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1999 Music Hits
With the decade of the 90s coming to an end, 1999 became the year that put the rubber to the road as to who dominated the decade.
There was lots of news as the new millennium started and 1999 was tense, heroic, scary, and amazing.
News of the year saw such events as Elton John showing up in an episode of The Simpsons. Jesse Ventura then the Governor of Minnesota declared February 15, “Rolling Stones Day”. Eminem hit the scene with his album “The Slim Shady”. Woodstock 99 takes place. Carlos Santana, the master musician has his song “Smooth” become the first #1 single of the year 2000.
When the dust cleared it was apparent what the next decade was going to see. The #1 hit of the year was from former Mousketeer Britney Spears with the tune “Baby One More Time”. Spears would then dominate the rest of the decade in more than just music. The 1999 release however cemented her popularity which would be a wild ride to say the least. Coming in at #2 is Lou Bega with his “Mambo No. 4. The #3 spot went to Eiffel 65 with “Blue”. Then came R&B girls group TLC with “No Scrubs”. Finishing out the round was the Backstreet Boys with their hit single “I Want It That Way”.
Other top songs of the year were, “Almost Doesn't Count” by Brandy, “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan, “Back At One” from Brian McKnight, “Desert Rose” from Sting, “Down So Long” by M2M, “Larger Than Life” from the Backstreet Boys, “ “I Need To Know” by Marc Anthony, “Kiss of Life” by Sade, Christina Aguilera's debut song “Genie In A Bottle”, “My Name Is” by Eminem, “Nothing Really Matters” by Madonna, “Strong Enough” from Cher, “Then The Morning Comes” by Smash Mouth, “You're Still The One” from Shania Twain and more.
The big winners at the Grammys that year were James Horner and Walter Afanasieff and Simon Franglen, David Gleeson, Humberto Gatica and of course Celine Dion for her song, “My Heart Will Go On” from the “Titanic” soundtrack. Song of the Year went to James Horner, Celine Dion, and Will Jennings for “My Heart Will Go On”. Album of the year surprisingly went to Lauryn Hill, Warren Riker, and Tony Prendatt for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” and the fact they beat out Dion's “Titanic” momentum. Hill then went on to win Best New Artist as well.
All in all, the year saw new ground broken and tributes to classic stars. There were some upheavals here and there and the onslaught of song downloads and the expansion of the internet was both a boon and and curse. Technologies were changing rapidly. Digital was consuming the bulk of the recording market and experts rebelled. Complaints about resonance in the recordings versus vinyl and tape occurred which continue to this day. The rise of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera was like a new pop sensation wave that cascaded into the next millennium.