’90s No. 2s Revisited: 1996
1996 was our favorite year for No. 2 songs. Aside from the clip at the bottom of this post, we preferred each song that peaked at No. 2 to its dream-crushing blocker. But, injustice is part of life. Enjoy!
1 week at No. 2, starting Feb. 17, 1996
Blocked by: “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
“Missing,” the first Hot 100 entry for British duo (and real-life couple) Everything But The Girl, was our second-favorite song of 1996. (Our favorite song is featured below; read on.) Although the quieter original version got some airplay on Adult Contemporary radio, the House remix by Todd Terry is the one that caught on with Pop listeners, and it’s the one we preferred. The song is a mournful plea to someone who has disappeared, where “missing” has a clever double meaning describing both the way the protagonist feels (“And I miss you / Like the deserts miss the rain”) as well as the status of the person about whom the protagonist it singing (“Could you be dead? / You always were two steps ahead”). The foray into Dance would give the group a new direction, and they scored a minor follow-up hit with “Wrong” (peak: 68). They haven’t charted in the U.S. since but continued to find an audience in their homeland.
2 weeks at No. 2, starting Feb. 24, 1996
Blocked by: “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
Mary J. Blige was one of the most talented and influential singers to emerge in the ’90s. She’s had 41 songs reach the Hot 100. Before “Not Gon’ Cry,” Blige was best known for her first single, 1992’s “Real Love” (peak: 7), and her collaboration with Method Man, 1995’s “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By” (peak: 3). “Not Gon’ Cry” was a Babyface-penned ballad from the popular Waiting to Exhale soundtrack. It has a catchy chorus that features appealing harmonies, but is otherwise somewhat lackadaisical and formulaic. She’d go on to have many more hits, the biggest being her only No. 1 song, 2001’s “Family Affair,” 2006’s “Be Without You” (peak: 3) and her 2007 collaboration with Ludacris, “Runaway Love” (peak: 2).
2 weeks at No. 2, starting March 9, 1996
Blocked by: “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
After “Not Gon’ Cry” stepped down from No. 2, another Babyface-penned track from Waiting to Exhale replaced it, “Sittin’ Up In My Room” by 17-year-old Brandy. This track peaked just after Brandy’s UPN sitcom, Moesha, debuted. She was also an established hit-generator by this point, having sent three songs into the Top 10, and after she would have several more chart successes, including two No. 1s: 1998’s “The Boy Is Mine” with Monica, and 1999’s “Have You Ever?” The best feature of “Sittin’ Up In My Room” is its snappy bassline. It’s a cute song we enjoyed hearing again, although Brandy went on to do better, more sophisticated work in the years to come.
2 weeks at No. 2, starting March 23, 1996
Blocked by: “Because You Loved Me,” Celine Dion
We loved this song. In retrospect, “Nobody Knows” sounds eerily like it was produced and sung by Babyface, but no, it was produced and sung by Tony Rich, and written by his brother, Joe Rich, and Don DuBose. This beautifully sad song was the first Hot 100 entry for The Tony Rich Project and ended up being the No. 4 song of 1996, the best showing of any song that missed No. 1. After, Rich would have two minor follow-up hits before exiting the mainstream stage. A shame, too, because if this song is any indication, there was a lot of talent here. Guess there was room for only one Babyface.
1 week at No. 2, starting Aug. 17, 1996
Blocked by: “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio
“Twisted” by Keith Sweat, featuring uncredited supporting vocals by R&B group Kut Klose, was our favorite song of 1996, and very well could be our favorite R&B song of the ’90s, full stop. It’s flawless. Sweat was already quite popular on R&B radio by 1996 and had scored two Top 10 songs in the ’80s, and he’d have two more later in the ’90s after “Twisted,” but he never reached No. 1. As if it weren’t enough of an injustice that “Twisted” got sidelined at No. 2, the song that blocked was the horrid “Macarena” of all things. Grr. Anyway, enjoy this R&B gem.
9 weeks at No. 2, starting Aug. 24, 1996
Blocked by: “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio
“I Love You Always Forever” has the dubious distinction of being the longest-running No. 2-peaking song of the ’90s, in a tie with “You’re Still The One” by Shania Twain. Both of these are great songs that deserved several weeks on top. Lewis is a Welsh singer-songwriter who was totally unknown prior to “I Love You Always Forever.” The best parts of the track, in our opinion, are all the parts that aren’t the chorus, which is a bit silly and annoying. After this smash, Lewis landed on the Billboard Hot 100 twice more, once in 1997 and again in 1998, but just missed the Top 40 both times, and hasn’t charted since. But 20 years later, a remake of “I Love You Always Forever” by Betty Who, a singer we’re big fans of, was a hit on the U.S. Dance chart as well as the Pop chart in Who’s native Australia, reaching No. 1 on both tallies, besting Lewis’ performance in both cases.
5 weeks at No. 2, starting Oct. 26, 1996
Blocked by: “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” Los Del Rio and “No Diggity,” Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre
Are any words sufficient to praise this Pop/Rock masterpiece? What kind of conscious person with working ears would hear “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” by Celine Dion and say, “It’s OK, but ‘Macarena‘ is better.” With this brilliantly, shamelessly over-the-top track making unlikely waves on radio, Dion certified our deep-held suspicion that for years she’d downplaying her full melodramatic potential. Here it explodes, and it’s glorious. Dion preceded this No. 2-peaking song with two No. 1s, 1994’s “The Power Of Love” and 1996’s “Because You Loved Me,” and would follow it with two more, 1998’s “My Heart Will Go On” and “I’m Your Angel,” a duet with the scumbag featured below.
4 weeks at No. 2, starting Dec. 21, 1996
Blocked by: “Un-Break My Heart,” Toni Braxton
We weren’t fans of R. Kelly in the ’90s, not because we presciently knew he’d turn out to be a sicko, but because his music was dumb. There was a lot of it, mind you, but not one thing he did, or worked on, particularly impressed us. “I Believe I Can Fly” would be an impressive entry in an elementary school songwriting contest, but as a Pop song it’s nothing worth revisiting. Sorry to end this post on a down note.
– John
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