Everyone’s all caught up in anniversaries in the early stages of 2014, and for good reason — 1964, 1984 and 1989 were great years for music, giving way to an onslaught of 50th, 30th, and 25th anniversary listicles. No one’s really giving much thought to the 15th anniversary records released back in music’s dark age of 1999, but today commemorates not only a good one, but the launch of an iconic career.
A few months after “…Baby One More Time” was released as Britney Spears’ debut single, the instant pop superstar followed it up with the LP of the same name, released 15 years ago today on January 12, 1999.
The album spawned five hit singles and went on to sell more than 30 million copies worldwide. It’s one of the best-selling records of all time.
And even though Max Martin originally wrote “…Baby One More Time” for TLC and only after the r&b trio rejected it did it land in Spears’ lap, the single sold more than ten million copies and launched a career that “spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop,” according to Rolling Stone.
Here’s a look back at the LP’s singles:
October 23, 1998: “…Baby One More Time”
April 30, 1999: “Sometimes”
August 23, 1999: “(You Drive Me) Crazy”
December 6, 1999: “Born to Make You Happy”
December 15, 1999: “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart”
