Now That's What I Call Music! 12

Now That's What I Call Music (Series)

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 2003)
• Original Release Date: March 25, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Now Hits Collections
• ASIN: B00008CQUJ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,781 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

• This is item 12 in The Now That's What I Call Music! Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The pop music business just goes ‘round in circles, with cohesive, track-deep albums once again taking a back seat to uber-marketed pop star singles. But Virgin's Now That's What I Call Music! series of hit compilations have given consumers a smart avenue for having it both ways. This 21-track collection revolves around a hip-hop dominated, groove-savvy collection of 2002 chart fodder that kicks off with the smartly segued duo of Jay-Z/Beyonce Knowles' "‘03 Bonnie & Clyde" and B2K/P/ Diddy's "Bump, Bump, Bump," and J-Lo's slinky "Jenny From the Block" before showcasing a strong slate of urban vets (LL Cool J, Snoop Dog, Nas) and newcomers like Nivea and Nelly. The latter's "Air Force Ones" is a playful standout. But Telepopmusik's dreamy electro-pop hit cum Mitsubishi car commercial icon "Breath" also heralds the collection's turn into more expansive territory that spans some nouveau R&B, the energetic contemporary country, and bright pop. The bracing modern rock of Chevelle, Saliva, and 3 Doors Down bring up the rear, echoing the genre's general fade from prominence. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "NOW" Will Always Have Some Disappointments & A Few Fillers, April 10, 2003

By	Katie McVogal (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Here are a few things I have noticed that YOU'LL FIND really interesting with the "NOW" collections (Please Read...):

1) The songs they choose as "hits" in NOW's CDs are NOT based on the Billboard Singles Charts but rather the ARC charts (aka: the actual Top 40 chart) because Billboard rates it's singles from 75% airplay and 25% sales of CD singles while ARC strictly follows 100% airplay. NOW will only consider a song on the CD if it has peaked within the Top 30.
Furthermore, the company that produces these "NOW" CDs have admitted to MTV (look for an article on mtv.com about NOW) that they put in some artists that people have never really heard about for promotional purposes. In other words, NOW is also used to introduce "not-so-hit making" new artists to people who are expecting SOLELY hit songs in hopes of interesting the buyers to those new artists.

Which leads to...

2) Every "NOW" CD has only 2/3 to 3/4 of their content to be ACTUAL HITS you hear on the radio. I'm sorry, but I have never really heard LL Cool J, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Dru Hill, Telepopmusik, Keith Urban, Chevelle, and Saliva on popular Top 40 radio stations. Songs I would have replaced with:

LL Cool J -> TLC "Damaged"/"Girl Talk"
Nas -> Missy Elliott "Work It"
Snoop Dogg -> Mariah Carey "Through The Rain"
Dru Hill -> 50 Cent "In Da Club"
Telepopmusik -> Lasgo "Something"
Keith Urban -> Shania Twain "I'm Gonna Getcha Good"
Chevelle -> Good Charrolette "The Anthem"
Saliva -> Avril Lavigne "Sk8er Boi"/"I'm With You"
...and possibly for so-so hits...
Kelly Rowland -> Ja Rule f/Ashanti "Mesmerize"
Vanessa Carlton -> Christina Aguilera "Beautiful"

I think these choices reflect the Late 2002-Early 2003 hits, the urban music trend, and a diversity in genres of music that could possibly fit in ONE CD.

3) It seems that NOW also EXCLUDES CERTAIN PATICULAR ARTISTS that I have noticed throughout the past 12 CD despite their HUGE hits! What about (throughout NOW's history)?

Ricky Martin
Christina Aguilera
TLC
Shania Twain
50 Cent
Ashanti
Avril Lavigne
Whitney Houston (in 1999)
Mariah Carey
Madonna
Alicia Keys
Craig David
and more...

I understand that so many songs can fit into one CD, and that 3 NOW CDs are released every year. BUT don't you expect that at least SOME OR AT LEAST ONE OF THEIR SONGS should be in NOW's history? (ESPECIALLY SINCE SOME OF THESE ARTISTS HAVE REACHED #1 WITH THEIR SONGS?!?!?)

Furthermore, if you guys are hoping or expecting Eminem on the NOW CDs...I highly doubt he will be on it, despite his HUGE SUCCESS, because of the harsh, "non-kid or teen" friendly lyrics. Take for example Eminem's "Cleaning Out My Closet"

4) Anyways (phew!)...as for considering to buy... Well, let me say this, if you are discovering that you don't like more than 3-4 songs on this NOW CD; DON'T BUY IT! Because it is not worth the ENTIRE price when you are skipping paticular songs of the CD, especially when song piracy....makes it tempting to make your "own" collection of hits..

I hope this review helps all of you out there! All my best!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The...magic..........is............................dying, May 9, 2003

By	Buddhaful (MI) - See all my reviews

The Now series is fighting a losing battle to CD burners. And instead of Now trying their hardest to make their CDs better and better, they have almost thrown in thw towel, spitting out another collection of overprocessed hits. Sales have been decreasing more and more and so has the quality of the songs. No thought to vibe was put into the CD at all.

Hip-hop and R&B dominate the CD, taking 14 out of the 20 spots. But most of them shouldn't be there. Keith Urban and even Vanessa Carlton stick out like sore thumbs around the other tracks. And of course, a couple rock song (at an all time low of 3) are tacked on to the bottom. By now, if you have the whole series, you have wasted about [alot] of your money which could be used to get a CD burner, so you can't pick and choose your mix. Pass on Now 12.

The Good:
Aaliyah - Miss You (the best track)
Kelly Rowland - Stole
Vanessa Carlton - Pretty Baby
Snoop Dogg feat. Pharell - Beautiful

The bad:
LL Cool J - Luv U Better
Nivea - Don't Mess With My Man
JC Chavez - Blowin' Me Up (With Her Love)

The UGLY:
Jennifer Lopez feat. Jadakiss - Jenny From Da Block (by far the worst track)
Saliva - Always
B2K - Bump, Bump, Bump
Telepopmusik - Breathe

The rest are pretty medicore.....

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Now That's What I DON'T Call Music!, November 11, 2003

By	"riotgurl511" (DC) - See all my reviews

Wow, this was a horrible mix of bad chart-toppers and other songs I've never heard of in my life that aren't much better...

1.'03 BONNIE & CLYDE, Jay-Z f. Beyonce ((B-))
~Pretty decent song, but gets boring if you listen to it too many times~

2. BUMP BUMP BUMP, B2K f. P.Diddy ((A))
~One of the very few good songs on this CD!! Kinda old, though~

3. JENNY FROM THE BLOCK, Jennifer Lopez ((C))
~Mediocre, way overplayed and quite repitive and annoying after awhile~

4. DON'T MESS WITH MY MAN, Nivea f. Brian and Brandon Casey ((A-))
~Good dance song and I like her voice~

5. LUV YOU BETTER, LL Cool J ((D+))
~Good basic beat, but proves to be boring and slow~

6. AIR FORCE ONES, Nelly ((B+))
~Good song, but I'e heard it so many times it's gotten annoying~

7. MADE YOU LOOK, Nas ((D))
~I've never listened to the entire song, it's too boring))

8. BEAUTIFUL, Snoop Dogg f. Pharrell and Uncle Charlie Wilson ((F+))
~This is one of the most annoying songs I've ever heard, I hate Pharrell's voice~

9. BLOWIN ME UP WITH HER LOVE, JC Chasez ((C-))
~I used to hate this song, but it kinda grows on you~

10. LIKE I LOVE YOU, Justin Timberlake ((B))
~Good dance song~

11. BREATHE, Telepopmusik ((F-))
~Does this even qualify as a song?~

12. I SHOULD BE, Dru Hill ((C-))
~Never listened to the whole song, it's boring~

13. STOLE, Kelly Rowland ((F))
~I hate this song, good message but doesnt sound good~

14. MISS YOU, Aaliyah ((B-))
~Beautiful voice, but kinda slow and boring if you don't appreciate Aaliyah~

15. ANGEL, Amanda Perez ((B+))
~Beautiful voice, beautiful song, just kinda boring~

16. PRETTY BABY, Vanessa Carlton ((C-))
~Just not a fan of her work~

17. SOMEBODY LIKE YOU, Keith Urban ((C))
~Not a country music fan, but it's alright~

18. THE RED, Chevelle ((C))
~It's ok, somehow dissapointing, more potential~

19. ALWAYS, Saliva ((A))
~Great song, best on CD~

20. WHEN I'M GONE, 3 Doors Down ((B+))

~Good~

And the average is probably around a C. It's ok, but there's not many good songs, they're alright. Save your money!