Encore: The Stories Behind The Songs You Love

There aren’t too many global superstars out there who got their start impersonating Elvis at the age of 2, but that’s exactly how Bruno Mars began his career in music. Yes, you heard me right, Bruno Mars began entertaining while he was still in diapers - and I’m gonna assume it all happened pre-potty training! That is apparently what it takes to become one of the biggest musicians in the world: gyrating your hips and dancing to the jailhouse rock in your nappy.

But all of that hard work so early on in his life led to stardom for Bruno Mars, who has built an impressive career as a singer, songwriter, producer, all-around entertainer and 15-time Grammy winner. 

This is the story of Bruno Mars' Iconic hit: Locked Out of Heaven, with newly unearthed audio from Bruno Mars!

It’s probably safe to say that by late 2002, Eminem was the most popular rapper in the world. 

With three full-length solo albums under his belt, Slim Shady had come quite a long way in the four years since taking the world by storm with The groundbreaking Slim Shady LP in 1999 - introducing the world to his devil-may-care madcap rhymes that ranged from insightful, to absurd, to downright offensive; sometimes all at once.

There was no denying Marshall Mathers’ talent on the mic - combining the sounds of the underground with a hurricane flow, lyrical wizardry, and pop culture irreverence - Eminem’s popularity was bolstered by the frustrated angst of the emerging nu metal, horror-core and even pop punk sounds of the era. 

Realistically, he didn’t even *sound* like anything from those genres, but his aura was so strong that he became a sort of crossover artist without even needing to actually cross over. It was just *cool* to like Eminem.

With the backing of music industry heavy hitters like Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, Eminem also had serious critical credibility - He’d won Rap Grammys for the aforementioned Slim Shady LP and it’s lead single ‘My Name Is’ in 2000; He followed it up with three more the following year for the likes of The Real Slim Shady, Forgot About Dre, and his sophomore album The Marshall Mathers LP - and would eventually go on to win two MORE Grammys in 2003 for his ‘02 album The Eminem Show and its lead single ‘Without Me’.

And, while we’re on the topic of the successes of Slim Shady - the records show that by late 2002 Eminem’s 3 Solo LPs had gone no less than 18x Platinum in America alone.

There is just one thing Em hadn’t done yet - and quite honestly I can barely believe it myself - Eminem had never had a US Billboard hot 100 Number 1 Hit.

That all changed when Eminem recorded the lead single for his feature film debut - changing how we all thought about Eminem forever.

This is the story of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' with newly unearthed audio from Marshall Mathers himself!

When your name means “The highest, most exalted one, the best” you know you’re destined for great things. And Aaliyah definitely achieved great things in her life. An icon of ‘90s R&B, Aaliyah immediately became one of the genre's biggest artists at the young age of 14, eventually redefining the role of what an artist in that genre could be, breaking through into the hip-hop and pop charts.

Since her untimely death in 2001, the proclaimed “Princess of R&B” has left behind a legacy in which, to this day, she continues to be celebrated for her talent as both a recording artist and a motion picture star, while being credited for introducing a sound that is widely considered the blueprint for R&B today.

This is the true story of Aaliyah's 'Try Again' with newly unearthed audio from Aaliyah herself!

In many ways, the mid-to-late 1990s were the golden age of so-called ‘bubblegum pop’. 

As technology began to evolve, so did the world’s pop stars, with what seemed like an endless supply of perfectly groomed, perfectly styled, young, boy and girl-next-door type pop stars that smoothed off all of the edges found in contemporary Rock, Hip Hop, and R&B, leaving fans with a slew of safe pop idols to worship. There would always be innuendo in pop music - with a sparkle in the eye of a singer belting out suggestive lyrics; or a bit more skin being shown in a music video than you’d normally see at your local community center - but there was a bubble that was not to be popped when promoting pop music, and most stars played it safe.

Christina Aguilera - one of the famed students of the Mickey Mouse club of ‘93 - which, of course also introduced the world to Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez of NSYNC, as well as Canadian Hero Ryan Gosling; debuted her self titled album in August 1999 at Number One on the Billboard 200 with the smash hit ‘Genie in a Bottle’ also topping the Charts mere months after contemporary Britney Spears did the same with ‘Baby One More Time’.

Christina wasn’t shy about her uneasiness around Genie - the song was not her first choice for a debut single, but with the success that followed, she felt like she had to follow the label's direction. Aguilera’s debut would go a nearly unfathomable 8x platinum before the end of the year 2000. 

Now clearly sitting at the head of the pop-star table, and with the sounds of pop music shapeshifting around her. Christina Aguilera was ready to break free from the bubblegum-pop package she had originally been presented in.

By the end of the year 2000, Christina fired her manager Steve Kurtz, hired supermanager Irving Azoff, and was ready to give her image a major shakeup, and show people who she *really* was. It was time to enter the era… of Xtina.

This is the story of Christina Aguilera's 'Dirrty' with newly uncovered audio from Christina Aguilera herself!

Also includes audio from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doXqDkzFEkQ 

Disclaimer: This Episode contains discussions of physical and sexual abuse. To skip past these discussions skip to (4:54)

There is no shortage of innovators in Hip-Hop, though for the most part the genre has been a world dominated by male artists. But from her mind-bending, award-winning music videos to her experimental approach to producing, Missy Elliott has changed the game. She has been one of the most forward-thinking minds in hip-hop since she first made her debut in 1997 - regardless of gender.

In her early days as an artist, Missy would form a R&B group called Fayze with friends La'Shawn Shellman, Chonita Coleman, and Radiah Scott. Through her friend Melvin Barcliff, who rapped under the name Magoo, she met Timothy Mosley, a local DJ producer operating as Timmy Tim. He would produce some demos for Fayze, including a single called “First Move.” 

Fayze would impress DeVante Swing, a producer, songwriter and singer for the rising R&B group Jodeci, after singing a cappella for him following a concert. Swing invited the group to record in New York City, along with their producer Tim, who Swing renamed “Timbaland” after the popular Timberland construction boots that were taking over hip-hop fashion.

Missy got her first gig as a songwriter, producer and rapper on a song called “That's What Little Girls Are Made Of,” the debut single by Raven-Symoné, the eight-year-old star of The Cosby Show. But Missy quickly learned the hard way that the music biz wasn’t ready to welcome her with arms wide open. Missy was blindsided though when they cast a smaller, lighter-skinned actress to lip-sync to her lines in the song’s music video. At that point, she realized that she would have to work even harder to be taken seriously as an artist.

Eventually Missy and Timbaland would become their own as a songwriting/production team. They co-wrote songs for artists like 702, Busta Rhymes and the debut album by Ginuwine, which Timbaland produced in full. But it was their work on One In A Million, the second album by teenage R&B sensation Aaliyah, that really opened the door for Missy as an artist. 

Timbaland’s flickering, clap/snap sounds on One In A Million set Aaliyah apart from the rest of R&B, introducing a fresh and futuristic style that no one had ever heard before. And the duo would hit it big when the album’s lead single "If Your Girl Only Knew" topped Billboard’s US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while peaking at #11 on the Hot 100. One in A Million would end up going triple platinum in the US, selling more than eight million copies worldwide, but the impact was immediate. Overnight, labels were scouring to offer Missy a record deal, but she was quick to see right through them.

Through her own label, distributed by Elektra records - Missy Elliot would release the albums Supa Dupa Fly and Miss E... So Addictive - which gave her mainstream exposure as an artist - with her and Timbaland pushing their production into new territory.

By 2001, Missy would release the seminal Miss E... So Addictive which not only included lead single "Get Ur Freak On", but her most popular song of all time...

This is the story of Missy Elliot's "Work It" with newly unearthed audio from Missy Elliott herself!

Scott and James from Finger Eleven sit down with Encore's Myles Galloway for an exclusive retrospective on the band's biggest international hit 'Paralyzer'!

 

Rainbow Butt Monkeys.

No, you didn’t catch me doing my vocal warmups, and our editor forgot to cut this part out - and no, I haven’t been partaking in some pre-podcast psychedelics… Rainbow Butt Monkeys happens to be the name of one of Canada’s preeminent rock bands of the 2000s.

OK I’m bending the truth JUST A BIT  - it’s only the FORMER name of one of Canada’s preeminent rock bands of the 2000s. 

You may be more familiar with them by their multiplatinum name; Finger Eleven. 

Yes, the hard rocking five-piece from Burlington Ontario spent a resounding six years under the Rainbow Butt Monkeys moniker in the 90s, before giving themselves an edgier rebrand as Finger Eleven and riding the waves of early 2000s nu-metal, post-grunge and alt-rock.

A stalwart on radio stations from coast-to-coast in this country to this very day, Finger Eleven were certainly no strangers to success in the late 2000s

But as the band told me earlier this month, something strange happened on one fateful day in 2006 that would give the band a level of success they’d perhaps never expected.

This is the story of  Finger Eleven’s Paralyzer - Featuring an exclusive interview with Finger Eleven's Scott Anderson and James Black, taking you even deeper behind the story of the song!

Listen to Myles' Full Chat with Finger Eleven

Choosing a song that truly defines the Foo Fighters in the 2000s is somewhat of a Herculean task: Dave Grohl and his Merry Band of Rock Stars have been putting out such consistently solid Rock N Roll since the mid 90s, one might be forgiven for having a hard time choosing just one.

After all, in the 2000s alone there’s the last hurrah of the 90s with the anthemic and sentimental ‘Learn to Fly’. 

In 2002/2003 there a dose of heavy and the heartfelt with the back to back smash hits ‘All My Life’ and ‘Times Like These’, 

And in the closing years of the aughts we were blessed with the frantic sounds of ‘07’s The Pretender and the smooth ride of 2009’s ‘Wheels’

I’ll forgive you if you want to take a brief pause to take a walk down memory lane and put on some Foo Fighters Artist Radio right now.

But perhaps the track that really gets the blood pumping and the devil horns raised to the sky is 2005’s aptly named ‘Best of You’ 

This is the story of Foo Fighters' Best of You with newly unearthed audio from the band!

Also contains audio from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCmi_xLoH7Q

 

How many pop songs can you name that are universally adored? There aren’t many, are there? 

I think I can name one though: “Dancing On My Own” by Robyn. In case you’re unfamiliar with it, the 2010 banger was widely acclaimed by critics but not so much by the public. In fact, the only country it reached #1 in was Sweden - Robyn’s homeland. But man, oh man, if you can name a song from this millennium that has encapsulated pop music better than “Dancing On My Own,” well, I wouldn’t believe you. It is as perfect as pop songs get. And yet, the story behind it is just as good as the song.

It’s a multi-faceted narrative that would make a great movie one day. A real underdog, comeback story about a young girl who becomes world famous as a teenager, then chooses to give up everything when she realizes she’s viewed as a commodity, only to do it all over again on her own terms and become an archetype for so many artists out there who value making art and having full control over their careers. 

This is the story of Robyn's Dancing on My Own with newly unearthed audio from Robyn hereself!

Also Features Clips from:

Chappelle's Show S2 E01: Racial Draft

Red Bull Music Academy

 Lilla Sportspegeln

Welcome to Season FOUR of Encore!

By 2007, Avril Lavigne was Canada’s Undisputed Pop-Punk Queen. The 22- Year old Avril was two wildly successful albums deep into a career that seemingly knew no bounds.

Her Debut, the influential ‘Let Go’ had introduced her to the world at the young age of 17 - and would go a resounding SIX times platinum in America in less than a year. 

Songs like ‘Complicated’ and ‘Sk8er Boi’ blew up charts worldwide, winning her Juno Awards, MMVAs and MTV VMAS, and granting her critical acclaim with a handful of prestigious GRAMMY Nominations to boot. 

Her followup record - 2004’s Under My Skin was a darker, more moody affair that top the Canadian and US Billboard Album charts, also go multi platinum and give us such hits as ‘My Happy Ending’ and ‘Nobody’s Home’. 

After Touring the world with a gruelling 140 dates  throughout 2004 and 2005 Avril had entered her 20s and was ready to make some big changes to her music. 

Clearly, Lavigne had done some great things… but now she was ready to make: The Best Damn Thing. 

This is the story of Avril Lavigne's 'Girlfriend' - with newly unearthed audio from Avril Lavigne!