Musics fly through time, various artists are still active in the present and are known for songs from decades ago that marked a generation. In this article, remember pop tracks that complete 20 years in 2023 and get to know curiosities about it.
Now, let’s travel back in time to 2003 and see the release of 5 songs!
- Crazy in Love – Beyoncé ft. Jay-Z
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The song and video clip were released in May 2003 as the lead single of Beyoncé’s debut studio album, Dangerously in Love. “Crazy in Love” is the second collaboration of Beyoncé and the rapper – and now her husband – Jay-Z; the first is “03 Bonnie & Clyde” from his album The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse and it was added in the singer’s first album too.
Both artists participated in the composition, working with the songwriter Eugene Record and the producer Rich Harrison. The track contains a sample from the record “Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)” by the band The Chi-Lites and mixes different music genres like pop, funk, R&B, hip-hop and soul.
The lead single reached the number one of the Billboard Hot 100, was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2004 and has won in the Best R&B Song and Best Rap / Vocal Collaboration categories. The videoclip earned Best R&B Video and Best Choreography at the MTV Video Music Awards. Beyoncé has won 19 awards between 2003 and 2004 with “Crazy in Love”, according to Vogue France.
- WHERE IS THE LOVE? – BLACK EYED PEAS
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This meaningful song was released in Black Eyed Peas’s third album, Elephunk, in March 2003. The track was a turning-point for the group due to receiving negative critics on their last albums. They were very despondent about it and thought to disband, confessed the co-produced of the group, will.i.am, for MTV. In this scenario, the executive of A&M Records, Ron Fair, suggested they move to his label and when they did it, he proposed them to follow more into the pop world.
Black Eyed Peas took a risk and called Justin Timberlake for collaboration with the producers of the song “Where Is the Love?” was written by will.i.am, Allan Pineda, George Pajon Jr., J Curtis, Jaime Gomez, Justin Timberlake, Michael Fratantuno, Printz Board, and produced by will.i.am and Ron Fair.
The lyrics address issues about racism, terrorism, wars, prejudice and violence in general. “The version of ‘Where Is the Love?’ is written after 9/11 and every time something horrible happened in the world people would play that original version”, said will.i.am about the record’s impact in an interview for Good Morning Britain.
A music from decades ago still has a social impact nowadays and the group made a new version in 2016, with a video clip containing various artists and influential celebrities mixed with images of violence moments, so the world can remember that there is a lot of progress missing in humanity yet. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rap/Vocal Collaboration at the 2004 Grammy Awards.
- ME AGAINST THE MUSIC – BRITNEY SPEARS FT. MADONNA
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The collaboration of the princess (Britney Spears) and queen of Pop (Madonna) was released in October 2003 and is the lead single of Spears’s fourth album: In the Zone. The song was written by Britney, Madonna, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart, Penelope Magnet, Thabiso “Tab” Nkhereanye, Terius Nash and Gary O’Brien.
Through a battle of dance, the artists sing and dance along to dance-pop, hip-hop and electronic beats. The decision to make a collaboration began in the middle of the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards’s rehearsals when Britney played the song to Madonna, and she really liked it, so Spears invited her to join the track, as she explained in an interview for MTV.
“Me Against The Music” reached number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Hot Dance Single of the Year award in the 2004 Billboard Music Awards.
- HEY HA! – OUTKAST
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The upbeat music from the rappers’ duo OutKast – Big Boi and André 3000 – was the one of two lead singles and part of their fifth album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, released in August 2003. The song was written and produced by André 3000 and combines the genres pop, soul, funk, hip-hop and rap.
Its lyrics reflect on a relationship that is maintained only by social factors. “‘Hey Ya!’ is pretty much about the state of relationships in the 2000s”, explained André 3000 for MTV. “It’s about some people who stay together in relationships because of tradition, because somebody told them: ‘You guys are supposed to stay together’, but you pretty much end up being unhappy for the rest of your life”, concludes.
“Hey Ha!” was the number one song for nine straight weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 and was nominated for three Grammy Awards in 2004; it has also won in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category. The music video drew attention too: directed by Bryan Barber, the clip was inspired by a Beatles’ performance on Sullivan’s show and won four out of five nominations, including the Video of the Year, in 2004 MTV Video Music Awards.
- TOXIC – BRITNEY SPEARS
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A high-tech song is the second single from Britney Spears’s album In the Zone, released in November 2003. The track was written by Carthy Dennis, Christian Karlsson, Henrik Jonback and Pontus Winnberg and produced by Avant and Bloodshy. The melodies have an electropop, pop-dance and techno-pop beats.
The lyrics tell a story of a girl obsessed with a guy. Britney explains in an interview for MTV: “It’s an upbeat song. It’s really different, that’s why I like it so much. This villain girl, she’ll do anything to get what she wants. She goes through different obstacles”.
Its music video was shot in 2003, and it released in January 2004. Spears and the director, Joseph Kahn, made an iconic history of a flight attendant that’s actually a secret agent. “Toxic” was nominated for Video of the year in 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, and the song won Best Dance Recording in the 2005 Grammy Awards.
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The article below was edited by Camila Lutfi.
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