In the #2 slot of this week’s Billboard Hot 100 is ‘I Had Some Help,’ a duet by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen. This song spent six weeks at #1 before being dethroned by Shaboozey, making it the year’s longest-running chart-topper so far.
Country music is really hitting its stride on the charts when one country song replaces another. The influx of more contemporary artists and sounds into the genre has been a recipe for crossover success.
It’s been a few months since I did an installment of ‘What the Kids are Listening To,’ wherein I feature the songs currently topping the Billboard Hot 100. This week’s lineup is pretty interesting, so the timing is good.
At #1 is Shaboozey with ‘A Bar Song (Tipsy).’ The Virginia country/hip-hop artist has been recording since 2014 but this is his first song to reach the Hot 100 as a lead artist. I learned his name when he appeared on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter earlier this year, a gig that set him up nicely for this breakout success.
The week of July 24, 2004, saw Usher still atop the charts with ‘Confessions Part II.’ That was certainly his summer.
In second place was the rap song ‘Slow Motion’ by Juvenile featuring Soulja Slim. This track eventually made it to #1, becoming the seventh chart-topper released posthumously (Soulja Slim was shot and killed outside his mother’s home in New Orleans the previous November).
Throwing back to the week of July 27, 1994, we find All-4-One’s ‘I Swear’ nearing the end of its historic run at #1.
Just behind it is Lisa Loeb’s ‘Stay (I Missed You),’ her debut single, which was featured in the movie Reality Bites. This indie pop classic would dethrone All-4-One the following week. I had a healthy crush on Loeb in 1994.
My final Hildegard Von Blingen’ bardcore selection tackles yet another genre: country. Here’s her take on the Dolly Parton classic ‘Jolene.’
One of the charms of these bardcore songs is the way Hildegard transforms the lyrics. So “I’m beggin’ you, please don’t take my man” becomes “I beg of thee, pray take not my lord.” No contractions, lots of -eths.
Meet Me In Montauk 