Anais Gutierrez
Looking back at the 90s, they were kinda weird when it comes to style. Like all the futuristic obsession and the hairstyles were really too much to handle, thank God they passed!
But let’s bring a little nostalgia and go back down memory lane to enjoy those songs you sang and danced to at the top of your lungs. This post will seriously have you dancing and singing to the beat of all those 90s songs we knew, and most probably still know, by heart!
15. *NSYNC, “Bye Bye Bye.”
Back in the days, JT was part of a boyband and wore his curly hair as the most trendy thing. The boys delivered some pretty dope music videos, and some cool songs too. And this one was dope af.
This was the song you wanted your crush to sing to that girl he liked, you know like to finally have it for yourself. In the video, the boys finally get released from the hands of a girl who treated them as puppets. Well done boys!
Part of their debut album “No Strings Attached “The video was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, it didn’t win, though. Maybe you’re asking yourself why this video is so moved and crazy, well JC Chasez justified the many action parts as that the song is about a freaky control situation.
Let’s not forget about the car race, please. Fast and Furious style!
14. Eve ft. Gwen Stefani, “Let Me Blow Ya Mind”
OMG! This song is really dope, the cool lyrics and the undeniable catchy beat made this video quite cool back in the days. Also, bringing two of the most popular artists together for a collab was a pretty smart move.
The duet marked Gwen’s second appearance in a row on a duet. At the time Gwen was starting her solo career, and she had a pretty goo beginning.
The video won the 2001 MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video. The song also won the 2001 Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
The video followed the girls while going on an adventure that finally led them to prison. Seems like breaking the rules and getting to places without invitation, even when you’re the one who make the party, is not acceptable.
13. Aqua, “Barbie Girl”
The Danish group broke the charts with this one being their most popular song. Literally, every girl sang and danced to this song. The song and video were released on 1997, and a huge success.
I think we all sang this song without even knowing what it meant. The song seems to be a critic to consumerism and also to the inflated value of sex in society.
Most of the times the more random things take us to great places. I’m talking about the fact that the group got the inspiration for the song after randomly getting a kitsch culture exhibition.
Mattel sued the band after the releasement of the song, also Mattel announced they will give Barbie more realistic body measures after the whole buzz created by the song.
12. Monica, “Angel of Mine”
Monica included this cover of British group Eternal in her second studio album, “This Boy Is Mine”. The cover peaked No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks, the song was RIAA certified Platinum Record.
Naturally, when you find a boy, and most of all a good boy, you feel the urge to tell your friends. So Monica was kind enough to tell us and let us know everything about this sweet encounter.
In a typical 90s vibe the video follows Monica attending a party with her gang. Once there she finds her boy and as in every love story just by looking at each other they fell in love.
Coincidentally the boy is mister Tyrese Gibson! This is a really different image of the usual one we have of him, aka Fast and Furious. Looking kinda bad boy that’s actually a good boy in the video, Tyrese definitely steals Moni’s heart away.
11. Jewel, “You Were Meant for Me”
The 1996 song was Jewel second single following her debut hit “Who Will Save Your Soul?”.This song was the biggest-selling single in Atlantic Records’ history at that time. Which put Jewel on the cover of TIME magazine, being the first label’s artist to do it in 1997.
Jewel performed this song, along with her first hit, on a 1997 episode of “Saturday Night Live.” The episode’s host was John Goodman.
The song actually has two videos. The original was directed by Sean Penn in 1996, but it didn’t have as much success as the second one directed by Lawrence Carroll.
Carroll’s video featured Jewel and Steve Poltz, her couple, struggling to be together. It actually won the Best Female Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.
10. Faith Hill, “This Kiss”
The single was released on March 1998, from that same year’s album titled Faith. The song was the first of five Top-10 Hot 100 singles Faith achieved in her career.
The song was a number-one hit in the US and Canada charts. The song was the soundtrack of 1998 movie “Practical Magic.”
The super mellow kinda funny and weird video features Hill in a colorful fantasy like sequence, jumping over flowers and flying bees. Well even when it might seem a little too much, the video is actually notable for its use of CGI technology and won awards for creativity.
Also, Hills was pregnant with her second child at that time and the clothes they had approved were too little to fit her, so they had to customize them for the video.
9. Dixie Chicks, “Goodbye Earl”
The Dixie Chicks really surprised with this video that followed the story of a woman making the ultimate revenge on a violent husband, the death of the cruel man is celebrated by the whole town in a reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, with even a zombie Earl dancing along.
The video showed how an abused wife and her lifelong friend take revenge over the abusive husband and they literally say goodbye to Earl. It had many familiar faces starring it, such as Jane Krakowski, Dennis Franz, Lauren Holly, and Adrian Pasdar.
The video was nominated for the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association Video of the Year Awards in 2000, and won both of them!
The song and the subsequent video raised controversy for its take on spousal abuse and was banned in some radio stations.
8. Des’ree, “You Gotta Be”
The 1995’s single was the third song on the British artist second album “I Ain’t Movin.'” The song spent over 30 weeks in the Us Top 40. Filmed in black and white, the song and the video when about enjoying life to the fullest and expressing your feelings.
The song was the soundtrack of Hilary Swank movie “The Next Karate Kid,” , it was also the soundtrack of movie “The Object Of My Affection”. And was also used in many commercials and in a promotional campaign of Good Morning America.
The video was nominated in the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards for “Best Female Video,” but lost against Madonna’s “Take A Bow.” That’s what I call some hard competition.
The song was used in a special promo for PBS Kids shown on Martin Luther King, Jr Day from 1999 till 2006.
7. Britney Spears, “(You Drive Me) Crazy”
The song released as Britney’s third single on 1999 was a huge success. The song peaked in the top ten of over 17 countries. In the video the pop princess shows us how to waitress, dance and have fun all at the same time. But after all, it’s Birtney b*tch!
The video directed by Nigel Dick followed Birt while she was working in what looked like the doolest place to hang with your friends. It featured cameo appearances of Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier.
For the promotion of the song, Brit did live performances of the song at the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards and Billboard Music Awards of the same year. It was nominated in the category Best Dance Video but lost to J.Lo “Waiting for Tonight.”
The video premiered on MTV’s Making The Video special that aired on July.
6. Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day”
The song written by Carey and Boyz II Men ranked first in Rolling’s Stones poll for Best Collaboration of All Times. It spent 16 weeks atop Billboard Hot 100, and then became Billboard’s most successful song of the 1990s.
They performed the song at the 38th Grammy Awards, and it also was performed at Princess Diana’s memorial service in 1997.
The music video was taped while the artists recorded the single, showing them in and around the studio. It actually ever got to have a real music video.
This never getting to have a real video turned out just fine considering that the song’s strong lyrical message, the simple concept somehow paid homage to the song’s message,
5. TLC “No Scrubs.”
This one is iconic! The song was part of the girls’ third album studio. Released as the first single of FanMail, this song marked the first time Chilli took the sole lead vocals in the group The song was a huge success being number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 of 1999.
The song earned the girls their third Grammy nomination for Record of The Year. And the video was not left behind. The futuristic recipe was a winning one, earning 1999 MTV Video Music For Best Group Video.
The video features the girls wearing white, silver and black outfits, and also each one has different sets. It also features them having fun and dancing in front of the band’s name.
While dancing and having fun, one of the coolest parts was Left Eye rapping!
4. No Doubt “Don’t Speak.”
The third single from the 1995 band’s third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, perfectly illustrated how messy everything can become after a relationship finally ends. Gwen wrote the song after her bandmate Tony Kanal ended the seven-year relationship with her.
Despite the popularity of the video and the song, the single didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100, it did reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, though.
The song was nominated for Song Of The Year and Best Pop Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards.
And the video won the award for Best Group Video and was nominated for Video Of The Year at the 1997 MTV VMA.
3. Natalie Imbruglia, “Torn.”
Aussie singer chose a cover of Ednaswap’s song for her debut and boy, she nailed it. The single peaked number one in several countries and is currently the singer’s most successful work.
The song was a huge hit throughout the 1998 summer and peaked number 42 on Billboard Hot 100.
The video was directed by Alison Maclean and features Jeremy Sheffield as Natalie’s love interest. It shows shots of the couple engaging in a romantical conversation.
Turns out that the video, is in fact, the B-roll footage, that’s why it usually shows the director intervening and giving directions and that’s why the apartment at one point starts to dismantle. But it resulted just fine since it gave us the feels.
2. Backstreet Boys, “I Want It That Way.”
After watching this video it was literally impossible for me not to think of it every time I was at an airport. This song was the lead single from their 1999 third studio album Millenium. Showing the boys at an airport, the video proved to us that the boys could dance anywhere.
The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards and is considered one of the band’s signature song. In the US it peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks.
The video ranked as number three on the top 10 list of the most iconic videos of all time at the TRL.
The video and the song, have been covered and have lots of parodies including Blink 182, One Direction and The Wanted. After all once you see those moves you need the feel to make fun of them.
1. Meredith Brooks, “Bitch.”
This song is also known by its censored title “Nothing in Between” is Meredith lead single from her debut album “Blurring the Lines.”The song was pretty successful peaking number two on the Billboard charts for four weeks.
The song got a Grammy nomination but didn’t make it. “What Women Want.” movie used this song in their soundtrack.
The video shows Meredith playing the guitar in a shimmering, and quite 90’s style, floral background. It also shows several women, and men, floating around, as well as objects generally associated with women.
The song is ranked at number 79 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s, and truth be told this is an empowering song that explores the very complex women’s world and shows how a label cannot define us.
Loading…