Showing posts with label Ludacris. Show all posts

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Justin Bieber charted with “Baby”

Baby

Justin Bieber with Ludacris

Writer(s): Justin Bieber/Christopher “Tricky” Stewart/Terius “The-Dream” Nash/Christopher Bridges/Christina Milan (see lyrics here)

Released: January 18, 2010

First Charted: January 31, 2010

Peak: 5 US, 15 RR, 3 UK, 3 CN, 3 AU, 12 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 12.0 US, 0.6 UK, 13.43 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.1 radio, 2812.56 video, 492.78 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Justin Bieber became a YouTube sensation who hit the U.S. charts in 2009 with all seven cuts from his My World EP. The following year he released his first full-length album, My World 2.0, preceded by the single “Baby.” It became his first top ten hit in the United States and reached a similar pinnacle in other countries. It went to #1 in France. ^WK

The team of Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and Terius “The-Dream” Nash wrote the song with Bieber, having previously worked on his song “One Time” as well as Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” They contacted label mate Ludacris to add a rap to the song. He had his doubts about rapping on a teenager’s song about puppy love, but said he knew the song was a hit when he heard it and could get into it when he imagined himself back at that age. Lamb applauded the results, saying, “Ludacris demonstrates raps in a pop hit can be charming and safe for young children to hear.” ^WK

About.com’s Bil Lamb said the song was “the best vehicle yet for Justin Bieber’s sweet, soulful voice.” ^WK Billboard’s Melanie Bertoldi said the song’s “undeniably contagious chorus should keep Bieber’s tween fan base satisfied” ^WK and Rolling Stone’s Jody Rosen said the song “blends winks at Fifties doo-wop with hip-hop chants.” ^WK

The video was even bigger, becoming the most viewed video in YouTube history by that summer. It held the title until late 2012 when it was passed by Psy’s “Gangnam Style.” ^WK Bieber said the video, which was primarily set in a mall bowling alley, would tap into the “song’s message of trying to woo back a girl.” ^WK Ludacris compared the video to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel;” MTV concurred saying “the choreography does use a few of Jackson’s less-suggestive moves,” ^WK including the famous moonwalk. Billboard said, “those new dance moves he’s showing off can only mean one thing: all over the world, tweens’ hearts are melting right now.” ^WK

Resources:

DMDB encyclopedia entry for Ludacris
^WK Wikipedia

Thursday, December 31, 2009

The Top 100 Songs from 2000-2009

Top 100 Songs of the Decade:

2000-2009

These are the top 100 songs from the 2000s according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are figured by combining sales figures, chart data, radio airplay, video airplay, streaming figures, awards, and appearances on best-of lists.

Check out other “songs of the decade” lists here.

1. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
2. Eminem “Lose Yourself” (2002)
3. Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (2009)
4. Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008)
5. Usher with Lil’ Jon & Ludacris “Yeah!” (2004)
6. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
7. Beyoncé with Jay-Z “Crazy in Love” (2003)
8. Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella” (2007)
9. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
10. Flo Rida with T-Pain “Low” (2007)

11. Lady Gaga “Poker Face” (2009)
12. Kanye West with Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger” (2005)
13. 50 Cent “In Da Club” (2002)
14. Coldplay “Viva La Vida” (2008)
15. Mariah Carey “We Belong Together” (2005)
16. The Killers “Mr. Brightside” (2004)
17. Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow” (2009)
18. Jason Mraz “I’m Yours” (2008)
19. Lady Gaga “Bad Romance” (2009)
20. Nickelback “How You Remind Me” (2001)

21. Nelly “Hot in Herre” (2002)
22. Ke$ha “Tik Tok” (2009)
23. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (2009)
24. U2 “Beautiful Day” (2000)
25. Jay-Z with Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind” (2009)
26. Leona Lewis “Bleeding Love” (2007)
27. Justin Timberlake “Sexyback” (2006)
28. Alicia Keys “No One” (2007)
29. Green Day “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (2004)
30. Lady Gaga with Colby O’Donnis “Just Dance” (2008)

31. Alicia Keys “Fallin’” (2001)
32. Eminem with Dido “Stan” (2000)
33. Amy Winehouse “Rehab” (2006)
34. Kylie Minogue “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (2001)
35. Shakira with Wyclef Jean “Hips Don’t Lie” (2006)
36. James Blunt “You’re Beautiful” (2005)
37. One Republic with Timbaland “Apologize” (2007)
38. Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” (2009)
39. Johnny Cash “Hurt” (2003)
40. Taylor Swift “Love Story” (2008)

41. Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out” (2004)
42. Beyoncé “Irreplaceable” (2006)
43. Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert “I Hope You Dance” (2000)
44. Coldplay “Clocks” (2002)
45. Nelly with Kelly Rowland “Dilemma” (2002)
46. Daniel Powter “Bad Day” (2005)
47. Eminem “The Real Slim Shady” (2000)
48. Missy Elliott “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)
49. Linkin Park “In the End” (2000)
50. Kelly Clarkson “Since U Been Gone” (2004)

51. Britney Spears “Toxic” (2003)
52. Snow Patrol “Chasing Cars” (2006)
53. OutKast “Ms. Jackson” (2000)
54. Katy Perry “I Kissed a Girl” (2008)
55. Madonna “Music” (2000)
56. Fergie “Big Girls Don’t Cry (Personal)” (2007)
57. 3 Doors Down “Kryptonite” (2000)
58. Train “Hey, Soul Sister” (2009)
59. Evanesence with Paul McCoy “Bring Me to Life” (2003)
60. Lil Wayne with Static Major “Lollipop” (2008)

61. Avril Lavigne “Complicated” (2002)
62. Nelly Furtado with Timbaland “Promiscuous” (2006)
63. Kanye West with Daft Punk “Stronger” (2007)
64. Coldplay “Yellow” (2000)
65. Destiny’s Child “Independent Women” (2000)
66. Eminem “Without Me” (2002)
67. Train “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” (2001)
68. Norah Jones “Don’t Know Why” (2002)
69. Gwen Stefani “Hollaback Girl” (2005)
70. Kings of Leon “Use Somebody” (2008)

71. Arctic Monkeys “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” (2005)
72. The Strokes “Last Nite” (2001)
73. Hoobastank “The Reason” (2003)
74. Carrie Underwood “Before He Cheats” (2005)
75. N Sync “Bye Bye Bye” (2000)
76. Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” (2005)
77. M.I.A. “Paper Planes” (2007)
78. Taylor Swift “You Belong with Me” (2008)
79. Soulja Boy Tell’em “Crank That (Soulja Boy)…” (2007)
80. Black Eyed Peas with Justin Timberlake “Where Is the Love?” (2003)

81. Alan Jackson “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” (2001)
82. Jay-Z “99 Problems” (2003)
83. Christina Aguilera with Lil’ Kim, Mya, & Pink “Lady Marmalade” (2001)
84. Flo Rida & Ke$ha “Right Round” (2009)
85. The Fray “How to Save a Life” (2005)
86. The White Stripes “Fell in Love with a Girl” (2001)
87. Mario “Let Me Love You” (2004)
88. Snoop Dogg with Pharrell Williams “Drop It Like It’s Hot” (2004)
89. Linkin Park “Numb” (2003)
90. Kid Rock “All Summer Long” (2007)

91. Gorillaz with De La Soul “Feel Good Inc.” (2005)
92. Tim McGraw “Live Like You Were Dying” (2004)
93. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Dani California” (2006)
94. Avril Lavigne “Girlfriend” (2007)
95. Staind “It’s Been Awhile” (2001)
96. Rihanna “Disturbia” (2008)
97. T.I. with Rihanna “Live Your Life” (2008)
98. 50 Cent with Olivia “Candy Shop” (2005)
99. Owl City “Fireflies” (2009)
100. Green Day “American Idiot” (2004)

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “‘Songs of the Decade’ lists”
Dave’s Music Database: “‘Albums of the Decade’ lists”
Dave’s Music Database: “The 2000s: The Top 909 at 90.9 The Bridge”

First posted 6/11/2015; last updated 1/26/2026.

Saturday, April 10, 2004

Usher debuted at #1 with Confessions

Confessions

Usher

Released: March 23, 2004

Charted: April 10, 2004

Peak: 1⁹ US, 1¹¹ RB, 1¹ UK, 1¹ CN, 2 AU

Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.2 UK, 20.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: R&B

Tracks:

Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

Intro
Yeah! (with Lil’ Jon & Ludacris) (1/3/04, 1 US, 1 UK, 1 RB, platinum single)
Throwback (2/5/05, 36 RB)
Confessions (Interlude)
Confessions Part II (4/10/04, 1 US, 5 UK, 1 RB, gold single)
Burn (3/13/04, 1 US, 1 UK, 1 RB, platinum single)
Caught Up (8/28/04, 8 US, 9 UK, 13 RB)
Superstar (Interlude)
Superstar
Truth Hurts
Simple Things
Bad Girl
That’s What It’s Made For (12/25/04, 59 RB)
Can U Handle It?
Do It to Me
Take Your Hand
Follow Me
My Boo (with Alicia Keys) (9/4/04, 1 US, 1 RB, platinum single) *
Red Light
Seduction (2/19/05, 68 RB) *
Confessions Part II (remix with Shyne, Kanye West, and Twista)

* Added to the expanded edition of the album.

Total Running Time: 60:30

Rating:

3.921 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

“Usher was already a star in 2004, a sly singer and slick dancer whose R&B hits found a home with pop fans.” ^RS’20 This was Usher’s fourth album, following two multi-platinum, top-5 outings which produced six songs to peak in the top 3. However, Confessions took Usher to a new level. It sold more than a million copies in its first week, debuted at the pinnacle, spent nine weeks there, and generated four #1 songs – plus a fifth top-10 hit. It ended up as the second-best selling album of the 2000s behind Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP, ^WK “one of the last 10-million-plus sellers ever made.” ^RS’20

It ”turned him into an unstoppable juggernaut. Usher worked with a murderers’ row of R&B and hip-hop talent, from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to Jermaine Dupri to Just Blaze; the album moves easily from club wreckers like the Lil Jon- and Ludacris-assisted smash ‘Yeah!’ to forgive-me-for-cheating ballads to love-you-forever duets.” ^RS’20

The lead-off single, Yeah!, with its “crunk-meets-R&B foundation” ^AMG is the “only club track” ^AMG on the album. Its “instantly addictive eight-note keyboard vamp” ^AMG was “one of Usher’s most muscular turns [and] is so absorbing that Ludacris’ 1500th guest verse floats by with little notice.” ^AMG The song was definitely noticed, spending 12 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and being named the song of the year by the magazine.

Overall, Usher felt this was “his most personal record to date.” ^WK Chart-toppers Burn and Confessions Part II dealt respectively with the winding down of Usher’s two-year relationship with TLC’s Chilli Thomas and the concept of an impregnated mistress. ^WK

There was also a conscious effort to showcase Usher’s new talents. Songs like Superstar and Follow demonstrated Usher in “crooner mode” ^WK and “the ballad-oriented ‘Burn’ also showcases his vocal aptitute.” ^WK That song and “the upbeat Caught Up…rate as some of the vocalist’s best moments yet.” ^AMG

“Throwback, produced by Just Blaze, sounds like it was made for the sole purpose of trailing Alicia Keys’ ‘You Don't Know My Name.’ Like that hit, ‘Throwback’s sensitively treated soul sample provides a nostalgic tint that complements the wistful, regret-filled tone of the lyrics.” ^AMG

“A small batch of Jam & Lewis productions, including the effortlessly gliding Truth Hurts, continue to help raise Usher's loverman stock.” ^AMG

“Confessions’ most detracting factor is its length. At an hour in duration, it could be stripped of five songs and be far more powerful, especially since no one would have to do any wading to get to the meaty parts.” ^AMG Instead, the album was released as a special edition which made the album even longer.

Notes: A special edition of Confessions was released which added My Boo, Red Light, Seduction, and an alternate version of Confessions Part II that featured Kanye West, Shyne, and Twista.

Resources and Related Links:

DMDB encyclopedia entry for Usher
^AMG All Music Guide review by Andy Kellman
^RS’20 Rolling Stone (9/22/2020). “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time”
^WK Wikipedia

First posted 3/25/2008; last updated 4/27/2022.

Saturday, February 28, 2004

Usher hit #1 with “Yeah!,” his first of 4 chart toppers that year