![2021 Music Showcase, Part 2 [[xxxREMIXxx]]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/508751_0d423aa8b4164c4aa9d554338800336a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1200,h_800,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90,enc_auto/508751_0d423aa8b4164c4aa9d554338800336a~mv2.jpg)
Tim here, with the third and final post in the Headphone Bros Music Week. I hope you checked out ChuD and Keith's posts earlier this week. Both of their posts showed the world how well rounded and interesting their musical tastes are. Many genres are referenced in both posts and you, beautiful reader, may have thought I would continue the trend. Instead, I am going to dive right into one of life's biggest questions.
What are the top 5 slow jams for junior High/high School dances during the years 2002 through 2005?
A little background. I was born in 1991 because I was not allowed to exist at the same time as the Soviet Union. It's a little dishonest to say I was a 90s kid, although I do recognize the trends and cartoons and toys that were around at that time, mostly from my older brothers being better 90s kids. I really identify more with the early 2000s, especially when it comes to music. Music, like smell, has a powerful ability to make you nostalgic. It's very easy to imagine where you were when you first started listening to a band or even a particular song. Some of the music that does this for me the most is early 2000s hip-hop and R&B. I truly enjoy all genres of music and can find at least one artist I like on every radio station. However, the slow jams from the early 2000s understands me at a deeper level and I, in turn, understand it back.
2002-2005 covers the ages of 11-14 for me. Some formative years. Due to the importance of these years, I took this post very seriously. Slow jams are pretty self explanatory, but because these have to be for junior high or high school they can't be INCREDIBLY sexual. Although the more I look back at the songs I sang the more I realize songs have always been overtly sexual, we were just dumb. Without further ado, here are my top 5 slow jams for junior high/high School dances during the years 2002 through 2005.
Honorable Mentions:
These three songs almost made the cut but were eliminated for various reasons.
My Boo
Usher, feat. Alicia Keys.
Confessions
Truly a perfect duet. Two all stars of the early 2000s came together for a wonderful karaoke track that seriously rocks at times. Therein lies the problem. There are times where this song is just a little too fast or repetitive to be a slow jam you can dance to, especially in junior high when you might have 6 inches or more separating you from your dance partner. The entire "I don't know about ya'll but I know about us" section is very awkward to move to.
You Remind Me
Usher
8701
I honestly could have filled the honorable mentions and actual Top 5 with all Usher songs. There is nothing about the style of this song that eliminated it, but instead it just isn't as good or memorable as the Top 5. I wanted to give it some love here because it too often is forgotten in the anthology of Usher songs.
A Moment Like This
Kelly Clarkson
Thankful
Kelly's first single and first hit. Kelly was American Idol's first winner and arguably the show's biggest success story. (Carrie Underwood with the best argument against her.) This is a great song but it is immediately eliminated because it was our 8th grade class's graduation song. The entire class had to sing this song during graduation. "But Tim (you may say), isn't the entire song about waiting for that 'one special kiss'?" Right you are! My school changed the line in the chorus from "one special kiss" to "one special gift." Nailed it.
Top 5 (In no particular order.)
Burn
Usher
Confessions
Usher turned a song about breaking up with a girl into one of the best, if not THE best, slow dance songs for junior high. The gym floor would erupt when the first lyrics came out. "It's going to burn me to say this. But it's coming from my heart." I literally cannot hear this song without singing. It created this strange feeling of grooving to a break up song while dancing with your partner. Only Usher can create such a vibe.
Confessions Part II
Usher
Confessions
I promise I'm done with Usher. This is the last one. Usher somehow dropped not one but TWO fantastic slow jams about breakups (or possible breakups for this song.) Usher just got done telling his girlfriend that he slept with some other girl while on tour. See, Confessions Part I. But then, "'bout that chick on part oneI told y'all I was sleepin' with, creepin' with, Say she's three months pregnant and she's keepin' it."
What?! That's big news, Ush! The boldest thing about this song is it's about hearbreak and the listener truly feels it...but it's all about Usher's sadness! He did the bad thing but you end this song thinking "Man, poor guy." What a legend.
Let Me Love You
Mario
Turning Point
Mario's second single too often is forgotten when we discuss early 2000s R&B. Written by Ne-Yo (before his solo career started) this song is a beautiful song with really such a simple request. "Let me be the one to. Give you everything you want and need. Baby, good love and protection. Make me your selection." Mario garnered a Grammy nomination for this hit and deservedly so. After watching the video for the first time, I couldn't help but groove out some of those moves (perfectly, I might add) every time I heard the song. The flow and tempo are very suitable for slow dancing which gives this song a big plus.
We Belong Together
Mariah Carey
The Emancipation of Mimi
Where do I start. First, I had a GIANT crush on Mariah Carey from ages 10-ongoing. Second, it cannot be overstated how huge she was in the 90s and early 2000s. "We Belong Together" was from her TENTH studio album, "The Emancipation of Mimi." I specifically recall dancing to this song at a dance hosted by the YMCA. I danced with a girl from a different school and we passed notes via a mutual friend at her school for the next few weeks. It was serious. Mariah just lets her heart out in this song and by the end you TRULY believer her and whoever belong together. Magic.
All My Life
K-Ci and JoJo
Love Always
I know I know, this is cheating. This song came out in 1997. But! It was certified platnium and by far the duo's biggest hit. It was also played at school dances between 2001 and 2004 constantly, so in my memory it was part of the era. The song even played at my senior prom in 2009. I danced with my best friend Rosario Edwards because his name was somehow put on the girl's side for voting prom court and we campaigned to have us both get nominated as king and queen. He got queen and I got duke but we danced together anyway, both ignoring our actual dates for that song.
The song itself is so wonderful. All my life I did pray for someone like Cate and every year I appreciate the song more. These Top 5 songs all make me wish I was back at those school dances but, instead of trying to find someone, I would just be hanging out with Cate.