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.
The week of September 4, 2004, saw Terror Squad holding on to the top spot with ‘Lean Back.’ At #2 was Houston rapper Lil’ Flip with ‘Sunshine,’ a romantic track featuring singer Lea. I like this song’s laid-back 90s hip-hop feel.
Lil’ Flip never had a hit after this one, but has steadily put out albums independently for the last 20 years. Lea is also unsigned, according to her (quite entertaining) Twitter feed, which finds her opining on politics and misogyny as well as sharing photos of her daughter’s homework.
The week of August 14, 2004, saw Juvenile atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Slow Motion,’ covered here a few weeks ago.
In the #2 spot, on its way to a three-week stint atop the chart, was ‘Lean Back’ by the Bronx hip-hop collective Terror Squad. This track features founding member Fat Joe along with latecomer to the band Remy Martin.
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).
Usher held on to the two top spots the week of July 3, 2004, with ‘Burn’ at #1 and ‘Confessions Part II’ at #2. This song eventually replaced its album mate atop the chart.
As the title suggests, ‘Confessions Part II’ is a sequel to another track called ‘Confessions’ which immediately precedes it on the album (also titled Confessions). You can hear the first track at the beginning of this song’s video, embedded below.
Meet Me In Montauk 