It’s December 18th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1980, Christina Maria Aguilera was born in New York City. She won her first talent show at the age of 8 and went on to be part of The Mickey Mouse Club with Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Canada’s Ryan Gosling. Aguilera hit the big time with “Genie in a Bottle” in 1999 and went on to have hits like “Beautiful” and the cover of “Lady Marmalade” with Mya, Lil’ Kim and Pink.
- In 2003, Michael Jackson was formally charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of committing a felony. Two years later, the King of Pop was acquitted of all charges.
- In 1982, Daryl Hall and John Oates went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Maneater,” their fifth song to top the chart. It stayed at No. 1 for four weeks.
- In 2000, the mother of 15-year-old Danielle McGuire filed a lawsuit in St. Louis alleging that NSYNC singer Justin Timberlake verbally assaulted the girl in a hotel lobby after she yelled “JC is cuter anyway!” when Timberlake refused to stop for fans. Six months later, McGuire quietly dismissed the case.
- In 1950, Martha Johnson was born in Toronto. After playing in a couple of bands, she formed Martha and the Muffins in 1977, which was later known as M+M. Their biggest hit was “Echo Beach.”
- In 2011, One Direction kicked off their first ever headlining tour at the Watford Colosseum near London. The Up All Night Tour included two shows in Toronto in May 2012.
- In 1975, Sia Kate Isobelle Furler was born in Australia. She started her music career in her 20s as the singer in an acid jazz band. She released her debut album in 1997 and went on to find global success with hits like “Chandelier” and “Cheap Thrills.”
And that’s what popped on this day.