Hot tracks
Three songs by Sean Paul and one by singer Wayne Wonder have made Billboard magazine’s 100 Greatest Songs of 2003 list.
The respected 128-year-old American music and entertainment publication revealed the list on Tuesday, which comprises staff picks.
Sean Paul is at number 76 with Like Glue, number 35 with the Beyonce collaboration Baby Boy, and number nine with Get Busy.
Wayne Wonder’s No Letting Go made the list at number 72, while Dipset Anthem by The Diplomats — a song which peaked at number 64 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart and which samples One in a Million You by reggae singer Sanchez — is at 62.
Tony “CD” Kelly is the producer of Like Glue, which is featured on his various artistes project, the Buy Out rhythm.
“Working with Sean was and is always a pleasure and a suspense at the same time, because he’s one of a small number of artistes who gets my beats instantly and always comes with fire melodies from a different angle than you’d expect. His voice, cadence, and delivery are always exciting, and so you’d be in the studio like a kid waiting for your turn in a candy store to hear him finish voicing so you can get your hands on the whole production to put it together to match his vocals. He’s a master at his game,” Kelly disclosed in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.
Like Glue was issued as the third single from Sean Paul’s Grammy winning, multi-platinum-selling Dutty Rock album. The song was a commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and making the Top 10 in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Hungary, Italy and Scotland.
The single was certified gold in the United Kingdom and Canada, while the music video for Like Glue, which was directed by Benny Boom, won Canada’s MuchMusic Video Award for Best International Artiste Video in 2003.
Like Glue was also ranked number 325th on Pitchfork magazine’s list of the Best Songs of the 2000s.
Meanwhile, Get Busy led the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in the spring of 2003. The song also made the Top Ten in 10 other countries, including Italy and the Netherlands, and has been certified for sales exceeding three million units globally, including for a million units in the United States.
Produced by Scott Storch, Baby Boy, the first single from Beyonce’s debut solo album Dangerously in Love, topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks while making the top 10 in 18 other countries.
Globally, Baby Boy, which peaked at number two in the United Kingdom, has sold more than 2 million units.
The success of No Letting Go did not come as a surprise for Wayne Wonder, who said that he fully expected the response for the single which was a massive crossover hit in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Wayne Wonder, whose real name is Von Wayne Charles, shared how the idea for the song came about.
“It came from a genuine place in my heart. I wrote the song in New York, and I flew down to Jamaica to record it at Lenky’s studio. The recording session was a nice vibe; you know me and Lenky energy. I told him I wanted my song to have chords, structure, and a bridge. And it came out just fine,” Wayne Wonder recalled.
No Letting Go is produced by Steven “Lenky” Marsden and is featured on the popular Diwali rhythm. Another Diwali-inspired track also made the Billboard list with Lumidee’s Never Leave You (Uh Ooh, Uh Ooh) listed at number 48.
No Letting Go was also featured on Wayne Wonder’s 2003 Grammy-nominated album No Holding Back (VP/Atlantic Records). The song peaked at number three in the United Kingdom, 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, eight on US Rhythmic, seven on Rap Singles, and 14 on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. It has been certified gold in the United Kingdom.