- Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
LEFT: Sean Paul has sent Billboard's 'Temperature' soaring. RIGHT: Reggae superstar Shaggy performs on the opening night of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival 2006, in Montego Bay, St. James. The 'It Wasn't Me' denial hit the top of the charts.
Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
It was once said that local songs were unable to achieve much crossover success because international audiences found it hard to understand Jamaican dialect. Still, artistes such as Shaggy, JC Lodge, Sean Paul, Shabba Ranks and Super Cat have all had hits on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, the main indicator of mainstream success.
It is easy to recall Shaggy's Boombastic, JC Lodge's Telephone Love, Maxi Priest's Close To You and more recently, Sean Paul's Temperature, which have all been Billboard hits. This speaks to the growth of reggae/dancehall music and persons within the local industry have attributed this success to image and proper marketing.
Songs from Jamaican artistes
According to music journalist and record producer Ra-Umi-Alkebu-Lan, the songs from Jamaican artistes that make it to number one on the Billboard Charts are normally the ones that have the crossover appeal and if the artistes have the crossover appeal like a Sean Paul and Shaggy image. Looks have a lot to do with it and how well the songs are marketed.
"For me, Welcome To Jamrock is just a big tune from out a Jamaica, so mi a expect dah one deh fi guh number one. Di Sound Boy Killing by Mega Banton was another top song, but whenever record companies find a song that really going to crossover dem really" market it an spend money pon it," Alkebu-Lan said.
Telephone Love (1988) by J.C. Lodge was supported by the innovative rhythmic duo of Steelie and Cleevie. House Call by Maxi Priest and Shabba (1991) was very successful and Here Comes The Hot Stepper by Ini Kamoze was a best-selling record in 1994 and one of the first reggae songs to top the Billboard charts.
it's a combination of things
In 2000, Shaggy's It Wasn't Me had universal appeal.
Jerome Hamilton, director, Headline Entertainment, booking agents for the likes of Sean Paul, T.O.K and Wayne Wonder, says, it's a combination of things that factors into local songs hitting the top spot on international charts.
Hamilton says most of the songs don't have the hardcore melody, but the songs that hit have a little bit more clarity than others, because some people don't really understand the patois. But the more I think about it, that's not always the case. Look at how well Dutty Wine is doing and I don't think people (abroad) really understand what it is saying, but people just love the melody. But marketing definitely has it's place, because all of the songs that have succeeded have had the push from big labels and I think it also has a lot to do with the artistes' work ethics.
Chris Schlarb, director of Publicity, VP Records, agrees that there are a number of factors that can lead to a song making it all the way to the top.
Right song at the right time
"I think there are a variety of factors that determine whether a track not only crosses over, but makes it to number one. It really has to be the right song at the right time; there almost has to be some other universal force at work. The song has to work with the overall consciousness of the listening public. Sometimes there are songs that are released that only make it to number four, for instance, but if it came out one year later or earlier it would have been number one, because making it to number one is really winning the race and if other competitors are not as strong, it will be easier to win," Schlarb said.
He also said that something that will travel to number one will appeal to fans outside of the genre and almost leave its genre behind and officially become pop, which is its own genre of music. To achieve this level of success it will appeal to a larger demographic that traditionally wouldn't be interested in that style of music.
Undeniably catchy
The most important thing, though, that makes a song fit the category of a number one hit is that it is instantly recognisable and undeniably catchy. So no matter what you know about the song and whether you like the song or not it's in your head; either you're singing it or it just pops into your head out of nowhere. Whether its reggae or heavy metal the song has to have an undeniable hook that is inescapable and its appeal is undeniable.
The 'Billboard Hot 100' is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart, which is issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on airplay and sales and the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the airplay tracking-week runs from Wednesday to Tuesday. A new chart is compiled and officially released to the public by Billboard on Thursday and each chart is dated with the week-ending date of the following Saturday.
