The lowdown: Though already a successful group, this is the song that launched Boyz II Men into the stratosphere. Originally recorded for the Eddie Murphy comedy Boomerang, and later included on a re-release of Cooleyhighharmony, it topped the Hot 100 for 13 weeks, breaking a 36-year-old record held by Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel." (BIIM's record lasted all of 17 weeks, promptly snatched by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You.") The heartbroken pining for a relationship you don't want to end is enduringly relatable. It won the group two Grammys and has since become a graduation staple.
The vote: Early on, "End of the Road" looked like a contender for the win. But its fortunes reversed after Carlton's 1; in the second half of voting, it earned only two scores above a 6.
Best bit: Since it would be unfair to pick the passionate hand choreo from the music video, I'll go with the sheer audacity of taking 30 seconds in the middle of a song to just talk to the listener.
In what world is "Gone" or "Pop" or "I Drive Myself Crazy" a BETTER song than this? Sometimes you have to wonder how much being born in a developing country with underlying, ingrained racism informs ATRLers' music taste and their perception of black music.
In what world is "Gone" or "Pop" or "I Drive Myself Crazy" a BETTER song than this? Sometimes you have to wonder how much being born in a developing country with underlying, ingrained racism informs ATRLers' music taste and their perception of black music.
The lowdown: New Kids on the Block's biggest hit is actually a peppier, poppier cover of a song released just a few years earlier by another Maurice Starr group called the Superiors. (No, it was not an early incarnation of the Backstreet Boys.) Serving as the lead single from New Kids' fourth album of the same name, it spent three weeks at #1 on the Hot 100—and reached #48 on the Hot Black Singles chart. The song has an infectious disco spirit that peaks with an utterly rundown of NKOTB's plan for getting that girl ("Step two!/There's so much we can do").
The vote: With two-thirds of its scores an 8 or above, "Step by Step" nearly finished in the top twenty. In fact, it fell less than one point short.
Best bit: The a cappella, falsetto "Step by step/Ooh, baby/Gonna get to you, girl" that opens the song. Pure magic.
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Only eastcoast swag is left, I think. 
