This Day in Top 40 History: November 21
On Nov. 21, 2008, Madonna released “Miles Away” as the third single from her 11th album, Hard Candy. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland were both producers on the track. The song…
On Nov. 21, 2008, Madonna released "Miles Away" as the third single from her 11th album, Hard Candy. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland were both producers on the track. The song initially experienced moderate to low success in the United States, faring better in international markets. The reggae, electronica style song eventually reached No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Keep reading for more Top 40 history from Nov. 21.
Breakthrough Hits and Milestones
These chart-topping tracks and albums from Nov. 21 impacted the industry for years to come:
- 1981: Olivia Newton-John's massive hit, "Physical," reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent 10 weeks.
- 1987: Billy Idol scored his first and only No. 1 hit with his cover of "Mony Mony." Idol's rendition fared better than the original by Tommy James and the Shondells, which peaked at No. 3.
- 2000: The Backstreet Boys released their fourth album, Black & Blue. It achieved the best international one-week sales of any album in history, with over 5 million records sold.
- 2011: Taylor Swift released the live album from her Speak Now concert tour, Speak Now World Tour — Live. The 16-track album included songs from Speak Now and multiple cover songs Swift performed on tour.
- 2012: Ed Sheeran released "Give Me Love," one of the hit singles from his debut album +. The song has since been certified 2x Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Cultural Milestones
From birthdays and world tours to animated concerts, the following cultural moments from Nov. 21 stand out as particularly noteworthy:
- 1985: "Call Me Maybe" singer Carly Rae Jepsen was born. With two top 10 hits, Jepson made a huge impression on the pop music scene in the 2010s.
- 1989: Nirvana performed a show in Budapest, Hungary. The show was part of the Bleach club tour.
- 1991: On The Simpsons, Aerosmith performed as the show's first musical guest. The group appeared as animated characters within the show.
- 1992: Adam Sandler performed "The Thanksgiving Song" on Saturday Night Live. The song eventually reached No. 40 on the Adult Pop chart despite being written as a joke.
Both the biggest and the smallest moments from Nov. 21 cemented themselves in music history, from chart-dominating tracks to an animated version of Aerosmith. Make sure to visit us again tomorrow to find out more about the noteworthy moments on that day in history.
