Usher, Alicia Keys, And Maroon 5 Had The Biggest Hits Of 2004

The year 2004 was the year of Janet Jackson’s “Nipplegate,” which, unfortunately, ruined Janet’s chances of having a song on the list of biggest hits of 2004. It was also the year Dan Rather was fired for using false documents on a story about George W. Bush, who was re-elected as the president of the United States. The Academy Award-winning movie, Crash, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September of 2004.

Regarding music, R&B as well as hip-hop absolutely ruled pop culture. Let’s take a look at the top five hits of 2004 as calculated by Billboard and reported on by Music Outfitters.

5. Outcast (Featuring Sleepy Brown), “The Way You Move”

In February of 2004, Outcast replaced its own hit “Hey Ya!” at No. 1. “The Way You Move” only spent one week at No. 1, but spent so many weeks in the top 10 and top 40 that it ended up as the No. 5 hit of 2004.

“The Way You Move” features Patrick “Sleepy” Brown, who was actually a very well-known producer before scoring his first No. 1 hit with Outcast.

4. Maroon 5, “This Love”

Maroon 5 is one of the only rock acts to have a huge hit in 2004, the year rock was considered “dead.” The song only peaked at No. 5, but spent several months in the top 20, thus catapulting it to the No. 4 song of the year.

Songfacts describes this top hit as one about a guy who thought everything was good but was blind to the fact that a relationship was going sour. The video to “This Love” pushed sexual boundaries like a lot of other Maroon 5 videos.

3. Alicia Keys, “If I Ain’t Got You”

“If I Ain’t Got You” was the second single off The Diary of Alicia Keys. It peaked at No. 4 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 and stayed in the top ten for several weeks. It was one of Alicia’s two big hits in 2004 — the other was “My Boo,” a duet with Usher.

As Songfacts notes, this top hit from 2004 was inspired by Aaliyah, the famous 1990s R&B singer who died in a plane crash in August of 2001. Alicia says that after Aaliyah’s death, the message about what matters and what doesn’t in this life became the focus of the song.

2. Usher, “Burn”

After spending 12 weeks at No. 1 with “Yeah!” (more on this soon), Usher knocked himself out of the position with “Burn,” a song that spent eight weeks at No. 1. Needless to say, Usher was the biggest artist of 2004, and his success continued throughout the rest of the decade.

“Burn” was yet another Usher song about a failed relationship. In the song, Usher tries to explain his feelings to a girlfriend who doesn’t understand him. However, he’s trying to blame the problems on her since she doesn’t want to change. Many listeners loved “Burn” for its introspective lyrics as well as it’s soulful beat.

1. Usher (Featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris), “Yeah!”

“Yeah!” is not only the most successful song of 2004, but it has also become Usher’s signature hit, even though he’s had plenty of others that could have earned that title. “Yeah” spent 12 weeks at No. 1 at the beginning of 2004, and it could have spent several more weeks if Usher didn’t replace himself in the pole position with “Burn.”

According to Songfacts, “Yeah!” is about cheating. In the song, the guy goes to a club and hooks up with another woman while his girlfriend is out of town. The site mentions that this top 2004 hit almost didn’t make Usher’s Confessions album since some thought it sounded a little too similar to “Freek-A-Leek” by Petey Pablo.

Of course, all these songs are the biggest of 2004, not necessarily the best, which is completely subjective. What are your favorite songs from 2004? Let us know in the comments section.

[Featured Image by Scott Roth/AP Images]