10 Summer Hits That Were On Your Playlist A Decade Ago was originally published on globalgrind.com
1. “Umbrella” – Rihanna
Back in 2007, you couldn’t go anywhere in the world without hearing Rih Rih’s Barbadian vocals singing, “Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh.” The song, written by The Dream, scored Rihanna her first ever Grammy win and catapulted her into super stardom.
2. “Irreplaceable” – Beyoncé
As far as good visuals and deep content goes, Beyoncé was well on her way to becoming the Queen that we love today. “Irreplaceable”, the second single from her B’day album, was written by Ne-yo and became the twenty-fifth most successful song of the 2000s in the U.S. Rolling Stone even placed it on their list of Best Songs of the 2000s. How’s that for being irreplaceable.
3. “Buy U A Drank” – T-Pain
T-Pain took snap music to a whole new level when he dropped “Buy U A Drank.” The feel good song became the rapper’s first number one single on the Billboard charts and his highest charting single on the Hot 100 to date. Millennials finally have a song we can two-step to and tell our children, “You don’t know nothing about this grown folks music.”
4. “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” – Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy was smart enough to invest in the Internet at a time when people didn’t realize the power it had. The then 17-year-old producer capitalized off the new genre of music that encouraged kids to start dancing again. Thus, the Crank That was born, breaking all kinds of records. It has been called “the biggest dance fad since the1990’s Macarena” and became the first song ever to sell 3 million digital copies.
5. “Stronger”- Kanye West
By 2007, we all knew the genius that was Kanye West. His second single “Stronger” off the Graduation album was one of the first instances that we saw Yeezy step out of the box sonically and visually. The song went on to win Ye the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance and became known as the track that encouraged other hip-hop artists to incorporate house and electronica elements into their music.
6. “Rehab” – Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse had been building a buzz in the states for many years, but “Rehab” became the singer’s breakout hit in the U.S. The catchy track is now known as Amy’s signature song and has won numerous awards, including Record of the year at the 2008 Grammy Awards. “Rehab” has been deemed “instantly memorable” and ranked number 194 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
7. “Beautiful Girls” – Sean Kingston
Before people even knew who Sean Kingston was, his song became an earworm all over the country. “Beautiful Girls” made Kingston the first artist born within the 1990s to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Along with Rihanna’s major success at the time, it also put reggae-inflused music back on the mainstream map.
8. “Walk It Out” – DJ Unk
Adding to the theme of dance songs of that year, DJ Unk had everyone two-stepping and walking out. The song was so popular that even legends like André 3000 decided to hop on the remix. It was one of many tracks at the time to keep Atlanta on the map. If it wasn’t for tracks like “Walk It Out,” we probably wouldn’t appreciate the Migos as much.
9. “Because Of You” – Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo’s reputation as a writer preceded his rep as singer, so many people were shocked at just how good his music really was. His first album, “In My Own Words” was critically a success, but after dropping his single “Because Of You” from the album of the same name, everybody wanted a piece of the hottest writer in the game. Ne-Yo once said that the song is a continuation from the 2006 single “Sexy Love”. Who knew?
10. “I’m A Flirt Remix” – R.Kelly, T-Pain, T.I.
Every few years, R.Kelly makes a comeback to remind people why he calls himself the King of R&B. In 2007, he was featured on Bow Wow’s track, “I’m A Flirt,” but as his own version, (featuring T-Pain and T.I.) took over the airwaves, many people forgot that it was Bow’s track to begin with. The song itself, along with the artists and the visuals is sooo 2007— but we still love it like it’s 2017.
