 1   Today's song comes from Clay Aiken , who may have came in second on the second season of American Idol , but won the battle of the charts when his double-promoted single "This Is The Night"/"Bridge Over Troubled Water" topped the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine for two weeks over winner Ruben Studdard's " Flying Without Wings " in the summer of 2003. For his crucial follow-up single, Aiken released the soft-pop nugget "Invisible". Written by the powerhouse songwriting team of Desmond Child, Andreas Carlsson, and Chris Braide (the latter having also co-written "This Is The Night"), it was produced by Child. The lyrics are pretty cringy with major stalker-ish vibes, like wishing he was in her room (gag) and admitting he's been "tracing her steps". But for real, the likes of ...

  Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top "hit" tunes from the previous week. After a ten-week reign from Hozier, Teddy Swims takes over at #1, while Dua Lipa (pictured above) leaps four spots in the top ten. Songs from Jelly Roll, October London, and Ray LaMontagne make some of the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ), while former big hits from Justin Timberlake, Kenny Chesney, Lenny Kravitz, Five Finger Death Punch, Cage The Elephant, Phillip Phillips, and Jack Harlow drop off my chart. And underneath the list everything is Spotify playlisted for five and a half hours of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music. She put Coach in, hooray! This Week           Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The Door - Teddy Swims (3) 2. Good Luck, Babe! (4) 3. Too...

    " Flying Without Wings "/" Superstar " - Ruben Studdard from the album Soulful (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #2 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 5   Today's song comes from the man who beat Friday's SOTD artist, Clay Aiken, in the second season of television singing contest American Idol . Ruben Studdard , born an "army brat" in Germany, grew up singing in church in Alabama. Like Clay, Ruben appeared on the American Idol : The All American Love Songs album, which spun off the top ten charity single cover of Lee Greenwood's " God Bless The U.S.A .". It would be a tight race for the pair, but while Studdard grabbed the trophy, it was Clay whose fanbase gobbled up the single just a little more. For Ruben, his "winner's single" wasn't an original, but rather a remake of a #1 hit in the United Kingdom for Irish boy-band Westlife in 1999. "Flying Without Wings", written by Steve Mac (who coincidentally p...

    " This Is The Night "/" Bridge Over Troubled Water " - Clay Aiken from the album Measure Of A Man (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 7 Today's song comes from Clay Aiken , who in the spring of 2003 participated in the second season of the television  singing competition American Idol. Growing up a "church choir kid" in North Carolina, Clay was following the path of becoming a special education teacher when he auditioned for the show as a homely geek with a promising voice. He originally didn't make it past the cattle-call stage in Hollywood, but was voted in by the public as the "wild card" contestant. By the end of the contest, Aiken had come in second to Ruben Studdard. However his fanbase was huge , loving the ugly duckling transformation he went through during the series. During the show, Aiken joined his fellow finalists in releasing the American Idol Season 2: All-American Love Songs , which in...

    Saturday's here, and it's time to run down my top 100 "hits" of the week.  Noah Kahan spends a second week at #1, while Beyonce (pictured above) leaps into the top ten. Former big hits from Green Day, Linkin Park, Mitski, Eliza Rose & Calvin Harris, and Rema & Selena Gomez drop out, while songs from Pearl Jam, Green Day (again), and Jordan Davis make the biggest jumps (moves of 10+ places highlighted in red ). 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. TikTok you don't stop... This Week                    Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Stick Season - Noah Kahan (1) 2. Lose Control - Teddy Swims (2) 3. Loving You - Cannons (4) 4. Is It Over Now? - Taylor ...