Billboard Hot Crossover 30, July 2 1988

really difficult choice between "one more try" and "paradise"

This era is pop music catnip for me, so there are a ton of songs I genuinely love a lot, but I only recently discovered that Tracie Spencer song (and its attendant album) and it's fantastic and seemingly lost to the ages so I'll vote that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM4JU1CPL7A

^^^^ the intro to that Tracie Spencer track stuck with me for years without knowing who did it -- talk about late eighties rococo. She's bet known for "This House," which went top five in spring '91.

Amazing:

Pebbles - Mercedes Boy
Al B. Sure! - Nite and Day
Sade - Paradise
George Michael - One More Try
Terence Trent D'Arby - Sign Your Name
J.J. Fad - Supersonic
Will to Power - Say It's Gonna Rain
New Edition - If It Isn't Love

Good:

Johnny Kemp - Just Got Paid
Prince - Alphabet St.
Tony! Toni! Tone! - Little Walter
D.J. Jazzy Jeff - Parents Just Don't Understand
Vanessa Williams - The Right Stuff
Ice-T - Colors

Memories:

Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine - 1-2-3
Brenda K Starr - I Still Believe
Paula Abdul - Knocked Out

Mercedes Boy imo

btw i was just looking up Ivana Spagna's credits on discogs and came across an unrelated Italo artist named "Tracy Spencer"

Yeah, I confusingly discovered Tracy Spencer's album around the same time I discovered Tracie Spencer's album. The former is also quite good.

wow a lot of perfect songs

i might vote for jody watley's "most of all"! it's a really gorgeous patrick leonard composition that'll probably get no other votes

I don't much like Jody Watley, never did :(

I do like "Love Injection" (with Tony Thompson on drums):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS9dDM4KXBc

and this forgotten George Michael duet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WSx7odS9Pc

Mercedes Boy is probably the one song in this list that I appreciate most today, but I've got a lifetime of Al B. Sure!'s Nite and Day being a constant earworm and I'd be doing it dirty if I didn't vote for it here.

my favorites:

if it isn't love
mercedes boy
one more try
supersonic

but i still haven't decided which to vote for :X

I love that Jets song

I don't much like Jody Watley, never did :(

get out of my life alfred

x2

Brad's life after me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQL-B3PNkeI

"One More Try" is an incredible performance

voted "Supersonic" before I realized "If It Isn't Love" was an option

Teacher
There are things
that I don't want to learn

really that song is the hit of his that shows off the elasticity of his voice the best

2 1 Pebbles - Mercedes Boy
9 5 Johnny Kemp - Just Got Paid
3 8 Prince - Alphabet St.
16 18 J.J. Fad - Supersonic
23 20 Paula Abdul - Knocked Out
-- 26 New Edition - If It Isn't Love

Was just about to say that "Mercedes Boy" doesn't quite stand shoulder with "Girlfriend" or "Giving You The Benefit," but listened to it again and ... nope, it definitely does.

1. "Should I Say Yes?", 2. "Alphabet St.", 3. "Sayin' Sorry (Don't Make It Right)," 4. "Nite and Day." About a third of the list I don't remember.

Thought "Dirty Diana" was the worst Michael Jackson single from either Bad or Dangerous.

Man, there's a really long list of singles from those 2 albums. In order of preference:

The Way You Make Me Feel
Smooth Criminal
I Just Can't Stop Loving You
Man in the Mirror
Remember the Time
Leave Me Alone
In the Closet
Who Is It
Jam
Dirty Diana
Will You Be There
Bad
Another Part of Me
Liberian Girl
Give In to Me
Black or White
Gone Too Soon
Heal the World

Really only dislike the last one tbqh.

Didn't realize the list was that long. Allowing that I've forgotten a couple towards the bottom, "Dirty Diana" would definitely be my pick for worst. Our top two are the same.

"Heal the World" does so wrong by the "Man in the Mirror" template.

I can get not liking "Dirty Diana" but I don't get thinking it's worse than "Heal the World"

according to the youtube comments "most of all" was written for madonna? idk where that info is from but sonically it's not unfounded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJq52DdjziQ

gorgeous song

"Heal the World" is one I don't remember (I'm sure I was aware of it at the time.) Going by the title, it has the potential to be even worse, no question.

xpost i mean it also makes sense bc it's a leonard/cole joint

Thought "Dirty Diana" was the worst Michael Jackson single from either Bad or Dangerous.

― clemenza, Monday, May 18, 2015 6:09 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

regardless of how one feels about DD, how the fuck can anything be worse than "Will You Be There?" or "Heal the World"....

i actually liked "heal the world" but i was v young and corny songs were rather moving to me at the time lol -- tho i didn't like "will you be there" much.

"Dirty Diana" and "The Girl is Mine" were his worst singles to date but I don't think they're evil like "Heal the World."

"Heal The World" makes me want to damage the world.

ugh The Girl is Mine

I've always been fascinated imagining the tastes of the woman who would be torn between Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson if they were just two ordinary, non-famous dudes.

"She told me I'm her forever lover."

I listened to about a minute of "Heal the World." (Don't really remember it...Was that right near the end of that run? Maybe I'd tuned out Michael Jackson by that point.) I'll call it a two-way tie for last: sappy swill vs. aggressively shrill.

Much prefer "Dirty Diana" to "Black Cat" also.

TS: short days vs long nights

Ah, "Supersonic" is on here! I bought that single! I WAS A CROSSED-OVER-TO AUDIENCE MEMBER!

You could make a 'best song of the year/era' argument about a generous handful of these songs.

"Supersonic" was the number one song in Miami for two years.

I wager that we harbor similar pop music affections as regard this particular era, Alfred, as I was in Jacksonville from '88 until '90 and heard a lot of stuff at the time that seemed to never have made it to the Midwest once I moved back. Don't recall hearing much Tigra and Bunny in Indiana.

and, man, "Say It's Gonna Rain" got as much airplay as "Dreamin'" while the rest of the country got the Skynard-Frampton medley.

You know sometimes I'm just in the mood for a little cross-over action if you get my drift.

Like hot crossover on a billboard.

"Supersonic" was ubiquitous in Seattle well into the 90s

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

would not have predicted these results