"Ironic" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released in February 1996 by Maverick and Warner Bros. as the third single from her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill (1995). It was written by Morissette and Glen Ballard, and was produced by him. The lyrics present several situations that are described as "ironic"; this has led to debate as to whether any of these match the accepted meaning of irony.
Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their 1993 single "Mr. Vain" was a number-one hit in eleven European countries, and the act claims to have sold more than 10 million records worldwide.
"Un-Break My Heart" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton for her second studio album, Secrets (1996). The song was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. It was released as the second single from the album on October 7, 1996, through LaFace Records. The song is a ballad about a "blistering heartbreak" in which the singer begs a former lover to return and undo the pain he has caused. It won Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards in 1997. It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and nearly 3 million in the United States alone, making it one of the best selling singles of all time.
"Independent Women Part I" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for the soundtrack to the film adaptation of the 1970s television series Charlie's Angels. It was written and produced by production duo Poke & Tone, consisting of Samuel Barnes and Jean-Claude Olivier, along with Cory Rooney, and group member Beyoncé Knowles. The song was later included on the group's third studio album Survivor (2001). "Independent Women" was Destiny's Child's first single to feature vocals from group member Michelle Williams and the only single to feature Farrah Franklin, who was no longer in the group when the single was released.
"You Make Me Wanna..." is a song by American recording artist Usher. It was released on August 5, 1997, by LaFace Records and Arista Records as the lead single from Usher's second studio album, My Way (1997). "You Make Me Wanna..." was written by Usher along with Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, who both produced the tune. An R&B, soul and pop song in C minor, it makes use of acoustic guitar, hi-hat and bell instrumentation. The song focuses on a love triangle relationship, with the protagonist wishing to leave his girlfriend for his erstwhile best friend, with a hook in which Usher states, "You make me wanna leave the one I'm with and start a new relationship with you". The record won a Billboard Music Award, a Soul Train Music Award, and a WQHT Hip Hop Award, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.
"Macarena" is a song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, originally recorded for their 1993 album A mí me gusta. A dance remix by the electropop group Fangoria was a success in Spain, and a soundalike cover version by Los del Mar became popular in Canada. Another remix by Miami-based producers the Bayside Boys, who added a section with English lyrics and expanded its popularity, initially peaked at No. 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in late 1995.
"No Diggity" is a song by American R&B group Blackstreet as the first single for their second studio album, Another Level (1996), featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen. Released on July 29, 1996 by Interscope, the song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Iceland and New Zealand. It ended "Macarena"'s 14-week reign atop the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number nine. "No Diggity" was the final number-one single of Cash Box magazine. The track sold 1.6 million copies in 1996 and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It uses samples from Bill Withers's "Grandma's Hands". The music video for the song was directed by Hype Williams.
"Rock Your Body" is a song by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake from his debut studio album, Justified (2002). The Neptunes wrote and produced the song. The song features background vocals by American singer Vanessa Marquez, who was signed to The Neptunes' Star Trak record label at the time. Jive Records released the track on March 17, 2003, as the third single from Justified. Originally intended to be featured on Michael Jackson's tenth studio album Invincible (2001), Jackson rejected the song along with several other tracks, which were instead given to Timberlake for his debut album. It is an uptempo, disco groove, soul infused song containing influences from Jackson and Stevie Wonder.
"All My Life" is a song recorded by American R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo. The song was written by Joel "JoJo" Hailey and Rory Bennett and produced by K-Ci & JoJo for the duo’s debut studio album, Love Always (1997). The song was released to airplay in January 1998 and was released physically on March 17, 1998, as the third single from the album through MCA Records. "All My Life" is an R&B and soul song. Music critics have claimed this as the duo's most successful song of their career.
"I Don't Want To" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Toni Braxton for her second studio album, Secrets (1996). It was released as the third single from the album on March 11, 1997; in the United States it was released as a double A-side with "I Love Me Some Him". Written and produced by R. Kelly, the R&B ballad describes the agony of a break-up. The song was well received by music critics, who were complimentary about Kelly's production.
"Mr. Vain" is a song by German musical group Culture Beat, released in April 1993 by Dance Pool as the lead single from the group's second studio album, Serenity (1993). The song was written by Steven Levis, Nosie Katzmann and Jay Supreme, and produced by Torsten Fenslau. Tania Evans is the lead vocalist and Supreme is the rapper. The female part of the lyrics describes the narcissist title character Mr. Vain, while the rap embodies his selfish desires.
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.
"Insomnia" is a song by British musical group Faithless. Released as the band's second single, it became one of their most successful. It was originally released in 1995 and reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart, topping the UK Dance Chart in the process. When re-released in October 1996, the song achieved a new peak of number three in the United Kingdom and topped the charts of Finland, Norway, and Switzerland, as well as the American and Canadian dance charts. It also featured on Faithless's 1996 debut album, Reverence.
"Living on Video" is a song by Canadian synth-pop band Trans-X written and published in 1982, but not released as a single until May 1983 by Polydor Records, and then remixed in 1985. It became a massive hit worldwide, with the remixed version peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. Trans-X also originally recorded a French-language version under the title "Vivre sur Vidéo". The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years.
"One and One" is a song written by Billy Steinberg, Rick Nowels and Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo. The song was performed by Edyta Górniak. It was covered by Robert Miles in 1996.
"Get Down (You're the One for Me)" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. It was released on April 30, 1996 as the third single from their international self-titled debut album (1996). It was later included on their US debut album.
"Get It Together" is a song by Seal. It was released as the lead single from his fourth studio album Seal IV after the scrapping of Togetherland. "Get It Together" went to number one on the US dance charts
"Crying in the Rain" is a song recorded by German Eurodance band Culture Beat, released on 12 February 1996 by Dance Pool as the second single from their third studio album, Inside Out (1995).. It was co-written by band members Tania Evans and Jay Supreme with Doug Laurent and Robert Gerding, and produced by Laurent. The single charted in many countries, reaching its best chart positions in Hungary, Germany and Denmark, where it was a top-10 hit. "Crying in the Rain" also reached number-one on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart. The music video for the song was directed by Oliver Sommer and filmed in Hong Kong, China. A CD maxi-single containing remixes was also released under the name "Crying in the Rain Remixes".
American singer Whitney Houston, known as "The Voice", released 57 singles as a leading artist and 4 as a featured artist. Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. In the United States, Houston amassed 11 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, all of whom have been certified either gold, platinum, multi-platinum or diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and was one of a selected group of artists to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades. She is currently ranked in seventh place of the artists with the most number one singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to the introduction of digital singles, Houston sold 16.5 million physical singles in the country, the most ever by a female recording artist. In October 2012, the Official Charts Company claimed Houston was the fourth biggest-selling female singles artist of all time with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.
