"Hot Hot Hot!!!" by The Cure

Song#:  3437

Date:  03/05/1988

Debut:  89

Peak:  65

Weeks:  7

Genre:  Alternative Rock

Pop Bits:  The British band finally cracked the US Pop Top 40 with "Just Like Heaven," a single from their seventh LP Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. It just barely made it peaking at #40. The song helped the album become their best effort in the US to-date reaching #35. It would eventually be a platinum seller. A follow-up single was needed and this track was selected. It was remixed for the release and on the Pop chart it didn't do all that well falling off after a few weeks. However, the remix was greeted well in clubs and it nearly cracked the Dance Top 10 at #11.

ReduxReview:  The Cure certainly liked to say things three times for this album. Not only was there Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, but "Hot Hot Hot!!!" and also the opening line of "Just Like Heaven," "show me, show me, show me!" This song even had "hey, hey, hey" in it. Three must have been a lucky number for them and it certainly worked out that way with the band scoring their first Top 40 single/album entries. While Robert Smith and The Cure were getting closer to striking that balance between alt rock and something more mainstream, such as "Just Like Heaven," the double-LP wasn't full of single candidates. This track with its funkier beat was probably the best option, but it wasn't necessarily a catchy, memorable single. I found it a bit kooky with Smith's manic rap/sung delivery nearly sounding like Falco. Back in the day if I had heard this song on the radio it might have gotten my attention, but not for the right reasons. I'm sure I would have thought, "what the hell is this?" I don't think that now, but I also don't think this was a good single choice.

ReduxRating:  4/10

Trivia:  While there have been different songs with the same title to reach the Pop chart, such as Van Halen's "Jump" (#1, 1984) and Kris Kross' "Jump" (#1, 1992), it was rare that the two songs were on the chart at the same time. However, that happened with The Cure's "Hot Hot Hot!!!" The week that it debuted on the Pop chart, Buster Poindexter's "Hot Hot Hot" was in its final week on the Pop chart. It had previously peaked at #45. Usually, labels will avoid releasing a single that has the same title as one that had recently been on the chart. Case in point is another "Jump" song. The Pointer Sisters recorded a song called "Jump" for their album Break Out. The label wanted the song out as a single, but to avoid any confusion with the VH record, which had just hit #1, the label added a subtitle and released "Jump (For My Love)." Apparently, The Cure's label had no concerns releasing "Hot Hot Hot!!!" right on the heels of the Buster Poindexter's single. Perhaps they thought the three exclamations made enough of a difference or maybe they thought the audiences for each song would be different. Most likely no one thought The Cure was covering the Poindexter song, but on first glance at titles it might have been confusing for some folks, especially radio programmers and DJs.

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