The 90s was a decade of amazing love songs; here is a list of the top ten romantic tracks that still continue to haunt and mesmerize you –
I could fall in love – Sung by the queen of Tejano music Selena Quintanilla, the romantically haunting ‘ I could fall in love’ was the part of her fifth studio album (Dreaming of You). The song released on June 26, 1995 posthumously, after she was killed on March 31 1995 by the manager of her boutique, Yolanda Saldívar. ‘I could fall in love’ is a pop-ballad with soft rock influences and instrumentation by flamenco guitar, bass drum, synthesizers and Spanish guitar. It was the highest charting English language song in Billboard Hot 100 when it released in 1995 for two years, till Celina Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ beat it for the number one spot in 1998. With a whole new generation of fans coming to know about Selena Quintanilla, the song ‘I Could Fall in Love’ is reigning on top as the best song of the 90s.
My Heart Will Go On – This is Celine Dion’s most popular song and is the most popular romantic track of the 90s and one of the most romantic songs ever. My Heart Will Go On (released December 8, 1997) was main theme song of Titanic and was composed by James Horner in many versions of which Celine Dion’s version is the most well-known. My Heart Will Go on became number 1 in many countries when it released with the movies including United States,United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland and India.
Everything I do, I do it For You – This soft-rock power-ballad released on June 18, 1991, was performed by Bryan Adams. It featured on 2 albums – the movie Robinhood – Prince of Thieves and Adam’s sixth album ‘Waking up the Neighbours’. It was a phenomenal success worldwide, particularly in the UK, where it reigned in the number one position for 16 successive weeks in the UK Singles Chart, a record which is still unbroken. It is Bryan Adam’s most successful song till date and one of the best-selling tracks of all time.
Quit Playing Games – Quit Playing Games is the most successful song of Backstreet Boys peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The fourth single from their international album, it released on October 14, 1996 and became extremely popular in the UK, Sweden, Austria, Netherlands, India, China and US.
Hazard – This hit single released on January 1992 is regarded as Richard Marx’s best song till date. Even the video has been singled out for being quite movie-like and impactful in 5.17 length. It tells the story of a relationship between the narrator (singer) and a woman named Mary who disappears in a mysterious circumstances. The protagonist is supposed to be ‘someone who is not right’ according to folks from Nebraska town. When the protagonist is interrogated by the cops, he maintains that he is innocent and it is left to the viewer to interpret his relationship with Mary, and if he really did kill her. The song and the video became a huge success story and topped the charts around the world.
Love me for a Reason – The song originally sung by The Osmonds was revived by Boyzone in 1994, and it turned out to be one of the iconic songs of their group. It was a breakthrough hit and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in that year. It continues to get repeat viewing on Youtube as people reminisce the romantic hold the group held sway in the 90s with this song being one of their best.
You Are Not Alone – This song released in August 15, 1997 was the second single from Michael Jackson’s album HIStory. The R&B ballad was actually conceived by R.Kelly based on his own life; he showed the demo tape to Michael Jackson who agreed to sing and produce the song with Kelly. It is the most under-rated song of Michael Jackson’s career, the video featured Jackson with his then-wife Lisa Marie Presley. It was also the last number one hit of Michael Jackson in the United States.
Unbreak my Heart – Released in October 7, 1996, this song by Toni Braxton from her second studio album Secrets (1996) is one of the most successful songs by a solo artistes in the history of Billboard Hot 100. The irony was that Braxton did not feel like singing the song but record producer L.A. Reid convinced her otherwise. The video shows Braxton in the middle of a heart-break asking her lover to return and undo the pain that he has given her. Un-Break My Heart won Toni Braxton a Grammy Award for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston’s single ‘I Will Always Love You’ became the best-selling single by a woman in the history of music. The song was a part of the feature-film The Bodyguard (1992) which had Whitney acting for the first time in movie. The song was a worldwide success securing number one place in almost every country it released, with 20 million copies sold. The soundtrack reigned on Billboard 200 Chart for 20 weeks non-stop, the longest any album has stayed on the chart.
This Kiss – American county singer Faith Hill sung ‘This Kiss’, released on March 10, 1998 as a part of her album Faith. The song reached number 1 position in the US, Canada, Australia and UK. Apart from the upbeat tempo of the song, the colorful video replete with a fantasy-like aura was widely appreciated.