Mariah Carey, “Touch My Body” (Island). Out of the ten new R&B entries from the February 23 and March 1 editions of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Mariah Carey’s new single, which debuted on the 23rd, is easily the most event-like, though label-mate Janet debuted 16 spots higher with the all-around superior “Luv.” (Granted, this left “Luv” in the dust on the following week’s chart.) Produced and written with “Tricky” Stewart and the-Dream (the duo has three songs in the Top Ten right now), “Touch My Body” is nonchalantly cute and flirtatious, its backdrop very nearly bordering on mild and plodding. With a busier or more energetic beat, however, the effect of Carey’s deceptively devilish delivery on lines like “‘Cause if you run your mouth and brag about this secret rendezvous, I will hunt you down” would probably be lost.

Usher f/ Young Jeezy, “Love in This Club” (LaFace). If beats lived and breathed and ran out of energy from overuse, a rather worn-down “What You Know” (Toomp/T.I.) would sound quite a bit like the Polow-produced “Love in This Club.” Initially, the whole thing sounds sluggish, like Polow and Usher can’t really be bothered to put much effort into it, but after a while, the track’s hypnotism takes effect and all becomes well in Usherland. Maybe it’s the fluttering synths. It’s definitely not Jeezy, whose stilted, out-of-character loverman rhymes (”I’ll bag ya like some groceries”) are nothing if not impedimentary.

Ashanti, “The Way That I Love You” (The Inc./Universal Motown). While “Only U” was one of the standout R&B singles of late ‘04/early ‘05, it was the only hit off Concrete Rose, so it seems like Ashanti’s career might be on life support. Her upcoming album, The Declaration, is due later in the year and features no production input from Irv Gotti, but she remains with The Inc. This track, produced by longtime Death Row associate L.T. Hutton, goes more the route of “Rain on Me” than “Only U,” full of effective melodramatic flourishes to embolden Ashanti’s scorned lover tale. The video is far more theatrical, replete with knife-wielding shots and a blood-soaked fantasy-revenge scene. In the apparent in-reality scene, Ashanti flips the two-timer his Sidekick — the object containing the incriminating evidence — and shoves off.

Here is the full roster of new R&B entries on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for February 23 and March 1, listed in order of position, along with ratings on a 0-to-10 scale and links to samples:

February 23, 2008
51. Usher f/ Young Jeezy, Love in This Club (7) MySpace
62. Janet, Luv (8)
78. Mariah Carey, Touch My Body (7) MySpace
83. Mary J. Blige, Hurt Again (7)
87. The-Dream, I Luv Your Girl (8)
92. Rihanna, Don’t Stop the Music (7)
95. Fergie, Clumsy (3)

March 1, 2008
84. Alicia Keys, Teenage Love Affair (7)
93. Ashanti, The Way That I Love You (7) MySpace
98. Razah, Rain (4) MySpace

Previously: January 19 (Ryan Leslie, Usher), January 26 and February 2 (Dear Jayne, Raheem DeVaughn, Cherish), February 9 and 16 (Johnta Austin, Charlie Wilson).