# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 2003 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2014, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398 "2014-11-23T08:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/21 "2014-11-23T21:53:05Z")
_Hey Ya_ is a better song but _In Da Club_ was HUGE. Good year for music. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/22 "2014-11-23T22:18:47Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > _Hey Ya_ is a better song but _In Da Club_ was HUGE. > > Good year for music. Oh, good. I was starting to feel alone for these last couple years. These last couple years have been good. ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/23 "2014-11-24T00:18:02Z")
Part of what makes Hey Ya great is that it is unlike all the other pop/rock songs. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/24 "2014-11-24T01:42:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Out of curiosity, I checked out music-snob/hipster-website-everybody-loves-to-hate Pitchfork’s picks for top ten singles of 2003. A few of the numbers ones listed here made it, showing a pretty good showing for mainstream #1s: > > **#1 was, as here, Outkast’s “Hey Ya”** > **#2 “Crazy in Love” - Beyonce** > #3 “Cry Me a River” - Justin Timberlake > #4 “House of Jealous Lovers” - The Rapture > #5 “Move Your Feet” - Junior Senior > #6 “Me and Giuliani Down by the School Yard (A True Story)” - !!! > #7 “I Luv U” - Dizzee Rascal > #8 “Milkshake” - Kelis > **#9 “In Da Club” - 50 Cent** > #10 “The Seed 2.0” - The Roots > > Which reminds me, I’m surprised “Milkshake” didn’t make #1. Loved that song. Still would’ve voted for Outkast, though. Milkshake or Justin Timberlake might’ve tempted me away from Outkast, but probably not. The easiest pick since Eminem in 2002. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/25 "2014-11-24T15:43:40Z")
“Hey Ya” was 2003’s version of “Happy.” Easy victory. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/26 "2014-11-24T17:47:03Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I knew it would happen one of these times. Never heard of any of them. Not only have I never heard _of_ them, I also don’t remember ever hearing any of them before. So abstain, I guess. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/27 "2014-11-24T18:07:13Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I knew it would happen one of these times. Never heard of any of them. This is what I thought too, but after reading some other repies, I checked and I do know _Hey Ya!_. I kind of like it, and find it clever, so I’ll vote for it. When the 2013 poll came out, I didn’t think I’d ever heard any of those either, but I dutifully tracked down and listened to the options, and found one or two I knew. I’m not checking all the songs any more, though. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/28 "2014-11-24T18:13:03Z")
Yeah, easiest choice of all these. We’re now at the point where there is truly a complete divorce between different types of music so the Billboard #1 hits reflect a fraction of the music industry - but “Hey Ya!” was a work of genius. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/29 "2014-11-24T18:57:53Z")
It’s hardly worth it for me to jump on the bandwagon, but this is “Hey Ya” in a runaway. That song ran the score up so much that Dominic Raiola just tried to break its knees. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/30 "2014-11-24T20:55:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Yeah, easiest choice of all these. We’re now at the point where there is truly a complete divorce between different types of music so the Billboard #1 hits reflect a fraction of the music industry - but “Hey Ya!” was a work of genius. I’ve never felt so white in my life. I’ve watched the video three times. I enjoy watching the gorgeous women who are being paid to swoon over the band, but damned if I can find anything at all to like about the music or lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/31 "2014-11-25T04:01:05Z")
Awright awright awright awright awright – Shake, shake, shake it like a Polaroid picture… it’s a fun song and sometimes that’s the best you can ask for. I smile when I hear it. As mentioned earlier Beyoncé _herself_ was a phenom but her numbers in this list suffer for being good but not particularly different. ---
**Author:** ![piepiepie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@piepiepie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/piepiepie)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/32 "2014-11-25T05:00:21Z")
Hey Ya is by far my least favorite Outkast song. By far. I went with B2K for fond memories of (I think) middle school. They could get it. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/33 "2014-11-25T20:05:28Z")
Congrats to Outkast’s Andre Benjamin who just scored a Best Actor nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards for his marvelous portrayal of Jimi Hendrix earlier this year. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398/34 "2014-11-26T03:18:44Z")
> [@piepiepie](#): > > Hey Ya is by far my least favorite Outkast song. By far. I went with B2K for fond memories of (I think) middle school. They could get it. Outkast is one of the few hip hop acts I genuinely quite like. I think “B.O.B” is brilliant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-2003/705398.md?page=1)