Ciara held the top spot of the Hot 100 the week of September 25, 2004, with ‘Goodies,’ her debut single. The song spent seven weeks at #1.
That was the longest span a female artist spent at #1 with a debut single since Debbie Boone’s ‘You Light Up My Life’ topped the charts for 10 weeks in 1977.
It was also Ciara’s last #1 hit, though her next two singles peaked at #2.
Missy Elliott has released six Platinum albums and 74 singles (44 as a featured performer) without reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
She’s had five top ten singles as a solo artist and six as a feature. But what sets her apart and earns her inclusion in this list is how close she came to #1 and for how long. While Creedence Clearwater Revival have had the most songs at #2 without a #1 hit, Missy Elliott has spent the most weeks there.
Year after year, these Jazz & Pop surveys make it clear how far my tastes are from the critical consensus.
That’s weird, because I tend to think of myself as the sort of cultural snob who likes critically acclaimed work and sniffs at the lowbrow stuff. That seems to be true when it comes to movies.
But music critics obviously love a whole lot of music I find boring. Unimaginative rap and tedious slow-jam R&B tracks dominate these lists.
Meet Me In Montauk 