We have arrived in March of 2008. Raul Castro had just taken over the presidency of Cuba from his brother Fidel. And apparently, he's just been "re-elected." Meanwhile, 90 miles away in the United States, this is what was happening in pop music:
40 - "Feedback," Janet Jackson
39 - "Whatever it Takes," Lifehouse
38 - "Flashing Lights," Kanye West featuring Dwele
37 - "Dance Floor Anthem (I Don't Want to Be in Love)," Good Charlotte
36 - "Superstar," Lupe Fiasco featuring Matthew Santos
35 - "Who Knew," Pink
34 - "Calabria 2008," Enur featuring Natasja
33 - "Stronger," Kanye West
32 - "When You Look Me in the Eyes," The Jonas Brothers
31 - "Into the Night," Santana featuring Chad Kroeger
We begin with two ladies. Janet Jackson had her most recent pop hit, and arguably her biggest post-Nipplegate, with this dance track where she boasts about her ability to attract men with "light skin, dark skin, (and) my Asian persuasion" and also asks for someone to "strum me like a guitar, blow out my amplifier." Now who's the nasty one, Miss Jackson. And Pink scored her second straight Top Ten with this rocker about disbelief over losing a loved one. Probably one of her five best hits, and she has remained on solid commercial footing ever since.
Then we have five pop and rock groups and collaborations. (Yeah, sometimes these are almost as convoluted as Grammy categories). Lifehouse had their most recent Top 40 to date with this ballad about relationship repair. Again, it's only when they pick up the tempo that they rise above the post-grunge pack. Good Charlotte also haven't darkened the Top 40's door since their entry here. a bitter rocker about Joel Madden's breakup with Hillary Duff. Honestly, I'm sure she's better off. As for him, I don't care. Danish DJ Rune Kolsch had his biggest American hit with this remix of his 2003 reggae fusion track, this time featuring singer Natasja Saad. I'm not sure about all the technicalities of the genre, but it's an ingratiating dance number. Disney-powered Dallas trio The Jonas Brothers had their third hit with this big teenybopper ballad that helped them win the hearts of tweens everywhere. For me, they're like a less-talented Hanson. Apparently they're going to try and come back with a new album this year, but I suspect their moment has passed. And Santana had the last hit of his comeback run with this Latin-flavored pop-rocker featuring Mr. Nickelback himself. But this time the labels involved were able to come to an agreement, and there was no need for a re-recording with a second-rate Kroeger equivalent. And Alex Band wept.
We'll end our look at this section with the rap tracks. Kanye West's ascencion to pop dominance was complete by now, as evidenced by his two entries in this group. First, he teams up with Detroit singer Dwele on a slick midtempo number on which he says he hates paparazzi photographers "more than the Nazis." Well, we all have are priorities. And then there's "Stronger," his third pop #1 and my favorite of his by a mile. Over a sample from French electonic duo Daft Punk, West testifies to his resiliency while making references to, among others, gosper group Take 6, Klondike ice cream bars, Isotoner gloves, and onetime Prince protege Apollonia Kotero. Just a great song, and one of the ones I go to when I need to get hyped up for something. And the Chicago rapper born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco had his first pop Top Ten about fame and the rush of performing. I think that's it. I do know that the choruses sung by folk-rocker Matthew Santos are quite reminiscent of Coldplay's Chris Martin. And it doesn't sound like that was unintentional.
30 - "Cyclone," Baby Bash featuring T-Pain
29 - "Misery Business," Paramore
28 - "Love Like This," Natasha Bedingfield featuring Sean Kingston
27 - "Over You," Daughtry
26 - "Hero/Heroine," Boys Like Girls
25 - "The Way I Are," Timbaland featuring Keri Hilson and D.O.E.
24 - "Bubbly," Colbie Caillat
23 - "Feels Like Tonight," Daughtry
22- "Hypnotized," Plies featuring Akon
21 - "Never Too Late," Three Days Grace
Let's begin this part with rap. Baby Bash picked up his second Top Ten with this Lil Jon-produced ode to a woman's whirlwindesque bodily gyrations. Not great, but notable for the fact that you can see we are into what I call pop's "featuring T-Pain" era. Rapper-producer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley scored his second major hit as lead credited artist with this grammatically incorrect track about liking someone for them. As for his then-unknown collaborators, Hilson's had a couple hits since, but D.O.E. had remained pretty much where he was before. And Floridian Plies had his second hit with a song that's pretty lascivious in its toned-down version, but it gets pretty graphic in the original. Neither version impresses me all that much. There are so many songs like this, and this is, without, question, one of them.
Another big representation from bands in this section. Franklin, Tennessee emo-popsters Paramore had their breakthrough hit with this punky number about waiting out a crush's bad relationship and gloating about picking him up on the rebound to his ex. Classy. But singer Hayley Williams has a good voice for this sort of thing, and she sells me the song. Daughtry's continued run of success is represented here twice. Both are ballads. One's about recovering from a breakup, the other's about trying to prevent one. I like the former better, but neither are half as good as "It's Not Over." Massachussetts pop-rockers Boys Like Girls had their first hit with this bland little love song. The singer's high voice on the choruses is somewhat impressive, though, I must say. And Norwood, Ontario, Canada's Three Days Grace had their biggest pop hit to date with a song about trying to convince a friend that ending his life is not the answer. It's an okay song with an earnest message, and maybe it actually did help somebody. I think we all sometimes forget that even the music we ourselves don't personally care for can mean a lot to someone else.
We close out the first half with two ladies. Natasha Bedingfield had another hit with this sunny love song with assistance from singer/rapper Sean Kingston. Pleasant background music. And Colbie Caillat (pronounced "Ca-LAY"), the daughter of a veteran producer and engineer who worked on, among many other records, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, kicked off her own pop career with this cutesy folk-popper with lyrics about nose-crinkling and "get(ting) the tingles in a silly place." And the funny things, her voice doesn't sound at all like someone who should be singing those lyrics. It alternates between annoying and just plain weird, which is why it gets this week's Uneasy Rider.
In Part Two: another Idol star, another Disney creation, and a leering rap song that actually does stand out from the rest.
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