It’s November 12th, and these are some of the things that happened on this day in pop music history:
- In 1998, Spice Girls won Best Group and Best Pop at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan. Madonna won Best Female and Best Album (for Ray of Light).
- In 1984, Madonna released her sophomore album, Like A Virgin. In addition to the title track, it spawned hits like “Material Girl,” “Dress You Up” and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.”
- In 1993, Michael Jackson announced he was pulling the plug on his Dangerous World Tour because allegations that he molested a boy caused him to become addicted to painkillers and left him “physically and emotionally exhausted.”
- In 2016, Saturday Night Live opened with Kate McKinnon as Hillary Clinton singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” It was the first episode following Clinton’s loss in the U.S. presidential election and the death of Cohen.
- In 1999, Kevin Smith’s comedy Dogma opened in cinemas. The movie starred Ottawa-born singer Alanis Morissette as God and featured her song “Still” on the soundtrack.
- In 1988, UK group The Escape Club earned the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Wild, Wild West.” The track was accused of borrowing from Elvis Costello’s 1978 song “Pump It Up.”
- In 1996, Eminem released his debut studio album, Infinite. It was a commercial flop, reportedly selling fewer than 1,000 copies.
- In 1945, Neil Percival Young was born in Toronto. He became an iconic singer-songwriter with hits like “For What It’s Worth” (as a member of Buffalo Springfield) and “Heart of Gold.”
- In 1983, Lionel Richie started a four-week run at No. 1 in the U.S. with “All Night Long (All Night).” Richie has said he wanted to include some lyrics in an African language but ended up simply making up gibberish: “Tom bo li de say de moi ya” and “Jambo jumbo.”
- In 1976, Tevin Jermod Campbell was born in Waxahachie, Texas. As a child, he sang in gospel choirs. He went on to have R&B hits in the ‘90s like “Tell Me What You Want Me To Do,” “Alone With You” and “Can We Talk.”
- In 2010, Ne-Yo welcomed his first child, daughter Madilyn Grace, with girlfriend Monyetta Smith. “I've been in love before but this feels like nothing I've ever felt,” he told People, “like I'm in love for the first time.”
And that’s what popped on this day.