Adult Contemporary is a chart published by Billboard ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 1998, eight different songs topped the chart in 52 issues of the magazine, based on weekly airplay data from radio stations compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems.
In the year's first issue of Billboard the number one song was "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by British singer Elton John, which was in its seventh week at number one. [1] The song would go on to extend its unbroken run in the top spot to ten weeks before it was displaced by "My Heart Will Go On" by Canadian vocalist Celine Dion in the issue dated January 31. Dion's song, taken from the soundtrack of the film Titanic , [2] also spent ten weeks at number one. It dominated radio airplay across a number of formats, even acquiring enough spins on Latin music stations to become the first non-Spanish language song to top the Hot Latin Tracks chart. [3] It also won a range of awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song as well as the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. [2] Dion would return to the top spot later in the year with both "To Love You More" and "I'm Your Angel", the latter a duet with American artist R. Kelly. Her 21 weeks spent at number one during 1998 was the most by any artist.
The only artist other than Dion to achieve more than one AC number one in 1998 was fellow Canadian vocalist Shania Twain, who spent eight non-consecutive weeks in the top spot with "You're Still the One" and one week with "From This Moment On". The former song also topped Billboard's Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, on which Twain had experienced considerable success since 1995, but it was her first entry on the AC listing, as her music began to be marketed toward pop audiences for the first time. [4] Her second number one of the year, "From This Moment On", had originally been recorded as a duet with country singer Bryan White, but his vocals were removed from the version released as a single, in order to make it more appealing to pop music radio. [5] The longest unbroken run at number one on the AC chart during the year was 11 weeks, achieved by Australian duo Savage Garden with the song "Truly Madly Deeply". The track would prove to be one of the most enduring songs in the history of AC radio, and set a new record for the highest total number of weeks spent on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart with a total of 123 weeks on the listing, a mark that stood only until 2002 when Savage Garden broke its own record. [6]
† | Indicates best-performing AC song of 1998 [7] |
Issue date | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
January 3 | "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" | Elton John | [1] |
January 10 | [8] | ||
January 17 | [9] | ||
January 24 | [10] | ||
January 31 | "My Heart Will Go On" | Celine Dion | [11] |
February 7 | [12] | ||
February 14 | [13] | ||
February 21 | [14] | ||
February 28 | [15] | ||
March 7 | [16] | ||
March 14 | [17] | ||
March 21 | [18] | ||
March 28 | [19] | ||
April 4 | [20] | ||
April 11 | "Truly Madly Deeply" † | Savage Garden | [21] |
April 18 | [22] | ||
April 25 | [23] | ||
May 2 | [24] | ||
May 9 | [25] | ||
May 16 | [26] | ||
May 23 | [27] | ||
May 30 | [28] | ||
June 6 | [29] | ||
June 13 | [30] | ||
June 20 | [31] | ||
June 27 | "You're Still the One" | Shania Twain | [32] |
July 4 | [33] | ||
July 11 | [34] | ||
July 18 | [35] | ||
July 25 | [36] | ||
August 1 | [37] | ||
August 8 | "To Love You More" | Celine Dion | [38] |
August 15 | "You're Still the One" | Shania Twain | [39] |
August 22 | "To Love You More" | Celine Dion | [40] |
August 29 | "You're Still the One" | Shania Twain | [41] |
September 5 | "To Love You More" | Celine Dion | [42] |
September 12 | [43] | ||
September 19 | [44] | ||
September 26 | [45] | ||
October 3 | [46] | ||
October 10 | [47] | ||
October 17 | "I'll Never Break Your Heart" | Backstreet Boys | [48] |
October 24 | [49] | ||
October 31 | [50] | ||
November 7 | [51] | ||
November 14 | [52] | ||
November 21 | [53] | ||
November 28 | [54] | ||
December 5 | "From This Moment On" | Shania Twain | [55] |
December 12 | "I'm Your Angel" | R. Kelly & Celine Dion | [56] |
December 19 | [57] | ||
December 26 | [58] | ||
"I Drove All Night" is a song written and composed by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and originally intended for Roy Orbison. Orbison recorded the song in 1987, the year before his death, but his version was not released until 1992. Cyndi Lauper recorded the song and released it as a single for her A Night to Remember album. Her version became a top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic in 1989 and was also her final top 40 hit on the American pop charts. Lauper still regularly performs the song in her live concerts. The song has also been covered by Canadian singer Celine Dion, whose version topped the Canadian Singles Chart and reached number 7 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in 2003.
"My Heart Will Go On" is a song recorded by the Canadian singer Celine Dion as the theme for the film Titanic. It was composed by James Horner, with lyrics by Will Jennings. It was produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon Franglen. "My Heart Will Go On" was released as a single internationally by Columbia and Epic on November 24, 1997, and was included on Dion's fifth English-language album, Let's Talk About Love (1997), and the Titanic soundtrack.
"I'm Your Angel" is a duet by Celine Dion and R. Kelly from Dion's These Are Special Times album and Kelly's R. album. It was released on 13 October 1998. The song was written and produced by R. Kelly. The single was very successful, reaching number one in the United States and was certified platinum by the RIAA. The single also reached the top five in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in Howard Hughes' last film One Minute to Zero as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the first vocal recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952.
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by Billboard magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to Billboard by stations that are members of the Adult Contemporary radio panel. The chart debuted in Billboard magazine on July 17, 1961. Over the years, the chart has gone under a series of name changes, being called Easy Listening(1961–1962; 1965–1979), Middle-Road Singles(1962–1964), Pop-Standard Singles(1964–1965), Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks(1979–1982) and Adult Contemporary(1983–present). The current number-one song on the chart is "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus.
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin released as a single by the Atlantic label. The words were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the music was composed by Carole King. Written for Franklin, the record was a big hit reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became one of her signature songs. It made history on the UK Singles Chart a week after her death, finally becoming a hit almost 51 years after it was first released, entering at No. 79. Franklin also included a live recording on the album Aretha in Paris in 1968.
"Because You Loved Me" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion on her fourth English-language studio album, Falling into You (1996). It was released on 19 February 1996 as the first single in North America, and as the second single in the United Kingdom on 20 May 1996. "Because You Loved Me" was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster, and served as the theme song from the 1996 film Up Close & Personal, starring Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer. Billboard ranked it as the 14th Top Love Song Of All Time.
"The Prayer" is a song performed by Canadian singer Celine Dion and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. It was written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa and Tony Renis.
"A New Day Has Come" is a song by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion for her seventh English-language album of the same name (2002). The song was written by Aldo Nova and Stephan Moccio and produced by Walter Afanasieff and Nova. It was released as the album's lead single on 11 March 2002. "A New Day Has Come" is a piano-driven ballad in 6
8 time. However, the midtempo radio version, co-produced and remixed by Christian B & Marc Dold of (S.A.F.) along with Ric Wake, converted the song into 4
4 time, added guitars and other electronic elements and was released as the lead single. Both versions are included on the album.
"To Love You More" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, written by David Foster and Edgar Bronfman Jr., writing under the pen-name Junior Miles. It was released as a single in Japan on 21 October 1995 and became a hit, reaching number one on the Oricon Singles Chart and selling 1.5 million copies. The lyrics are about a woman who makes an impassioned plea to her lover so that he does not leave her for another woman.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 137 singles in both English and French discography as a lead artist. According to Billboard magazine, Dion is the world's best-selling contemporary female artist of all time. As of 2021, she has reportedly sold around 200 to 250 million records worldwide. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion has released a string of worldwide hits, with "My Heart Will Go On" being her career's biggest hit, with estimated physical sales of over 18 million worldwide, making it the 2nd best-selling physical single by a woman in history. It reached over 117 million radio impressions during its peak, becoming the most-played radio hit in history and became the best-selling single of 1998 worldwide. "Because You Loved Me" is her biggest hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending six weeks atop the chart and selling six million copies in its first six months of availability worldwide. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" was the 4th biggest hit of the 1990s in France and has sold over four million copies worldwide.
"That's the Way It Is" is the lead single from Celine Dion's greatest hits album All the Way... A Decade of Song, released on 1 November 1999. It peaked within the top ten in many countries, like Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Billboard listed it as one of the Greatest Songs of 1999.
"Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion for her seventh English-language album A New Day Has Come (2002). The song was written and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, while Lange and his then-wife, country singer Shania Twain did the backing vocals. Lyrically, the song speaks about motherly love and fear of losing one's mother. It was released as the album's third and last commercial single on 18 November 2002 by Columbia Records and Epic Records.
"I'm Alive" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion for her seventh English-language album, A New Day Has Come (2002). It was released as the album's second single on 12 August 2002 and was also featured in the film Stuart Little 2. The song was written and produced by Kristian Lundin and Andreas Carlsson, who already worked with Dion in 1999 on "That's the Way It Is".
"Taking Chances" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion, taken from her tenth English-language studio album of the same name (2007). It was written by Kara DioGuardi and former Eurythmics member, Dave Stewart for their band named Platinum Weird. The song was supposed to be released as a single in February 2007 from their unreleased self-titled album. However, after DioGuardi and Stewart recorded it, they played the track for Dion's husband René Angélil, who loved it and she recorded it.
"Tell Him" is a song written by Linda Thompson and producers Walter Afanasieff and David Foster. It was recorded as a duet between American singer Barbra Streisand and Canadian singer Celine Dion for their 1997 albums, Higher Ground and Let's Talk About Love, and released as the lead single from these albums on November 3, 1997.
"Imperfections" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her twelfth English-language studio album, Courage (2019). It was written by Lauv, Michael Pollack, Nicholas Perloff-Giles and DallasK, and produced by DallasK. "Imperfections" was released as a digital download on 18 September 2019. The music video premiered on 26 September 2019 and the song impacted adult contemporary radio in the United States on 30 September 2019. "Imperfections" topped the sales and radio charts in Quebec, and received positive reviews from music critics. Dion performed it during her Courage World Tour.