Usually, when people reminisce, particularly about 2008, the first thing that comes to mind is the Great Recession caused by the housing bubble. Still, many other historical events went down in 2008, such as the United States of America getting its first Black-American president.
In the music industry, Britney Spears’ hospitalization after a meltdown and Beyoncé getting married to Jay Z are also unforgettable. Regardless of what was going on in the country, beautiful music continued being released, and here are the best songs from 2008 you are likely to enjoy.
20. Damaged by Danity Kane
Sean Combs created the all-girl group Danity Kane after they won “Making The Band 3.” One of the songs they recorded is “Damaged,” which became the band’s first song to chart in Canada; in the US, it peaked at No. 10 on Billboard Hot 100.
The songwriting process was a collaborative effort of eleven people, including Combs. Although the girls showed lots of promise, they broke up, but not before becoming the first female group to have consecutive debut albums topping the Billboard charts.
19. Sensual Seduction by Snoop Dogg
Dogg confessed to HipHopDX that he idolized the late Prince. The rapper said that he learned so much from Prince, especially the art of seduction. Dogg knew about menage-a-trois through the late star.
People would be surprised at how Prince was so good at what he did that he would make love to a woman without even touching her. Therefore, when he recorded “Sensual Seduction,” which is also commonly referred to as “Sexual Eruption” Dogg had Prince in mind and even dressed like him.
18. Whatever You Like by T.I.
T.I. decided to seduce a girl with wealth, starting the song by talking about how sugar daddies trick women. He says that the girl can have whatever she likes, be it top-of-the-shelf tequila, rides in his fueled jet, a $5-million home, and a Bentley.
All she has to do is ask because money is not a problem, and she can ignore any broke guys trying to approach her. The song made history by climbing from No. 71 to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 chart.
During the US campaigns, a tweet went viral when someone corrupted the lyrics. “I want your body, need your body,” was changed to “I want Joe Biden, need Joe Biden,” getting the song additional popularity.
17. Closer by Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo is an R&B artist, but he wanted to test the waters by doing a song that would be a hit in the UK. Therefore, he combined some techno, trance, and house with some R&B, and Stargate came up with the ideal track. “Closer” was the song recorded using that track, and Ne-Yo fulfilled his objective since the song peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 7 in the US.
16. American Boy by Estelle Featuring Kanye West
Estelle met West by chance as she went to get some food, and they hit it off. Before she knew it, the singer was talking to John Legend, who executive-produced her album.
Legend asked Estelle to do a song about meeting an American Boy, and the songstress easily created the song. The track used was for Will.i.Am’s “Impatient” but Estelle said she did not harbor any hard feelings because the two still made successful songs from the same beat. “American Boy” peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 9 in the US.
15. Dangerous by Kardinal Offishall Featuring Akon
Offishall told RollingStone that as soon as he heard the beats by DJ Kemo, he knew the song would be a hit. The Canadian DJ then played it for Akon and the musician from Senegal agreed with Offishall that the song would be successful.
Therefore, they recorded it in less than an hour but the result was epic; Offishall could only compare it to Sting’s “Every Breath You Take.”
14. Touch My Body by Mariah Carey
According to TheStar, Carey disclosed to Billboard in 2008 that she wanted to make history like The Beatles by having most of her singles top the Hot 100 chart. Therefore, when she recorded her album, “E=MC2” the singer wanted to realize her objective.
She did, because “Touch My Body” became another topper for two weeks after its release in April 2008. In the song, Carey wants to have a secret rendezvous with a guy. However, she hopes he is not recording their time together to prevent the video from leaking and making their affair public.
13. Love in This Club by Usher Featuring Young Jeezy
According to MTV, when Young Jeezy first heard the record, he wanted to be on it. However, he wanted to make his personality show because while Usher was about seducing the girl, Jeezy is all about approaching a girl with confidence. So, his lyrics portray his character.
Once the song was leaked everybody loved it and it gave Jeezy the courage to keep making music without having to change his personality.
12. I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry
Perry grew up in a strict religious family and always prayed for gay people to transform. However, once she interacted with different people, she realized she had been living in a bubble and it suddenly burst, allowing her to be curious.
One day while flipping through a magazine, she saw a picture of Scarlett Johansson. Perry was with her boyfriend but she told him if the actress walked into the room and wanted to make out with her, the singer would not deny herself the pleasure.
All this while, Miley Cyrus continues to believe that she was the inspiration.
11. Disturbia by Rihanna
This song co-written by Chris Brown was supposed to be in Brown’s re-release of his album “Exclusive.” However, he felt it would be a much better fit if performed by a female artiste so he gave it to Rihanna. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Brown said he finds fun in creativity and that he can write the concepts and give them to someone else. Rihanna loved the song so much that she took it to her producer, ready to record and release it knowing it would be a hit.
10. When I Grow Up by The Pussycat Dolls
This song can be the anthem for children who dream big. The girl group leader, Nicole Scherzinger, sings that when she grows up she wants to be in magazines and on TV. She says that as a child she wanted attention and did not care what she would have to do to be noticed.
Luckily, she chose music because it would help her achieve superstar status. The song was originally supposed to be for Scherzinger’s project as it is allegedly autobiographical but she decided it was much better off being performed by The Pussycat Dolls.
9. No Air by Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
It may be a beautiful song but Sparks was sad that she did not get to work with Brown. Instead, they each recorded their vocal parts differently as Sparks was in a different studio when Brown was doing his bit. The song came out beautifully as the two had chemistry yet they had only met once during the BET Awards when Sparks suggested they should do a song together.
8. 7 Things by Miley Cyrus
Cyrus disclosed to Seventeen that she was angry when penning the lyrics to this song. She had broken up with Nick Jonas and wanted to write hurtful things so “Seven Things I Hate About You” was the perfect song.
It must have been heart-wrenching because even when they broke up, Cyrus took to social media to announce that she and Prince Charming had split up, and it was the hardest day ever.
She felt like her world had come to a stop and considering that they were both teenagers back then, Cyrus probably thought the young love would stay forever.
7. Miss Independent by Ne-Yo
In a world that makes women feel like the weaker sex like they cannot do anything on their own and need men by their sides, this song is a breath of fresh air. It is, therefore, no wonder that it was positively received, reaching No.1 on the US Hot R&B/ Hip Hop Songs chart.
Ne-Yo sings he finds independent women sexy and he won two Grammy awards for Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
6. Womanizer by Britney Spears
While some thought the lyrics were about Spears’ dad and the conservatorship situation, the song is more about a guy who is a player. The singer says she knows who he is even if he acts so righteous when he meets new women.
It was a comeback single for the musician who had been through hell after divorce, conservatorship, and a mental breakdown. Still, she rose to get to number one on Billboard Hot 100 after debuting at No. 96. “Womanizer” has since been covered by several artists and remains her best-selling digital song.
5. So What by Pink
When Pink opened up to Today about her marriage to Corey Hart, she said it was challenging. The singer said they are either fighting or laughing. The couple met in 2001 then split for the first time in 2003 before getting back together and becoming engaged in 2005.
They got married in 2006 but went their separate ways in 2008 which prompted Pink to write “So What.” She then asked Hart to be in the song’s video and the two ended up reconciling. Although they have been together since then, Pink attributes it to couples therapy.
4. Lollipop by Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major
“Lollipop” is hailed as the most successful single the rapper has ever recorded to date. It spent five weeks as the No.1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The funny thing is Lil Wayne did not even write the lyrics so he probably cannot even remember he came up with such beautiful lyrics.
When invited for interviews, the lyrics have to be written for him to study beforehand. Wayne believes the process of penning lyrics constrains his creativity. Since he broke up with the group Hot Boys, he prefers improvising which has worked for him.
3. Take A Bow by Rihanna
At the time this song was written by Ne-Yo and Stargate, Rihanna was dating Chris Brown. At the time of the recording, it was just a song about the narrator being tired of the excuses the ex has been feeding her.
She already knows he is unfaithful and that the apologies are only because he got caught. Later on, when Brown assaulted her, Rihanna’s fans felt the song could have had a greater meaning being used as their breakup tune. It peaked at No.1 on Billboard Hot 100 and also topped other charts.
2. Single Ladies by Beyoncé
The song urges women to go for men who treat them with respect and dignity. Beyoncé sings if the man likes it, then he should put a ring on it. The Dream co-wrote the song and said he likes to base songs on women’s personal stories when writing for them.
Therefore, when he penned the lyrics, he was basing them on Beyonce, who had just been married. He was encouraging women to dump their boyfriends if they do not propose. The song did so well that it received Quadruple platinum certification in the US.
1. Hot N Cold by Katy Perry
According to Glamour Magazine, the song was inspired by a relationship Perry had at the time. She revealed that she was dating a guy who would act so sweet one day, texting her and getting her excited, then the next day, he would not be interested in talking.
She even wondered if the guy was bipolar because the behavior was strange, so Perry transformed the experience into a song. Allegedly, the boyfriend who inspired the song is Travis McCoy.
You can also read:
- The 10 Best Hit Songs of 2007
- The 10 Best Hit Songs of 2006
- The Top 20 Hit Songs of 1979
- The 10 Best Love Songs from the Year 2000
- 10 Awesome Songs with the Word “Red” in the Title
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