"Building a Mystery" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). At a live performance, Sarah explains the song as being "basically about the fact that we all... have insecurities to hide, and we often do that by putting on a facade." She also goes on to say that "unfortunately, if we just be who we are, that's usually the more attractive and beautiful thing".
"Angels" is a song by the English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was included on Williams's debut solo album, Life thru a Lens (1997), and released as a single on 1 December 1997 by Chrysalis. It was produced by Guy Chambers and Steve Power.
"Angel" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. The song first appeared on McLachlan's fourth studio album, Surfacing, in 1997 and was released as the album's fourth and final single in September 1998. The lyrics are about the death of musician Jonathan Melvoin (1961–1996) from a heroin overdose, as McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers. It is sometimes mistitled as "In the Arms of an Angel" or "Arms of the Angel".
"The Boy Is Mine" is a duet by American singers Brandy and Monica. It was written by LaShawn Daniels, Japhe Tejeda, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and Brandy, while production was helmed by Jerkins and Dallas Austin. It was released as the lead single from both singers' second albums from 1998, Never Say Never by Brandy and the album of the same name by Monica. Inspired by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's 1982 duet "The Girl Is Mine", the lyrics of the mid-tempo R&B track revolve around two women fighting over a man.
"Smooth" is a song performed by American rock band Santana and Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, who sings the lead vocals. It was released to radio on June 15, 1999, as the lead single from Santana's 1999 studio album, Supernatural. It was physically released as a single in August. It was written by Itaal Shur and Thomas, who re-wrote Shur's original melody and lyrics, and produced by Matt Serletic.
"The First Night" is a song by American singer Monica for her second studio album, The Boy Is Mine (1998). It was written by Tamara Savage and Jermaine Dupri, featuring production and additional vocals from the latter. Built around a sample of Diana Ross's 1976 recording "Love Hangover", penned by Marilyn McLeod and Pam Sawyer, who share co-writing credits, the song is about the protagonist's battle with sexual temptations on the night of her first date, despite her conflicting emotions and strong sexual desires.
"He Wasn't Man Enough" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, and Harvey Mason, Jr. for her third studio album, The Heat (2000), while production was helmed by the former. "He Wasn't Man Enough" is an uptempo R&B song that differs from Braxton's previous ballads. The song was released by LaFace Records on February 29, 2000, as the lead single from the album.
"Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" is a song by Canadian recording artist Deborah Cox, released as the lead single from her second studio album, One Wish (1998). Written by Montell Jordan and its producer, Anthony "Shep" Crawford, the song was released on the same day as the album, on September 15, 1998, by Arista Records. It is Cox's most successful song, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and spending a then-record 14 weeks at number one on the Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart. In 2017, Billboard ranked the song at number five on its "Greatest of All Time Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs" chart.
"You're Makin' Me High" is the lead single from American singer Toni Braxton's second studio album, Secrets (1996). The mid-tempo song represents a joint collaboration between the Grammy Award-winning producer Babyface and Bryce Wilson. The beat of the song was originally for singer-songwriter Brandy, with Dallas Austin pegged to write a lyric to override; however, Braxton had Babyface write lyrics for the song. It was ultimately issued in the United States as a double A-side with "Let It Flow", the airplay hit from the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale.
"Santa Monica" is a song by American rock band Everclear, from their 1995 album Sparkle and Fade. The song was written by the band's lead singer, Art Alexakis. Though it was not commercially released as a single in the United States, radio stations played "Santa Monica" enough for it to reach number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and number one the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks in 1996. It became a top-40 hit in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom; it is the band's highest-charting single in Australia.
"Will You Be There (In the Morning)" is a song by American rock band Heart. The ballad was written by veteran songwriter and producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who was responsible for writing Heart's US number-two single "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You" in 1990, and was released as the first single from the band's 11th studio album, Desire Walks On (1993) (although "Black on Black II" was released to radio first). Unlike the majority of Heart songs, which feature Ann Wilson on lead vocals, the lead singer on the song is Nancy Wilson. The song was released in the United Kingdom in November 1993 and in the United States the following month by Capitol Records.
"Sittin' Up in My Room" is a song by American recording artist Brandy. It was written and produced by Babyface and recorded by Norwood for the soundtrack of the 1995 film Waiting to Exhale, starring Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett. The song was among five of the album's singles and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, seeing Norwood's furthest commercial success on the chart at that time. The bass intro is similar to that of the riff performed by bassist Larry Graham, of Sly and the Family Stone, on their hit "Thank You ", and its remix featuring LL Cool J contains a sample of "Haven't You Heard" by Patrice Rushen.
"Swear It Again" is a song by Irish boy band Westlife. The ballad was released on 19 April 1999 in the United Kingdom as the first single from their self-titled debut album (1999). The song peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks, giving Westlife their first of 14 UK number-one singles. "Swear It Again" is Westlife's only single to have charted in the US, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and ranking number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100 year-end chart in 2000.
"Adia" is a song by Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). It was co-written by McLachlan and her longtime producer, Pierre Marchand. McLachlan has said about the song, "...more than anything, it's about my problems in dealing with feeling responsible for everyone else". "Adia" was released as the third North American single from Surfacing on 2 March 1998; in Europe, it served as McLachlan's debut single, receiving a UK release in September 1998.
"Nobody Knows" is a song by R&B singer Tony Rich from his 1996 debut album, Words. Released as his debut single on November 7, 1995, the song peaked at number two on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks charts. It also became a hit in several other countries, topping the Irish Singles Chart and reaching number two in Australia and Canada, number four in the United Kingdom, and the top 20 in the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden. Rich received a nomination for the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Stay" is a song written by Bob Khozouri and Mark Stevens, and originally recorded by American singer Glenn Jones. It was released in 1990 by Jive Records from his fifth album, All for You (1990), reaching number six on the US Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. The song became a worldwide hit for British girl group Eternal in 1993 and 1994.
"No Tengo Dinero" is the debut single of Danish musical group Los Umbrellos, considered to be their signature song. It was released by FLEX Records on 14 May 1997. Based on the theme of 1960 film Never on Sunday by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, the lyrics were written by Jay and Richie Balmorian and group member Al Agami. It was produced by Kenneth Bager, Michael Pfundheller and Jan Elhøj, with additional production handled by Cutfather & Joe.
"In Walked Love" is a song by the American girl group Exposé. Written by Diane Warren and produced by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, the song can be found on the group's 1992 album Exposé, their third studio album. Lead vocals on the pop ballad were performed by Ann Curless. The song features Al Pitrelli as guest guitarist. In 1996, British singer Louise covered the song and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart with her rendition.
The Boy Is Mine is the second studio album by American R&B singer Monica. It was released by Arista Records on July 14, 1998, in the United States. The album deviated from the formula of her debut Miss Thang (1995) as she had more creative control over the material she recorded; a step that she considered a "natural progression". On the record, Monica worked with a variety of producers and writers from different genres such as gospel, R&B, and hip hop, including frequent collaborators Dallas Austin, Colin Wolfe, and Daryl Simmons. Additional producers included David Foster, Diane Warren, Jermaine Dupri, and Rodney Jerkins and his Darkchild crew, some of which would become household names on subsequent albums.
"Heartspark Dollarsign" is the third single released from American rock band Everclear's second studio album, Sparkle and Fade. Lead singer Art Alexakis wrote the song before Everclear formed, while he was in the band Colorfinger. The song was then recorded by Everclear in 1994 and included on Sparkle and Fade, which was released in May 1995. The lyrics describe an interracial relationship, something Alexakis often experienced in his youth.
