This article is the first in this series that takes a 25 year look back at the top five songs in the country (according to Billboard), specifically the week of August 25, 1998. If you’re a Gen-Xer, then these songs might bring back some great memories.
1. The Boy Is Mine. Brandy & Monica.
Me in 1998: Paring two of the most popular Black young female singing stars of their day was a brilliant idea. And the song was equally as brilliant. This kept people listening on the radio and the gossip in the street…that Brandy and Monica had real life beef. You couldn’t have asked for better ingredients for a hit song…hell, a phenomenon. The mania was real in ‘98.
Me in 2023: My thoughts remain the same from the 90s. This was a fantastic idea that created a classic song and a big moment in American pop culture that has not been duplicated since.
2. You’re Still The One. Shania Twain.
Me in 1998: “I’m so tired of this song. I can’t escape it. It’s on almost all of the radio stations, it’s even on in the mall. Yeesh!”
Me in 2023: I was describing a revolution, and I didn’t even know it. Still and the album it came from, Come On Over, changed the sound of country music forever. Twain and her then husband, legendary music producer Mutt Lange created a new sound that was a mix of rock, pop, and country music that changed everything about the country & western genre. You can draw a line after Come On Over dropped and see its influence everywhere in country music since 1997.
As far as You’re Still The One, it’s a great song.
3. My Way. Usher.
Me in 1998: This is a great song, but the video was way better.
Me in 2023: I feel pretty much the same 25 years later. My Way is a really good song, and another hit in Usher’s iconic catalog. That video, though, still goes hard.
4. Adia. Sarah McLachlan.
Me in 1998: I really dug this single. The singing by McLachlan is beautiful, and I thought so back in 1998.
Me in 2023: Listening to Adia, it’s a wonder it reached this high on Billboard’s pop charts, given that 1998 was square in the middle of the pop wave and hip-hop and R&B’s stranglehold on American music. But, that’s a testament to Adia’s excellence as a hit song.
5. Make It Hot. Nicole Featuring Missy Elliot & Mocha.
Me in 1998: I thought it was a hot song. It was huge in nightclubs and at parties. Missy Elliot couldn’t have been any hotter as a star, and Nicole (Wray) was a welcome new voice in ‘98.
Me in 2023: It’s still a hot single. I get a little sad listening to it, because I had high hopes for Nicole. She pretty much faded away after this song’s success.
