2003 POP Wrap Up! The Good, The Bad, and The Gigli

[radiorules]

2003 CHR POP Wrap Up! the Good, the Bad, and the Gigli!

The Good:

1. Christina Aguilera-After coming off of a horrible 2002, Christina rolled into 2003 with a bang. “Beautiful” “Fighter” and “Can’t Hold Us Down” were all under predicted Top 5 hits, and “The Voice Within” might be headed in the same direction. Christina is the most played Female Artist of the year, taking the crown from last years champ, Pink. Christina was also the #1 female Artist back in 2000.

2. Justin Timberlake-Along with Christina, Justin is the only artist this year to have 3 top 5 hits-”Cry Me A River” “Rock Your Body” and “Senorita” (4 if you count 2002’s “Like I Love You,”) “Rock Your Body” will most likely end up in this years Top 5. Justin hasn’t done this well on radio since back in 2000, when he was with Nsync and they scored 3 back to back top 5’s. He even has an uncredited part on the Black Eyed Peas smash “Where Is The Love?”

3. 50 Cent-While it’s unclear whether 50 Cent will always be a major player on POP, he makes it on this Year’s good list. “In Da Club” was a huge #1 and will end up on the year end top ten. While “21 Questions” “Magic Stick” and “P.I.M.P” were no where near as big as “In Da Club”, they all still went top ten. And because he is the only artist to release 4 singles this year, he will be the most played artist of the year.

4. 3 Doors Down-”When I’m Gone” will probably end up being the #1 song on this years year end chart, which is an amazing accomplishment for them. Not only that, but their follow up “Here Without You” which also peaked at #1, will probably end up being a bigger hit than “When I’m Gone”. The group has proven that not all Rock Bands are one hit wonders on the Pop Charts.

5. Beyonce-This year’s it Girl, Beyonce and 3DD are the only artists to score back to back #1 hits. “Crazy In Love” and “Baby Boy” are so big that they outdo anything DC has ever released, except maybe “Independent Woman”. Next year she will reunite with DC again so maybe we will see her on the list again.

The Bad:

1. Jennifer Lopez-2003 had to be the worst year of J.lo’s career. Even though “All I Have” did reach #1 in the beginning of 2003, it got overshadowed by the big flops that were “I’m Glad” which only peaked at #13, and even worse, “Baby I Love U!” which peaked at #26. Ever since 2001 people have been waiting patiently for the “J.lo Backlash,” well, 2003 will be remembered as the year when it finally came. Is J.lo’s music career over? It’s an uncertain future for this lady.

2. Pink-Pink Rolled into 2003 with the nice hit “Family Portrait,” and with that type of song becoming a hit, it was very clear that Pink will always be a radio favorite. But this wasn’t the case. Her single “Feel Good Time” off the movie “Charlies Angels: Full Throttle was a big flop, just like the movie. Her single to her new album “Trouble” is Pink’s biggest flop of her whole career, because it only peaked at #17 as well. It is very unclear what is going to happen to Pink in the upcoming months, will she pull a “Stripped” or a “Glitter”? We are all waiting patiently. But the Queen of 2002 might be in trouble.

3. Madonna-In a desperate attempt to grab attention, Madonna had to kiss two pop stars who probably have herpes in order to score some hits (just joking) and when that didn’t work, she even collaborated with one of them. And now that looks like it isn’t going to work as well. Madonna has had a horrible year in 2003, “American Life” and “Hollywood” are commercial bombs, and her single with Britney Spears, “Me Against The Music” performed mediocre on the charts.

Toss Up:

1. Avril Lavigne-Avril rolled into 2003 with the most promising future. She scored a huge hit with “I’m With You” but the follow up, “Losing Grip” was a flop by Avril’s standards. We haven’t heard from Avril since. It is uncertain when there will be a new single, and it is defiantly uncertain how well it will do.

2. Kelly Clarkson-In the spring on 2003, Kelly surprised everyone with the surprise hit “Miss Independent,” and it made it look like American Idol was actually a good back round to have. But the follow up, “Low” peaked rather low compared to MI. Her next singles aren’t expected to do that well. Was it just hype that made MI a hit, or was it just a bad choice that made Low a flop? We will see.

3. Michelle Branch-She came back in the summer of 03 with “Are You Happy Now?” and it peaked nicely at #4 on pop, but it is very uncertain if her new single “Breathe” will do as well.

4. Britney Spears-”Me Against The Music” exploded onto the charts in the fall of 03, and it eventually peaked at #13 prematurely (?). That’s okay for Britney’s standards, but the fact that it featured Madonna and it was the most hyped up kiss, er, single of the year, this places Britney in the toss up category.

New And Active:

1. Staci Orrico-”Stuck” and “There’s Got To Be More To Life” both were shy from peaking in the top ten, and she surprised everyone with these two hits because she is a low profile artist. Expect great things to come from Staci in 2004.

2. Chingy-”Right Thurr” was a surprise hit on Pop radio. His 2nd single “Holiday Inn” has now entered the top 40, he could end up being a major player on Pop.

3. Black Eyed Peas-This group scored what is probably this year’s biggest hit, “Where Is The Love”, and their second single “Shut Up” is heading into the top 30.

Old But Fresh:

1. Matchbox Twenty-What looked like was going to be a faiding career on Pop Radio, MB20 surprised everyone this year with the sleeper hit “Unwell”, and their follow up “Bright Lights” is a top 20 hit and could possibly go down the same direction.

2. Lil’ Kim-This is the first time Lil’ Kim scores two top ten hits in the same year, even though one of them was not hers. “Magic Stick” peaked at #7 with the help of 50 Cent, while Lil’ Kim rejoined Christina with the top 3 smash “Can’t Hold Us Down”. Lil kim was an old favorite this year.

3. R. Kelly-with a 10 year career behind him, it wasn’t until this year when R. Kelly scored his first ever #1 hit on POP, with “Ignition”.

[Rob64]

2003 is only 83% done. I'll wait until the other 17% are done before starting to think about any year-end lists.

[singingsparrow]

Rob64 said:

2003 is only 83% done. I'll wait until the other 17% are done before starting to think about any year-end lists.

True, but it's good to be keeping track. Much of what's already been notified is valid for the year-end report.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[radiorules]

I don't see you going into the "Best Songs of 2003" thread and saying that rob64! Whatever happens from this point and on will most likely be counted towards 2004.

[Leafstorm]

It's too early to do a wrap-up! Wait till the first week of December!

[af18c]

radiorules said:

I don't see you going into the "Best Songs of 2003" thread and saying that rob64! Whatever happens from this point and on will most likely be counted towards 2004.

I agree...plus, MediaBase's cut off date is in mid-November I believe

[halo19]

I'll do something like this later. And since I love the alternative format, I'll probably do one of those on that forum.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

This is a great thread but yeah, it's slightly too early for it just yet. I'll probably make up an article with similar ideas that radiorules had with The Good, The Bad and The Rest or something. I'll reply here sometime in mid-December when I'm in my Yearend Chart mood!

[Gorminako]

It may be a little early, but still it's a good analysis of the year so far.

[crash46]

The biases still stand out like a black person at a republican convention, though.

[Matt4319]

af18c said:

I agree...plus, MediaBase's cut off date is in mid-November I believe

It's the beginning of December.

crash46 said:

The biases still stand out like a black person at a republican convention, though.

Ouch.

[mst3k]

crash46 said:

The biases still stand out like a black person at a republican convention, though.

LOL... still, this is the "Your Opinion Please" forum, so I've got no problem with it here. :)

[radiorules]

could you please point out the biases or one false fact please? Some of you are just complaining because you don't like what you see, plain and simple.

[singingsparrow]

There's still a month for a few more headliners to be made, but I think it is safe to say the following as winners and losers of 2003:

*********The Winners*********

Christina Aguilera: When her career appeared to have hit an ugly pothole upon the release of "Dirrty", a much loathed single, she came back late last year with "Beautiful" and has made three Top-10 efforts in a roll, with a fifth single ("The Voice Within") also picking up. She is the #1 female artist on CHR/Pop this year, and has sold nearly ten million copies of "Stripped" this year worldwide.

matchbox twenty: With this band entering veteran status, and a majority of 90's rock acts collapsing in fame, Rob Thomas & Co were almost certain to never see the daylight of CHR/Pop again after "Disease" performed weak. But out of the wilderness, "Unwell" rocketed slowly up the charts, only to peak at #3 and be the longest-running single on CHR/Pop this year (@ 33 weeks). "Unwell" helped matchbox twenty to sell another million copies of "More Than You Think You Are" domestically, and with "Bright Lights" destined to also become a big hit, the album is entering double platinum status real soon. A couple of strong singles and healthy sales considering the shaky music industry, matchbox twenty is here to stay.

Coldplay: Their first album "Parachutes" sold 1.4 million copies domestically. Now, "A Rush of Blood to the Head" has sold twice that much. With the many awards they've won this year at all the award shows, praised music videos, and domination airplay at Triple A radio, along with not too shabby airplay at Alternative and Hot AC, Coldplay has not only avoided the sophomore curse, they've pole-vaulted high above it.

3 Doors Down: With "When I'm Gone" now certain to finish as the #1 CHR/Pop single of 2003, and "Here Without You" also topping the chart while "Away From The Sun" goes double-platinum, 3 Doors Down has a comfortable sophomore effort under their belt.

50 Cent: Who knows how any of the rest of his releases will perform from here on! But no matter. 50 Cent is obviosuly the #1 Urban/CHR-Rhythmic artist of 2003, with a classic club anthem ("In Da Club") poised to finish in the CHR/Pop top three of 2003. With over six million copies of "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" sold domestically, Shady/Aftermath/Interscope records have done it again.

Justin Timberlake: Since being on hiatus from N'Sync, he has not done so bad himself on his own. With three million copies of "Justified" sold domestically and millions more worldwide, along with his first #1 on his own ("Rock Your Body"), Justin certainly has control of his career, whether in or out of N'Sync.

Evanescence: With "Fallen" bursting upon the Billboard 200 buoyed by the Daredevil soundtrack smash "Bring Me To Life", Evanescence have become the biggest rock debut act of 2003. Allready, "Fallen" has sold over two million copies domestically.

***Small Successes***

Live: It has been almost a decade since Live has made an appearance in the CHR/Pop Top 40. With so many lackluster commerical releases since "Throwing Copper", "Heaven" has given this band a bit of new life. It went Top 5 on Hot AC and made a brief appearance in the CHR/Pop Top 40. A well-promoted second single can spell many more great things for "Birds of Pray"

Lil Kim: Despite having a loyal fanbase and getting enough Urban and CHR/Rhythmic attention to keep her afloat, Lil Kim never exactly graced CHR/Pop, with the exception of being one of the performers of the cover of "Lady Marmalade". 2003 would change all that. With "Magic Stick" going Top 10 and her appearance in Christina's "Can't Hold Us Down" also going Top 10, Lil Kim's presence is more known than before.

Warren Zevon/Johnny Cash: Though they have both recently passed away, both Warren and Johnny are most definitely winners of 2003. Warren Zevon's sales for "The Wind" are his strongest sales in two decades. Along with critical raves, Warren has ended his career on a high note. And Johnny Cash's "The Man Comes Around IV" has also generated healthy sales, thanks in part to his praised video for the cover of "Hurt". Thank You Warren, thank you John, thank you!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

**********The Losers***********

Madonna: "American Life" may officially be the release that has thrown Madonna out of the limelight and arguably out of her material girl image. With two singles flopping miserably, and "American Life" generating less than stellar sales domestically, for the first time ever Madonna is struggling to think of how to score Top-10 hits again. Britney Spears may be Phase I for her.

Jennifer Lopez: The release of "I'm Glad" as a single revealed the vulnerable weakness in J Lo's music career. Having a huge streak of Top-10 hits under her belt, "I'm Glad" (despite hitting #1 worldwide) tanked domestically, and "Baby I'm Love U" didn't help as a follow-up. On top of all that, she has officially coined a new adjective for Websters: "Gigli", representing her tough year.

Limp Bizkit: All is not lost quite yet for "Results May Vary" yet things are looking bleak for this rock outfit's future. Lead single "Eat You Alive" crashed and burned, and even a cover of "Behind Blue Eyes" is doing little for the albums promotion, even with a video featuring Hallie Berry. And with their last album "Chocolate Starfish & the Hot Dog Flavored Water" going six-times platinum, it is clear there is a huge size difference between these releases.

Janes Addiction: After 13 years apart, with plenty of anthemic hits behind them and previously gracing Alternative radio, you'd figure their return will be welcoming and promising. Sadly, this is not quite the case. Even when "Just Because" peaked at #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, it crashed and burned in an instant, and "True Nature" couldn't make the Top 30. For a legendary rock band with the spirit of Led Zeppelin, "Strays" can't help but look like a massive disappointment.

***Small Losers***

Vertical Horizon: After going double-platinum with "Everything You Want" and delivering three well-received singles, their comeback just wasn't timely. "Go" has already collapsed into the latter half of the Billboard 200, with "I'm Still Here" lightyears away from the success of the #1 hit "Everything You Want"

Third Eye Blind: With most of the blame due to the continuing difficulties between the band and Electra Records, "Out Of The Vein" flopped miserably, alienating the band from their Alternative audience and also giving them little airplay on all other formats.

P.O.D/Korn/Fuel: All three of these Alternative bands who just a few years ago scored strong singles and album sales, have all this year experienced the exact same curse. All three released movie soundtrack singles that flopped, with all three of their lead singles from their latest albums also flopping. Is that a coincidence or what?

********* Two Winner and Losers of 2003*********

The Dixie Chicks: First, the bad news. When a March comment by Natalie Maines criticized Bush and has since tore the band away from the radio airwaves, they have experienced a huge scar in promoting "Home" by radio. But despite the lack of radio promotion, "Home" still managed to be a strong seller in 2003 even a few months after the March comment, and the Dixie Chicks are officially the #1 Country Tour Act of 2003, selling out almost every venue with most of the tickets sold AFTER the March comment. Though Country radio may be stubborn in forgiving them, there is still life in their career.

Jewel: The good news: Jewel scored her first CHR/Pop Top-10 in a long time with "Intuition". The bad news: her follow-up "Stand" did nothing and her album "0304" has generated less than stellar sales. Come to think of it, she leans more to the losing side this year.

Sincerely,
Noah Eaton

[BFMR]

radiorules said:

could you please point out the biases or one false fact please? Some of you are just complaining because you don't like what you see, plain and simple.

no complaining, just stating the facts plain and simple.... your obvious biased opinion of Christina shows it's ugly head yet again....

[radiorules]

Please tell me what i said about Christina that i shouldn't have said in a wrap up that's supposed to describe the goods of her year? Why don't you compare what SingingSparrow said about Christina and then what i said about Christina, then you will see that there is no difference and that you either A) don't like to hear about Christina's success, B) didn't even bother reading through my thread but just assumed that i was biased, or C) want to complain for no reason

SingingSparrow: When her career appeared to have hit an ugly pothole upon the release of "Dirrty", a much loathed single, she came back late last year with "Beautiful" and has made three Top-10 efforts in a roll, with a fifth single ("The Voice Within") also picking up. She is the #1 female artist on CHR/Pop this year, and has sold nearly ten million copies of "Stripped" this year worldwide.

radiorules: Christina Aguilera-After coming off of a horrible 2002, Christina rolled into 2003 with a bang. “Beautiful” “Fighter” and “Can’t Hold Us Down” were all under predicted Top 5 hits, and “The Voice Within” might be headed in the same direction. Christina is the most played Female Artist of the year, taking the crown from last years champ, Pink. Christina was also the #1 female Artist back in 2000.

Similarities:

-Both talked about her weak performance in 2002
-Both mentioned her 3 top 10 hits
-Both mentioned TVW picking up
-Both mentioned that she was the #1 female artist on CHR POP

Differences:
-SingingSparrow mentioned Christina's sales for "Stripped"
-I mentioned that she was also the #1 female back in 2000

So you either apoligize to me, or you tell SingingSparrow that he was also being biased to Chrstina.

[mst3k]

Aside from your continued annoying gloating about how bad everyone's predictions are as compared to your flawless psychic powers, I see nothing wrong with your post. :)

[allow that]

Let me step in here before this topic gets destoyed like this week's first Pop chart topic.

I think many of you know that I've been as annoyed by radiorules/sucks in the past as most of you. However, he said NOTHING wrong in this topic. The ONLY annoying thing in this topic is the fact that so many people came in here, as crash46 said, being so transparently eager to argue with radiorules. The fact that certain people pick apart every single one of his posts is getting out of hand AND HAS TO STOP.

(radiorules, don't view this as an invitation to bash all of Christina's rivals now)

[j]

Someone deleted my post where I pointed out the topic creator's biasness when he said that it's uncertain whether there will even be a new single for Avril Lavigne.

Jersey Boy - Everyone certainly has the right to post. But every post you make is open to discussion. And if you make a biased post, then everyone has the right to criticize it and nitpick on its biasness, just as you have the right to post.

So if radiosucks doesn't want people to tear his posts apart - then tell him NOT TO MAKE BIASED POSTS!

Look - this nonsense has got to stop somewhere. As I've said before - it's entirely up to radiosucks since he's the main perpetrator. Stop making annoyingly biased and biasedly annoying posts, and people will learn to accept his posts. It's really as simple as that.

[FriendsFan]

j said:

Someone deleted my post

Someone deleted my post also. You know the post about me needing a barf smiley. And now, I need a barf smiley for my post being deleted. How messed up. >:(

[allow that]

j - In this case, radiorules did not say anything biased. Your post was deleted not because you tried to offer some constructive criticism to radiorules, but it was a blatant attempt to trigger yet another one of your infamous flame wars with him. People see right through it now. The only biasedness in this post that I noted was from certain posters arguing with what radiorules posted when others have posted the same exact thing. And no, it is not ENTIRELY up to radiorules to make this stop... it takes 2 to tango.

Friends Fan - your post was deleted because it was mean and also only intended to start an argument. There is a difference between a debate and an argument.

Now I'll ask that both of you, and everyone, do not reply to this topic again unless it has to do with recaping the 2003 musical year.

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

How can someone be biased in this forum? It's an opinion forum! The 2003 Pop Wrap Up is something based on radiorules opinion. Why should that be disagreed with? He's allowed to say that Christina had a great year! Why wouldn't he? Some of you really need to lay off him. Seriously. It's getting really old and almost borderline pathetic. I personally think this is a great topic regardless of who made it and when the time comes, I'll be sure to participate in it. Radiorules, don't mind them and keep posting.

[allow that]

I'd add Jewel to the Old But Fresh category. Even though "Stand" flopped so badly, no one was expecting her (including myself, a fan) to have another Top 10 Pop hit. "Intuition" really was a big hit, and was around for awhile.

[radiorules]

It is uncertain when there will be a new single, and it is defiantly uncertain how well it will do.

J, i never said it is uncertain if she will have a new single, i said it is uncertain when it will be released. And then the last part meaning that it is uncertain how well it will do since she is taking a long break, which can harm her. I didn't mean it in any other way, so hopefully now you can understand where i am comming from.

Jersey Boy, i had Jewel in the "Old but fresh" category but decided to take her out the last second due to "Stand", but you can add her since i did add R. Kelly even though he only had one hit on Pop.

[crash46]

Mister said:

How can someone be biased in this forum? It's an opinion forum!

Yeah, but when I click in here and predictably read "Christina good, Madonna bad", which I've seen 32 billion other times here, it becomes a waste of time to read that, as well as the rest of the post.

Other people confessed agreement, and while I'll admit it was a pretty decent recap of the year in pop music, it was obviously skewed toward his own likes and dislikes. This is the Opinion forum and there's mine.

[Rob64]

crash46 said:

it was obviously skewed toward his own likes and dislikes

OBVIOUSLY it's gonna be based on his own likes and dislikes, it's his list. What did you expect?

[Adonis the DemiGod!]

J. Lo's BBILY and IG the record company wanted to do the way they did on purpose. J.Lo is far from finished. She's taking a break now because BBILY was finished before it came out. I am not shocked at all. I would've done the same thing the record company did. I mean J.Lo had soo many hits in a row and even these songs were minor minor hits and made the top 30.

[Keith3000]

Radiorules, I thought your recap of this past year was well written, though I agree that we should wait a month or so before going too deep into this. Keep those post coming though. :)

I agree with Adam that radiorules' post was not biased. (Even though I was actually waiting for the inevitable Christina praise from the start!) It's an opinion forum and everyone's allowed to post their thoughts. Many of you guys just don't like radiorules and this is why you found fault with his post. I know he's often a pain in the ass, but not this time. Give the dude a break for God's sake; he really wasn't trying to piss anyone off.

Just my two cents...anyway, I'll get back to this topic next month to continue the year-end discussion!

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

I can't wait to write up my Yearend Recap!

I'm going to call it Oil & Water and the analogy that my taste in music is comparable to oil and water. I do have somewhere to go with this. ;)

I plan on looking at Pop music and where I stand with it and how I've seen the pop world this year (you'd be surprised).
Music that I've discovered this year.
Concerts I've been to.
CDs I've bought!

That sorta stuff. The basis of it will be when I look back on 2003, I won't see the same things as most people when they look back on this year.

[Adonis the DemiGod!]

Keith3000 said:

Radiorules, I thought your recap of this past year was well written, though I agree that we should wait a month or so before going too deep into this. Keep those post coming though. :)

I agree with Adam that radiorules' post was not biased. (Even though I was actually waiting for the inevitable Christina praise from the start!) It's an opinion forum and everyone's allowed to post their thoughts. Many of you guys just don't like radiorules and this is why you found fault with his post. I know he's often a pain in the ass, but not this time. Give the dude a break for God's sake; he really wasn't trying to piss anyone off.

Just my two cents...anyway, I'll get back to this topic next month to continue the year-end discussion!

I guess I agree with Keith on this one and most of what radio rules said in his post.