Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth. In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.
We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 2009, the year I celebrated my 35th birthday. Only twelve of these songs remain familiar to me today, with half of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.
#62: Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
iTunes stats: N/A
Spending five weeks atop the Hot 100, it was Jay-Z’s first #1 hit as lead artist.
#55: Coldplay – Viva la Vida
iTunes stats: N/A
The group’s first US #1 hit, it spent a single week atop the charts in June of 2008.
#29: Miley Cyrus – Party in the U.S.A.
iTunes stats: N/A
Spending three weeks at #2, it was Cyrus’ most successful single to date.
#25: Katy Perry – Hot n Cold
iTunes stats: 0 plays
Perry’s follow-up to I Kissed a Girl peaked at #3.
#14: Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
iTunes stats: 28 plays
Winner of three Grammy awards, this breakthrough single reached #4.
#11: Taylor Swift – You Belong with Me
iTunes stats: 2 plays
Nominated for three Grammy awards, it reached #2 on the Hot 100 while topping the Hot Country Songs chart.
#8: Beyonce – Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
iTunes stats: N/A
Spending four non-consecutive weeks atop the Hot 100 between the end of 2008 and the start of 2009, the track garnered three Grammy wins.
#5: Taylor Swift – Love Story
iTunes stats: 1 play
Topping out at #4 on the Hot 100, the single spent 49 weeks on the chart.
#4: Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling
iTunes stats: 33 plays
The group’s second consecutive #1 single, it spent fourteen weeks atop the Hot 100.
#3: Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis – Just Dance
iTunes stats: N/A
The singer’s debut single, it spent three weeks at #1 in the winter of 2009.
#2: Lady Gaga – Poker Face
iTunes stats: N/A
The singer’s second single, it spent a single week at #1 in the spring of 2009.
#1: Black Eyed Peas – Boom Boom Pow
iTunes stats: 29 plays
The lead single from the group’s fifth studio album, it spent twelve weeks at #1 and, combined with its follow-up, gave the band 26 consecutive weeks, from mid-April until mid-October, with the #1 song in the nation.