This Week in Music History: October 18-24

The leaves are changing and so are our tunes. This week we’re getting bubbly with Colbie Caillat, playing the blame game with Shaggy, and supporting the Steelers with Wiz Khalifa.

October 20, 2007: Colbie Caillat Gets Bubbly


Photo by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images

It started in our toes, and no one was turning up their nose when Colbie Caillat burst onto the scene with her feel-good track “Bubbly.” The first track off of her debut album Coco, “Bubbly” hit the top of the Hot AC chart this week eight years ago, also hitting No. 1 and No 2., respectively, on the Mediabase AC and Top 40 charts. With nearly one million radio plays, the song is easily her biggest single to date. It also caught the attention of another young budding artist, Taylor Swift, which led to the two collaborating on Swift’s track “Breathe.” Although the vocal and lyrical partnership was nominated for a Grammy award, it lost the honor to another Caillat collab: “I’m Yours,” with Jason Mraz.

October 21, 2000: It Was(n’t) Shaggy


Photo by Ethan Miller / Getty Images

15 years ago on this day, Shaggy started on the track to pop-stardom with the debut of “It Wasn’t Me” on the Mediabase Top 40 chart. Although later surpassed by the follow-up single “Angel,” the song — a lyrical ode to the “blame game” — was the Jamaican-American reggae artist’s breakthrough hit off of his multi-platinum album Hot Shot, making Shaggy one of the top artists of 2001. These days, Shaggy is making a comeback with his latest single “I Need Your Love,” which hit the Top 40 chart earlier this year. You can’t take the classic tunes out of Shaggy, though; the artist embraced some of his most well-known tunes at the iHeartRadio Music Festival last month.

October 23, 2010: Wiz Khalifa Bleeds Black and Yellow


Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images

A decade after Shaggy was taking over the charts, Wiz Khalifa did the same. Yes, it was five years ago this week that Wiz debuted on the Mediabase Urban chart with “Black and Yellow.” The lead single off of the rapper’s third studio album, the track pays homage to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the city as a whole, where Wiz spent much of his formative years. It was, however, remixed and parodied to celebrate a variety of other sports teams around the world. “Black and Yellow” went on to reach the Top 10 on the Urban chart, No. 1 on Rhythmic, and the Top 20 of the Top 40, and was Khalifa’s biggest hit to date — that is, until earlier this year, when it was eclipsed with “See You Again” featuring Charlie Puth.