Load is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on June 4, 1996, by Elektra Records in the United States and by Vertigo Records internationally. The album showed more of a hard rock side of Metallica than the band's typical thrash metal style, which alienated much of the band's fanbase. It also featured influences from genres such as Southern rock, blues rock, country rock, and alternative rock. Drummer Lars Ulrich said about Load's more exploratory nature, "This album and what we're doing with it – that, to me, is what Metallica are all about: exploring different things. The minute you stop exploring, then just sit down and fucking die." At 79 minutes, Load is Metallica's longest studio album.
Jagged Little Pill is the third studio album by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released on June 13, 1995, through Maverick. It was her first album to be released worldwide. It marked a stylistic departure from the dance-pop sound of her first two albums, Alanis (1991) and Now Is the Time (1992). Morissette began work on the album after moving from her hometown Ottawa to Los Angeles, where she met producer Glen Ballard. Morissette and Ballard had an instant connection and began co-writing and experimenting with sounds. The experimentation resulted in an alternative rock album that takes influence from post-grunge and pop rock, and features guitars, keyboards, drum machines, and harmonica. The lyrics touch upon themes of aggression and unsuccessful relationships, while Ballard introduced a pop sensibility to Morissette's angst. The title of the album is taken from a line in the first verse of the song "You Learn".
"Ironic" is a song by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette. It was released in February 1996 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. "Ironic" is a song written in the key of B major, and includes a moderate tempo of eighty-five beats per minute. The lyrics present several situations that are described as "ironic"; this has led to debate as to whether any of these actually match the accepted meaning of irony.
"What's Love Got to Do with It" is a song written by Graham Lyle and Terry Britten, and recorded by American singer Tina Turner for her fifth studio album, Private Dancer (1984). Capitol Records released it as a single from Private Dancer in May 1984 and became Turner's biggest-selling single.
Gina G is an Australian singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached the US top 20 in 1997 and earned her a 1998 Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. Her other UK Top 30 hits are "I Belong to You" #6 (1996), "Fresh" #6 (1997), "Ti Amo" #11 (1997) and "Gimme Some Love" #25 (1997).
"Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper Coolio, released on August 1, 1995. Interpolating Stevie Wonder's song "Pastime Paradise" (1976), "Gangsta's Paradise" features vocals from American singer L.V. who served as a co-composer and co-lyricist with Coolio and Doug Rasheed, with Wonder also being credited for the composition and lyrics. Certified Platinum in October, the song was included on Coolio's second album, Gangsta's Paradise, in November 1995.
"Wonderwall" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was written by Noel Gallagher. The song was produced by Gallagher and Owen Morris for the band's second studio album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, released in 1995. According to Gallagher, "Wonderwall" describes "an imaginary friend who's gonna come and save you from yourself".
"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Denied writing credit by Fox and Gimbel, Lieberman released her version of the song in 1972, but it did not chart. The song has been covered by many other artists.
"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The original version is featured on the UK version of his fourth album, All Eyez on Me (1996), and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also topped the charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.
Cashbox, also known as Cash Box, was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as Cashbox Magazine, an online magazine with weekly charts and occasional special print issues. In addition to the music industry, the magazine covered the amusement arcade industry, including jukebox machines and arcade games.
"Earth Song" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson for his ninth studio album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson, David Foster and Bill Bottrell. Epic Records released on November 7, 1995, as the album's third single.
Falling into You is the fourteenth studio album and fourth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 11 March 1996 by Sony Music. The follow-up to her commercially successful album The Colour of My Love (1993) and French-language D'eux (1995), Falling into You showed a further progression of Dion's music. Throughout the project she collaborated with Jim Steinman, who wrote and produced "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", among others. Several songs were produced by David Foster, including Diane Warren's "Because You Loved Me". In total, Dion worked on the album with fourteen producers and a variety of songwriters and musicians.
"Kiss from a Rose" is a song from British singer-songwriter Seal's second eponymous album (1994). The song was first released as a single in July 1994 and included in the film The NeverEnding Story III that year. It was re-released a year later in 1995 as part of the Batman Forever film soundtrack, helping it top the charts in the United States and Australia. It also reached the top 10 in several other countries, including Canada, France, Iceland and Norway. At the 1996 Grammy Awards, it won awards for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album A mí me gusta, a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bayside Boys became an international hit and inspired a dance craze in the latter half of 1996 and part of 1997. This version topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Cash Box Top 100 in the US. The song got the group ranked the "No. 1 Greatest One-Hit Wonder of All Time" by VH1 in 2002. In 2012, it was ranked No. 7 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. It also ranked at No. 1 on Billboard's All Time Latin Songs.
"All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff's circa 1900–1901 Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18. The chorus was taken from the song "Let's Pretend", which Carmen wrote and recorded with the Raspberries in 1972. The slide guitar solo was performed by studio guitarist Hugh McCracken.
"Virtual Insanity" is a song by British funk band Jamiroquai, released on 19 August 1996 as the second single from their third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song interpolates parts of Jocelyn Brown's post-disco hit "Somebody Else's Guy" (1984), and its award-winning music video was released in September 1996, garnering 10 nominations and winning four, including for "Video of the Year", at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by Jam!/Canoe. In March 2006, it was replaced by the Candadian Digital Songs Sales chart, before it was succeeded by the Canadian Hot 100 in 2007.
"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.
"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy, and Wayne Kirkpatrick and recorded by country music artist Wynonna Judd. A cover version was recorded by English singer Eric Clapton for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. Clapton's version was produced by R&B record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" is the debut solo single of Australian singer Gina G. The song was written by British songwriters Simon Caldwell and Steve Rodway, and released on 25 March 1996 as the first single from her debut album, Fresh! (1997). It reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart almost two months later and was also a number-one hit in Israel, as well as in Scotland. In the US, the song peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was the United Kingdom's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, held in Oslo, Norway, where it finished in eighth place. It was successful on the charts in Europe, Australia and the US, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.