Readers of That Grape Juice know what avid music lovers we are – especially of hits past.
So, as our retrospective features ‘From the Vault’ and ‘TGJ Replay’ allow us the chance to re-spin the gems and jams of yesterday of one artist, our newest feature Chart Rewind – a variation of our current Retro Rewind assay – accedes salutes to an entire era of music history.
This week we’re going to show a little love to ‘Love in This Club’ – the 2008 chart-topping hit from Usher. Join us inside:
With his 2004 album, ‘Confessions,’ marked as the best-selling R&B album of the 2000’s (second best-seller among all genres), pressure to meet or surpass that success was mounting for R&B veteran Usher. To answer impatient fan demand for new music, the ‘U Don’t Have to Call’ singer not only called on his usual team of producers and songwriters (i.e. Bryan-Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri), but also rallied an all-star team of hitmakers including Tricky Stewart, The Dream, Dre & Vidal, Jazze Pha, Ne-Yo, Stargate and more to assemble a collection of tunes for a new project.
Christened ‘Here I Stand,’ the LP was kicked off by the Young Jeezy-assisted ‘Love in This Club.’ Produced by Polow da Don, the mid-tempo, synth-driven cut – released February 22, 2008 – premiered on the Hot 100 at #83. Just two weeks later, it zoomed to #1 (where it was found this week that year). After occupying the top spot for three weeks, ‘Club’s reign atop the tally was ended by then-burgeoning powerhouse vocalist Leona Lewis and her signature hit ‘Bleeding Love.’
Eventually going on to Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, Usher’s hit was given another lifeline on charts when its Beyoncé and Lil Wayne-assisted remix surfaced. The renewed interest helped it land in the top 10 of Billboard’s year-end charts (#8).
While the industry opted to ignore the chart-topping cut (as it was snubbed at the next year’s Grammys), fans consider ‘Club’ to be among the singer’s most memorable hits. Join us below to see who joined him in the Hot 100’s top 25 this week 12 years ago:
Hot 100 This Week in 2008
Hot 100 This Week
Click here to see this week’s full TGJ Chart Check of the current Hot 100 chart.
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