This Day in Music
On this day in music, May 28, 2000, Britney Spears proved her star power when her sophomore album, Oops!…I Did It Again debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and quickly became the fastest-selling LP by a female solo artist in chart history. When it hit the ten million mark soon after, Oops!…I Did It Again also made Spears the youngest artist to earn multiple Diamond certifications by the RIAA (following the success of her debut, …Baby One More Time. The album, which also topped charts around the globe, featured the hits “Lucky,” “Stronger,” and the title track.
In 1983, singer, songwriter, and actress Irene Cara soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “Flashdance…What a Feeling.” Written by Cara, Keith Forsey, and Giorgio Moroder for the blockbuster film, Flashdance, the single went on to spend six weeks at No.1 and topped charts in more than a dozen other countries, including Japan, Australia, South Africa, and Canada. The song later earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song, while Cara won a Grammy for her performance in 1984.
In 2021, 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo became the youngest solo artist to top both the UK album and single charts with Sour and “Good 4 U,” respectively. The feat marked one of many for Rodrigo, who smashed global chart, sales, and streaming records throughout the year.
In 1966, Percy Sledge began a two-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with “When a Man Loves a Woman.” An enduring soul classic, the song also hit No.1 on the R&B chart and landed in the Top 10 around the globe, including in the UK, France, Canada, and Sweden. Recorded at Muscle Shoals, “When a Man Loves a Woman” marked the legendary Alabama studio’s first of many No.1 hits.
In 1977, Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers played together for the first time in Paris, as part of the band Strontium 90 (with Mike Howlett). The three musicians would go on to form The Police that summer.
In 1966, with the success of What Now My Love, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass set a new record on the Billboard charts by having four albums in the Top Ten – more than any other act at the time. Their sixth studio album held the No.1 spot for nine weeks.
BORN ON MAY 28
1910: T-Bone Walker
1944: Gladys Knight
1944: Billy Vera
1945: John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
1949: Wendy O. Williams (The Plasmatics)
1962: Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals)
1968: Kylie Minogue
1985: Colbie Caillat
