For the past three months, a former UK No. 1 single has been slowly and quietly climbing the Hot 100. It's called "Bulletproof"and it's by synth pop-duo La Roux. Last week, the track lept into the top 20 and this week, it jumps up to No. 14. La Roux is led by frontwoman Elly Jackson. Armed with a voice like an electric screwdriver (don't worry, it actually does grow on you) and hair that Lady Gaga wishes she thought of and made a hat like, Jackson is ready to take La Roux to unimagined levels of success in the States...that is, until the very people who broke them here decide they're moving on to the next big thing because La Roux has become pretentious.
Sound familiar? It's a trend that is becoming all too common in the modern pop landscape. A decade ago, Disney was the pop factory that popped out stars (even though they still do, Miley isn't near the level of Britney ten years ago), but now, its a more democratic process. I'm not talking about American Idol, I'm talking about blogs.
La Roux actually released "Bulletproof" a year ago, where it topped the charts. They were huge over there, and thanks to the modern miracle of the world wide web, there was buzz in across the Atlantic too. Music blogs fell in love with La Roux. Articles were written, articles were read, and torrents of their debut album were downloaded. By the time "Bulletproof" was aimed for America, La Roux already had early anticipating fans in the form of bloggers, music enthusiasts, and trend setters. In fact, a month ago, Gawker featured an article calling La Roux the thinking person's Lady Gaga. The funny thing is, over a year ago, Lady Gaga was the thinking person's Lady Gaga.
A week after Eminem's "Not Afraid" became the 16th song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100, Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg make "California Gurls" [sic] the 14th song to debut at No. 2. The single sold 294,000 copies in its first week and is ranked 31st on the radio chart. I thought for sure Perry would be a one-hit wonder after the miserable "I Kissed A Girl", but she just won't go away. Her new track sounds like a Britney Spears B-side reject. That's a bad thing.
Let's take a look at the 13 other songs to make their first chart appearance in the runner's up slot and see what "California Gurls" has to look forward to.
Michelle Obama just might be one of the hippest first ladies in recent memory. Obama was asked what her favorite music was at the White House "Take Your Child To Work Day".
"I like all kinds of music. I love Stevie Wonder...I've got some Michael Jackson," the First Lady told the children of White House staff members. "I've got some Rihanna, I've got some Beyonce - I love Beyonce. I've got some new Usher. I love to dance, I love a good beat."
Obama has also cited Sting, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, and Herbie Hancock among her favorite artists last October during her interview on "The Jay Leno Show".
Kylie Minogue was a washed-up has-been before she unleashed "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" on the world. It topped the charts across the globe and even crash landed in the top ten in the U.S. Written in part by pop genius Cathy Dennis, the track follows the tried and true method of endless repetition, but somehow it manages to do it better than anyone else. "La la la" was such an obvious hook, but no one ever thought to use it over a flawless sleek dance beat in such a way that the world couldn't get it out of its collective head.
"Jesus Walks"
Kanye West
The College Dropout (2004)
Rapping over military drums and what sounds like a choir of soldiers, Kanye West opens up about religion in "Jesus Walks". Comparing needing Jesus to Kathie Lee needing Regis might seem blasphemous to some, but Kanye sells it with a convincing devoted tone. "I wanna talk to God but I'm afraid because we ain't spoken in so long," he confesses. Despite Ye's line about radio not playing his record because it was about God, it was embraced by radio programmers and fans alike.
"Electric Feel"
MGMT
Oracular Spectacular (2008)
MGMT's Oracular Spectacular wowed critics and several of its tracks landed at the tops of end of the year lists in 2008. "Electric Feel" is the psychedelic indie-electro champ of the bunch, grabbing Bee Gees falsettos and laid back post-punk rock to create a shocking ode to electric love. The tune has an almost primal sound to it, like a ritual tribal dance a band of lost boys would sing while marching around a fire in Lord of the Flies or something.
"Black Sweat"
Prince
3121 (2006)
Like Prince's other great songs, "Black Sweat" lacks a bass line. Prince instead relies solely on a drum machine, a high pitched synthesizer, and his voice to create this jam oozing with funk. "Black Sweat" is able to reference songs like "When Doves Cry" and "Kiss" without sounding like a cheap rewrite. Speaking of rewriting, all he needed to do was change the word "black" to "red" or "blue", and maybe he could have gotten major airtime on Gatorade commercials.
"Take Me Out"
Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand (2004)
Is Franz Ferdinand lead singer Alex Kapranos singing about getting hit on or getting shot in "Take Me Out", or both? The band managed to put out a song other post-punk revival bands only wish they could write. The fast first verse of the song gives way to a slower, although much more rocked out chorus. The two parts of the song, each with different rhythms, work together perfectly, to create an intoxicating indie masterpiece.
"No Good Advice"
Girls Aloud Sound of the Underground (2003)
Following the success of "Sound of the Underground", the Girls Aloud needed a follow-up smash to prove they weren't a flash in the pan. "No Good Advice" didn't sound like the song a girl group would record, its attitude, lyrics, melody, and snarling surf guitar sounded more like a 1970s punk song. Its a song about defiance. Written by Xenomania in response to losing a deal with a record company, it served as a manifesto for the Aloud who proved they could make it as the decade's most important girl group without "good advice" from naysayers.
"Yellow"
Coldplay
Parachutes (2000)
"Yellow" was the song that made Coldplay, and its easy to hear why, the song is beautiful, and hopelessly romantic. The narrative of writing a song for someone makes it a modern "Your Song". "Yellow" gave Coldplay their first top ten hit, broke them in America, and propelled Parachutes to wins at the Grammys (Best Alternative Album) and the Brits (Best British Album). The tune has been covered countless times, and that's not even counting all the wooing boyfriends singing it on a clear starry night.
"Yeah!"
Usher
Confessions (2004)
"Yeah!" is a party anthem that could only be made in the decade of the ringtone. Honestly, have you ever heard a song play from so many phones (either the real track or the MIDI version) as you did Usher's biggest hit in 2004? This ultimate party jam sounds as fresh as it did when it was first released, and it brought crunk to the masses and is the single best mispronunciation of an artists name in music history (Ursher has got the smack to make your bootie go...)
"Hung Up"
Madonna Confessions on a Dancefloor (2005)
Madonna had the first flop album of her career with American Life, a divisive folk album that raged against war and Bush-era America. Ironically, Madonna took a page out of W.'s playbook by pandering to her base and returning to the dancefloor with "Hung Up". Teaming up with producer Stuart Price and sampling ABBA, the Queen of Pop made her last great pop song. It wasn't long before she would try pandering to middle America by hooking up with Justin.
"99 Problems"
Jay-Z
The Black Album (2004)
Ten months before Jay-Z dropped the rap-rock bomb that was "99 Problems", Hova featured on his future wive's "Crazy In Love". I wonder how Beyonce felt about Jay's lyrics? "If you having girl problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one," he raps. His rap about being pulled over by a cop (You was doing 55 in a 54...you carrying a weapon on you? I know a lot of you are) is one of the best statements on racism hip-hop has produced.
"Never Win"
Fischerspooner
Odyssey (2005)
This group of electro-clash revivalists take early 80s synth and filtered it through early 00s art-rock to create "Never Win". The track has the pulsing synth lines, the video game-like beeps during the bridge, and the careless guitar strumming, but it also has a bite to it, ensuring no one ever mistakes it for vapid.
"Milkshake"
Kelis
Tasty (2003)
Kelis' "Milkshake" is a dizzying sonic assault courtesy of N.E.R.D.'s minimalist production. Popular music has had its share of sexual innuendos, but few are as adventurous as this tune with Kelis demanding payment to teach how she makes milkshakes that not only bring the boys to the yard, but are better than yours (damn right). A synth-funk masterpiece.
"Apply Some Pressure"
Maximo Park
A Certain Trigger (2005)
Maximo Park had the unfortunate timing of arriving to the new-wave/post-punk revival after the likes of Kasabian and Bloc Party had already made splashy well-hyped debuts thanks to the British rock press. "Apply Some Pressure" deserves a place in the pantheon of songs. The adrenaline heavy track benefits from machine gun drums and wiry guitar that lives up to its title.
"Valerie"
Amy Winehouse
Version (2006)
BBC's Radio 1 Live Lounge show has become a perennial favorite for bloggers. The radio show features artists performing a hit of their own as well as covering another song which immediately hits the web and improves the search engine optimization of whatever blog posts it. The most famous song to spring from the show is Amy Winehouse's cover of the Zuton's "Valerie". The fact that Winehouse is singing about a woman is a moot point in this bouncy danceable retro-flashback.
"Never Let Me Down"
Kanye West
The College Dropout (2004)
Kanye West has come to be known more for his pop songs and controversial outburts, but his greatest moments are his goosebump inducing singles that pull at your heartstrings. "Never Let Me Down" is Ye's statement on love. Teaming up with Jay-Z and J. Ivy, he made the most emotional song of his career. It strays from Jay-Z's massive ego to Kanye's grandfather's battle with racism to the kind of love that inspires fierce loyalty.
March 21, 2000 - *NSYNC Breaks One Week Sales Record Teen pop reached its peak in the spring of 2000 when boy band *NSYNC sold a mind blowing 2.4 million copies of their album No Strings Attached in its first week. Later in the year, Eminem would set the record for the biggest first week sales for a rap album with 1.7 million copies of The Marshall Mathers LP sold, and Britney Spear's 1.3 million copies that Oops!...I Did It Again shifted in its first week would set the record for a female artist. Little did record labels know that these massive sales would wouldn't last, and that by the end of the decade, they would be faced with record low sales.
A live performance of "Bye Bye Bye", "No Strings Attached"s first single.
April 12, 2000 - Metallica Sues Napster In April, the Metallica song "I Disappear" began receiving radio airplay before being released. The song, which was to be featured on the "Mission: Impossible II" soundtrack, landed on the Napster file sharing network, along with the band's entire catalog. Livid, Metallica filed a lawsuit not only against Napster, but UCLA, Yale, and Indiana University. Dr. Dre and Madonna followed suit, and eventually, the RIAA itself was suing illegal downloaders across the country.
Metallica rages against file "sharing" in this 2000 MTV Video Music Award skit.
October 23, 2001 - Apple Releases the iPod To say the iPod changed everything is a bit of an understatement. Clunky CD players became a thing of the past and your entire music collection (or at least 5 GB of it in 2001) could fit in your pocket. The iPod changed the way music was consumed. If you didn't want an entire album, you didn't have to get it, you could just hand pick the songs you like. It was only a matter of time until iTunes became one of the largest music distributors on the globe.
The first dancing black silhouette iPod commercial featuring the Black Eyed Pea's "Hey Mama".
April 3, 2002 - Avril Lavigne Releases "Complicated" Canadian singer Avril Lavigne was on the verge of getting dropped when little known production team The Matrix was asked to work with her. The result was "Complicated", an ironic tune about pretentious posers. Lavigne was marketed as the "anti-Britney", a more "hardcore" alternative to manufactured teen pop. A perfectly fine punk-pop song, "Complicated" wasn't at all ground breaking, but it did signal the end of an era - the teen pop bubble had burst.
Avril Lavigne performs "Complicated" on Nickelodeon.
June 11, 2002 - "American Idol" Premieres Television has always played a big role in music, from Ed Sullivan to "American Bandstand", but never had it been used to create a star. "American Idol" was the democratization of popular music, allowing viewers to text in to vote for their favorite performer in hopes they would be crowned the eventual Idol. The show was a juggernaut in the ratings, capable of reaching 38 million viewers during the finale of season 2.
Kelly Clarkson auditions for "American Idol" with Madonna's "Express Yourself" and reminds us how stupid the phrase "cool beans" was.
November 30, 2002 - Girls Aloud Win "Popstars: The Rivals" "Popstars: The Rivals" aired on Britain's ITV1 the fall of 2002 under the premise that two pop groups would be formed and compete for the coveted Christmas No. 1 single. The all-male group One True Voice was formed and went head-to-head with Girls Aloud. While One True Voice released some unforgettable and predictable glop of a single, the Aloud recorded "Sound of the Undergroud", the most inventive and groundbreaking debut single reality television has ever produced. Fueled by songwriting and production team Xenomania, the Aloud went on to release 20 consecutive top 10 hits and be named the "one truly great pop act" reality TV has given us.
Girls Aloud perform their Christmas No. 1 hit on the "Popstars: The Rivals" Finale.
August 23, 2003 - Madonna Kisses Britney, Christina at Video Music Awards Madonna just released the first flop record of her career with the divisive American Life when MTV asked her to perform at their 25th anniversary Video Music Awards. Her two heirs apparent, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, were both in career slumps as well. The two sang "Like A Virgin", the song Madonna famously debuted at MTV's inaugural show. The Queen of Pop then emerged from a wedding cake to sing "Hollywood" before locking lips with the two Princesses of Pop (Although Christina got the shaft when the camera panned to Britney's ex). It was the kiss seen 'round the world that outraged the nation, dominated the tabloids, but unfortunately failed to sell any records.
The kiss.
February 1, 2004 - Janet Jackson Exposes Boob On Live Television
The whole Madonna/Britney/Christina kiss caused uproar, but it was nothing compared to the backlash Janet Jackson faced following her halftime performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII. Justin Timberlake came on stage to sing "Rock Your Body" which includes the line, "Better have you naked by the end of this song." The song ended, and sure enough, Timberlake ripped off a piece of Jackson's costume to reveal her bare breast, only covered by "nipple shield". Dubbed a "wardrobe malfunction" by the media, CBS got fined a buttload of money, Timberlake got a pass and Jackson was crucified.
The Infamous Wardrobe Malfunction.
February 10, 2004 - Kanye West Releases "The College Dropout" Kanye West had already made a name for himself as a producer, revitalizing Jay-Z's career with The Blueprint, but his debut record positioned him as one of the greatest rappers of the decade. The College Dropout flew in the face of every hip-hop cliche at the time. West eschewed gangsta rap in favor of introspective soul sampling rap touching on racism, religion, and African American culture. The album earned West eight Grammy nominations, opened up rap to a new audience, and changed the direction the genre was headed in.
Kanye West wows the crowd with a mesmerizing performance of "Jesus Walks" at the 2005 Grammys (He doesn't show up until 1:40).
February 28, 2004 - Usher Begins 28 Total Weeks Atop Billboard Hot 100 Usher's domination of the charts in 2004 was unprecedented. His album, Confessions, has sold over 10 million copies in the United States, and it spawned four No. 1 hit singles. "Yeah" first hit the top spot in February, a position he didn't let go of until August, save a single week when American Idol winner Fantasia stormed the chart. After "I Believe" and "Burn" took their turn at the top, the album was reissued with "My Boo" which did likewise and began the trend of re-releasing albums for increased sales and chart topping singles.
Usher performs "Yeah!" live in concert.
October 22, 2004 - Ashlee Simpson Caught Lip Syncing on "Saturday Night Live"
Ashlee Simpson took the stage that fated October night to perform her get-out-from-under-the-shadow-of-her-sister single "Pieces of Me" and it went off without a hitch. Unfortunately, things didn't go so well when the time came to perform her second song of the night. Simpson got on stage, put the microphone up to her lips, and "Pieces of Me" began playing again. She danced a little "jig" before "wandering" off stage. At shows end, Simpson thought she could make everything better by saying her band started playing the wrong song...riiiiight. Her career would never recover, but lip syncing would go on just the same.
Ashlee Simpson's SNL Lip Syncing Fiasco.
November 30, 2004 - Jay-Z and Linkin Park's Mash-up Album "Collision Course" Debuts At No. 1 The underground bootleg mash-up genre was hated and feared by the record industry due to it being made entirely of illegally used music. DJ Dangermouse faced EMI's wrath after distributing The Grey Album which featured mash-ups of Jay-Z and Beatles tracks. Some mash-up artists eventually received the blessing of the labels to put out a legal album, such as Richard X's Presents His X Factor Vol. 1 a year earlier, but Jay-Z's and Linkin Park's album represented a commercial and cultural peak for mash-ups. It wasn't pieced together by a kid in his parent's basement, but by the artists themselves. It hit No. 1 in America and has sold nearly 2 million copies to date.
Jay-Z and Linkin Park mash-up their mash-up with Paul McCartney at the 2006 Grammys
December 14, 2004 - Kelly Clarkson Releases "Since U Been Gone" Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" is one of the best pop songs of all time. Written and produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke, two proven hit makers, and given more of a rock edge at Clarkson's insistence, the song proved to the world that reality show musicians can offer something of value to the world. Even more importantly, "Since U Been Gone" forever changed the pop-rock landscape and dictated the type of music Clarkson, as well as a host of other female singers were expected to make.
Kelly Clarkson rocks out to "Since U Been Gone" at the 2005 VMAs
September 2, 2005 - Kanye West Tells America that George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People NBC aired A Concert for Hurricane Relief to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Actor Mike Myers was on screen with Kanye West when West first went off script. "I hate the way they portray us in the media," he said before complaining about unfair depiction of blacks in the hurricane's aftermath. Myers looks concerned that West is off script and resumes to give his spiel after a minute before Kanye gives his infamous line, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Bad press for the Bush administration, but Kanye became a household name.
Kanye West becomes a household name during the Concert for Hurricane Relief telecast.
October 21, 2005 - Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" Becomes First Song To Sell 1 Million Downloads It was touted as an inventive neo-Queen schoolyard romp, but man, it got old fast, didn't it? Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" was a milestone single though, because in an era of hip-hop domination on the nation's charts, Stefani became the only non-hip-hop artist to go No. 1 except for American Idol winners the week after the show's finale. "Hollaback Girl" reached its peak of popularity just as iTunes was beginning to be seen as a good way to purchase music. The timing was perfect for the song which became the first to sell 1 million downloads.
"Hollaback Girl" in all its glory.
td:ar timeline 1
End of an Era: Ten Years of TRL
Despite the fact that MTV hasn't played a full length music video since 2005, its flagship music video program, Total Request Live, has remained on the air up until its final episode last night. TRL, which was created in the hopeful pre-9/11 climate marked by the rise of teen pop, has been on the air for ten years. To commemorate its run, MTV aired the TRL finale featuring Carson Daly, Beyonce, and the top ten most important music videos of the era. Of course, in traditional TRL mode, the videos were NOT shown in their entirety. I guess that's what YouTube's for, right? Britney topped the list, just in time for Circus to leak in its entirety all over the net. Kid Rock's inclusion makes me happy. I'll bet Kanye will be PISSED when he finds out MTV dissed him again.
These are the top 50 songs to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100. (Click on the chart to see a larger image.) How did they determine this list? Billboard explains it all here. Chubby Checker's "The Twist" is the top song of all time. It's actually the only song to ever hit #1 two different years, once in 1960 and once in 1962. There are three songs that made the list that never made it to #1. They are LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live" (#4), Jewel's "Foolish Games/You Were Meant For Me" (#15), and OneRepublic's Timbaland-remixed "Apologize" (#50) all peaked at #2. The Bee Gees and Boyz II Men are tied with the most tracks on the list with three apiece. The Beatles and Mariah Carey scored two apiece. If Paul McCartney is counted in all his incarnations (with the Beatles, Wings, and solo) he comes in with four in the top 50. As a family, the Gibbs add a single by their brother Andy to their three Bee Gees hits.
In the 50 year history of the Billboard Hot 100, 23 songs have topped the charts for 10 weeks or longer. These songs are so diverse that it would make the weirdest mix with the most counter-intuitive track listing ("Candle In The Wind" followed by "Macarena"?) and there probably are a lot of things that just piss you off about it (Two Santana songs? Two Mariah Carey songs? Thank Heavens Carrie Underwood's "Inside Your Heaven" went #1 for a week during the reign of "We Belong Together" or it would have 15 weeks at #1. Ew.). Regardless, here are the songs with the longest stay at #1:
