Beenie Man, Sean Paul, Spragga Benz make Billboard’s 100 Greatest songs of 2004 list

King of the Dancehall by Beenie Man (#98), I’m Still in Love With You by Sean Paul featuring Sasha (#84), and Turn Me On (remix) by St Vincent soca artiste Kevin Lyttle featuring Spragga Benz (#65) are the only songs featuring Jamaicans to make Billboard’s 100 Greatest songs of 2004 list.

The list was revealed late last month.

Also making the list is Move Ya Body by twin sisters Nina Sky, which is featured on Jamaica producer Cordell “Skatta” Burrell’s popular Coolie Dance rhythm. It ranked at #42.

Anthony “Tony CD” Kelly co-wrote and produced King of the Dancehall. He said when he made the beat for the track as a tribute to Paul Tyrell, former engineer at Shocking Vibes Production, who was killed a few months earlier in 2004.

“The crazy thing about the track, the name of the track was Andre Tyrell, who died violently. But Beenie Man wasn’t aware of the name of the beat. It was a crazy and surreal vibe working on the song. Beenie brought the energy and came with a whole vibe. I even told him to switch it up at the end,” Kelly recalled.

King of the Dancehall was the second single from Beenie Man’s Virgin Records album
Back to Basics. The album topped Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart and peaked at #7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and #51 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart.

The song was another big one for Beenie Man, as it rose to #80 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on Hot Rap Tracks, #26 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and #14 in the United Kingdom.

Asked what was special about the song that made it a hit with fans, Kelly said: “I think it’s the melodies and the groove of the beat. The single driving force was the groove of the beat. Its just the flow and the vibe and the simplicity of it.”

Kelly said he never predicted that King of the Dancehall would be a hit, despite creating songs with the notion that they could potentially become hits.

“I live by the unexpected, everything mi do mi think it can be the greatest thing. I make songs with visas, so they can travel the world,” Kelly told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.

Sean Paul, on the other hand, had been on a hit streak prior to the success of
I’m Still in Love With You. Released as the fifth and final single from the Grammy-winning multi-platinum album Dutty Rock, I’m Still in Love With You featuring Sasha was a surprise hit.

“It was just a song that came at the right time and the right place in my career. The other songs released from the album were party-oriented and we needed a warm down. The song worked because it was sung amazingly by Sasha and myself, the rhythm built by Steelie and Clevie ‘shatt’, and it was a timing when we needed to forward with a slow and more romantic kinda vibe,” Sean Paul told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.

He is currently on a multi-date tour of the United States which kicked off on May 2 in Orlando and runs until June 16.

I’m Still in Love With You was a substantial hit, peaking at #6 in the UK, #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Poland. It also made the top 10 in seven countries across Europe. It has been certified silver in the United Kingdom for sales exceeding 200,000 units.

The video, choreographed by Jamaican Tanisha Scott, was directed by Canadian director X, formerly Little X.

Turn Me On was first released in 2002, but a remix two years later featuring dancehall star Spragga Benz set the charts on fire reaching the top 10 in 16 countries, and hitting #2 in the UK, #4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 in Denmark.

It has been certified platinum in Australia, 2x platinum in the UK, and gold in the United States, Switzerland, Norway, Germany and Denmark.

Nina Sky’s Move Ya Body was also a commercial success. It topped out at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 in the United Kingdom, while taking top 10 positions in Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Croatia, Austria, and Denmark. It, too, has been certified gold in the US.

Among the other songs that made the list are: Used to Love You by John Legend (89), Over and Over by Nelly featuring Tim McGraw (85), You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban (73), The Reason by Hoobastank (54), Lean Back by Terror Squad (51), My Boo by Usher and Alicia Keys (46), Naughty Girl by Beyonce (32), and If I Ain’t Got You by Alicia Keys (16).

Topping the list is Toxic by Britney Spears.