3 Female Pop Stars Who Hit No. 1 in 1996 and Became Legends

Let’s be clear, 1996 wasn’t messing around. The year in the middle of the 1990s was not pulling any punches. If you were going to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that year, you had to bring it. No soft No. 1 hits in 1996—not at all. That’s why the names you see at the top of the vaunted chart are some of the most well-known both in the 90s and in music history.

That’s just what we wanted to explore below. We wanted to dive into the stories of three female pop stars from 1996 who hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 and became legends at the same time. Indeed, these are three female pop stars who hit No. 1 in 1996 and became icons for it.

“Un-Break My Heart” by Toni Braxton from ‘Secrets’ (1995)

Both one of the most memorable and catchy songs of the 1990s and one of the saddest songs, too. How did Toni Braxton pull off that difficult tightrope walk? Well, she did it with passion and put her emotions on her sleeve. Of course, Braxton was a major talent in the mid-90s. In fact, she garnered not one but two No. 1 hit songs in 1996—”Un-Break My Heart” at the end of the year in December and the A/B side “You’re Makin’ Me High” / “Let It Flow” before that in July. Not a bad time to be the soulful singer!

“Always Be My Baby” by Mariah Carey from ‘Daydream’ (1995)

In the 1990s, it was always a good time to be Mariah Carey. The singer, who has garnered 19 No. 1 songs in her career (second only to The Beatles, with 20), scored two No. 1 tracks in 1996 alone. The first was a duet with Boyz II Men (“One Sweet Day”) to kick off the year, and the other was the memorable “Always Be My Baby”, which was a favorite of middle school dancers across the land at the time, which hit the top spot in May.

“Because You Loved Me” by Celine Dion from ‘Falling Into You’ (1996)

It may not be top of mind, but the 1990s were dominated in many ways by Celine Dion. You may just think of her as the person who sang the theme song from the film Titanic, but she has so many more hits than that, including “Because You Loved Me”, which topped the charts in the spring of 1996. Speaking of middle school dancers, this song was a staple of school dances back then. Often, it was the closer for those special nights for tweens. What a time to be alive!

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