Millennium Hits
News
Fresh music stories, throwbacks, release notes, playlist picks, and station updates in one place.
September 16, 1997: Mariah Carey, Usher and Busta Rhymes Release Landmark Albums
On September 16, 1997, Mariah Carey, Usher and Busta Rhymes released three very different albums that captured a changing moment in ’90s R&B and hip-hop. Butterfly, My Way and When Disaster Strikes... would each become important chapters in three very different careers.
Sep 16, 2026
Backstreet Boys’ Millennium Debuted at No. 1 and Redefined the Scale of Teen Pop
On this day in 1999, Backstreet Boys’ Millennium debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 1,134,000 copies in its first week and setting a new benchmark for the Nielsen SoundScan era.
Jun 5, 2026
10 Songs That Sound Like Summer 2000
Summer 2000 had a strange, perfect mix: teen-pop at full blast, R&B running radio, Latin-pop still glowing from its late-’90s breakthrough, post-grunge crossing into the mainstream, and hip-hop preparing to take over the decade.
May 29, 2026
Ricky Martin’s No. 1 Debut Turned Latin Pop Into the Center of the Room
On this day in 1999, Ricky Martin’s self-titled English-language debut bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, turning a months-long wave of momentum into one of the defining pop breakthroughs of the late ’90s.
May 29, 2026
N.W.A’s Efil4zaggin Hit No. 1 and Turned Rap’s Mainstream Moment Into a Flashpoint
On this day in 1991, N.W.A released Niggaz4Life — also known by its backwards cover title Efil4zaggin — a hard-edged follow-up to Straight Outta Compton that became one of the most controversial rap records to top the American album chart.
May 28, 2026
Mariah Carey’s Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse Arrived on This Day in 2014
On this day in 2014, Mariah Carey released Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse, a record that arrived after a long, uneven rollout and immediately felt different from the straightforward comeback albums that usually define pop headlines.
May 27, 2026
Backstreet Boys Extend Into the Millennium Sphere Residency With 2026 Dates
Backstreet Boys will return to Sphere in Las Vegas this summer with additional dates for their Into the Millennium residency, continuing a production built around the group’s 1999 album Millennium and their biggest hits.
May 26, 2026
Eminem’s The Eminem Show Opened in 2002 and Changed the Scale of Rap Stardom
On this day in 2002, Eminem released The Eminem Show, his fourth studio album and one of the defining blockbusters of early-2000s music. Apple Music lists the original album with a May 26, 2002 release date, 20 tracks and a runtime of just over 77 minutes.
May 26, 2026