This Day in Top 40 History: January 18
Jan. 18, 2010, witnessed the release of Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” featuring guest vocals from hitmaker Ludacris. It served as the lead single from his chart-topping debut album, My World 2.0. The…
Jan. 18, 2010, witnessed the release of Justin Bieber's "Baby," featuring guest vocals from hitmaker Ludacris. It served as the lead single from his chart-topping debut album, My World 2.0. The track peaked at No. 3 and No. 5 on the U.K. Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot 100, respectively. Top 40 history highlights from Jan. 18 also include album releases, standout performances, and devastating moments, such as the deaths of fans and the separation of couples.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
The pool of albums released on Jan. 18 includes the following:
- 1977: Diana Ross dropped her double live album, An Evening With Diana Ross, recorded at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre. The record, which featured tracks such as "Here I Am" and "I Wouldn't Change A Thing," landed at No. 29 in the U.S.
- 1978: Warren Zevon launched Excitable Boy through Asylum Records. The album peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart. It also delivered one Top 40 single, "Werewolves Of London," which stalled at No. 21 on Billboard's Hot 100.
- 1983: Bryan Adams released his third studio album, Cuts Like a Knife, which cracked the Top 10 in the U.S. It spawned a few Top 40 hits, including the title track, "Straight From the Heart," and "This Time."
- 1988: AC/DC's Blow Up Your Video, which reached No. 12 in the U.S., came out. It produced hits such as "Heetseeker" and "That's the Way I Wanna Rock 'n' Roll" that charted within the Top 30 in the U.K.
- 2019: Maggie Rogers put out her album Heard It in a Past Life, featuring notable tracks such as "Fallingwater," "Alaska," and "Light On." It peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Notable Recordings and Performances
Jan. 18 has hosted a couple of unforgettable performances, including:
- 1973: The Rolling Stones played "Brown Sugar," "Tumbling Dice," and other hits at a Los Angeles benefit concert that raised over $350,000 for earthquake victims in Nicaragua. A month before the show, the natural disaster cost more than 4,000 people their lives and displaced countless others.
- 2009: Beyoncé, Jon Bon Jovi, Mary J. Blige, and other prominent Top 40 artists performed in front of over 400,000 people at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration in Washington, D.C. The free concert was a prelude to the inauguration of the former U.S. president Barack Obama.
Industry Changes and Challenges
Jan. 18 has presented various challenges for artists. Here are some examples:
- 1991: As AC/DC started playing "Thunderstruck" from their 1990 album The Razor's Edge at a show in Salt Lake City, Utah, there was a stampede that resulted in the death of three teenagers. The victims' families later sued the band, the concert promoters, and the venue management, alleging misconduct and negligence.
- 1996: While Michael Jackson was in a New York hospital recovering from an infection, his then-wife, Lisa Presley, filed for divorce after 20 months of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. According to the court reports, the couple had separated on Dec. 10.
As Top 40 history shows, Jan. 18 has seen many important events in the music industry, including memorable shows and the launch of new music.
