The year 2008 had a number of hits. Careers were established, and records were broken. Saturday Hustle takes you back…

I Kissed A Girl

Katy Perry

Released as the lead single from Perry’s album One Of The Boys, I Kissed A Girl was a huge commercial success. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for seven consecutive weeks, becoming the 1000th chart-topper of the rock era. The song has since become a major worldwide hit, topping the charts in more than 20 countries.

Take a Bow

Rihanna

Take A Bow jumped 57 spots from number fifty-eight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the sixth biggest leap in the chart’s history of songs climbing to number one. The track also opened with the third-highest digital sales tally in Billboard chart history amassing 267,000 units sold in one week after being available only on radio.

Forever

Chris Brown

Forever is actually an extended version of a commercial jingle for Doublemint gum, commissioned by an advertising company working for Wrigley’s brand. Brown first created the short version for the commercial, then extended and amended it into a full song during a recording session, which was paid for by the gum company.

Bleeding Love

Leona Lewis

Bleeding Love remains Lewis’s most successful single to date, reaching number one in 34 countries and becoming the best-selling single of 2008. The track has sold more than nine-million copies worldwide, putting it in the top five selling songs of the decade. It was also named the 17th-most-successful song in the US from 2000-2009 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.

Pocketful of Sunshine

Natasha Bedingfield

Despite mixed reviews from critics, Pocketful of Sunshine has done well. The song was first released in 2008 as the second single from the album of the same name. In addition to more than 3,000,000 downloads to date, the song has been a hit with TV series, movies and video games alike. The Sims 2: FreeTime, The Hills, The Ugly Truth, Easy A and Lost are just some of the programmes that have featured the song.

Lollipop

Lil Wayne featuring Static Major

The track is Lil Wayne’s & Static Major’s most successful to date, spending five non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Static Major died two weeks before the release of the song, making the song the eighth to hit number one after the death of the credited artiste. The single was certified fives times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping five million units in the United States.