This week, it's Februay 11, 2006. The Winter Olympics had just begun in Turin, Italy. Also, I turned 35. And these were American pop radio's gifts to me.
40 - "Behind These Hazel Eyes," Kelly Clarkson
39 - "L.O.V.E.," Ashlee Simpson
38 - "You're Beautiful," James Blunt
37 - "Pon De Replay," Rihanna
36 - "Right Here," Staind
35 - "Wake Me Up When September Ends," Green Day
34 - "Girl Next Door," Saving Jane
33 - "Scars," Papa Roach
32 - "Luxurious," Gwen Stefani
31 - "Everytime We Touch," Cascada
Solo artists account for half of the first section. Kelly Clarkson makes three appearances in this week's Top 40, the first of which is this rocker about trying to appear strong about a nasty breakup. She's calm on the verses, furious on the choruses. Another powerhouse performance. Ashlee Simpson is here with this perky pop-rocker about how best friends can provide better affection and support than boyfriends. She still had a career one year after the SNL incident. My theory is that her real downfall was the emergence of the eerily similarly-voiced Miley Cyrus. Former British cavalryman James Blunt topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic with this folky ballad about exchanging what seems like a meaningful glance with someone on a subway, yet knowing that there will be no follow-up to that shared moment. Upon hearing this for the first time, I felt sure it was going to be a massive hit. And I felt equally sure that Blunt's plaintive whine would grate on me after the first twenty or so listens. Both happened. 18-year-old Barbados native Robyn Rihanna Fenty had her first major worldwide hit was this pop-dancehall number about wanting a DJ to play her favorite song again. She's gone on to have quite a few more hits since, but it's her earlier stuff like this that I prefer. And Gwen Stefani had her fifth hit from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. with this Isley Brothers-sampling slow jam about how her relationship with Gavin Rossdale feels like Egyptian cotton and cashmere. And I guess it still does, because they're still together, which is pretty good by celebrity standards. Now watch them break up by the end of the year.
Two groups fronted by women appear in this bunch. Columbus, Ohio's Saving Jane had their biggest hit to date with this pop-rock trifle about a girl's envy toward her school's Prom Queen. The song just expresses that idea and leaves it there. There's no moment of sudden self-affirmation, nor is there a cathartic lashing-out against the object of the jealousy. Would it be better with one of those things added? I'm not really sure. But I do think songs like this serve a purpose for teenagers. There are probably quite a few better ones than this, though. And German dance group Cascada had their biggest American hit with this bit of Euro-house. It's the kind of song that you imagine would sound good in a nightlclub, but in any other setting, it just doesn't work for me.
The rest of this group are male-fronted rock bands. Mope-rockers Staind had their most recent pop hit to date with this droney ballad about devotion and stuff. Songs like this were a dime a dozen in this decade, and believe me, I wasn't the one supplying the dimes. Green Day had another American Idiot hit with this mournful number about a cruel month. Another well-crafted single from a band that's been really good at that for quite a while. And Californians Papa Roach had their biggest pop hit with this grunge-popper on which singer Jacoby Shaddix declares "I tear my heart open just to feel." There's a lesson for you, kids. You too can turn your bad teenage poetry into a hit rock song.
30 - "We Be Burnin'," Sean Paul
29 - "Beverly Hills," Weezer
28 - "Here We Go," Trina featuring Kelly Rowland
27 - "Stay Fly," Three 6 Mafia featurning Young Buck and 8Ball and MJG
26 - "Shake That," Eminem featuring Nate Dogg
25 - "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been," Relient K
24 - "You and Me," Lifehouse
23 - "Feel Good Inc.," Gorillaz
22 - "I'm Sprung," T-Pain
21 - "Laffy Taffy," D4L
We begin with a pair of solo men. Sean Paul is here with another of his dancehall-pop tunes involving girls, alcohol, and weed. All familiar topics that he doesn't do anything new or interesting with. But I guess he didn't have to. And Florida-born Faheem Najm, a rapper turned singer (or Rappa Ternt Sanga, as his album title would have it) had his first hit with this song that seems to position "sprung" as a synonym for "whipped." The world was thus introduced to his heavily AutoTuned vocal stylings, and soon, the time would come when it seemed like half of the artist credits on the pop charts included the words "featuring T-Pain.." I honestly haven't heard most of his songs, but I have to say, I like this one. It's catchy and melodic.
Four pop-rock groups are in this mix. Weezer, the nerdish alternative band that shot to fame in the mid-90s, had their biggest pop hit to date with this peppy rocker about envying the rich and famous. Many longtime fans hated this song to the point where they abandoned the group. I eventually lost track of them as well, but the truth is, this song isn't that bad. It's not one of Rivers Cuomo's finest lyrical accomplisments, but it's certainly got a hook, and that talk-box solo is pretty sweet. Christian rockers Relient K had their biggest mainstream hit with this pop-rock tune about regret and redemption. Their sound is in the Simple Plan/Good Charlotte vein, and they don't really distinguish themselves from either. Lifehouse had their second pop Top Ten with this bland little ballad. Their uptempo stuff is generally better. And Gorillaz, an animated "band" masterminded by Damon Albarn of Britpop band Blur and comic book artist Jamie Hewett, had their biggest American hit to date with this ethereal dance track on which Albarn sings dreamily about windmills and veteran rappers De La Soul provide fun rhymes. Terrific song, and when the group plays "live," the animated members are projected on a screen while a real band performs behind it. If they do another tour, it might be something worth checking out. Glovehead meets Gorillaz. Could be fun. Anyway, for both the song itself and what's behind it "Feel Good Inc." is this week's Uneasy Rider.
We finish the first half with rap groups and collaborations. Miami rapper Katrina Taylor had her only major pop hit to date with this ballad about a cheating man that features vocals from Destiny's Child's Rowland and a prominent sample from Force MDs 1986 hit "Tender Love." Not all that remarkable. Memphis' Three 6 Mafia brought some of their friends along on their biggest hit, a track about the same themes covered this week by Sean Paul. A month after this , these guys would collect a Best Original Song Academy Award for their contribution to Hustle and Flow, "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp." Gotta love that. Eminem is here with one of his more conventional hits, a simple ode to picking up women who move their asses in pleasing ways. The smooth contributions of Nate Dogg elevate this somewhat, though. And Atlanta's D4L, pruveyors of the hip-hop subgenre "snap" are one-hit wonders at this point in time, but their one hit was this #1 sex rap on which they name drop such confections as bubble gum, chocolate, and the titular chewy candy. Dumb novelty fun.
In Part Two: double doses of a sidekick, a side dish, and a woman we've already heard from this week. And our first encounter with a man who has revealed himself to be of questionable character, to say the least.
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