3 Songs From the 1990s That Got Overshadowed by a Massive Hit

What’s the saying? One man’s pain is another man’s pleasure? The 90s were full of iconic, pop culture defining hits. However, some of them were so huge that it’s easy to forget that other artists were having a moment of their own during this time. Unfortunately, for one hit to be bigger than all the rest, somebody has to step off the podium. Here are some 90s hits that could have had an even bigger moment had it not been for certain songs.

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“How Do I Live?” by LeAnn Rimes

When Titanic (1997) came out, the cultural phenomenon that was “My Heart Will Go On” honestly made every other ballad that year seem like a joke. One of these was “How Do I Live”, which probably would’ve dominated if it weren’t for the Celine Dion hit. In fact, the pop-country crossover song even made it to No. 6 on Billboard‘s All-Time Top 100 list from 2021. But it’s the only song in the top ten of that list that wasn’t a No. 1. “How Do I Live” even lost the Academy Award for Best Original Song to “My Heart Will Go On”, as if the movie ballad needed another award.

“Genie In A Bottle” by Christina Auguilera 

When “…Baby One More Time” came out, it was everywhere. It played in malls, at the supermarket, on the radio, and at the top of the charts. While there was more than one hot competitor when this song came out, one of the more notorious was perhaps Aguilera’s “Genie In A Bottle”. While both pop girls went No. 1, it’s hard to deny the lasting cultural impact of “…Baby One More Time”. These two clearly had some sort of rivalry going on anyways, so it’s only fitting that their songs did too.

“This Used To Be My Playground” by Madonna

Don’t get me wrong, the 90s treated Madonna pretty well, but this No. 1 hit should’ve gotten more recognition. Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s possible that the ballad struggled to compete with another song that came out in 1992. That ballad would be “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston. I mean, come on. This song is like the Simone Biles of movie ballads. You can’t compete with it, even if you’re literally Madonna in A League Of Their Own. “I Will Always Love You” didn’t come out until November of that year, but, like “My Heart Will Go On”, it has a quality that makes you forget any other songs that came out before it, especially if they were released months apart.

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