Justin Timberlake hit #1 with “SexyBack”

SexyBack Justin Timberlake

Writer(s): Justin Timberlake/Tim Mosley/Nate "Danja" Hills (see lyrics here) Released: July 18, 2006 First Charted: July 14, 2006 Peak: 17 US, 14 BA, 15 DG, 15 RR, 18 A40, 11 RB, 11 UK 1 CN, 12 AU, 22 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.9 US, 0.65 UK, 6.22 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 223.3 video, 623.31 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: “Even back in N Sync’s heyday, you always got the feeling that Timberlake was just a little bit…well, funkier than those other boy band singers.” MX Naysayers couldn’t help but ask who is “this skinny, pasty, curly-haired, girly-singing, Walt Disney World teeny-bopper to talk about bringing sexy back? And BACK? Back from where?” LR However, doubters were “forced to sign off…on Justin’s hot, hot hit” LR and acknowledge that he could “do no wrong. Two great albums after leaving a boy band, television and movie appearances where he’s proven to be pretty damn funny and a collaborator with many, he’s almost untouchable.” PD Kanye West said at one point that “Justin Timberlake should be the #1 artist on the planet (right before stating that he himself is actually that guy, of course).” PD Timberlake told Observer Music Monthly, “The chorus is very James Brown-ish…It’s a very physical song, meant to provoke sexual dance. ‘Sex Machine’ is the closest reference.” SF He also said the song’s vocals were influenced by Prince, WK but that he sang the song in a rock style instead of an R&B style, as if David Bowie and David Byrne were covering James Brown’s “Sex Machine.” WK He said the end result “doesn’t qualify as rock or straight funk” WK but that he liked it being described as “club funk.” WK Andrew Murfett of The Age said the song “introduced a new phrase into the pop cultural lexicon.” WK Billboard’s Katy Kroll said one “can almost feel beads of sweat rolling off” WK the track and that when Timberlake “claims to be bringing sexy back to pop music…indeed he is.” WK Entertainment Weekly amusingly wrote, “We didn’t even know that sexy was missing until 2006. We’re just happy Justin brought it back safe and sound.” WK The instrumental backing is built on “a pounding bass beat, electronic chords, and beat box sounds.” WK Instead of his “famous falsetto,” WK Timberlake’s voice is distorted on the track and features backing vocals from Timbaland, who also produced the track. He’d previously worked on Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” and also produced Nelly Furtado’s #1 hit “Promiscuous.” SF PopMatters.com’s Quentin B. Huff called “SexyBack” a ‘fraternal twin” with “Promiscuous.” WK Timberlake had top five hits with “Cry Me a River” and “Rock Your Body” from his previous album, 2002’s Justified, and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with *NSYNC on “It’s Gonna Be Me” from 2000. This, however, was his first #1 as a solo artist. The song also won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, a People’s Choice Award for Favorite R&B Song, and and MTV Video Music Award for Male Artist of the Year. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Justin Timberlake DMDB encyclopedia entry for Timbaland LR LowResolution.blogspot.com “Retrospecticus: 100 Favorite Songs of the Decade” (1/4/2010). MX Atlanta Metromix (11/24/09) Best songs of the decade PD PopDose.com (11/24/09) The Best Songs of the Decade Last updated 4/25/2023.

Nelly Furtado hit #1 with “Promiscuous”

Promiscuous Nelly Furtado with Timbaland

Writer(s): Tim “Attitude” Clayton/Nelly Furtado/Nate Hills/Tim “Timbaland” Mosley (see lyrics here) Released: April 25, 2006 First Charted: May 5, 2006 Peak: 16 US, 17 RR, 27 A40, 22 RB, 3 UK, 11 CN, 2 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.82 US, 0.6 UK, 5.23 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 636.8 video, 1133.87 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Nelly Furtado first charted with the folkie, alternative-rock “I’m Like a Bird” in 2001. That song and its follow-up, “Turn Out the Light,” were top 10 U.S. hits, but her second album failed to land any songs on the Billboard Hot 100. It looked like Furtado had already peaked, but then she teamed with Timbaland, one of the hottest producers around, for her third album. Billboard called them “a surprisingly good match.” WK On the song “Promiscuous,” the pair lyrically flirt with each other as she initially rejects his advances. She told Blender she saw the song as being about verbal foreplay, saying that she and co-writer Tim Clayton “called it ‘The Blackberry Song’ because everything we say in the song you could text-message to somebody.” SF Because of a lyrical reference to basketball star Steve Nash (“Is that the truth or are talkin’ trash/ Is your game MVP like Steve Nash?”), some assumed they were romantically linked. Nash said that he was “flattered that she put me in her song, but I’m completely in love with my wife and two little baby girls.” WK Furtado also denied any tryst, saying that she included him because both were from Victoria, British Columbia. WK The New Yorker called the song a “playful update” of Janet Jackson’s “Nasty” and All Music Guide’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine compared the song to “vintage Prince,” WK although he also said Furtado doesn’t “generate much carnal heat.” WK The song won a Billboard Award for Best Pop Single of the Year and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Nelly Furtado DMDB page for parent album Loose DMDB encyclopedia entry for Timbaland SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 2/7/2021; last updated 4/9/2024.

Missy Elliott” Get Ur Freak On” charted

Get Ur Freak On Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott

Writer(s): Melissa Elliott, Tim Mosley (see lyrics here) Released: March 6, 2001 First Charted: February 17, 2001 Peak: 7 US, 20 RR, 3 RB, 4 UK, 12 CN, 44 AU, 23 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.6 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.2 radio, 93.8 video, 246.16 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott was born in 1971 in Virginia. She started her music career with the R&B girl group Sista in the early ‘90s before launching her solo career as a rapper in 1997 with Supa Dupa Fly. It debuted at #3 on the Billboard album chart, the highest charting debut at the time for a female rapper. It was her first of six studio albums, all of wich went platinum and five reached the top 10. She also reached the top 10 on the pop charts with eleven songs as the lead artist or a featured artist. Two of those songs (“Hot Boyz” and “Work It”) reached #1 on the R&B chart. Interestingly, though, her most celebrated song wasn’t her biggest hit nor was it from her biggest selling album. “Get Ur Freak On,” however, was still a top 10 hit on the pop and R&B charts. It was the lead single from her third album, 2001’s Miss E…So Addictive. She wrote and produced the song with childhood friend Tim Mosley (aka “Timbaland”). It was a last minute addition to the album because they thought the album needed more more cut. SF The song owes its unusual sound to Bhangra music. Timbaland discovered the musical form while traveling in India. He used a tumbi, which is a one-stringed guitar, to record individual notes into a keyboard. SF Elliott said the song, “could be about dancing – the bedroom, whatever. You’re cleaning your house? Get your freak on!” SF A remix of the song with Nelly Furtado was used in the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. It was also remixed with AC/DC’s “Back in Black” for 2003’s The Rundown and with the Black Keys’ “Keep Me” for the soundtrack for the 2014 movie Neighbors. It was also used in 2005’s The 40-Year Old Virgin. Resources: SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 2/3/2023; last updated 6/18/2023.