May 29 has been a notable day in pop music history, resulting in chart-topping hits, cultural shifts, and industry changes. This day has changed the pop music landscape with defining songs and significant events.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
May 29 has served as a launch pad for many pop songs and artists’ achievements, including:
- 1993: Janet Jackson’s “That’s the Way Love Goes” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was Janet’s third consecutive and sixth overall No. 1 hit, and her first full-on R&B single, featuring her transition into a slow, mellow R&B sound.
- 2021: Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the only artist to have her first three singles debut in the top 10.
Cultural Milestones
These milestones from May 29 impacted and affected pop culture:
- 1942: Bing Crosby recorded “White Christmas,” the all-time best-selling single worldwide among all genres and generations.
- 1982: Duran Duran peaked at No. 2 on the U.K. Albums Chart with their album Rio. It displayed their use of theatricals and visuals and established the New Romanticism genre.
- 1997: Jeff Buckley tragically disappeared while swimming in the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi River. At age 30, he produced the revered and legendary album Grace.
- 2020: After the killing of George Floyd, an image on social media demanded that the music industry “Black Out” that Tuesday. That sparked a series of events dubbed #TheShowMustBePaused. Various major labels, individuals, and artists paused or stopped making money that day to think about needless racial injustices, accountability, and other social injustices affected by the events leading up to it.
Industry Changes and Challenges
May 29 had many events that influenced change and evolution in the music industry, including:
- 1999: Napster launched into music distribution and blurred lines in distribution streams, which led to record labels stopping payments and causing endless losses. The industry sustained closures of independent music labels, and major labels lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Napster and its counterparts changed and continue to change digital music, allowing artists to provide music consumption.
May 29 hosted many moments that creatively documented the evolution of pop music. It also signifies a continued account of historic moments that tell a story of music reinvention throughout an era.
