2001:  The Year-End Chart

    Before we get the actual chart, I thought I would list some chart stats for 2001.  In all, there were 22 songs to hit #1 in 2001 (27 records hit #1 in 2000).  Aubrey's "Stand Still" took #1 for eight weeks with Kylie Minogue's "Your Disco Needs You" at seven weeks, Kristine W's "River Divides" at five weeks, and Gabrielle's "Out of Reach" at four weeks.  Eleven tunes peaked in the runner-up position with songs by matchbox twenty, Kylie Minogue, Amber, Ultra Nate, and Steps holding the spot for two weeks.  The only Top 50 chart positions where a song did not peak during the course of the year were #'s 28, 35, 38, 41, 45, 48, and 49.  Britney Spears' "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know (Remix)" and Rockell's "What U Did 2 Me" both took COMBO HIT awards three consecutive weeks and surprisingly, neither of the tunes hit #1.  Five records took the AIRPLAY HIT award two times (songs by Robbie Williams, Deborah Gibson, Hypnogaja, and Pink--with Hypnogaja taking it twice with two different songs and Williams being the only one to hit #1).  Nine records took SALES HIT two times with songs by Love Inc., Kylie Minogue, and Cher hitting #1 (Deborah Gibson, The Sugababes, Melanie C, Hypnogaja, Amber, and Love Inc. missed the top spot).  The highest debut of the year was "River Divides" by Kristine W which spent twenty-five weeks on the chart and five weeks at #1.  "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys was the only song to spend a single week on the chart--debuting at #50 and then falling off the next week.  So, now that you're completely bored with details, details, and more details, let's get onto the chart.  Comments can be found at the bottom of the chart and on the 2001 Year In Review Home Page.

purple filler on the year end position represents the 50 songs that are still on the weekly Top 50 chart

yellow filler on title and artist represents an artist's first appearance on the Top 50/first solo appearance on the Top 50

pink fuller on peak position represents #1 songs

blue filler on point totals means represents those songs that charted in both 2000 and 2001

YEAR-END CHART COMMENTARY

    Once Madonna's "What it Feels Like for a Girl" spent its 37th and final week on the Top 50 the weekending October 27, 2001, it was all about "Out of Reach" by Gabrielle.  While the songs were running neck and neck for points during the majority of their chart runs, Madonna fell off of the chart as Gabrielle rebounded to the top 5.  This gave Gabrielle what the shot she needed for what has become her second consecutive year-end chart topper ("Rise" was #1 of 2000--narrowly beating Kristine W for the pole position).  While last year, Gabrielle's "Rise" scored 1386 points, "Out of Reach" went above and beyond and became her top charting career single, garnering a massive 1802 points in all (and it's still charting).  While Gabrielle certainly didn't have the overall success of the Material Mum, she did see two other top 30 finishers--the #1 smash "Over You" at #19 and the still-charting and recent #2 smash "Don't Need the Sun to Shine (To Make Me Smile)" at #28.  The next Gabrielle tune on the chart is "Should I Stay" at #117.  Madonna, on the other hand, managed to steal only one top 30 position ("...Girl" at #2), but logged all of her other seven charting tunes in the top 100 for the year (#'s 37, 44, 46, 57, 58, 62, 94)--not too bad for an artist whose career was said to over after EROTICA and SEX. 

    Next up on the chart is the always amazing Kristine W.  Ms. W, who finished 2000 with songs at #2, #3, #4, #10, and #202, didn't have a bad showing in 2001.  She landed two #1 hits--spending a total of eight weeks atop the chart throughout the year--and finished at #3 with "Let Love Reign" and at #5 with "River Divides."  Last year's #3 song, "Lovin' You," placed at #17 this year, while "Stronger" (#4 for 2000) finished at #63 and "When the Money's Gone"--with Bruce Roberts and Elton John--finished #159 (#202 for 2000).  Kristine also scored two other top 100 finishers, including "Feel What You Want 2001" (#55) and "Someone (Watching Over Me)" (#81).  Her remixed version of James Taylor's "Shower the People" finished at #182 for the year.  As Kristine W is working on new music, hopefully 2002 will keep her alive on the Top 50.

    Abigail, who finished at #11 in 2000 with "If It Don't Fit," a four-week #2 smash on Craig's Top 50 and #1 Billboard Dance hit, returned in 2000 with her third #1 smash "You Set Me Free," which offers her best showing on a year-end chart--landing at #4.  The song spent a single week at #1 and was her second single on Groovilicious Records (an affiliate of Strictly Rhythm Records that features other Top 50 artists such as Amber, Ultra Nate, and Aubrey--all of who will be mentioned later in the commentary).  I was fortunate enough to see Abigail twice in concert in 2000, however, this year she didn't make it so close to the Baltimore-DC area.

    Of the top 10, nine songs were dance songs or had dance mixes available.  Newcomer Malina scored big with a three-week #3 hit called "By Your Side" that finishes the year at #6.  Love Inc. scored a #1 hit and a #10 finisher with "Broken Bones."  Love Inc. scored two more 2001 top 100 hits with "Into the Night" at #69 and "Come On (It's Only Love)" at #90.  Melissa Etheridge's "I Want to Be in Love" comes in at #9 on the year-end countdown (in 2000, "Enough of Me" finished at #32).  She also came in at #172, the other charted song from the album SKIN.  The rest of the top 10???

    KYLIE MINOGUE:  As I said on the Year-End Home Page--2002 will be all about Kylie!!  She takes two of this year's top 10 spots.  Her seven-week #1 smash "Your Disco Needs You" comes in at #7.  The song was Minogue's second #1 hit from the album LIGHT YEARS ("On A Night Like This" hit #1 in 2000) and at the time it spent its seventh week at #1 was tied as the longest-running #1 hit on my chart's history (tied with "Lovin' You" by Kristine W and "Justify My Love" by Madonna).  Minogue also charted three other tunes from the LIGHT YEARS album.  The #2 title track landed at #41 for the year while 2000 leftover "Please Stay" finished at #98 and the double-charting "Butterfly" finished at #31.  What may very well become Minogue's biggest Top 50 hit to date is at #9 for 2001.  "Can't Get You Out of My Head" spent three weeks at #1 (making Kylie the title holder of 2001 for most weeks at #1 with ten in total) and is currently climbing back up the charts in its 20th week in the Top 50--moving to #12 the last week of the year and sure to return to the top 10 in 2002 (thanks to US exposure of the tune).  The song is from Kylie's 2001 release FEVER, which grew international critical acclaim and stormed music charts throughout the Autumn.  The album is getting a release in the US on February 26th and despite early reports, it will be the same album as released everywhere else in the world and NOT a combination of LIGHT YEARS and FEVER.  With a myriad of potential chart hits on FEVER, expect to be seeing Kylie a lot more in the coming year.

    Just outside of the 2001 top 10, UK act the Sugababes scored their biggest Top 50 hit this year with "Soul Sound" at #11.  The song spent two weeks at #1 (preceded by the #4 "Run for Cover" (#24) and the #1 hit "Just Let it Go" (#42) and followed by the #6 hit "New Year" (#119)).  Super-successful Da Buzz scored a #12 finisher with the two-week #1 smash "Believe in Love," the group's second #1 of 2001.  Their first single "Let Me Love You" spent a week at #1 early in the year and finished at #18 overall.  They also charted four other hits throughout the year including "Do You Want Me" (#32), which peaked at #3, "Paradise" (#110), which peaked at #10,  "Tell Me Once Again" (#127), which peaked at #18, and "Out of Words" (#78), which peaked at #5.  Da Buzz was just one of the many examples that despite the lack of exposure in the US, true pop music isn't dead.  

    Leann Rimes charted in late 2000 with "Can't Fight the Moonlight" from the COYOTE UGLY soundtrack.  The song peaked at #10 early in 2001, but after dropping to #35, rebounded on the chart and spent a week at #2.  The song finished the year at #13 and will likely show on the chart again in 2002 as it has reached a new peak on the Billboard Hot 100 and is getting even more exposure than it did when it initially charted on the Top 50.  The recharting of this song in Billboard in 2002 (over a year after its initial release) just proves that the US charts do not measure what is actually popular.  The song has been a consistent seller since its release but failed to receive widespread airplay except in clubs.

    Amber, who scored the #1 song of 1999 with "Sexual (Li Da Di)" and the #9 song of 2000 with "Love One Another," makes her highest year-end chart appearance at #14 with "Yes (Remix)."  While I love to dance to this song, in my opinion, it was a poor attempt to recapture the success of "Sexual."  While Amber probably should have had greater chart success with "Taste the Tears" (#184) and "Do That To Me One More Time" (#213)--"Love One Another" finished at #185 in 2001--had it not been for the overkill factor of her music in 2000.  You can hear Cher's version of Amber's "Love One Another" on Cher's new album LIVING PROOF.

    While the top 5 of 2001 are all #1 chart hits, you have to look back to #15 on the year-end chart to find the longest-running #1 title of the year.  In its fourteenth chart week, Aubrey's "Stand Still" is still at #4 on the weekly charts.  The song broke all sorts of records, including spending eight non-consecutive weeks in the #1 position in October, November, and December.  I can't imagine the song won't linger on the charts well into 2002.  Another song that charted this year and hit #37 on the weekly charts was credited to Aubrey, however, according to her record label's website, "Stand Still" is the only song she has released.  The song in question in called "Still Waiting" and it does sound a lot like Aubrey.  The song finishes the year at #249, more or less because of poor placement on a burned cd.

    French Affair debuted a dancey little tune on the chart and scored a #3 hit on the weekly charts and the #16 hit for the year.  "My Heart Goes Boom" was getting so much attention in the chart club that I decided to check it out and I fell in love with it from the first listen.  The song creeped up the charts and eventually hit the top 3.  French Affair followed up their first Top 50 hit with two other modest chart successes:  "Do What You Like" which peaked at #34 and finishes at #235 and "Sexy" which peaked at #23 and finishes at #183.

    Rockell, who recharted the #19 peaking follow-up to her #1 cover of "The Dance" and took the song to #2, lands at #20 for the year.  The Jonathan Peters remix of "What U Did 2 Me" propelled the freestyle hit up the charts, making it the second song on the Top 50 ever to take COMBO HIT for three weeks (following Britney Spears' "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know (Remix)").  2000's aforementioned #1 hit "The Dance" lands at #166 for 2001.

    In 2000, country music seemed to be all over every music chart--with Faith Hill scoring a massive hit (and Billboard's #1 tune for 2000) with "Breathe" and Lonestar's "Amazed" soaring to the top of the charts.  2001 lead the way for another country star to find crossover success.  While I would consider Leann Rimes to be more pop these days than anything else, Leann Womack is pure country and charted with the wonderfully beautiful ballad "I Hope You Dance."  Something could be said like:  you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl.  However, that's not so true.  A terrific and successful country crossover hit was remixed for pop radio and for the dance floors.  Now, mind you, I'm not complaining as I liked the remixes, but the song stood on its own merit and certainly had the crossover success without these pop radio mixes.  In my opinion, it's really hard to say a song "crossed over" if it's tailor-made for the format to which it is crossing.  Anyway, Womack lands at #21 with her #3 smash.

    Jennifer Lopez scored a successful year on the Top 50 with two top 10 charters.  Her first single of the year, "Love Don't Cost a Thing" missed the Top 50 completely.  The follow-up, "Play," spent two weeks at #8 and finishes the year at #91.  While the US charts were burning up with the "featuring Ja Rule" version of "I'm Real," Craig's Top 50 was charting the European non-Ja Rule version of "Ain't it Funny."  The song easily logged three weeks at #5 on the weekly charts and lands at #22 on the year-end countdown ("I'm Real" didn't chart on the Top 50 either).  Lopez scored in 1999 with "If You Had My Love" and "Waiting for Tonight," as well as the club hit "Feelin' So Good" in 2000.

    Cher's sole entry on the chart in 2001 is the first single from the overseas release of LIVING PROOF.  "The Music's No Good Without You" scored a week at #1 after holding the runner-up position for four weeks behind Aubrey's "Stand Still."  While not selected as the first single for the US release of the album, "The Music's..." should easily find itself a home on the club charts upon its US release.  Look for Cher on the AMA's in January 2002 performing her first US single "(This is) A Song for the Lonely."  The song is radio-ready and should easily become an international hit.  Cher will likely repeat her 1999 success as LIVING PROOF is chock full of potential chart hits, including "Alive Again," "A Different Kind of Love Song," and her version of 2000-2001's #9 hit "When the Money's Gone" (a song performed by Bruce Roberts and featuring Elton John and Kristine W on vocals--it can be found at #159 on the chart above.  From late 1998 through 2000, Cher's BELIEVE produced many of hit for the songstress:  "Believe" #1/4wks (#6--1999); "Strong Enough" #2/6wks (#7--1999); "All or Nothing" #1/5wks (#2--1999); "Love is a Groove" #1/4wks (#3--1999); "Dov'e L'Amore #1/1wk (#30--2000); and "Runaway" #5/1wk (#49--2000).

    Mandy Moore scored big in 2001 with two top 50 finishers.  At #25, her #2 smash "In My Pocket" is her highest charting single to date.  I know that Moore, along with the deserving Jessica Simpson, gets a lot of flack for being in the no-talent Britney shadow.  Moore has talent well over Spears and ironically spends much of her time promoting artists like Spears on MTV.  Moore's #7 hit "Crush" finishes at #50 for the year.

    At #26 for the year is the QUEER AS FOLK hotel sex scene fueled Amanda Ghost tune called "Filthy Mind."  If there was a chart of the best movie/tv series scenes and music combination, this one would be at the top of my list.  The song originally peaked in the 40's on my Top 50 but then reentered the chart based on its remixed inclusion in the QAF episode.  Ghost also charted with a remix of "Idol," which hit #27 and finished the year at #219.

    What I was certain would be one of the biggest hits of 2001 lands at #27 on the final chart.  "Nothingness" by Karamadelic featuring Sandy B (credited solely to Sandy B on the weekly charts) spent two weeks at #1 after tearing up the charts and knocking all of the competition out its path on its way up to the top.  The song, however, had a quick fizzle and fell from the top like a penny from the Empire State Building--not that #27 is a bad showing at all!!  The opening line says it all about this song:  "I can flow like the blood bleeding in your heart.  I won't drown because you're much too shallow..."

    At #29 for the year is 2001's biggest surprise.  Dolly Parton, who last saw a Top 50 hit with the #1 dance remix of "Peace Train."  A cover of a Collective Soul hit, "Shine" by Parton scored a week atop the chart and is definitely one of my favorite songs of 2001.  Parton has charted a lot over the years including songs like "Eagle When She Flies," "Full Circle," and "Romeo," as well as the more familiar classics.

    Although they've charted more songs than any other artist for the second consecutive year (8 songs in 2000 and 10 songs in 2001), Steps finds its highest year-end charter in the #2 smash cover of Diana Ross' 1985 miss "Chain Reaction."  The song spent two weeks in the runner-up position and ends the year at #30.  On December 26, Steps announced that its members are going their separate ways so we know that the crown for most chart hits in a single year will NOT belong to them in 2002.  So how did the group's other nine tunes perform this year?  Well, since the group is splitting and what is charting right now will likely be their last chart hits together, let's review their sixteen-Top 50 hits:  "One for Sorrow" (#1); "Tragedy" (#5); "Deeper Shade of Blue" (#2); "Better the Devil You Know" (#1); "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" (#6); "Stay with Me" (#3); "Stomp" (#29); "Heartbeat" (#21); "It's the Way You Make Me Feel" (#6); "Here and Now" (#13); "You'll Be Sorry" (#4); "Chain Reaction" (#2); "Wouldn't Hurt So Bad" (#13); "Careless Whisper (Live)" (#12); and the currently charting "I Know Him So Well" (#14/B) and "Words Are Not Enough" (#22/B).

    Baltimore-area native Ultra Nate scored three Top 50 hits in 2001.  Her biggest, "Ain't Looking for Nothing," scored two weeks at #2 and places at #33 for the year.  At #148 is "Get it Up (The Feeling)," which peaked at #17 for a week earlier in the year.  Both of these songs are from her album STRANGER THAN FICTION (which also produced the #6 smash in 2000 "Desire").  "Free 2001" also charted this year, but stalled at #22--it does end the year at #180.  Look for more track from Nate's latest album to hit the charts in 2002.

    The biggest buzz in dance music in 2001 was probably Fragma.  They scored big in clubs all over the world with their debut hit "Toca's Miracle" in 2000 (the song hit the top 30 on my chart).  In 2001, they scored two top 10 hits.  The group's second single "Everytime You Need Me" (featuring Maria Rubia) hit #10 and places at #123 for the year while "The Ride (Remix)" made it to only #47 and is at #269 for the year.  Their final chart hit of the year was "Say That You're Here," a song that peaked at #27 and finished the year at #204.  Before these two modest charters, however, the group scored its biggest hit in "You Are Alive," which spent a strong three weeks at #3 and is at #34 on the year-end chart.

    "This is Me" by Dream hit at healthy #7 on the weekly charts and comes in at #35 for the year.  This is the only single by the US' answer to The Sugababes.  At #36 is S Club 7's highest charting hit, "You're My Number One," which spent a single week at #1 earlier in the year.  The group also scored a top 10 hit with "Never Had a Dream Come True" (#121) and is currently charting with "Have You Ever?" (#251).  The Backstreet Boys scored their two highest charting hits to date in 2001 with the #28 song "Drowning" (#4/2wks) and the #48 song "The Call" (#2/1wk).  Until 2001, the group only made it as high as #11 on the chart and now they've outcharted rival boy vocal group 'N Sync.  Of course, as they lose steam on the national charts, they are picking up steam in the tabloids.  AJ announced his alcoholism earlier in the year and spent some time in a rehab center while just this week (the first week in January), Nick was arrested for misbehaving in a bar in Tampa.  The way things have been going for the group, its most successful chart hits could very well be its last chart hits.

    Superstar Cyndi Lauper quietly picked up yet another top 10 hit this year with "Higher Plane," a promo-only dance single that failed to receive any sort of major attention.  The song did log a week at #6 on the chart and finish at #39 for the year.  Lauper has recently only been noticeable on the dance charts with songs like the career best "You Don't Know" and "The Ballad of Cleo and Joe."  She was last seen on the Top 30 in 1999 with her cover of "Disco Inferno," which earned her a Grammy nod for Best Dance Recording.  That song earned her a top 20 on the chart.

    At #43 is the #4 hit "So Sweet" by one of my personal fave artists Hypnogaja.  Managed by a friend of mine in Los Angeles, the group is a blend of all genres of popular music.  The song was featured in the movie VALENTINE and their music has been heard in SEX AND THE CITY and many other popular television shows.  They've remixed tunes for a myriad of artists and promote themselves with live concerts, opening for the likes of Kina (they also played at San Fran's gay pride).  If you haven't checked them out, definitely do it as they are up-and-coming and are going to be huge.  They also charted a top 20 hit--"One More Try"--which is at #123.  Look for more music from them and other artists they produce (like Sky Tyler--who will debut her first Top 50 hit the week of January 5, 2002) in 2002!!

    Information Society and Roxette both returned to the top 10 this year.  Info scored a big #4 hit with "Running 2001" from their greatest hits package.  The song is at #45 for the year and the updated "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) 2001" is at #170.  Roxette, after scoring three modest Top 50 hits with "I Wish I Could Fly" in 2000 and "Real Sugar" (#223) and "Stars" (#105)  in 2001, finally returned to the top 10 status they captured in the early 90's with "Centre of the Heart," which hit #3 and finished the year at #47.  Roxette scored numerous big chart hits in its heyday with "The Look," "Listen to Your Heart," "Dangerous," "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)," and "It Must Have Been Love."

    One of my favorite artists, Pink, is at #49 with the first single from her sophomore album MISSUNDAZTOOD.  Pink scored big in 2000 with "There You Go" and "You Make Me Sick" both hitting the top 20, while she finished in the top 20 for the year with the #4 smash "Most Girls."  In 2001, Pink supplied vocals on the collaboration of "Lady Marmalade" (#233) and released a critically acclaimed and critically lauded second album.  The new album includes a duet with Aerosmith's Steven Tyler as well as a duet with 4 Non-Blondes Linda Perry, who cowrote most of the album with Pink.  The album isn't a mirror image of her debut and is actually very different with a rockier, edgier, more bluesy feel to it.  It is definitely one of my favorite albums and will give Pink the ability to reach a wider range of music lovers.  The girl has talent.  "Get the Party Started" is the first single and it's currently at #3 on the weekly charts, poised to take over the top spot from Madonna in 2002.  

    As I don't want to comment on every single chart position (although it may seem like I already have), I guess I'll stop here with the Top 50 of the year.  Head over to the Artists Page to see several other smaller charts about artists, songs, and albums.  

ARTISTS PAGE

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