RPM was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. In 1998, fifteen songs peaked at number one on the magazine's chart. Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" was the first chart-topper of the year while Canadian musician Alanis Morissette stayed at number one into 1999 with "Thank U". Seven musical acts attained their first Canadian number one this year: Matchbox Twenty, Natalie Imbruglia, Fastball, Goo Goo Dolls, Brandy, Monica, and Jennifer Paige. Two artists reached number one with more than one single: Bryan Adams and Goo Goo Dolls.
The most successful song of the year, as well as the longest-running number-one hit, was "Torn" by Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia, which spent 12 nonconsecutive weeks at number one from April to July, interrupted on the week of 15 June by Fastball's "The Way". Two other songs also interrupted a single's reign at number one: "3 AM" by Matchbox Twenty kept Bryan Adams' "Back to You" off number one for two weeks, and "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls lost the number-one position on the issue of 17 August to Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine".
Three Canadian artists reached number one during 1998: Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, and Alanis Morissette. Dion topped the chart for six weeks with "My Heart Will Go On". Besides "Torn" and "My Heart Will Go On", five songs stayed at the summit for at least three weeks: "Back to You" by Bryan Adams, "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls, "Crush" by Jennifer Paige, "Sweetest Thing" by U2, and "Thank U" by Alanis Morissette. Goo Goo Dolls' "Slide" became only the third single to debut at number one on the RPM Singles Chart, not counting the magazine's first issue.
+Key Indicates best-performing single of 1998
Chart history
Issue dateSongArtistReference5 January"Tubthumping"Chumbawamba12 January"I Do"Lisa Loeb19 January"Back to You"Bryan Adams26 January"3 AM"Matchbox Twenty2 February9 February"Back to You"Bryan Adams16 February23 February"Truly Madly Deeply"Savage Garden2 March"My Heart Will Go On"Celine Dion9 March16 March23 March30 March6 April13 April"Torn"Natalie Imbruglia20 April27 April4 May11 May18 May25 May1 June8 June15 June"The Way"Fastball22 June"Torn"Natalie Imbruglia29 June6 July13 July"Iris"Goo Goo Dolls20 July27 July3 August10 August17 August"The Boy Is Mine"Brandy and Monica24 August"Iris"Goo Goo Dolls31 August7 September14 September"Crush"Jennifer Paige21 September28 September5 October12 October19 October"Slide"Goo Goo Dolls26 October2 November"On a Day Like Today"Bryan Adams9 November"Sweetest Thing"U216 November23 November30 November"Thank U"Alanis Morissette7 December14 December21 December28 December
Notes
See also 1998 in music
List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1998 (United States) List of number-one singles from the 1990s (New Zealand)
References
External links Read about RPM Magazine at the AV Trust Search RPM charts here at Library and Archives Canada