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 1999 Top Adult Contemporary Songs of 1999 by Alex Cosper BRIAN McKNIGHT - Back At One MONICA - Angel of Mine RICKY MARTIN - She's All I Ever Had JEWEL - Hands R. KELLY & CELINE DION - I'm Your Angel SARAH McLACHLAN - Angel CELINE DION - That's The Way It Is SAVAGE GARDEN - I Knew I Loved You MARIAH CAREY - I Still Believe N'SYNC - God Must Have Spent a Little More Time On You 1999 Top Pop Hits 1999 Top Albums 1999 Top Ballads/Adult Contemporary 1999 Top Country Hits 1999 Top Dance Hits 1999 Top Modern/Alternative Hits 1999 Top R&B Hits 1999 Top Rock Hits More Top Adult Contemporary Songs of 1999 SUGAR RAY - Every Morning SANTANA featuring ROB THOMAS - Smooth LOU BEGA - Mambo No. 5 JENNIFER LOPEZ - If You Had My Love CHRISTINA AGUILERA - Genie In A Bottle SHANIA TWAIN - Man, I Feel Like A Woman ENRIQUE IGLESIAS - Bailamos CHER - Believe BACKSTREET BOYS - I Want It That Way PHIL COLLINS - You'll Be In My Heart SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER - Kiss Me SMASH MOUTH - All Star WHITNEY HOUSTON - Heartbreak Hotel EAGLE EYE CHERRY - Save Tonight BRANDY - Have You Ever? GOO GOO DOLLS - Slide WHITNEY HOUSTON - It's Not Right, But It's Okay BACKSTREET BOYS - All I Have To Give SHAWN MULLINS - Lullaby 98 DEGREES - The Hardest Thing SUGAR RAY - Someday SHANIA TWAIN - That Don't Impress Me Much RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Scar Tissue WHITNEY HOUSTON - My Love Is Your Love GOO GOO DOLLS - Iris FAITH EVANS - Love Like This LONESTAR - Amazed SARAH McLACHLAN - I Will Remember You WHITNEY HOUSTON & MARIAH CAREY - When You Believe The significance of 1999 was that it was the last year the music biz could boast about several years of continued sales growth. But like an arrogrant boxer who thinks he'll be the champ forever, the music biz was caught off-guard and suffered a long lasting blow that would have an impact for many years. The knock-out punch of the music biz came in the form of the internet and what was known as "peer-to-peer file sharing software" orchestrated by Napster. Although the CD format was still a big seller, its rival format, the mp3, was beginning to gain the attention of a new generation of music fans that preferred downloading music for free, rather than buying CDs. By this point several music biz dreams had come true like a Cinderella fairy-tale. The pop scene had become dominated by hip hop, which were commercials for filling up corporate prisons, in which the music biz was a big investor. The alternative format had been blown up and was becoming more of a rap/metal/ska format that began to connect with the hip hop/corporate prison scene. The adult contemporary format was in the stages of gobbling up any kind of left-over pop sound that was otherwise hard to market. The rock world became the twin brother of the alternative format, giving rock records double exposure. A Latin sound was also growing within the pop and other formats, elevating the careers of Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez. The music biz now could market music in many ways, except it didn't prepare itself for the internet. Instead of seeing internet as the future of everything, the music biz went on its arrogant way of trying to dominate pop culture with more and more emphasis on highly commercial formulas. One of the formulas that surfaced in 1999 that would stay around long enough to annoy and alienate many pop music fans was autotune. Developed by oil giant Exxon for underwater drilling, this electronic effect was used to give music an even more electronic sound. Cher's hit "Believe" was the first to showcase the effect, although, it was only used sparingly in the production. Eventually, autotune was used to mask real voices of novice singers, giving them a robotic studio sound instead of an organic authentic sound. Within a few years it became a standard gimmick on many pop releases. Whether or not it was one of the reasons that the music biz started to collapse financially in 2000 is still debatable, but it's very clear that it didn't help. |
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