Throwing back to the week of October 18, 2003, we find two repeats in the top spot of Billboard’s Hot 100. At #1 is Beyoncé’s ‘Baby Boy,’ which spent a total of nine weeks in that position. And in the second spot was ‘Shake Ya Tailfeather,’ a collaboration by Nelly, P. Diddy, and Murphy Lee.
That brings us to #3, and another ode to shaking one’s ass: ‘Get Low,’ the debut single by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. This pioneering crunk track eventually made it to #2 on the chart.
My blind spot for R&B music emerges again as I consider Usher’s 2004 album Confessions, a massive hit with which I have almost zero familiarity.
This album, the singer-songwriter’s fourth, was the sixth best-selling album of the entire 2000s in the U.S. and produced four #1 singles. You’d think those songs would instantly ring a bell for somebody who was in his early 20s and an avid music listener at the time.
As I suspected, Ariana Grande’s ‘Problem’ is sitting high on the charts, at #2. In the third and fourth spots are two other songs I’ve already featured on the blog, John Legend’s ‘All Of Me’ and Pharell’s juggernaut ‘Happy.’
The next new entry is an oddity by DJ Snake & Lil Jon called ‘Turn Down For What.’ The track contains twelve words repeated ad nauseum over an assaulting EDM beat — just like the songs my parents grew up with.
Meet Me In Montauk 