It’s May 18th and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1999, the Backstreet Boys released their Millennium, which spawned hits like “I Want It That Way,” “Larger Than Life” and “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely.” The album, which went to No. 1 in Canada, earned five Grammy nominations.
- In 2012, the movie Battleship opened in cinemas. It starred Rihanna – in her big screen acting debut – as weapons specialist Petty Officer Cora Raikes.
- In 1985, Simple Minds went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” from The Breakfast Club soundtrack. Lead singer Jim Kerr has said the band was initially reluctant to record the song because they didn’t write it.
- In 1969, Marta Marrero was born in California. As pop singer Martika, she topped charts in 1989 with “Toy Soldiers.”
- In 1991, R.E.M. topped the Billboard 200 album chart with Out of Time, the band’s seventh studio album. It included hits like “Shiny Happy People” and “Losing My Religion.”
- In 1993, Janet Jackson released her fifth studio album, Janet. With tracks like “That’s the Way Love Goes” and “Again,” it became one of only a handful of albums to have six Top 10 hits on the Billboard 100 chart.
And that’s what popped on this day.