Twostepcublog

  Well, we've come to the final part of my (late - sorry) countdown of the biggest hits on my weekly personal music chart for 2024. You can catch up with the rest of the series by clicking here . Now let's gets things wrapped up... #10 - Die With A Smile - Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars          from the single (2024)          2scchart peak: #1 (ten weeks) (still at #1)          Weeks on the chart (in 2024): 14 (still charting)          Points: 2495 As with last year's "What Was I Made For?", I heard this song once and said to myself "this is going to be the Grammy Song of the Year". We still has yet to see if this is true, but this is certainly the musical pinnacle of this year. It's still #1 as we speak on my list, and I don't see what's going to replace it as yet. A fatalistic song for these pessimistic times. Flawless. (Click...

  We're closing up on the end of my (late) year-end countdown 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 . Let's go...   #20 - Feather - Sabrina Carpenter          from the album Emails I Can't Send Fwd (Deluxe Edition) (2023)          2scchart peak: #13 (two weeks)          Weeks on the chart: 35          Points: 2011 Just like she ended the year in the tabloids with her relationship with Barry Keoghan, Carpenter began 2024 by making waves by "desecrating" a church (which coincidentally led to the investigations to New York City Mayor Eric Adams).  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

   Hey everyone, I'm rolling through my (late) countdown of the biggest songs on my personal weekly music chart , and it's time for round number eight. You can catch up with the rest of the series so far by clicking here . And it's off to the races...  #30 - Is It Over Now? - Taylor Swift          from the album 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023)          2scchart peak: #2 (two weeks)          Weeks on the chart (in 2024): 21 (was on for four weeks in 2023)          Points: 1866 Other music acts have re-recorded their prior material, but none had the success as well been treated like a social movement than Taylor Swift. And these "new" sets included unreleased music done written those sessions, including this biting break-up bop that had me at "I feel like jumping off a really tall somethings to see if you come runnin...

    I'm back with another installment in my (late) year-end countdown of the biggest songs on my weekly personal music chart for 2024, i.e. the hits that went the highest and/or stuck around the longest. You can catch up with the rest of the series so far by clicking here . And now we enter the top-40... #40 - Not Like Us - Kendrick Lamar          from the single (2024)          2scchart peak: #2 (one week)          Weeks on the chart: 25          Points: 1650 We start off with the shot heard around the world, started by Drake on an offhand verse in last year's "First Person Shooter" and definitely ended by this jam that took this dis record and made it the song of the summer. Historians will be discussing this brain-powered takedown for decades to come, and Drake's career (thankfully) will never be the same. (Click be...

  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, we've come to the halfway mark of my (late) year-end countdown of the biggest songs on my weekly personal music chart for 2024 (well, from mid-December 2023 to mid-december 2024), and I'm going to pause and roll out the honorable mentions, the songs that almost made the list this year. And adding this extended list, which expands into multiple genres, there were only three songs that don't show on either that made my top ten (and they did so waaaay late or way early): Hozier's "Nobody's Soldier" (#127), Ella Langley and Riley Green's "You Look Like You Love Me" (#162) and boygenius' "Cool About It" (#163). You can catch up with the whole series so far by clicking here . Let's get it started... 125. Wildflower - Tyrese 124. If It Doesn't Hurt - Nothing More 123. Exes - Tate McRae 122. Burial Ground - The Decemberists 121. Northern Attitude - Noah Kahan f/Hozier 120. Highway Queen - Mt. Joy 119. Creatures I...

  We're coming up to the halfway mark in my (late) year-end countdown of the hits that went the highest and/or stayed the longest on my weekly music chart from last year. You can catch up with the rest of the series by clicking here . On we go...  #60 - Bulletproof - Nate Smith          from the album California Gold (2024)          2scchart peak: #10 (one week)          Weeks on the chart: 16          Points: 1151 Smith followed up his long-lasting hit "World On Fire" (which we'll come to much later) with this country-rock lead single to his sophomore album, stealing quite liberally from Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance" in the process. Besides that, not that bad for the B-lister in the Jelly Roll/Teddy Swims/Rag N' Bone Man big-guy-singer vein.  (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    Welcome back, it's time for part four of my (late) year-end countdown of the biggest songs of 2024 on my weekly personal music chart . You can catch up with the rest of the series by clicking here . Let's get moving... #70 - Agora Hills - Doja Cat          from the album Scarlet (2023)          2scchart peak: #32 (two weeks)          Weeks on the chart: 30          Points: 1096 Yeah, this is on here because it just wouldn't go away on the charts, but it's not the most offensive Doja Cat vehicle out there. Like background music for a night cafe. It is kind of scary that the Agoura Hills area is currently under siege by the California wildfires. (Click below to see the rest of the post)

    Hey folks, I'm back with part three of my (late) year-end countdown of the biggest songs of my weekly personal music chart for 2024.  You can catch up with the series so far by clicking here . And off we go... #80 - Turn The Lights Back On - Billy Joel           from the single (2024)           2scchart peak: #16 (one week)           Weeks on the chart: 15            Points: 1043    Last year's biggest comeback surprise to me thankfully wasn't a resurrected oldie gone viral, but rather this one-off return by one of the most beloved American modern musicians. And he did it without cow-towing to any "current trend" but rather going back to his roots (a sentimental CGI music video didn't hurt either).  (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 ...

    Hey everyone, thanks for being patient - I had to take a longer break than expected for the holidays, but I am finally back with the start to my countdown of the biggest hits on my weekly personal chart of 2024. Every seven days I put together in my OCD fugue of the biggest in pop, rock, R&B, country, and dance music (with a sprinkle of hits from the United Kingdom), and I've crunched the numbers (basically an inverted scale where #1 gets 100 points, #100 gets 1 point, with extra points for each extra week at #1) and tallied this final. By no means is this the BEST in my own mind of the year, but it does give a look into what I was listening to. There's a few on here I'm ashamed of (as always) that hung around long enough to place high here, but there isn't any Jason Aldeans or Kanyes (yes, I am dead-naming him) on here. Seven songs that were on last year's list made the cut again, and at the end I'll playlist everything here. And away we go... #100 - Sc...

    " Loco " - David Lee Murphy from the album Tryin' To Get Home (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #44    This week's "robbed hit" comes from singer/songwriter David Lee Murphy . who grew up in southern Illinois, and moved to Nashville to start a country music career in his early twenties. Initially spending a long time writing for others, Murphy would eventually be signed to MCA Records. In 1994, he landed a song on the soundtrack to the rodeo cowboy movie 8 Seconds , which made the top-40 on the Billboard 200 sales tally at #33, selling over a million copies. His song,  the mid-tempo two-step number " Just Once ", was promoted as a single, and rose to #36 on Billboard magazine's Country Songs chart. David's debut album, Out With A Bang , arrived in August of that year and included that song, but the follow-up, the slow swing of " Fish Ain't Bitin' ", faltered at #52 on the country chart.  But in those days, labels had ...

    " Scandalous " - Mis-Teeq from the album Eye Candy (2003 UK) and Mis-Teeq (2004 US) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #35 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 3   Today's song comes from the female R&B vocal group Mis-Teeq, who came together in London at the end of the 1990s originally calling themselves Face2Face. After a couple of personnel charges and being signed by British major label Telstar, lead singer Sabrina Washington along with Alesha Dixon, Zena McNally, and Su-Elise Nash released their debut single " Why " in 2001, which climbed to #8 on the British Singles chart.  Despite that success, McNally left the group feeling put in the backdrop (the "Destiny's Child" effect). She would go on to have two minor hits in the UK, with " Been Around The World " almost making the top-40 at #44 in 2004. The remaining trio released their first album Lickin' On Both Sides which went to #3 on the British Albums chart, and spun off an incredib...

    " I Like That " - Houston featuring Chingy, Nate Dogg, and I-20 from the album It's Already Written (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #11 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 16   Today's song comes from R&B singer Houston (Summers IV), who grew up in Los Angeles, and went to a music-centric high school before eventually being signed by Capitol Records. In the spring of 2004, Houston (recording just under his first name) released his first single from his upcoming debut album It's Already Written . "I Like That", written by Summers with producers Alonzo Lee and Shamar Daugherty, aka the Trak Stars, as well as hired hand Mischke Butler (who co-wrote songs for the Spice Girls and Britney Spears), as well as the two featured rappers and one featured singer on the track. Chingy was red hot at the time for his trio of top ten pop hits (" Right Thurr ", " Holidae In ", and " One Call Away "), while Nate Dogg had sang on a sl...

    " Southside " - Lloyd featuring Ashanti from the album Southside (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #24 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 11   Today's song comes from R&B singer Lloyd Polite Jr., who performs under just his first name (confusing I know, since at the same time rapper Lloyd Banks was on the scene). Lloyd who grew up in Georgia, had been singing from a very young age, and was initially part of a boy-band put together by a member of the R&B group Klymaxx, Joyce Irby. However that act never got much notice, and evenutally Lloyd moved to New York City and got signed as a solo singer for rapper Ja Rule and producer Irv Gotti's label Murder Inc, which had morph to just "the Inc." by the 2000s.    Lloyd released his debut album Southside in the summer of 2004, with the title track put out as a single a few months before. "Southside", written by Irby, Traci Hale, producer Wirlie Morris, and Tab Nkhereanye, had Lloyd conversing with...

    " Diary " - Alicia Keys featuring Tony! Toni! Tone'! from the album The Diary Of Alicia Keys (2003) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #8 (one week) Weeks in the Top-40: 25   Today's song comes from singer/songwriter/producer Alicia Keys , whose sophomore album Diary Of Alicia Keys had already spun off a pair of quality top ten hits on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 with " You Don't Know My Name " and " If I Ain't Got You ".  The third single from the record was the de facto title track "Diary". Produced by Alicia, who wrote the song with her then-partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers Jr., the lyrics have Keys comparing herself to the titular journal, where her partner can confide in his deepest secrets. Backing her up on the choruses was the "reunion" of R&B group Tony! Toni! Tone'! , who were last seen in the series on their double-sided top-40 hit "Let's Get Down" and "Thinking Of You...

    " Live Like You Were Dying " - Tim McGraw from the album Live Like You Were Dying (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #30 (two weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 14   Today's song comes from country music artist Tim McGraw , who took control of his career and recorded an album with his tour band, eschewing the studio vets usually forced on him. That set, Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors , spun off four singles that went top ten on Billboard magazine's Country Songs airplay chart and crossed over to the top 40 on the Hot 100 with " Red Rag Top ", " She's My Kind Of Rain ", " Real Good Man ", and " Watch The Wind Blow By ".  Though they didn't get a label bill on his next studio release, Live Like You Were Dying , Tim brought back the Dancehall Doctors for the record as well. The title track, written by Tim Nichols and Craig Wiseman, was released as the lead single. The lyrics have Tim having a conversation with a man who h...

    " Slither " - Velvet Revolver from the album Contraband (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #56 (three weeks)   This week's "robbed hit" comes from the rock "supergroup" Velvet Revolver, who originally came about after the implosion of Guns N' Roses in the mid 1990's. After triumphing with their top ten epic " November Rain ",  the band took a complete left turn with the unpromoted covers album The Spaghetti Incident? . After another cover for the Interview With A Vampire movie broke the relationship between singer Axl Rose and guitarist Slash , the latter finally leaving them in 1996. Slash initially formed Slash's Snakepit with Eric Dover singing lead, releasing two albums in 1995 and 2000, with the former ( It's Five O'Clock Somewhere ) going to #70 on Billboard magazine's Billboard 200 sales tally (a surprisingly low showing for such a high-profile act). A song from the set, "Beggars & Hangers On"...

    " Lean Back " - Terror Squad from the album True Story (2004) Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks) Weeks in the Top-40: 27   Today's song comes from the Terror Squad, a hip-hop collective put together by rappers Jose " Fat Joe " Cartagena and Christopher "Big Punisher" Rios in New York City in the mid-1990s. with a backup of rappers they released a collaborative album Terror Squad: The Album on Atlantic Records in 1995, which came out in 1999, a year after Big Pun had a top-40 hit with " Still Not A Player ". The self-titled set went to #22 on the Billboard 200 sales tally and #4 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, but it was more from the names involved - radio gave it a pass. Joe and Pun went back to their solo careers, but while Big Pun was readying his next set, he passed away in 2000. Joe, though, went on to see his own career break, with his fourth album  Jealous Ones Still Envy a year later spinning of two top-40 hits on  ...