Billboard Hot 100 : 04/11/2015 - Uptown Funk! (13th wk #1)

[jenglisbe]

Saturday Night Live should have Ellie and The Weeknd on in the same episode with each performing their song from the soundtrack.

[felipe]

Mar 28, 2015 20:04:12 GMT -5 Gary said:

Example...far and away the biggest song to come out of the 80's (Don't Stop Believin' by Journey) hit #9 initially

Bigger than Thriller?

[Gary]

Mar 28, 2015 22:51:25 GMT -5 felipe said:

Mar 28, 2015 20:04:12 GMT -5 Gary said:

Example...far and away the biggest song to come out of the 80's (Don't Stop Believin' by Journey) hit #9 initially

Bigger than Thriller?

In my opinion, yes. Thriller the song, yes. Thriller the album  no.

Thriller is a Halloween-only hit at this point.

Don't Stop Believin is played on movies, TV shows and sporting events and is one of the 20-30 biggest selling songs of the last 10 years.

[popbox]

Lol, Thriller is much bigger than just a "Halloween" hit. It is arguably MJ's signature song today. That said, Don't Stop Believing has had a bigger impact over the last decade. But prior to the mid 00's, it was really just a popular song among Journey fans. It gained nearly all of its mass popularity relatively recently. Can't think of quite another example for a song that took that long to become a universal sensation.

[Deleted]

I remember there was a survey question on Family Feud that asked 100 people to name a song that Michael Jackson is remembered for today (this aired like 5 years ago, not that long ago) and "Thriller" was by far the most popular answer on that survey...

[Gary]

Thriller vs. Don't Stop Believin'

hmm...

Both good songs.

'just another popular song among Journey fans' vs 'MJs signature song today'


Like I said, just an opinion. ;)

[Gary]

Mar 28, 2015 23:35:14 GMT -5 @markg94 said:

I remember there was a survey question on Family Feud that asked 100 people to name a song that Michael Jackson is remembered for today (this aired like 5 years ago, not that long ago) and "Thriller" was by far the most popular answer on that survey...

When he died in 2009, every song in his catalog charted (on the digital songs chart of course) but the one that did the best was 'Man In The Mirror'

[tekkenguy]

Mar 28, 2015 23:18:33 GMT -5 popbox said:

Lol, Thriller is much bigger than just a "Halloween" hit. It is arguably MJ's signature song today. That said, Don't Stop Believing has had a bigger impact over the last decade. But prior to the mid 00's, it was really just a popular song among Journey fans. It gained nearly all of its mass popularity relatively recently. Can't think of quite another example for a song that took that long to become a universal sensation.

"Seven Nation Army." it was always a popular rock hit of the '00s but wasn't recognized by mass audiences until around 2009 or so.
"Never Gonna Give You Up" was just another '80s hit until Rick Rolling took off in 2008.
"What I Like About You" was a minor hit that became more widely known after being used in advertisements.
"Remember The Name" was always overshadowed by "Where'd You Go" but movies and TV + sports anthem brought the song back to the spotlight.

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2015 20:04:12 GMT -5 Gary said:

Memorability does not matter here and is really impossible to measure.

Is Low more memorable than Thrift Shop?

Is Dark Horse more memorable than Happy?

Time will tell

Chart performance measures the here and now, not memorability.

Example...far and away the biggest song to come out of the 80's (Don't Stop Believin' by Journey) hit #9 initially

This really just serves to prove your point about being impossible to measure, but I actually would argue that for a long time the biggest/most memorable song to come out of the 80s was Bon Jovi's Living On a Prayer. Like, so definitive that I never heard anyone even try to dispute it, really. It topped VH1's Greatest Songs of the 80s list in 2006 (Journey came in at #11). Don't Stop Believin's resurgence in pop culture happened afterward, in 2009 or so, and it's almost mind-boggling to me how quickly Bon Jovi was usurped from the spot in the public's mind. As for Michael, I always felt that Billie Jean was the more 'memorable' hit from the Thriller album, but then that album as a whole is the most remembered piece of music from the 80s - and no number of resurgent old hits is going to usurp that - so I suppose there's no point in trying to rank the songs on it.

Anyway, that is why I think you're right that it's impossible to measure. I'm sure if you had asked anyone twenty years ago they would have told you, of course OSD would be well-remembered. The song was too huge and the artists on it at the time too huge for anyone to think or reasonably argue otherwise, plus Boyz II Men were on a hot streak with constantly breaking their own record of longest-running #1 hits. It was just impossible to conceptualize the idea that anything they did would not stand the test of time. Just like if you ask people now, of course we will tell you Uptown Funk! will be well-remembered, but 20 years from now it might be just "another 2010s hit," while other Bruno songs are held up as his more defining songs and Radioactive randomly pulls a DSB to take over people's nostalgia years after the fact. We don't really know what time will do. I don't know when or how it happened that Mariah and Boyz II Men's other hits ended up sticking with us more than OSD, but I think that says less about OSD - it's not a completely forgotten hit, just not an oft-played or mentioned one - and more about what an amazing collection of work Mariah and BIIM built for themselves.

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2015 15:55:06 GMT -5 tekkenguy said:

Mar 28, 2015 11:14:53 GMT -5 @smirjal said:

If Mark Ronson wanted to be remembered as the lead artist of "UF" he would let sb like Aloe Blacc or Sam Martin to be the singer of his song just like the Avicii's and Guetta's style! Everybody knows Avicii as the lead artist of WAKE ME UP (You may say that Mark Ronson was not popular so he used Bruno but it is not true!Avicii was not popular either in US when he released WMU)
So he doesn't "need" to be remembered as the lead artist of UF :)

If it was Mark Ronson featuring a no-name. "Uptown Funk" wouldn't be a hit at all.

ٌWhat about We are young??? Anyone knew fun or that girl???
What about Call me maybe?? Who was Carly Rae Jepsen???
What about Gangnam style??? Anyone knew the Korean singer?!!
What else do you want to hear about?!!
;)

[BlueSwan]

I love this discussion.

While "Thriller" is certainly one of MJ's most iconic songs, I think the song is helped by being the title track of the biggest selling album of all time. Hence, when people think of MJ, they think of "Thriller". As for having the biggest impact, I would argue that "Billie Jean" ranks above "Thriller".

"Don't Stop Believing" has had an amazing resurgence, but despite that, I cannot bring myself to regard it as the most memorable or iconic tune of the 80s or anything even remotely close. It really wasn't that big in the 80s. This also brings up a discussion between immediate impact, influence and longevity.

"Nuthin' But A "G" Thang" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" are great examples of early 90's tracks that had absolutely massive influence on pop culture AND have had amazing longevity, but neither can boast amazing sales figures by themselves.

"Lose Yourself" is an example of an early 00's hit single, that had very little influence on the sound of pop music, but had both tremendous initial sales and amazing longevity. It was just an extremely succesful record that didn't really break any new ground but represents the commercial pinnacle of the biggest rapper of all time.

"One Sweet Day" really is interesting in that nobody really cares for that song today. It was so succesful because it was a solid offering from two of the biggest artists of the mid-90's. I don't think anybody really rates it as the best Boyz II Men song or as the best Mariah Carey song. It was a moment that happened and has since disappeared into obscurity. If it didn't have the record for most weeks at #1, many of us would probably struggle to even remember it. Is "One Sweet Day" an iconic track? Absolutely not.

In that regard, I'm not sure how I would feel about "Uptown Funk" beating the record. While, undoubtedly a well produced and extremely funky record, it really sounds like a slightly updated early 80's funk record. I honestly don't think that this song will be remembered as an iconic track in years to come. I personally like "Uptown Funk" better than "Happy", but "Happy" is an iconic record. I don't think UF is.

[jjose712]

Mar 28, 2015 20:04:12 GMT -5 Gary said:

Memorability does not matter here and is really impossible to measure.

Is Low more memorable than Thrift Shop?

Is Dark Horse more memorable than Happy?

Time will tell

Chart performance measures the here and now, not memorability.

Example...far and away the biggest song to come out of the 80's (Don't Stop Believin' by Journey) hit #9 initially

And of course there are songs that barely reach top 30 and everybody remembers (Everybody hurts).
But there are hits that are pretty clear it won't be remember in a couple of years even when they are at the top of their game.

People with a lot of number ones generally end with some of their biggest hits being totally underrated (and sometimes some of their flops being remembered).

Anyway, i don't think UF is going to lose its number one soon. The song is losing spins but at a reasonable rhythm, and it still dominates sales clearly, so unless some of the other contenders up their games (and Sugar is still quite far from UF) i think there's a posibility of UF reaching 15 or even 16 weeks at number one

And by the way, thriller was way bigger in Europe than it was in the USA. The video is iconic which generally helps a song to stay in the collective memory

[jayhawk1117]

I'm not even curious if Uptown Funk will break the record, because it's almost guaranteed. I'm more curious to what replaces it

[Ted Sweeran]

Hold on Style!  :'(

[wjr15]

A good example for a song that is universally well-known but the artist is not would be the Macarena. That song is still popular at weddings and everyone still knows the dance but I can't even remember the name of the artists who sing it

[HailTheConquerer]

Uptown Funk is just too strong, even if BBHMM goes on top tonight ,UF will retake the lead within a day or two...can't see anything stopping this the next few weeks at least.

[jayhawk1117]

Mar 29, 2015 12:40:10 GMT -5 HailTheConquerer said:

Uptown Funk is just too strong, even if BBHMM goes on top tonight ,UF will retake the lead within a day or two...can't see anything stopping this the next few weeks at least.

Well Uptown is back to one on iTunes

[jjose712]

Mar 29, 2015 11:19:27 GMT -5 wjr15 said:

A good example for a song that is universally well-known but the artist is not would be the Macarena. That song is still popular at weddings and everyone still knows the dance but I can't even remember the name of the artists who sing it

Not the best example. Macarena was a spanish song, a style of song called sevillana which is popular in the south of Spain but rarely finds mainstream success in Spain.
los del rio were a duo for many many years before Macarena, and they were known in their style. Macarena became a hit song of the summer in Spain, and then get that dance remix (i laughed a lot the first time i heard it, but as it happened with Enrique's Bailamos, i was plain wrong).

It was pretty obvious Macarena would be an one hit wonder, even as mainstream in spanish they are a one hit wonder, because their music is not mainstream at all, and their core niche everybody knows them

Mark is a well known producer and dj, the sales of his album clearly indicate that this will be his one hit wonder (at least for now).
When an artist had a sole hit, generally the song ends being better known than the artist himself (or herself)

[Live Your Life]

:o What a coincidence.

[popbox]

I think UF should beat Low's number one digital record now. Can't believe that dumb song has held the record pretty much since the digital era got big.

[jjose712]

Stay with me gaining audience :)

[jayhawk1117]

Mar 29, 2015 13:49:26 GMT -5 Live Your Life said:

:o What a coincidence.

He predicted the record he was gonna break lol. And looks like C will be the answer for Uptown Funk

[Queen of Insomnia.]

Mar 29, 2015 13:49:26 GMT -5 Live Your Life said:

:o What a coincidence.

Do such things even happen anymore? Sixteen wks @ #1?

I bet he wouldn't believe if someone told him back then that in 5yrs he will come close to breaking it.

[KeepDeanWeird]

I take the whole "dark era" pretty much from 1993-1998 when so many major hits were not eligible to chart, with a grain of salt - I mean "I'll be missing you" spent 11 weeks at #1 and didn't even make the Mainstream Top 10. Yes, it did well on R&B Hip-hop, but Foolish Games and Fly were far bigger hits. Foolish Games (Batman Remix) was able to chart because the album version was on the CD single of YWMFM, which was long sold out. Same with "Un-break My Heart," "Don't Speak" was everywhere except H100. If you look at radio, there were so many giant hits that defined that era. OSD spent several weeks at the top on radio as well, but it definitely benefited from the fact that so few singles were being issued. Looking at the various radio components (and the B200) is a far better way historically to gauge what was popular than the H100.

[Deleted]

BBHMM is now #3 on iTunes behind the combined Sugar. Yeah I highly doubt this one is ever getting #1. Maybe top ten next week with a full week of sales if it slows down its freefall.

[Gary]

One Sweet Day was #1 For 13 weeks at radio

Tied for 4th longest run at #1 of the 90s behind Because You Loved Me (14 weeks); Don't Speak (16 weeks) and Iris (18 weeks)

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Mar 29, 2015 17:43:07 GMT -5 KeepDeanWeird said:

I take the whole "dark era" pretty much from 1993-1998 when so many major hits were not eligible to chart, with a grain of salt - I mean "I'll be missing you" spent 11 weeks at #1 and didn't even make the Mainstream Top 10. Yes, it did well on R&B Hip-hop, but Foolish Games and Fly were far bigger hits. Foolish Games (Batman Remix) was able to chart because the album version was on the CD single of YWMFM, which was long sold out. Same with "Un-break My Heart," "Don't Speak" was everywhere except H100. If you look at radio, there were so many giant hits that defined that era. OSD spent several weeks at the top on radio as well, but it definitely benefited from the fact that so few singles were being issued. Looking at the various radio components (and the B200) is a far better way historically to gauge what was popular than the H100.

One Sweet Day was huge though. Even on radio. On pop it was #1 for 9 weeks, I think, which even back then was a lengthy time. It just didn't have a super long chart life once it finally dropped out (and of course, it flew fast to #1 so its life before that was short too.) Think of My Heart Will Go On. That song spent nearly half of its chart life at #1.

I'd say it's probably deserving of its title of longest running #1 only because at the time it had such an extended peak. The only thing is that the record could have been broken shortly after by some of the songs mentioned like Iris or whatever.

Also be careful with saying songs are bigger hits. It's easy to say in hindsight that Foolish Games or Iris or Don't Speak are bigger hits than One Sweet Day but at the time, it wasn't so clear cut. The Hot 100 only measures week-to-week.

[lyhom]

Besides, wasn't it mentioned that  "One Sweet Day"'s chart run was slightly shortened due to the fact that the physical single was removed from sale or something?

[Deleted]

Lose Yourself spent more than half of its chart run at #1 xD

[Gary]

10 WEEKS OR MORE AT #1 Hot 100 Airplay - 1990s


18 IRIS GOO GOO DOLLS
16 DON'T SPEAK NO DOUBT
14 BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME CELINE DION
13 END OF THE ROAD BOYZ II MEN
13 THE SIGN ACE OF BASE
13 ONE SWEET DAY MARIAH CAREY & BOYZ II MEN
13 I LOVE YOU ALWAYS FOREVER DONNA LEWIS
13 NO SCRUBS TLC
12 I'LL MAKE LOVE TO YOU BOYZ II MEN
11 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU WHITNEY HOUSTON
11 DREAMLOVER MARIAH CAREY
11 ON BENDED KNEE BOYZ II MEN
11 TORN NATALIE IIMBRUGLIA
10 SOMEDAY MARIAH CAREY
10 THAT'S THE WAY LOVE GOES JACKSON, JANET
10 HERO MARIAH CAREY
10 KISS FROM A ROSE SEAL
10 MY HEART WILL GO ON CELINE DION