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The power ballad of the year. Diane Warren penned this monster, and Toni Braxton’s sultry, aching vocals made it an adult contemporary staple. If you were slow-dancing at a middle school dance in 1997, this was the song. billboard year-end hot 100 singles of 1997
Let’s break down the biggest songs of the year, the trends, and the acts that defined 1997. Here is how the year-end list shook out. Spoiler: The #1 song is not a ballad. [Social Share Buttons: Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest]
But the music? The Billboard Year-End Hot 100 of 1997 is a chaotic, glorious time capsule. It was a year where hip-hop met stadium rock (thanks to Puff Daddy), a one-hit-wonder dance craze refused to die, and a trio of blonde siblings taught the world that “MMMbop” was an actual word. Let’s break down the biggest songs of the
| Rank | Song | Artist | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | "Candle in the Wind 1997" | Elton John | | 2 | "Foolish Games" / "You Were Meant for Me" | Jewel | | 3 | "I'll Be Missing You" | Puff Daddy & Faith Evans ft. 112 | | 4 | "Un-Break My Heart" | Toni Braxton | | 5 | "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" | Puff Daddy ft. Mase | | 6 | "I Believe I Can Fly" | R. Kelly | | 7 | "Don't Let Go (Love)" | En Vogue | | 8 | "Return of the Mack" | Mark Morrison | | 9 | "How Do I Live" | LeAnn Rimes | | 10 | "Wannabe" | Spice Girls |
(Note: The rest of the top 20 includes Hanson's "MMMbop" at #12, The Cardigans' "Lovefool" at #15, and Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping" at #18.) 1. Elton John – “Candle in the Wind 1997” You can’t talk about 1997 without addressing the elephant in the room: the death of Princess Diana. Elton John’s reworked tribute to Marilyn Monroe became the best-selling single in Billboard history (until streaming changed the math). It was inescapable, somber, and utterly dominant. It spent 14 weeks at #1.