100% Hits – best of 99 (CD1), 20 songs featuring a mix of hits from several genres from the well-known to the obscure.

Smash Mouth – All Star

All Star was a No. 4 hit in both America and Australia; it hit four more Billboard charts hitting No. 1 on two of them.

Sugar Ray – Every Morning

This song in Australia peaked at No. 17 but it earned No. 98 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 1999 and No. 162 on Triple M’s Top 400 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Billboard had the song at No. 58 on their 99 Greatest Songs of 1999.

Enrique Iglesias – Bailamos

This Spanish/English song was a song that peaked at No. 13 in Australia and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted on six other Billboard run charts.

The song was originally on the Wild Wild West soundtrack before it ended up as a single and on Enrique’s debut English studio album.

‘Bailamos’ was written and produced by the same people who gave Cher the mega hit ‘Believe’.

So, what does ‘Bailamos’ mean in English? it means ‘We Dance’.

Ultra – Say It Once

The late 1990s saw a large number of boy bands/groups and girl bands/groups try their luck at fame and fortune, English group Ultra was one of them and they released the album ‘Ultra’ in 1999 with ‘Say It Once’ their second single

It was enjoyed in Australia with the song peaking at No. 4, it peaked at No. 2 in Italy and No. 8 in New Zealand.

Their biggest UK success was ‘Rescue Me’ that peaked at No. 8 in 1999.

Ultra would return in 2006 with the studio album ‘The Sun Shines Brighter’.

Madison Avenue – Don’t Call Me Baby

Madison Avenue was comprised of Cheyne Coates and Andy Van and existed between 1999 and 2003, recording one studio album and four singles, all of them peaked in the Top 10 in Australia.

‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ was written by Cheyne Coates, Andy Van Dorsselaer (Andy Van), Duane Morrison and Giuseppe Chierchia.

The song peaked at No.1 in New Zealand and the UK, peaked at No. 2 in Australia and was a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart.

The duo would do even better locally with their second single ‘Who The Hell Are You’ which peaked at No. 1 in Australia and gave them another No.1 hit on the Dance Club Songs chart.

Interesting that this song featured on both ‘100% Hits – Best of ’99’ and ‘100% Hits – Best of 2000’

Billie Piper – Honey To The Bee

‘Honey To The Bee’ was the fifth and last single to come from the studio album ‘Honey to the B’, it was a No. 3 hit in the UK, No. 5 in New Zealand and No. 6 in Australia, at the end of the year it was No. 48 on the Australian chart.

U2 – Sweetest Thing

This song was written by Bono to his wife after he forgot her birthday during The Joshua Tree recording sessions, it was originally recorded as a B-Side to ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ and re-recorded for The Best of 1980-1990.

The re-recording peaked at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it done much better in the UK peaking at No. 3, No. 3 in New Zealand and No. 6 in Australia and charted in several other countries.

Jennifer Paige – Crush

‘Crush’ crushed everybody else on the charts in Australia, New Zealand and Canada when the song peaked at No. 1, the song also peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The following single ‘Sober’ would peak at No. 58 in Australia and that was it for Jennifer in the country, she would have four charting singles in the UK and in Germany.

Bee Lee – Cigarettes Will Kill You

Triple J listeners loved this song, it was No. 2 on the 1998 Triple J Hottest 100, it was beaten by The Offspring’s ‘Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)’, the song peaked at No. 46 in Australia and No. 92 in the UK.

Ben Lee would have to wait until 2005 to crack the Top 30 with ‘Catch My Disease’ which peaked at No. 27 and cracked the Top 20 with ‘Love Me Like The World Is Ending’ which peaked at No. 18.

The Verve – Sonet

Sonnet was the fourth of five songs by The Verve to chart in Australia, this song peaked at No. 83 in the country, it done better in the UK at No. 74, it was even better in New Zealand where it peaked at No. 43.

Chris Issak – Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing

Baby Did a Bad Baby Thing was a song that was released in 1995, so what is it doing here in a 1999 compilation? it was remixed and re-released and it was a hit; the remix peaked at No. 9 beating the 1995 result which was a peak at No. 27.

There are two music videos, one version is for before 9pm and the other is for after 9pm, the uncensored version was just too steamy for kids.

Jewel – Hands

This song hit No. 1 in Canada, peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at No. 19 in New Zealand and No. 25 in Australia.

The song was used in multiple tributes to the victims of September 11 attacks with a remix of the song spreading across radio stations after that day.

Sheryl Crow – My Favourite Mistake

My Favourite Mistake was a No. 20 Billboard Hot 100 hit for Sheryl Crow across 1998 and 1999, it didn’t do so well on Australia’s ARIA chart as the song peaked at No. 87.

Sheryl Crow and Jewel who is above this selection both performed at Woodstock ’99, a random bit of history for you.

Millenium was a No. 1 hit in the UK for Robbie Williams, it peaked at No. 3 in Zealand, it was a reasonable success in Australia as it peaked at No. 24 but the studio album it came from ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’ did not chart in Australia.

Brandy – Have You Ever

This so was written by prolific songwrite Diane Warren and produced by David Foster, famous for producing the likes of Chicago to international success.

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in New Zealand, it was Top 10 in at least eleven charts including No. 8 in Australia and the music video has an impressive 78 million views on YouTube.

Dru Hill – How Deep Is Your Love

This song while having the same name as the Bee Gees hit is not a Bee Gees song though it was just as successful as one, this song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at No. 1 in two other Billboard run charts, peaked at No. 8 in Germany and No. 13 in Australia.

The song was part of the Rush Hour soundtrack, the Jackie Chan and Chris Rock hit that is just as funny as it was back then.

A+ – Enjoy Yourself

A+ released two albums and three singles between 1996 and 1999, Enjoy Yourself peaked at No. 4 on the Dutch Single Top 100, No. 5 on the UK charts and No. 26 on the Australian charts.

Both of A+ studio albums charted on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with ‘The Latch-Key Child’ peaking at No. 36.

New Radicals – You Get What You Give

No. 1 in Canada and New Zealand, this song also peaked at No. 5 in the UK and No. 13 in Australia among other countries.

The song was written by New Radicals lead singer Gregg Alexander and Rick Nowels, the latter produced Belinda Carlisle’s hit studio album ‘Heaven on Earth’ including co-writing ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’.

The song was noted for making comments about celebrities which got more attention than political thoughts in previous lines, Marilyn Manson was not impressed at being named with Courtney Love, Beck got an apology from Gregg Alexander and Gregg Alexander worked with Hanson afterwards.

New Radicals broke up in July 1999 as Gregg Alexander found that media attention and the touring schedule was not for him.

Regurgitator – Happiness (Rotting My Brain)

Happiness (Rotting My Brain) peaked at No. 44 in Australia and had done much better in New Zealand as the song peaked at No. 16.

Supergrass – Pumping on Your Stereo

Oddly for an Australian compilation, this song did not chart in Australia, it did peak at No. 11 in both the UK and in New Zealand, while the title is ‘Pumping on Your Stereo’, it is sung as ‘Humping on Your Stereo’ though the band is known to use both in performances.