RPM was a Canadian music industry magazine that published the best-performing singles charts in Canada from 1964 to 2000. In 1996, RPM published a chart for top-performing singles played in adult contemporary radio stations in Canada. The chart, entitled Adult Contemporary Tracks, undergone numerous name changes throughout its existence, becoming Adult Contemporary in August 1984. In April 1992, it became Adult Contemporary Tracks, reflecting its increased inclusion of radio-only singles, and the chart maintained that naming until the magazine ceased publication in November 2000. In 1996, eighteen individual songs topped the chart, which contained 60 positions and is compiled based on a song's cumulative adult contemporary radio airplay points.
In RPM's first issue for 1996, the first adult contemporary number-one was Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", continuing from where it left off in 1995, until it was knocked off the top of the chart by Madonna's "You'll See", which was number one for five weeks. It was then followed by Mariah Carey's "One Sweet Day" (with Boyz II Men), which topped the chart for two weeks in February; it would later be replaced at number one by Hootie & the Blowfish's "Time", itself replaced later by "Jesus to a Child" by George Michael. Carey would have also a second number-one adult contemporary single with "Always Be My Baby", which spent two non-consecutive weeks. The final single of 1996 was "Mouth" by Merril Bainbridge, which reached number one by the third week of December, when the magazine's year-end charts were published.
The best-performing single of the year was "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion, which spent a total of eleven non-consecutive weeks at number one, including seven consecutive weeks when its weeks-long number-one run on the chart was broken by Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby" the week of May 20. Dion would also have a second number-one later in 1996, when "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" reached number one the week of September 23 for a total of five non-consecutive weeks. The only other artists to have more than one Canadian number-one adult contemporary single include George Michael and Mariah Carey, having two each. Besides Dion, two other Canadian artists, Jann Arden and Bryan Adams, have at least one number-one on the chart, both having one single each.
+Key Indicates best-performing adult contemporary single of 1996
Chart history +Issue dateTitleArtist(s) "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" Whitney Houston "You'll See" Madonna "One Sweet Day" Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men "Time" Hootie & the Blowfish "Jesus to a Child" George Michael "Missing" Everything but the Girl "Because You Loved Me" Celine Dion "Always Be My Baby" Mariah Carey "Because You Loved Me" Celine Dion "Always Be My Baby" Mariah Carey "Fastlove" George Michael "Give Me One Reason" Tracy Chapman "Let It Flow" Toni Braxton "Change the World" Eric Clapton "Because You Loved Me" Celine Dion "Looking for It" Jann Arden "Give Me One Reason" Tracy Chapman "I Love You Always Forever" Donna Lewis "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" Celine Dion "Change the World" Eric Clapton "I Love You Always Forever" Donna Lewis "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" Celine Dion "Let's Make a Night to Remember" Bryan Adams "When You Love a Woman" Journey "Mouth" Merril Bainbridge
Notes
References
External links Search RPM charts collection at Library and Archives Canada