biggest R&B songs on urban radio 2011

One of these:

Miguel - "Sure Thing"
Marsha Ambrosuis - "Far Away"
Jill Scott featuring Anthony Hamilton - "So In Love"
R. Kelly - "Love Letter"
Beyonce - "Best Thing I Never Had"
Charlie Wilson - "You Are"
Frank Ocean - "Novacane"
El Debarge f/ Faith Evans - "Lay With You"

Love Letter

my top 10:
Miguel - "Sure Thing"
Cee Lo Green f/ Melanie Fiona - "Fool For You"
Kelly Rowland f/ Lil Wayne - "Motivation"
Marsha Ambrosuis - "Far Away"
Trey Songz f/ Drake "Unusual"
Lloyd f/ Awesome Jones!!! - "Cupid"
R. Kelly - "Love Letter"
Miguel - "Quickie"
Diddy-Dirty Money f/ Trey Songz - "Your Love"
Jennifer Hudson - "No One Gonna Love You"

lotta good songs here, though, Chris Brown aside (and even "No BS" has some pretty great production)

sure thing

oops -- forgot Diddy and Trey.

The R&B chart had a more fecund year than the pop one.

when hasn't it?

I'll aid the "Sure Thing" landslide

Seeing this list really does hit home how little overlap there is between the pop charts and the urban charts right now.

"how to love" just to troll ya'll

top 10:

Kelly Rowland f/ Lil Wayne - "Motivation"
Keyshia Cole - "Take Me Away"
R. Kelly - "Love Letter"
Fantasia - "I'm Doing Me"
Chris Brown - "No BS"
Mary Mary - "Walking"
Jennifer Hudson - "No One Gonna Love You"
Jill Scott featuring Anthony Hamilton - "So In Love"
Frank Ocean - "Novacane"
Anthony David f/ Algebra - "4evermore"

fave single that didn't make this list:
Monica "Until It's Gone"

if ILX didn't have irrational Keyshia Cole hatred y'all would've been all over "Take Me Away" imo.

I thought ILX only irrationally hated Marsha Ambrosius

I don't hate Cole -- she's innocuous.

i don't remember anyone hating on marsha?

i got lots of love for keyshia but have paid less and less attention to her as her output has slipped into one long neverending ballot, so i don't remember much about "take me away" even though i listened to it recently to remind myself which one it was

wow this is so absurdly better than the rap list

"take me away" is a good song but it's pretty vanilla, good for what it is but not anything special

i dunno, i think it's one of her best singles and perfectly captures that mid-90s Mariah vibe

better than most of the songs on this list anyway

washy i don't know why you're so down on r&b this year, there was so much good music

w/o looking my top ten:

Diddy-Dirty Money f/ Trey Songz - "Your Love"
Cee Lo Green f/ Melanie Fiona - "Fool For You"
Mary J. Blige - "Someone To Love Me (Naked)"
Miguel - "Sure Thing"
R. Kelly - "Love Letter"
Mary Mary - "Walking"
Kelly Rowland f/ Lil Wayne - "Motivation"
Marsha Ambrosuis - "Far Away"
Frank Ocean - "Novacane"
Fantasia - "I'm Doing Me"

dope list, i forget how good that Fantasia song is. Mary J.'s voice still just sounds so wrong to me on that LTTP remake, though.

among my favorites of the year:

Miguel - "Sure Thing"
Kelly Rowland f/ Lil Wayne - "Motivation"
Trey Songz - "Love Faces"
Chris Brown - "No BS"
R. Kelly - "Love Letter"
Ledisi - "Pieces Of You"
Diddy-Dirty Money f/ Trey Songz - "Your Love"

fuck with:

Marsha Ambrosuis - "Far Away"
Beyonce - "Best Thing I Never Had"
Fantasia - "I'm Doing Me"
Jennifer Hudson - "Where You At"
R. Kelly - "Radio Message"
Keyshia Cole - "Take Me Away"
Tank - "Emergency"

don't like:

Jamie Foxx f/ Drake - "Fall For Your Type"
Miguel - "Quickie"
Beyonce f/ Andre 3000 - "Party"
Lloyd f/ Awesome Jones!!! - "Cupid"

'meh'/don't remember one way or another:

Chris Brown - "She Ain't You"
Lil Wayne - "How To Love"
Kirk Franklin - "I Smile"
Jill Scott featuring Anthony Hamilton - "So In Love"
Charlie Wilson - "You Are"
Trey Songz f/ Drake "Unusual"
Mary Mary - "Walking"
Rihanna - "Man Down"
Chris Brown f/ Ludacris - "Wet The Bed"
Kem - "Share My Life"
Kelly Price f/ Stokley - "Not My Daddy"
Anthony David f/ Algebra - "4evermore"
Kem f/ Chrisette Michele - "If It's Love"
El Debarge f/ Faith Evans - "Lay With You"
Mindless Behavior f/ Diggy "Mrs. Right"
Jamie Foxx f/ Wiz Khalifa "Best Night Of My Life"
Jazmine Sullivan - "10 Seconds"
Charlie Wilson - "Life Of The Party"
Musiq Solchild - "Yes"
Jennifer Hudson - "No One Gonna Love You"
Cee Lo Green f/ Melanie Fiona - "Fool For You"
Bobby V - "Words"
Frank Ocean - "Novacane"
Keri Hilson f/ Chris Brown - "One Night Stand"
Eric Benet - "Sometimes I Cry"
Musiq Solchild f/ Swizz Beatz - "Anything"
Mary J. Blige - "Someone To Love Me (Naked)"

lol prob didn't have to post that last category

xp I dunno man, most of the songs on this list were released last year! And the ones from this year, while good, wouldn't have been highlights of any other year of the past, say, 5 years IMO. Just lots of really middle of the road, serviceable but ultimately boring music got released. R&B as a whole just felt really directionless and uninspired, which is a shame because I thought last year was great and VERY promising. A lot of the stuff I was looking forward to either got pushed back or was totally underwhelming, and no new artists really did it for me besides, like, Jhene, Dawn & Stacy Barthe (who aren't really new), Tim Bloom and Nikkiya.

There were some dope songs released for sure, but I can't help but feel like this year wasn't very good at all.

Beyonce is like the only major R&B artist who really brought it this year, IMO.

yeah i dunno maybe you paying attention on a more granular level makes you more attuned to what's going on, but i wonder if you're not seeing the forest for the trees being blase about this list of songs. obv a lot of these are from 2010 albums but every year has hits from the previous year's albums.

this is where i wonder what a 'major R&B artist' really is at this point besides her. Usher? the Trey/CB/etc. new guard? i don't really care that much if the superstars are on point as long as there's good midlevel acts and new people to get excited about. Miguel's 2011 singles >>>> Beyonce's.

i think i like 'someone to love me' in part because it is fairly jarring and almost uncomfortable, like her voice in the chorus is a little too smooth and strong for the stuttering ugly beat but it really works. zing away but ive been fitting into like post-dubstep/chill'n'b sets over the last few weeks and it works really well

NO MORE CRYING, GOING THROUGH HELL
IT'S SO GOOD, I'M LOVING MYSELF

loooove that fantasia song & its entire parent album

but the winner is "sure thing" duh

am I the only one who loves that Jamie foxx joint?

not sure I'd vote for it for this poll but I think it's a gorgeous song

2 clarify, fall for your type what I'm talking about

i'm sure if it'd stayed a drake solo track the slow jam for new zerø kanada krew would be all over it

"sure thing" w/o having 2 think hard abt it

tho ive grown to like beyonce "party" a lot more than i initially did

yeah i dunno maybe you paying attention on a more granular level makes you more attuned to what's going on, but i wonder if you're not seeing the forest for the trees being blase about this list of songs.

You are probably right, there aren't any songs on here that I outright hate - it's an alright list all things considered. In previous years there were a lot more songs that I loved, though.

obv a lot of these are from 2010 albums but every year has hits from the previous year's albums.

True, but it felt like the vast majority of the hits this year were from last year's albums! You know more about the chart history so you can speak to this better than I can - was last year's list this full of songs from the year before?

this is where i wonder what a 'major R&B artist' really is at this point besides her. Usher? the Trey/CB/etc. new guard? i don't really care that much if the superstars are on point as long as there's good midlevel acts and new people to get excited about.

By "major r&b artist" I don't even mean Usher & Bey level crossover hitmakers - Kelly Rowland & Lloyd are two examples of who I was thinking of. "Motivation" is single of the year, and she follows it up with a totally forgettable album & flop single w/ Big Sean. Lloyd's album is alright but definitely not as exciting as previous efforts. I got the most from random tracks I found on blogs that got no real radio play. I guess, the mid-level and new artists didn't do enough for me to really make up for the lack of good shit from the major artists.

Miguel's 2011 singles >>>> Beyonce's.
Haha, I like the Miguel album a lot but my favorite songs weren't singles! I don't like "Quickie" and "Sure Thing" is just alright imo. I'd definitely take "Party" "Countdown" or "Love On Top" over both of those! Also, CJ Hilton's singles > Miguels!

i'm sure if it'd stayed a drake solo track the slow jam for new zerø kanada krew would be all over it

im trying to work out just how offended i should be by this...

i pay zero attn to radio/charts but im kinda bummed that dawn richards didnt get any play this year? such a rad mixtape

i'm somewhat including "Girls Like You" in Miguel's singles since that's just starting to hit. that album really might have my favorite run of singles of any album the last couple years.

True, but it felt like the vast majority of the hits this year were from last year's albums! You know more about the chart history so you can speak to this better than I can - was last year's list this full of songs from the year before?

well i'm culling the list from Billboard, and they run the chart year from beginning of Dec to end of Nov, and older songs benefit heavily from that (i actually took OUT a bunch of songs that peaked well before the end of 2010 for this poll). but i mean there are a lot of songs that have peaked since, say, August, that aren't here that might make the list look very different and possibly better to you.

haha lamp i wasn't even thinking of actual canadians w/ that post, i'm just shameless with the drake/40 hating

actual canadian ilxors, i mean

i don't think Dawn Richard is on the radio/industry radar in any way, unfortunately. but i found it kind of exciting to see so many LTTP songs on this list ("loving you no more" was also on there but i took it out of the poll as a 2010 single, and "coming home" was on the hot 100 year-end list)

its still almost impossible for me to read lttp as anything but late to the party :/

i think my fave r&b song not itl that i heard in 2011 was kandi's 'leroy jones'. in a healthier era for the music industry it wouldve been a hit on some midtier movie soundtrack imo

Late To The Party would work pretty well as the title of the Dirty Money album, actually

"motivation" obv

the UK PR for diddy dirty money isn't handling dawn richard's stuff (which this month actually got to the properly-released-single stage), which doesn't bode well ;_;

LOVE

sure thing
your love
love letter
radio message
4evermore
i'm doing me
no one gonna love you
anything
best thing i never had

LOVE (BUT NOT THE ORIGINAL)

motivation (i specify the kid sister juke mix though - after you've heard that the original is completely inadequate)
far away (but it's the full 7-minute album version that's really vibes, not the radio edit)
fall for your type (angel haze remix duh)

ENJOY V MUCH

love faces
so in love
where you at
someone to love me (naked)
quickie

ENJOY IN A NON-COMMITTAL WAY; I DID NOT REALLY GO BACK TO THESE SONGS OF MY OWN VOLITION MUCH

lay with you
cupid
yes
unusual
walking
mrs right
novacane

BAFFLING THAT THESE GOT SO MUCH PLAY WHEN THERE WERE SO MANY BETTER SONGS ON THE PARENT ALBUM

10 seconds
party
one night stand

"motivation" is really good but i feel it only stands out because so few other major r&b artists are going for that vibe right now - release it in 2006 and it's decent but not quite top-tier. kelly is actually the reason for this - she's just not a sensual singer, and in fact did this aesthetic much better in 2007 with "gotsta go" where her imperiousness suited a song about throwing a no-good boyfriend out much better. which is why the boring kelly album wasn't really a surprise.

that annoying "dedication to my ex" song has just landed lloyd his first proper uk hit ;_;

i see where brains and ships are both coming from - there's still plenty of r&b that i loved this year, it's still probably the most-represented genre in my EOY lists, but...there isn't much crossover with either radio play or sales. (or critical notice.)

my favourite r&b songs of 2011 - the collected works of dawn richard and nikkiya, jeremih's "another song", k michelle's "for my cinderellas", kalenna's "go to work", teedra moses' "another luvr", tiffany evans' "won't find me", lloyd's "private dancer" - were mostly unofficial releases, but they're so much better than all but a couple on this list.

motivation (i specify the kid sister juke mix though - after you've heard that the original is completely inadequate)

your kid sister fetish makes you sound insane btw

i don't get 'sure thing' at all. idk. not very sexy, kind of country

i mean, its a solid song, i dont mean to make it sound like i hate it. just kinda there to me, seems a real random hit to be the board's landslide favorite

oh i'm sorry kid sister hasn't been anointed by critical consensus, but she's a fantastic rapper that i always enjoy listening to

yes, a lack of critical consensus is exactly why i find her empty lyrics and hammed-up rap style completely banal

no emptier than your average gun sounds/goon/post soulja boy rapper. she's a club rapper and she excels on fast dance beats - who else could tackle the "work them" beat like she did this year?

far away (but it's the full 7-minute album version that's really vibes, not the radio edit)

fwiw i heard the full 7-minute version on the radio a lot this year

i don't get 'sure thing' at all. idk. not very sexy, kind of country

― joey joe joe junior shabadoo, Thursday, December 29, 2011 5:33 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Permalink

i mean, its a solid song, i dont mean to make it sound like i hate it. just kinda there to me, seems a real random hit to be the board's landslide favorite

― joey joe joe junior shabadoo, Thursday, December 29, 2011 5:34 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Permalink

well, it's the #1 most played song on urban radio of the whole year, so it's not like some totally random minor hit, it was hugely hugely popular. also 'sexy' isn't really what it's going for and 'kind of country' is in the plus column.

happy perez ftw

anyway if you want proof that 2011 was better for R&B radio than 2010 you should compare this year's top 3 (sure thing/motivation/far away) to last year's top 3 (un-thinkable/there goes my baby/it kills me).

Motivation.

I'd like "Sure Thing" a lot more if he didn't do the "if I'm the (x), you could be the (x')" thing

yeah it's such a hacky tired construction to base the verses on, but imo the phrasing of the vocal performance makes it work better than it has a right to

The vocal melody and the subtle melancholy reminds me of Mario's "Let Me Love You."

it's definitely the kind of song that you just think is a pleasant trifle on first hearing but somehow a couple of months later you realise how much you love it

it's a ballad with a suppressed hysteria

yeah i dunno end of day i think the overall vibe just doesn't hit me like some other stuff does & i should probably chalk it up to genetics lol

this motivation (chicago juke remix) ft. kid sister is trash

lol'd at the lemme smang it reference tho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQzR4qa_2TY&feature=related

the dj nephets mix without kid sister is p dope actually, but it's hella contextually reliant on the original

there have been a lot of dope remixes of "motivation"

yeah there have been tons, my fave is the DJ Extraordinaire remix... Jacques Greene's remix is dope too.

good to see everyone's been voting for "Party"

one of my favourite things about the kid sister remix isn't even kid sister, it's the beat switch-up. her verse is great though. HE ON THAT HUNDRED-METRE JACKIE JOYNER FLO-JO SHIIIT

although i'm always quite gratified when rappers namecheck athletes from sports i give a shit about

or just individual sports (ie proper sports) really

Where do you guys go to find album sales figures? I'm curious to see what kind of numbers these records did.

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