(In 2018, the Billboard staff released a list project of its choices for the Greatest Pop Star of every year, going back to 1981 — along with a handful of sidebar columns and lists on other important pop star themes from the period. Find one such sidebar below about how a new wave of dancehall stars provided one of the most important cultural crossover moments of 2003, and find our Greatest Pop Star picks for every year up to present day here.)
After dancehall emerged as reggae’s rowdier, raunchier kin in the late ‘70s, the genre experienced intermittent cycles of popularity within the U.S. mainstream. The first occurred in the early ‘90s, as Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man and Buju Banton escaped the confines of local genre spaces and launched into the American market. Once the new millennium drew closer, the next wave was ready to crash the top 40. While a pair of chart-topping hits from ‘90s Jamaican hitmaker Shaggy — 2000’s “It Wasn’t Me” and the next year’s “Angel” — leaned more pop, they helped open the gates for dancehall to once again cross over.
The year 2003 introduced a new crew of dancehall artists whose music was tailored for American radio — yet they didn’t water down their homegrown flair to do so. Elephant Man had clubs from Toronto to New York City signaling di plane with “Pon de River, Pon de Bank.” Wayne Wonder found the perfect crossover formula with the swoon-worthy “No Letting Go,” which peaked just outside the Hot 100’s top 10. Lumidee’s debut single “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh),” founded on the same Diwali riddim as Wonder’s hit, rode the summery production to No. 3 on the Hot 100.
But the artist who was clearly leading the second wave was Sean Paul. After signing to Atlantic Records, the dancehall star released his sophomore album Dutty Rock in November 2002. It was a commercial breakthrough, shooting up the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and achieving RIAA double-platinum status. The record yielded four top 20 hit singles, with “Get Busy” (peaking at No. 1 for three weeks) and “Like Glue” (No. 13) scaling the Hot 100 in 2003. Paul’s rising prominence led to collaborations outside of dancehall that same year — Beyoncé’s chart-topping “Baby Boy,” Busta Rhymes’ “Make It Clap” remix and Blu Cantrell’s “Breathe” — further boosting his pop presence.
The success of dancehall’s second wave helped pave the way for reggaetón’s mainstream crossover, which was just bubbling up at the time. With the assistance of dancehall’s 2003 Liquid riddim, Puerto Rican artist Ivy Queen’s “Quiero Bailar” achieved mainstream access. It continued throughout the following year: Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina,” N.O.R.E.’s “Oye Mi Canto” (alongside Yankee and “Move Ya Body” dancehall hitmakers Nina Sky) and Pitbull’s “Culo” (using the Coolie Dance riddim) all thrived on U.S. pop radio. By the next decade, reggaetón’s continued impact would open the doors for Latin trap and pop stars like Bad Bunny and J Balvin to become mainstream U.S. fixtures in their own right.
The pop achievements of dancehall helped expand the reach of artists worldwide who hadn’t previously landed on top 40 in the U.S., while the genre’s sonic influences would remain a throughline in mainstream pop hits, like 2010s smashes such as Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” Rihanna’s “Work,” Drake’s “Controlla” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” And the music always found a way to maintain its position: Sean Paul even hopped on Enrique Iglesias’ Spanglish version of “Bailando,” the first major Latin pop crossover smash of the ‘10s, and teamed with J Balvin for “Contra La Pared” in 2017. If dancehall continues to serve as the base for of-the-moment genre trends — as seen with reggaetón’s late-’10s reggae revival — its next mainstream cycle won’t be too far away.
(Read on to our Greatest Pop Star of 2004 here, or head back to the full list here.)
