Heartbeat I must confess I have forgotten, playing it now, it's pleasant enough but clearly not a number one in its own right, it doesnt stand out amongst their other hits of the late 90's. Tragedy, I can see The Tamperer vibes, I was oblivious of the dance routine, and all I could see was an impertinent cheesier copy of Bee Gees' monster drama production classic, so was I ever mystified by it outselling the original! Overplay over the years in gay clubs and exciteable dance-floor rushes by those of a certain (younger) age has done nothing to endear it to me I'm afraid, it's Bee Gees or nowt 😄 That's my 70's youth nostalgia (ish) of course, so I understand why fondness for the cover is there for the 90's generation, but I prefer loads of other Steps tracks, so sorry this would be quite a lot lower on my list, oops!

Oddly, I also rate the Baz Luhrmann track, and it the older I get the more the advice is relevant to pass on to younger folk - it's not a fave music track in the sense of melody, production and whatever, it's the words that matter, and they way they are presented, and that is effectively! probably just outside the top 10 for me, but a goodie and it did top my charts at the time.

I was always Team Britney, though Christina def had the belter bigger lungs, which she had a tendency to over do, but Genie In A Bottle was a pretty good debut all in all. I prefer Baz, but like this more than Tragedy, it's got some funk oomph and grit to it.

Your top 3 is the same as mine Rich! Not sure about the order, they're all pretty close for me but I do have a favourite...

'Genie In A Bottle' is a very good pop song and Christina's best for me on the first couple of albums - the only of song of hers I prefer is 'Hurt' which resonates in very different ways. However 'Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)' is such a unique #1 which, although it wouldn't be something I'd have on rotation to listen to 20 times a year or anything, does have a special place for me. First of all, it reminds me very much of the time, and I clearly remember leaving the last of my preliminary exams in June 1999 with the instrumental and some of the words in my head - I realised even then that those were times I'd look back on fondly in years to come. The advice itself is comforting and certainly some of it hits differently all these years later - "the race is long, but in the end it's only with yourself" is one of the lines that's stuck the most. Also I credit this song in getting me to floss regularly!

'Genie In A Bottle' is fab. Was a strong introduction for Christina and Baz is one I dont check too much of but is iconic nonetheless!

Genie in a Bottle Perhaps controversially I think this is a better debut than Baby One More Time!

I never really got the Sunscreen song I'm afraid, although I do appreciate it's a unique chart topper.

3. Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

Rank: 9.5/10

Reason: Onto one of the most impactful debut singles of all-time, as I mentioned at the start of the thread 1999 was interesting in that it threw up the debut hits for a lot of artists that would go on to define the 00s, like Britney, Christina, Eminem and even Enrique. Britney was first out the gate with probably Cheiron's most famous and iconic song, ...Baby One More Time. As many big pop singles are, it was floated around various artists including Five, Backstreet Boys and TLC and in any of their hands it clearly still would have been a big hit but probably not quite as famous, as it wasn't only the song itself that is the big draw here, but also Britney's vocal delivery, performance, and the famous music video.

The track was released in late 1998 in the US and eventually reached No.1 there in January, the UK release coming in February and seeing the song sell an unexpectedly high number of copies to debut at the top (Gezza will reveal the total in his 1999 TOTP thread in the coming weeks) way ahead of runner-up Runaway (Tin Tin Out Remix) by The Corrs at No.2 (what an unfortunate week for my favourite group to release my favourite song by them in, bah!). Although it was a very clear No.1 hit, its gigantic sale caught me off guard for sure, but it marked the arrival of a new pop superstar and for months on end in 1999 you couldn't move without hearing the name Britney Spears everywhere.

Sonically the song starts with that iconic three note piano motif before the beat kicks in that is very similar to what Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Five and Robyn were pushing from Cheiron at the time. You could even argue that the latter (along with some of the material by UK girlband Solid Harmonie and Swede Jessica Folcker) was kind of a prototype for Britney, but I can see why US audiences needed an all American girl with wholesome Disney (Mickey Mouse club) roots to latch onto to take this sound to bigger fame than Swedish teenager Robyn, who you could tell was a Scandinavian act with her vocal and look. Britney also had a very immediate style that stood out with a distinctive vocal and various Britney-isms that would come up again and again in her early music in particular (e.g. her pronounciation of 'baby' in the verses; 'bye-beh, bye-beh').

The piano motif continues throughout the song and takes the bridge through to the mega chorus, one of the most famous ever in pop music. And then, as is common in much Cheiron music, the song slows right down to a ballad temporarily in the middle eight, ready to ramp back up to my favourite part of the song 'I must conFESS, that my loneliNESS...'. We then get a cold ending with that iconic hook line repeated one final time (although Hit Me was not actually part of the title, an ellipsis was used instead), which suits the track much better than a fade out would have done. It's an absolutely genius pop song and Britney was completely the right artist to sell it.

So many things about this song, and Britney, immediately became part of popular culture for years to come, particuarly the title, while Darius memorably covered the track for his Popstars audition, and schoolgirl fancy dress in the Britney style with the pigtails and knotted shirt was very popular for a long-time. The track hit No.1 in the majority of countries it was released in, and ended the year as the biggest selling single here in the UK, quickly becoming a million seller, while Britney scored further hits Sometimes, (You Drive Me) Crazy and Born To Make You Happy from the same debut album, the latter becoming her second No.1 in early 2000. Her incredible debut single remains one of her signature hits though, along with 2004 No.1 Toxic.

Iconic classic. She does have a few better than this for me but it's undeniable.

One memory I have relating to this is our music teacher at school commenting when this was at #1 "Who on Earth would name their child something like Britney?"

I remember we did a music quiz at the time at school in Drama class and the clue was 'No.1 single, six words in the title, starts Hit Me...' and I answered 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick', which everyone laughed at as they all obviously answered Britney but I protested there was no 'Hit Me' in Britney's title, although they stood firm that Britney was the answer they wanted (but I took the moral victory) 😂

7 hours ago, gooddelta said:

I remember we did a music quiz at the time at school in Drama class and the clue was 'No.1 single, six words in the title, starts Hit Me...' and I answered 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick', which everyone laughed at as they all obviously answered Britney but I protested there was no 'Hit Me' in Britney's title, although they stood firm that Britney was the answer they wanted (but I took the moral victory) 😂

You were 100% correct in my view! It was only 4 words in the title! 🤣

What a fabulous write up for such a fabulous song Rich, great job!

...Baby One More Time is in my view one of the best debut singles of any act. Not just for the song or video itself or the sales but or th ecultural impact with would have. It really was the perfect launching pad to launch Britney Spears with.

It's not my favourite from her, that goes to Toxic, but it sits comfortably in my top 3.

I did think this might finish 2nd ahead of Blue (Da Ba De), but I'm certainly not complaining about it's bronze medal.

Britney's is a pop classic, no question, the song works done different or in this version. As was the norm first week of release this I think was 99p for the CD single - and I'm pretty sure in the dead CD single market in the USA it would have been 99cents as they still targeted kids into the 2000s with those (witness my N-Sync, Robyn, J-Lo singles bought in Florida at bargain prices). That def helped first week sales so I jumped in early before it went up to £2.99 or £3.99 as was the habit. Not sure it would be top 3 for me, but it wouldnt be far off.

2. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

Rank: 10/10

Reason: 1998 had four 10/10 No.1s, but for me 1999 has two, mainly because a lot of my favourite songs of the year all stalled at No.2. But let that take nothing away from these two songs that I dearly love and by artists who I was obsessed with. In second place, where it also finished in the UK end of year chart for 1999, is Italian Europop/dance trio Eiffel 65. Singer Jeffrey Jey, keyboard player Maurizio Lobina and producer and DJ Gabry Ponte formed Eiffel 65 in 1997 and had their global breakthrough smash with a song that would go on to influence pop and dance music for years to come.

In a year full of European mainland hits, Blue (Da Ba Dee) was by far the biggest, taking its inspiration from Italo Disco, pop, 90s dance and more. The song is built around a gorgeous piano line devised by Maurizio, lyrics with more than a tinge of sadness to them if you listen properly (yet bizarre and catchy enough that the song essentially served as a novelty hit at the same time), and really great production from Maurizio, and Gabry, who is still a huge name in European dance and this year represented San Marino at Eurovision with the song Tutta L'Italia.

Complete with a CGI/real world crossover style music video with blue aliens, I found Blue (Da Ba Dee) so instantly hypnotic that the moment I heard it I rushed out to buy it on import from HMV, a good couple of months before official release, and I was in love with the various remixes on the maxi single, including the instrumental version. I later became obssessed with the album preview included as a b-side on the follow-up single Move Your Body and quickly obtained the parent album, which I still dearly love to this day and would love to get it on vinyl. They were just a two-hit wonder here, but Too Much Of Heaven and Living In A Bubble from the album joined Blue (Da Ba Dee) in topping my personal chart, while they also aided another major European smash and another of my all-tiime favourites, All I Really Want by Kim Lukas, which for all intents and purposes is turned into an Eiffel 65 song with their hit remix.

During this purple patch of popularity they also remixed songs like S Club 7's Reach and The Bloodhound Gang's The Bad Touch, each time making them sound like their own with the Cher style vocoder effects, piano lines and robotic synthesised sound effects and swishes they were so fond of.

Blue (Da Ba Dee) was played over and over on the radio at the end of summer/start of autumn 1999 and it was absolutely no surprise when it became a huge No.1 for the trio in September, having previously joined Lou Bega in reaching the top 40 on import sales alone a few weeks earlier. The song spent three weeks at the top here and, like Britney, topped the charts more or less everywhere it was released aside from a few countries including, curiously, their homeland of Italy while in the US it peaked at No.6, although for a Eurodance song this was highly impressive. But its legacy has been even larger, with the song sampled and covered by acts ranging from Flo Rida to David Guetta, the latter taking I'm Good (Blue) to No.1 in 2022 with Bebe Rexha on vocals. Eiffel 65 called their debut album Europop, and this is a masterclass in the genre that few songs have ever bettered.

1. ATB - 9PM (Till I Come)

Rank: 10/10

Reason: Just like Sweet Like Chocolate earlier the thread, which became the first garage No.1 in the UK, we had got all the way to 1999 without having a pure trance No.1, despite the genre arguably being the biggest dance subgenre of the year and producing almost weekly multiple top 40 hits, many of which are considered classics now. Fast forward to July and German producer André Tanneberger and uncredited singer Yolanda Rivera unleashed one of the very finest trance songs ever recorded, which instantly amassed huge sales to debut at No.1 and also finished in the top five of the year.

9PM (Till I Come) was originally released in Germany a year earlier in a version that in my opinion sounds like trance that was also influenced by the Berlin techno scene of the time (it would have sounded great on the soundtrack to Run Lola Run/Lola Rennt, which was released that year). The song was a moderate No.14 hit in that version in Germany, and I'm sure would have been big here if unchanged for this market, but I really think the UK radio edit was a work of magic, trimming the fat off the track (it comes in quite short for 1999 at 2:42) and making it a more dynamic production, with a tighter and faster bassline more suited to 1999 trends, but leaving that iconic and unique pitch bending hook fully in tact, while Yolanda's repeated, breathy but effective single lyric 'change it and say, till I come' is peppered across the track in all the right places to make it really special.

I credit 9PM (Till I Come) as the reason I truly came to love dance music. I remember the week I bought it, on release week (I somehow had never heard it before then) I walked into Virgin in Brighton with £3 and had gone in to buy either Jewel's Down So Long or S Club 7's Bring It All Back. But while I was there I heard this while checking new singles on the listening post and was absolutely blown away by it. Almost hypnotised, I took it straight to the till and for more than a brief moment forgot that those other two songs I'd gone in for even existed.

I quickly tracked down ATB's album on import in HMV and paid £15 for it, which was no small sum for a 12-year-old, but I wasn't disappointed at all. Movin' Melodies remains one of my favourite dance albums of all-time and is another I would love to see on vinyl - Don't Stop and My Dream from the album also topped my chart (the former also later getting a dynamic remix for the UK market) while I was also besotted with Sunburn and especially the atmospheric Too Much Rain, which was removed from the later UK release of the album and also isn't on Spotify here, so I'm glad I imported it.

Despite being viewed as a trance classic, the UK and Ireland are the only countries 9PM (Till I Come) topped the chart in – here it stayed at No.1 for two weeks, although it also went top 10 in various European countries and Australia, although I'm not quite sure if that was in this UK mix or in its original form. ATB and this song returned to the top 10 in 2021 alongside Topic and A7S in a new vocal remix called Your Love (9PM), this time taking 9PM into the German top ten for the first time where it peaked at No.6.

That's it! Thanks all for commenting and following this thread, and also my threads for 1998 and 2000, which kicked this whole No.1 ranks series off back in the summer, it's been great to see it turn into such a cool and extended community project and I look forward to seeing other members ranking years later into the 21st cenutry and no doubt further back past 1995. Here's my full rank for 1999:

1. ATB - 9PM (Till I Come)

2. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

3. Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

4. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

5. Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

6. Steps - Heartbeat/Tragedy

7. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

8. Blondie - Maria

9. Five - Keep On Movin'

10. Armand Van Helden feat. Duane Harden - You Don't Know Me

11. S Club 7 - Bring It All Back

12. The Offspring - Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)

13. Vengaboys - Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!

14. Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

15. Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca

16. Lou Bega - Mambo No.5 (A Little Bit Of)

17. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

18. B*Witched - Blame It On The Weatherman

19. Westlife - Flying Without Wings

20. Robbie Williams - She's The One / It's Only Us

21. Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away

22. Vengaboys - We're Going To Ibiza

23. Geri Halliwell - Mi Chico Latino

24. Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle

25. Mr Oizo - Flat Beat

26. Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing At All

27. Martine McCutcheon - Perfect Moment

28. Westlife - If I Let You Go

29. Boyzone - When The Going Gets Tough

30. Westlife - Swear It Again

31. Geri Halliwell - Lift Me Up

32. Westlife - I Have A Dream / Seasons In The Sun

33. 911 - A Little Bit More

34. Boyzone - You Needed Me

35. Cliff Richard - The Millennium Prayer

It is great to see that our #1's are identical. "9PM" is such a great trance track with a balearic feel. André Tanneberger is from my hometown and I listened to some of his sets through the nineties. He also produced some rave stuff before starting his ATB-project. This one was really funny:

He was also part of the rave project Sequential One.

As said earlier the brilliant original of 9pm was even topped by the brilliant Matt Darey Remix, who added some extra melody over the guitar. One of my favourite UK #1's of all time.

At 2 I have Christina Aguilera "Genie In A Bottle" and at 3 Ricky Martin "Livin' La Vida Loca". I love latin pop music and both are absolute feel good songs with catchy riffs.

Here is my full listing:

1. ATB - 9PM (Till I Come)

2. Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

3. Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca

4. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

5. Blondie - Maria

6. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time

7. Armand Van Helden - You Don't Know Me

8. Robbie Williams - She's The One

9. Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

10. Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of ...)

11. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

12. Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat

13. Geri Halliwell - Mi Chico Latino

14. Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing At All

15. Geri Halliwell – Lift Me Up

16. The Offspring - Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)

17. Vengaboys - We're Going To Ibiza

18. Vengaboys - Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!

19. Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away

20. S Club 7 - Bring It All Back

21. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

22. Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle

23. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

24. Five - Keep on Movin'

25. Boyzone - When The Going Gets Tough

26. Westlife - If I Let You Go

27. Martine McCutcheon - Perfect Moment

28. B*Witched - Blame It On The Weatherman

29. Boyzone - You Needed Me

30. 911 - A Little Bit More

31. Westlife - Flying Without Wings

32. Westlife - Swear It Again

33. Westlife - I Have A Dream

34. Cliff Richard - The Millennium Prayer

Thank you for the brilliant presentation @gooddelta

Edited December 30, 2025Dec 30 by DaTilt

Oh there was me wondering if Baz Luhrmann would contend earlier but ATB feels like such an obvious winner now I come to think of it, as I recall you raving about it in the past. Great pick, love that distinctive bendy guitar, the sensual vocals and trance elements. However, Britney is my favourite of your top 3! One of the most perfectly pitched pop launches ever, with a legendary video to boot, that Britney apparently had a hand in shaping. It's wild to think that it could've gone to another artist.

The Eiffel 65 song is also good and obviously iconic but not quite as much of a favourite for me.

Thank you for another highly enjoyable thread, @gooddelta! I enjoyed reading all of your opinions and memories. I was a bit too young to appreciate the '90s at the time so it's really interesting for me to hear people's lived music / chart experiences from the period as it was happening.

My own top 10 for 1999 #1s would look like this nowadays:

1. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

2. Christina Aguilera - Genie in A Bottle

3. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

4. Britney Spears - …Baby One More Time

5. Shanks and Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

6. Armand Van Helden - You Don’t Know Me (feat. Duane Harden)

7. ATB - 9PM (Til I Come)

8. Wamdue Project - King of My Castle

9. Five - Keep On Movin’

10. Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat

so very dance heavy but with a few pop gems in the mix too.

14 minutes ago, DaTilt said:

It is great to see that our #1's are identical. "9PM" is such a great trance track with a balearic feel. André Tanneberger is from my hometown and I listened to some of his sets through the nineties. He also produced some rave stuff before starting his ATB-project. This one was really funny:

He was also part of the rave project Sequential One.

As said earlier the brilliant original of 9pm was even topped by the brilliant Matt Darey Remix, who added some extra melody over the guitar. One of my favourite UK #1's of all time.

At 2 I have Christina Aguilera "Genie In A Bottle" and at 3 Ricky Martin "Livin' La Vida Loca". I love latin pop music and both are absolute feel good songs with catchy riffs.

Here is my full listing:

1. ATB - 9PM (Till I Come)

2. Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

3. Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca

4. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

5. Blondie - Maria

6. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time

7. Armand Van Helden - You Don't Know Me

8. Robbie Williams - She's The One

9. Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

10. Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of ...)

11. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

12. Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat

13. Geri Halliwell - Mi Chico Latino

14. Ronan Keating - When You Say Nothing At All

15. Geri Halliwell – Lift Me Up

16. The Offspring - Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)

17. Vengaboys - We're Going To Ibiza

18. Vengaboys - Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!

19. Lenny Kravitz - Fly Away

20. S Club 7 - Bring It All Back

21. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

22. Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle

23. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

24. Five - Keep on Movin'

25. Boyzone - When The Going Gets Tough

26. Westlife - If I Let You Go

27. Martine McCutcheon - Perfect Moment

28. B*Witched - Blame It On The Weatherman

29. Boyzone - You Needed Me

30. 911 - A Little Bit More

31. Westlife - Flying Without Wings

32. Westlife - Swear It Again

33. Westlife - I Have A Dream

34. Cliff Richard - The Millennium Prayer

Thank you for the brilliant presentation @gooddelta

Thank you so much for commenting throughout, I'm aware of a lot of his earlier stuff with Sequential One, I believe they produced the UK mix of 9PM too. That's cool that he came from your hometown, like me with Fatboy Slim.

2 minutes ago, Jade said:

Oh there was me wondering if Baz Luhrmann would contend earlier but ATB feels like such an obvious winner now I come to think of it, as I recall you raving about it in the past. Great pick, love that distinctive bendy guitar, the sensual vocals and trance elements. However, Britney is my favourite of your top 3! One of the most perfectly pitched pop launches ever, with a legendary video to boot, that Britney apparently had a hand in shaping. It's wild to think that it could've gone to another artist.

The Eiffel 65 song is also good and obviously iconic but not quite as much of a favourite for me.

Thank you for another highly enjoyable thread, Rich! I enjoyed reading all of your opinions and memories. I was a bit too young to appreciate the '90s at the time so it's really interesting for me to hear people's lived music / chart memories from the period as it was happening.

My own top 10 for 1999 #1s would look like this nowadays:

1. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

2. Christina Aguilera - Genie in A Bottle

3. Fatboy Slim - Praise You

4. Britney Spears - …Baby One More Time

5. Shanks and Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate

6. Armand Van Helden - You Don’t Know Me (feat. Duane Harden)

7. ATB - 9PM (Til I Come)

8. Wamdue Project - King of My Castle

9. Five - Keep On Movin’

10. Mr. Oizo - Flat Beat

so very dance heavy but with a few pop gems in the mix too.

Thank you for all your comments and sharing your own thoughts throughout too Jade, a great top 10 there from you too. Sunscreen is just wonderful, and it's good to see we share three of the same top five.

My top ten includes your top eight:

1. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)

2. ATB - 9PM (Till I Come)

3. Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

4. Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle

5. Blondie - Maria

6. Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle

7. Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

8. Steps - Heartbeat/Tragedy

9. Lou Bega - Mambo No.5 (A Little Bit Of)

10. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way

I was obsessed with 'Blue' at the time, but it hasn't really held up for me now (oddly 'Mambo No. 5' has though, I always kind of lump these two songs together). Were there ever any plans for a follow-up after 'Move Your Body'? I always found it quite odd they just stopped completely after that.

The UK edit of '9PM' is where the magic is, that other version which seems to have almost erased it these days is nowhere near as good!

Loved following this, thank you for all the fascinating commentary for each entry.

That's an excellent top of the countdown - In fact, I think that top 2 would be my top 2 as well! Blue (Da Ba Dee) was one of the first songs I was aware of, that chorus was just that infectious (and I of course got some of the words wrong - I recall mistaking it as 'Aberdeen' though I never heard 'if I were green, I would die') and it's stuck with me as I've got older as I like the aesthetic complimenting the message, deeper than your average cheesy eurodance song at least.

Love 9PM as well and it's still a regular on my running playlist, that repeated guitar line with the trance beats just works really well to build anticipation. That, Armand's You Don't Know Me and Fatboy Slim were my top dance hits of the year.

...Baby One More Time is of course a classic and shaped the sound of pop of the decade to come, I was another one whose mind was blown when I realised Hit Me was not in the title! Genie in a Bottle is also great.

Baz Luhrrman's one is more one I appreciate as an oddity rather than one I actively listen to, but I always love hearing it and it's tale is a classic quirk of the UK charts, and a real time capsule. There's a pretty scathing review of it on Popular, and I suppose if you properly analyse it lyrically, it may fall short, but I have always quite appreciated it's messages and think most of them are useful throughout life.

Keep On Movin' and I Want It That Way are definite boyband classics, and I'll even be charitable to Steps here as Tragedy actually suited them well and Heartbeat is one of their better songs, the bizarre video with a random CGI alien fight in the snow is a good laugh too.

Great read as ever, Rich!