When a song becomes a no. 1 hit, it does so because it fits with the vibe of its era. Plenty of amazing songs have hit the top of the Billboard charts in part because they tickled the fancy of a particular audience during a particular time. Today, many of those hit songs would not chart nearly as well. Let’s look at just a few examples of what I mean.
Videos by American Songwriter
“Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO
Maybe I’m completely wrong about this one. However, “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO was such a product of its time. To be honest, I can’t think of any other song that just sounds like the early 2010s quite like this one does.
In an era where everyone’s afraid of being cringe, I can’t imagine this shamelessly silly electronic pop song would do as well as it did back in the day. However, I could definitely be wrong. “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO sat at no. 1 for six entire weeks in 2011, so maybe the same could have happened in the 2020s. I miss this era of goofball meme-ified hip house music so much.
“I’ll Make Love To You” by Boyz II Men
The era of the boy band is more or less over at this point. But back in the 90s, boy bands like Boyz II Men dominated the charts and hearts of teenage girls around the world. “I’ll Make Love To You” by Boyz II Men topped the Hot 100 chart for a whopping 14 weeks back in 1994.
It’s a solid Grammy-winning tune. However, I can’t imagine today’s audience would vibe with it. We’re also in a bit of a nonchalance epidemic, so I can’t imagine a ballad about making love 90s style would go over well in this particular era.
“Waiting For A Girl Like You” by Foreigner
No hate to Foreigner on this one. “Waiting For A Girl Like You” is a solid rock song. It topped the US Mainstream Rock chart in 1981, after all. It also came close to topping the Hot 100.
However, the soft rock era has been over for decades. It’s also quite a passionate love ballad. Like “I’ll Make Love To You”, I feel like “Waiting For A Girl Like You” wouldn’t resonate with listeners today.
“Ur So Gay” by Katy Perry
This hit from Katy Perry’s early era made it to no. 1 on the Billboard US Dance/Electronic Singles Sales chart, and also hit no. 2 on the general Hot Singles Sales chart in 2008.
It was definitely a different time. Perry got away with perpetuating toxic masculinity and body shaming in this song back in the early aughts, but she would probably get torn to shreds in the 2020s over a track like this. Even back then, some critics called her out for it.
Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
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