This is a summary of 1999 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year.
Summary The most successful album, Come on Over by Shania Twain, spent a cumulative total of ten weeks at the top, followed by Boyzone's By Request with nine weeks in total.
In the singles chart Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca", Eiffel 65's "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" and Cliff Richard's "The Millennium Prayer" all topped the singles charts for three weeks, the joint longest time at number one during 1999.
Teen pop singer Christina Aguilera made her debut with her hit single "Genie in a Bottle" which was #1 for 2 weeks in the UK and was one of the best selling singles of the year.
This year also saw the return of American Rock/New Wave band Blondie and their number one single "Maria". The teenage pop singer Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" was the highest selling single of the year.
One of the first number one singles of the year came from music producer, Fatboy Slim who topped the charts for one week with his single "Praise You". January became a very successful month for the DJ, real name Norman Cook, a former member of Hull-based band The Housemartins, his new album You've Come A Long Way Baby topped the charts for 4 weeks. The album produced many other hit singles, the follow-up to his chart topper "Right Here Right Now" peaking at number two, marking his third consecutive top three hit.
Developments Girl groups 1999 emphasised the trend away from girl groups, with solo acts and boy bands dominating the charts. B*Witched, with a fourth and final release from their début self-titled album, "Blame It On The Weatherman" became the first (and only) girl group for their first four releases to début at #1; their success declined quickly thereafter. The Spice Girls, with four remaining members, reached number one with their first single without Geri Halliwell, claiming the official number one Christmas single at the end of 1998 with "Goodbye"; it was the group's third consecutive number one Christmas single. As for other girl groups, Cleopatra scored one Top 30 hit with "A Touch Of Love", peaking at number 24, Their T.V sitcom was a smash hit and was No1 in its time slot. Hepburn and the Thunderbugs, both girl bands who played their own instruments, had lesser success. Neither the Spice Girls nor All Saints, both popular in the previous year, released a single in 1999.
Boy bands Boyzone topped the charts twice, first with a remake of a Billy Ocean song, "When the Going Gets Tough", made for Comic Relief and then with a remake of Canadian singer Anne Murray's hit "You Needed Me". Their album By Request, containing both chart-toppers along with the million-selling "No Matter What" from 1998, topped the albums chart for nine weeks and became the most successful album in their career. With six #1 singles to their name, they unofficially disbanded with both Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately going on to solo success. Keating reached #1 with his début single "When You Say Nothing At All" later in the year; it was featured in the soundtrack to the hit film Notting Hill.
5ive scored their first number one single with "Keep On Movin" after numerous consecutive top ten hits. Their peak of popularity as a boy band was short-lived as many more successful groups eclipsed them. A1 were another British boy band who joined the music scene during the year, scoring three top ten singles, including "Be The First To Believe" and "Summertime Of Our Lives". Their album fared less well, only reaching number 20 on the charts.
American boy bands were also very successful in the UK during the course of the year, with *NSYNC scoring two top ten hits, though their album only made number 30. With seven consecutive top ten singles behind them, The Backstreet Boys made number one with "I Want It That Way". The song was taken from their album, Millennium which sold millions worldwide and made number two in the UK.
Despite these successes, all boy bands paled in comparison to Westlife, managed by Ronan Keating. Their first four singles ("Swear It Again", "If I Let You Go", "Flying Without Wings" and "I Have a Dream/Seasons in the Sun") all entered the charts at number one, equalling the record set by B*Witched earlier in the year. "Flying Without Wings" was voted The Record of the Year by the public in the annual ITV poll, and Westlife's début self-titled album reached number two in the charts.
From film to music Two successful actresses launched successful singing careers. Jennifer Lopez, having scored a number one hit in the US with "If You Had My Love", had two top five hits in the UK. Martine McCutcheon, who left her role as Tiffany in the BBC soap opera EastEnders to begin singing topped the UK charts for two weeks with her second single "Perfect Moment". Her singing career was relatively short-lived and she soon returned to acting.
American successes Many acts during the year managed to be successful in the UK, but did not manage to match the chart topper they had scored in the US. Mariah Carey clocked up her 14th number one single in the US, with "Heartbreaker", a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z, which made number five in the UK. Her newest album Rainbow could only make it to number eight in the UK and sold just 12 million copies worldwide – her lowest global count at the time. TLC topped the US charts twice during the year with "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty". They had their most successful year in the UK since 1995, and "No Scrubs" became their highest-peaking single making number three. R&B trio, Destiny's Child topped the US charts for the first time with "Bills, Bills, Bills". It made number six in the UK charts and set them on course for massive success in the new millennium. Enrique Iglesias also topped the US charts with his début single, "Bailamos", which made number four in Britain – he was to become much more successful in the UK in the new millennium.
White rapper, Eminem was very successful with his début in the UK; his début single "My Name Is" peaking at number two and his follow-up also hitting the top five. He was much more successful in the US, however his success grew in both countries and he quickly made a name for himself based on controversy through his lyrics and music videos. Southern Californian band, The Offspring are also not as successful in the US as they are in the UK, with their number one single being scored in January with "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)". They followed it up with a number two hit and went on to great success around the world.
Movie soundtracks Film music remained popular throughout the year. In addition to than Ronan Keating reaching number one with his song from Notting Hill, Madonna and Will Smith both reached number two with soundtrack singles: Madonna with "Beautiful Stranger" from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Will Smith with his US chart-topping single, "Wild Wild West", taken from the film of the same name. Another member of the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Tatyana Ali (who played Ashley Banks), reached number three with her second single "Boy You Knock Me Out", a follow-up to her debut "Daydreamin'", which had been number six the previous November. Her third single released in June fared less well, peaking at number 20. Will Smith also made number two in the UK with a follow-up release to "Wild Wild West": "Will 2K" became his last UK top three hit until 2003.
Latin and Europop Two main crazes began in the UK during the year – the summer Latino craze and high demand for Europop and Eurodance. As a result, many acts in these styles of music received great success. Ricky Martin became an international star after releasing his massively successful single "Livin' La Vida Loca". Heading up the summer Latino craze in the UK and the US, he hit number one in several countries and topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a phenomenon in the US; his début self-titled album even went on to appear in the Top 100 best selling albums of all time in the US. Lou Bega scored success with his only UK single "Mambo No.5". Still used in Cricket matches as their title song, it managed to hit #31 on import sales alone and topped the charts for two weeks when officially released in the UK.
The biggest success to come out of the Europop phenomenon was "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65. Topping the UK charts for three weeks, the song managed to sell a million copies and remained in the charts until 2000. It had also managed to make #39 on import sales. Their follow-up single "Move Your Body" made number three in 2000, saving them from one-hit-wonder status though some still consider them candidates. Dutch based multi-national dance act The Vengaboys followed up their 1998 number four début "Up and Down" with four consecutive top three singles, the first three of which made the Top 40 best-selling singles of the year list: "We Like To Party" (which hit number three early on in the year), "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" and "We're Going to Ibiza" (both one-week chart toppers for the group) and "Kiss (When The Sun Don't Shine)" (another number three hit for the group in December). Those songs filled European holiday discos throughout the year.
Novelty acts Novelty acts found great success during 1999. Chef, a character from the popular animated television show, South Park hit number one in early January for one week with a special release "Chocolate Salty Balls". The voice on the track is the voice of Chef in the cartoon, Isaac Hayes, who had previously courted the UK singles chart way back in 1971 with "Theme from Shaft". Australian film director, Baz Luhrmann also scored a number one hit with a song explaining the way you should live life, passing on advice. "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)". He was already massively successful as a director with films such as Strictly Ballroom and Romeo and Juliet. He was later to direct the hugely successful Moulin Rouge!. The song was based on "Desiderata", a number seven hit for Les Crane in 1972. Probably the most successful novelty act of the year was French act Quentin Dupieux, who under the name of Mr. Oizo scored a number one single, "Flat Beat". First featured in a television advert for Levi's Jeans, its wobbly bass riff catapulted it to the top of the charts for two weeks. The accompanying cuddly toy featured in the video also sold well.
Electronic music acts Dance acts enjoyed great success on the singles chart during the year. In particular, a wave of Trance acts from Europe entering the Top 40 throughout the year, some of which initially entered the lower reaches of the Top 100 on import. Shaft hit number two with the Latin house remake "(Mucho Mambo) Sway". US producer Chris Brann created the dance track "King Of My Castle" under his moniker Wamdue Project. The remix version named "Roy Malone's King Edit" topped the UK charts for a week towards the end of the year. The two biggest production team hits came from Shanks & Bigfoot and ATB. Shanks & Bigfoot were British production duo Stephen Meade and Daniel Langsman who hit the top for two weeks with their release "Sweet Like Chocolate". Vocals on the track were provided by Sharon Woolf. ATB is German producer André Tanneberger, whose single "9pm (Till I Come)" hit number one for two weeks. It is widely regarded as the first trance track to reach the top spot in the UK. Both this and "Sweet Like Chocolate" were in the top ten best selling singles of the year. Alice Deejay also scored two top 5 hits with "Better Off Alone" and "Back In My Life". Mr Oizo, Armand Van Helden, Fatboy Slim, Vengaboys and Eiffel 65 all had chart toppers this year. Production number ones and Latin/Europop/Eurodance number ones showed the variety of countries chart-toppers were coming from during the year – Germany, France, America, Italy, The Netherlands, Ireland & Australia.