Moves Like Jagger - 2011 Music Moment

Well, this is the last Sunday Jukebox of the month, which means that it will be the last song from 2011 that I will be featuring in this space.

Well, at least for a while, anyway.

But, I've decided that for this edition of the Sunday Jukebox, I would choose a song that was an enormous hit during the summer of 2011.  And, I'm sure that it's a song that will continue to play throughout the summer of 2016.

But before I tell you all about what this song is, why don't I share some statistics about this song with all of you?  Because even though I give away the song title in the heading of this post, it's nice to know just how successful this song was.

For instance, did you know that this single was one of the most downloaded songs ever?  It ranks within the Top 6 songs purchased by digital media.  The total number of downloads?  Over fifteen MILLION!  Phenomenal!

This song also happens to be the second #1 hit single for the California based band Maroon 5 - their first since they released "Makes Me Wonder" in the spring of 2007.  The band partnered with a female singer for this track, which became her fifth #1 single.  And in regards to this female singer, she became the fourth female singer to score a #1 hit single in three different decades.  Only Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Britney Spears can boast that achievement.

I suppose that working together came naturally between Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera.  After all, she and Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine have shared judging duties on "The Voice" off and on - well, when Gwen Stefani or Shakira aren't available, that is.

And, what do you get when you combine two Voice judges and a song inspired by the dance moves of one Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones?

Well...you get this hit!

ARTIST:  Maroon 5 f. Christina Aguilera
SONG:  Moves Like Jagger

ALBUM:  Hands All Over

DATE RELEASED:  June 21, 2011
PEAK POSITION ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS:  #1 for 4 weeks

Yeah, who knew that a song that is basically about a young man trying to impress a girl by doing the same dance moves that Mick Jagger would perform on stage (either sober or intoxicated) would be the most listened song in North America for the better part of a month?

It wasn't just the United States, Canada, and Mexico where the song topped the charts.  If you took all the countries in the world, and did a survey on where the song hit #1, you would have a list of twenty-seven different nations!  I guess the whole world was movin' like Jagger back in 2011!

For the record, I do have to admit that I like this song.  Though, when it comes to Maroon 5 singles, I have a tendency to like some of their slower jams - think "She Will Be Loved" or "If I Never See Your Face Again" with Rihanna.  Still, it's a solid hit, and one that was played on the radio for the better part of a whole year!

The song itself is quite a different style for the band, as most of their previous material was a blend of rock music - both hard and soft.  The song "Moves Like Jagger" was more of a dance-pop type single, and at first Adam Levine and the rest of Maroon 5 weren't sure how it would resonate with listeners.  Luckily, everyone gave it a chance and it became one of 2011's biggest hits.

Having Christina Aguilera as a guest vocalist in this single certainly made it pop even more.  There's no argument that Christina Aguilera has been one of the most talented female singers to come out of the late 1990s, and even though it's been a while since she's had any new singles chart on the Billboard Hot 100, the natural talent she has will definitely be a part of who she is.  And that singing voice in my opinion helped make the song chart as high as it did.  Watching the music video for this song, you can tell that there was a lot of chemistry between Levine and Aguilera.

I think it worked better than it would have had Adam Levine invited Blake Shelton to sing on "Moves Like Jagger".  That would actually be a very scary thought.

And what did Mick Jagger think of the song?  Well, he actually liked it a lot!  He remarked that the concept of the song was "very flattering" and he even made fun of the song in one of David Letterman's Top 10 Lists where he commented that it was frustrating that he wasn't getting any music royalties from having his name mentioned in the song.

At any rate...if Mick Jagger himself is praising the song, you know it had to be good!