What were you doing in February 1999? Whatever it was, chances are you were listening to some of these songs that debuted on the ARIA singles chart 20 years ago this month. Yep, we feel old too!
“That Don’t Impress Me Much” by Shania Twain
Her previous couple of hits, “You’re Still the One” and “From this Moment On”, would provide the soundtrack for countless end-of-century weddings, but there was nothing romantic about this single from the mega Come On Over album. The Canadian country star chucked on some leopard print and got her sass on to send a message to all the guys who thought they were Brad Pitt: she was not blown away.
“Fly Away” by Lenny Kravitz
It’d been a while between hits for the future star of the Hunger Games franchise, but he came storming back into the chart with this track from 5, his imaginately titled fifth album.
“Anthem for the Year 2000” by Silverchair
Ah, Y2K. Remember that underlying panic about the Millennium Bug and what the year 2000 would bring? While that would end up being an anti-climax, the return of Australia’s premier rock band with their third album was a big deal.
“Praise You” by Fatboy Slim
The late 1990s was the dawn of the era of the superstar DJ, and there were none bigger than Norman “Fatboy Slim” Cook. The sample-packed “Praise You” was a good song, but it was all about the amateur dance group music video directed by (and starring) Spike Jonze.
“Touch It” by Monifah
Not to be confused with the similarly mononymous Monica (of “The Boy Is Mine” fame), Monifa Carter unleashed one of the year’s most infectious R&B grooves with “Touch It” and followed it up with another hit, “Bad Girl”.
“You Get What You Give” by New Radicals
This song was inescapable in 1999, and by mid-year frontman Gregg Alexander had tried of all the attention. It wasn’t the last we heard of him, though – he went on to write hits for Santana (“The Game of Love”) and Ronan Keating (“Life Is a Rollercoaster”), among others.
“Save Tonight” by Eagle-Eye Cherry
His half-sister Neneh Cherry had debuted a decade earlier with “Buffalo Stance”, and in 1999, it was little bro’s turn with this infectious pop/rock track. And yes, that’s his real name.