The week of February 21, 2004, saw a few repeats at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart: ‘Slow Jamz,’ by Twista feat. Kanye West & Jamie Foxx; ‘Yeah!‘ by Usher feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris; and ‘The Way You Move‘ by Outkast.
In the fourth spot that week was a rising star named Beyoncé, with the third single from her debut album Dangerously in Love. While the first two singles (‘Crazy in Love’ and ‘Baby Boy’) reached #1, ‘Me, Myself and I’ stalled at #4.
Today we throw back to the week of January 31, 2004, when Outkast continued to have a stranglehold on the top two spots of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Hey Ya!‘ and ‘The Way You Move.’ At #3 was another holdover, Alicia Keys’ ‘You Don’t Know My Name.’
In the #4 spot that week was ‘Slow Jamz,’ a collaboration between rapper Twista, actor/singer Jamie Foxx, and a relative newcomer named Kanye West. West produced the track and co-wrote it with Twista, with songwriting credit also going to Hal David and Burt Bacharach due to its use of a sample of Dionne Warwick singing ‘A House is Not a Home.’
Throwing back to the week of January 10, 2004, we find that Outkast held a stranglehold on the top of the Hot 100. Their singles ‘Hey Ya!‘ and ‘The Way You Move‘ occupied the #1 and #2 spots, respectively. Kelis’ ‘Milkshake‘ was at #3.
Careful readers might remember this was the same top three when I last threw back to the 2000s three weeks ago.
Today we’re throwing back to the week of December 20, 2003, when the Christmas season was dominated by Outkast. The Atlanta-based rap duo held the top two spots on that week’s Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Hey Ya!‘ and ‘The Way You Move,’ two classics from the era.
Because I’ve featured those songs already, I’m moving on to #3, where singer (and future chef) Kelis peaked with her song ‘Milkshake.’
Throwing back to the week of November 29, 2003, we find Beyoncé and Sean Paul still dominating the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Baby Boy.’ That song was in the last of its nine weeks atop the chart, soon to be replaced by #2 track ‘Stand Up‘ by Ludacris.
At #3 was the Outkast classic ‘Hey Ya!,’ a song that prompted me to wax nostalgic 12 years ago on the blog. That song would soon ascend to its own nine-week run at #1.
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