Pop Shots – A Look At The Charts … From 20 Years Ago

Welcome to your weekly dose of pop world musings. Covering all things pop culture, this week I’m hopping into my time machine again, this time setting the coordinates for 20 years ago this week.

Touching down in 2006, musical diversity was at an all-time high. A lot of us claimed to be ridin’ dirty, some wanted to move along, others were looking for new booty, while a plethora of people simply wanted to dance dance.

So let’s get into this exploration of chart history! Of course, since this is Pop Shots, you know everything is seasoned with a little bit of attitude.

1. Chamillionaire ft. Krayzie Bone – Ridin’

With the beat, the chorus, and Chamillionaire’s delivery, “Ridin’” was destined to be a hit. The song became so big that Weird Al gave it the full parody treatment, which Chamillionaire would later thank him for after “Ridin’ won the Grammy for Best Rap Song in 2007.

12. Bubba Sparxxx ft. Ying Yang Twins, & Mr. Collipark – Ms. New Booty

“Ms. New Booty” will always have a special place in my heart, not just because it’s an amazingly addictive song, but because there was one late night back in my radio days when my buddy DJ Halo and I were about to leave, and we switched the board to the computer, which was supposed to have a never-ending playlist, but instead we heard, “Booty booty booty booty rockin’ everywhere” from “Ms. New Booty” on repeat. It took us a minute before we realized we had Bubba Sparxxx’s website open in the background, and there’s where the music was coming from.

Shout out to anyone who was listening to WVOF 88.5FM that night back in 2006 at around 1am.

16. Shakira ft. Wyclef – Hips Don’t Lie

Speaking of waistline inspired songs, Shakira had something to tell us about her hips, and the amount of truth they tell.

I don’t know if she realizes this, but her hips could lie to us, and we’d probably be OK with it. That said, I do appreciate the honesty.

In another fun story from my radio days, I once received a shipment from Sony/Epic that had 30, yes, 30 copies of a Lil’ Flip single, with one copy of a remix of “Hips Don’t Lie” smack in the middle. I still have no clue what sort of error caused this, or why my co-host received the exact same shipment!

24. The All-American Rejects – Move Along

A swift kick in the pants that reminds us to keep going, “Move Along” hits the spot when you’re in need of a little inspiration, and the realization that your situation doesn’t have to define you.

Twenty years later, when times are tough, it continues to be great advice.

27. KT Tunstall – Black Horse and the Cherry Tree

“Black Horse & The Cherry Tree” is a song that’s simply undeniable. There’s a simplicity to much of it that immediately cut through the sometimes overproduced pop music of the time, and KT sounds so powerful that she’s impossible to ignore. It’s so damned good.

28. Cascada – Everytime We Touch

I took a bit of heat for this at a magazine I was writing for at one point in time, but I’m a sucker for ‘90s and ‘00s era dance music. It’s addictive, and fun, and in the case of Cascada, the vocals can be pretty great.

Bonus, the video takes place in a library … a library that has a card catalog (which hopefully Cascada put back in order)!!!

32. Rascal Flatts – What Hurts the Most

The journey of “What Hurts the Most” is an interesting one.

Originally recorded by country artist Mark Willis in 2003, it was then covered by S Club 7 member Jo O’Meara in 2005 as her first solo single. In 2006, Rascal Flatts recorded their version of it, which climbed all the way up to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A year later it would become a dance hit when another cover was released, this one by none other than the just mentioned Cascada!

That’s four versions of the same song over the course of just five years.

I told ya the journey was interesting!

37. Panic! At The Disco – I Write Sins Not Tragedies

Was anything cooler than the sound Panic! At The Disco brought back to rock music when they debuted? Adding some theatricality to pop punk turned out to be a perfect marriage … unlike they one they sang about on this particular song.

38. Gnarls Barkley – Crazy

Speaking of creating cool sounds, the teaming of CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse was a match made in musical Heaven. Wonderfully soulful, with just a dash of pop, it was definitely a vibe, and one we’ve rarely heard recreated since.

47. Fall Out Boy – Dance Dance

I have never had a bad time with Fall Out Boy playing, or while hearing a band cover Fall Out Boy. Their music exists to allow us to let loose, and have a blast. We owe it to them to crank it up, and let go … even if it’s just to “Dance Dance” for a few minutes before getting back to our day.

That’s all for this edition of Pop Shots, but come back next Monday for more shots on all things pop.