I imagine whatever song you’re listening to at this very moment is about one of two things: Sex or love. (Unless, of course, you have “Bitch Better Have My Money” on repeat, then go you!) But while there are, obviously, songs about other things, according to a new study love and sex get the highest mentions in songs that have made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 charts from 1960 to 2014. Why? Because love and sex are the best... oh, and pizza, too, but you don’t hear too many songs about pizza.
The study was conducted by Superdrug Online Doctor and what it found was that during all those years, the word "love" is mentioned over 10,000 times and the word "sex" is mentioned a bit over 1,500 times. But, while those figures may seem like a lot, you need to figure that they’re just covering the songs that made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 charts. If we think about the thousands and thousands of songs that never did and also mention love and/or sex, I think we can deduce that those words appear in songs maybe a million times? All those amazing bands on independent labels the world over that will never make it onto such a mainstream list are obviously singing about love and sex, too.
According to the research, certain artists dominate when it comes to these topics. Although the word "sex" being used in song titles or lyrics wasn’t all that common until the late 1980s, the artist who have used, or rather sung, the word most are the Black Eyed Peas, Bruno Mars, and one of my favorites from the 1990s, TLC. In fact, as the study showed, my TLC ladies had the most songs in which the word "sex" appeared in the 1990s. It wasn’t until the 2000s that the Black Eyed Peas took over. In the 1960s and ‘70s, before actually using the word "sex" in songs was so common, Tom Jones and James Brown killed it in that area, because obviously. When it comes to those who mention the word "love" the most, that honor goes to the Glee cast, Aretha Franklin, and Luther Vandross. But back to sex…
Based on this study, here are 10 songs from the top 10 musicians who sang the word "sex" the most from 1960 to 2015.
1. The Black Eyed Peas
With the lines, "They say I'm really sexy, the boys they wanna sex me," I think "My Humps" belongs on this list for sure.
2. Bruno Mars
Truth be told, my knowledge of Bruno Mars is limited, but based on "All I Need," all he needs is your "sex to wash it down."
3. TLC
As much as I wanted to list "No Scrubs" here, in keeping with trying to have the actual word "sex" in the lyrics, I had to go with "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg," thanks to the lines, "Unmistaken urge to be sexin' with society, how can you be happy alone?"
4. R. Kelly
Well, the title sums up everything for this one: "The Greatest Sex."
5. Next
"Too Close" by Next appears to be both an ode to his dick "poke coming through" and lap dances. It also contains the line, "Makes me want you so bad sexually," so it's on the list. I was too naive to really understand this song when it came out, but it's all making so much more sense now!
6. Salt-N-Pepa
"Let's Talk About Sex," became the safe sex anthem of the 1990s. Thank you, ladies.
7. The Notorious B.I.G.
Leave it to Biggie, with the assistance of R.Kelly, to get directly to the point with, "F*ck You Tonight." To be honest, the lyrics are really funny, and includes the word "sex" along with several fucks, of course.
8. Will Smith
Tragically for us, I couldn't find a video of the Will Smith songs with the word "sex" in them, so we're stuck with this oldie, but goodie, "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," which is clearly about sexin' it up anyway.
9. Tom Jones
I think "Sex Bomb," fits the bill here. Besides, who doesn't want to be considered a sex bomb?
10. Silk
Similarly to the Will Smith issue, finding a video for a song with the word "sex" in it from Silk was a struggle. Instead, I present you "Freak Me," a song that is definitely about sex, but without being too obvious.
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