It’s December 2nd and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1978, Nelly Kim Furtado was born in Victoria, B.C. She began singing in Portuguese as a young child and, as a teen, played in a marching band. In 2000, she released her debut album Whoa, Nelly!, which spawned the hits “I’m Like a Bird” and “Turn Off the Lights.” Her third album, Loose, was an even bigger success thanks to singles like “Promiscuous” and “Maneater.”
- In 2014, One Direction: Where We Are Live From San Siro Stadium was released on DVD.
- In 1991, Charles Otto Puth Jr. was born in New Jersey. He was introduced to classical and jazz music as a child and studied music production and engineering at the Berklee College of Music. He went on to be featured on Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” and to have hits like “One Call Away,” “Attention” and “How Long.”
- In 1998, Shania Twain's video for “That Don't Impress Me Much” premiered on CMT. Directed by Paul Boyd, it shows the Canadian singer hitchhiking in the Mojave Desert. It later won Video of the Year at the CCMAs and an award at what is now the iHeartRadio MMVAs.
- In 1981, Britney Jean Spears was born in Mississippi. She was a young child when she started singing and dancing and competing in talent shows. Soon, she was cast in a reboot of The Mickey Mouse Club along with Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Canada’s Ryan Gosling. After deciding not to join a girl group, Spears launched a singing career and went on to become one of the world’s most iconic pop stars.
- In 1995, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men hit No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “One Sweet Day.” The pop ballad, inspired by the loss of so many people to AIDS, held on to the top spot for 16 weeks.
- In 1983, the 14-minute version of Michael Jackson's Thriller video, directed by John Landis, aired on MTV for the first time. It went on to become the first music video inducted into the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.
- In 2002, it was announced that Peter Garrett had quit as singer of Midnight Oil after 25 years. “I leave with the greatest respect for the whole of Midnight Oil,” he said. “The band has brought a lot of pleasure and meaning to people’s lives, including my own.” The group, which had hits like “Beds Are Burning,” reunited in 2016 for a tour.
And that’s what popped on this day.